[seul-edu] School count

[Colin Dellow <plarf@moo.ca>]

Hi Jennifer,

In my district, zero of the schools use linux in any form.  Despite the fact
that they don't know it, that will soon be changing. *grin*  I hope to
introduce them to linux as a replacement fileserver in the coming year.

My viewpoint, by the way, is that of a student of the school, and as a Linux
enthusiast.  You need to convince them that Linux will enhance their computing
environment.  In my case, I intend to point to the instability of the Mac
fileserver as the catalyst for using Linux, and then back that up with the
following:

Linux adheres closely to standards -- open and closed.  It can talk AppleTalk
for the Mac computers and Samba for the Windows users.  Theoretically, this
frees the school's choices in hardware purchases down the road -- they can buy
Windows boxes and Mac boxes, confident that both types will be able to retrieve
networked files.

Linux is inexpensive (actually, it's free!).

Linux can run on cheap (and in some cases, free! ;) hardware.  As a result of
the ability to run linux in command-line mode, you don't need the extra CPU and
RAM required for a GUI.  Translation: Cheap deployment.


The last sticking point is that of the "comfort zone".  If your school has a
dedicated tech person, this shouldn't be an issue.  If you rely on the teachers
to maintain the computer network, this might be problematic.

Anyway, those are the bare bones of support for Linux that apply to any sort of
deployment in a school.  If you could be more specific about the deployment
that you are planning to write about, I'd happily provide more feedback.

(The cost is a _big_ thing, in my opinion.  A year ago, my school asked me to
help them write up a proposal for a grant.  $50,000 dollars (Canadian, granted)
translated into something like 25 computers.  With Linux, $50,000 dollars spent
wisely could easily net a person 60 computers.)


 --
-- Colin Dellow
	plarf@moo.ca  - "Programming is like sex: one mistake and you
			 have to support it for the rest of your life."
			 	- Michael Sinz