Re: [PLUG] The One True OS, migrating to

[schwepes@netaxs.com]

On Fri, 18 Jan 2008, James Barrett wrote:

> On Fri, Jan 18, 2008 at 10:57:09AM -0500, Art Alexion wrote:
> > On Friday 18 January 2008 00:04:20 James Barrett wrote:
> > > Some things
> > > must be considered, such as "Will the children be confused about the
> > > software differences after the switch?"
> >
> > Not as much as the teachers.

Speaking as a teacher, the Philadelphia school district specifically
forbid me from programming one of their machines, my desk machine,
in Linux.
bs







> >
> > (Tech-saavy teachers will be more confused than the clueless)
>
> Good point.  The teachers will not know how to teach Linux if they
> have never used it before.  But the main question to be posed and issue
> to be pressed should be "How will the children benefit or suffer from a
> Linux migration"* which, of course, does depend on whether or not the
> teacher will be comfortable enough with Linux to teach it to the kids.
>
> (* compared to "benefit/suffer from a Vista migration")
>
> >
> > >Then there is the bottom line, "What
> > > are the costs of doing such a thing, and are they outweighed by the
> > > benefits?", remembering that cost is not all about money.  Cost can
> > > include the topic of 'Will Windows software run correctly on Linux, if
> > > at all?'
> >
> > Depends what you need.  There are always wine, CrossOver and vm solutions.  As
> > for money, its not just the cost of the software, but the increasing windows
> > hardware appetite if the school needs to keep older hardware in operation.
> >
> > The question you didn't ask in a school environment is, "Are you giving
> > students real world experience by teaching them an OS far less likely to be
> > used by a future employer than Windows?"  Flooding schools with Apples in
> > the '80s didn't cause businesses to install Macs over PCs.  Then again, it
> > didn't hinder students in their mastery of Wintel PCs either.
> >
>
> I just calculated the price for new machines running Vista, compatible
> printers and software for the computer room for the next 4 years.
>
> 30 new machines @ $500 per machine (a VERY conservative estimate)
> Office 2007 for each machine: $150/license
> Two new B&W laser printers and one good color AIO inkjet... $800
> We're already well past $20K and have not even calculated flat panels!
> 30 bulk OEM Flat panels @ $175 each
> Nearing $25000, which is $24000 more than they need to spend.(<--period)
>
> I have not calculated how much it would cost to recycle/ dispose of the
> old machines, CRT displays, printers, keyboards etc.  Probably a lot.
>
> I do seriously believe that migration to Linux will cost the school less
> than $1000, give them a state-of-the-art lab and still save them enough
> money to heat the entier school for a few cold winter months.
>
> The students are currently learning just a few things on these machines.
> 1) word processing, spreadsheet functions and the such
> 2) web browsing
> 3) school stuff (math, reading, spelling)
> 4) how to do fun, seasonal stuff like make holiday cards with clipart
>
> All of which can be done in Linux.  They are NOT doing stuff that
> requires bleeding edge machinery.
>
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