“Municipalities in Finland that have switched their schools to Linux and other open source solutions are saving millions of euro. Typically, our centrally managed open source computers are at least 40 percent cheaper than the proprietary alternative. The total savings could be 10 million.” This is what I have been writing about all these years. Using FLOSS and GNU/Linux in schools saves a bundle. There are the licensing costs straight up and then there is the flexibility of the GPL versus the restrictions of the EULA. Configuration and operation are trivial by comparison with FLOSS, because you can do whatever you want immediately. I’ve seen it repeatedly. New systems cost half as much and migrating old systems costs a fraction of that. The saving in money is important but so is the saving in time. In a typical school the effort could drop from many hours per week to minutes.
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My observations and opinions about IT are based on 40 years of use in science and technology and lately, in education. I like IT that is fast, cost-effective and reliable. My first use of GNU/Linux in 2001 was so remarkably better than what I had been using, I feel it is important work to share GNU/Linux with the world. Now that I'm retired I still use GNU/Linux on every computer in my home except the smartphones which run Android/Linux.Lately, I've been giving lots of thought to the world I inherited and which I will leave to my descendants. I'm planting grass, trees, flowers and vegetables in my large lot and I've ordered a Solo EV. I plan to charge my Solo by means of a tracking solar array. Life is good if you have a purpose. I do.
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Mats Hagglund wrote, “necessary Windowsâ€.
It’s a sad fact that the majority of teachers are not computer-geeks and are ignorant of GNU/Linux. It’s like the cycle of violence in domestic abuse. The abused becomes the abusers of our children. Education is the key. Fortunately knowledge is like air and can spread but it takes time. Freedom delayed is slavery. That’s why I think it’s important for government to set the standard and require use of FLOSS in schools just as they set educational objectives for students. Too many educational organizations actively promote Wintel. Too many are officially neutral and turn a blind eye to the damage Wintel does to our children. It is simply wrong for governments to inflict M$’s EULA on children. It goes far beyond copyright rules and fairness. It is about slavery: thou shalt not connect more than 15 PCs together, thou shalt not examine the code, thou shalt not modify the code, and thou shalt allow M$ to install whatever it wants on your PC… That EULA makes students, teachers and schools dependent and should be outlawed by specifying FLOSS be used. It’s the right way to do IT and to teach and to learn.
OpinSys has done real good job changing old tired ineffective Windows at schools to much more decent, fast and cheaper alternative. Glad that big school of my old home town has made that move also.
However there is lot of work still for OpinSys and those others. Half million children and students at schools are still using that “necessary Windows” in Finland.