Re: [seul-edu] School count

["S. Barret Dolph" <white129@ms7.hinet.net>]

Please note: I have no solution for the problem. I do
know one school which opted for Linux and then was converted
by a team.

The dangerous part for  Linux promotion is the beginning. If
a school uses Linux but things are not going smoothly it would
be easy to convert the school over to commercial software. Most
schools care more about computers working than they do about
using free software or commercial software. While it is true
that the free software is obviously cheaper it is not always true
that setting up a system is cheaper. I know several places here
and in the US where the cost of setting up a school system would
be just as expensive as commercial software due to the high price
that Linux consultants charge.



Douglas Loss wrote:

> On Sun, 26 Aug 2001, S. Barret Dolph wrote:
> 
>> Sales people will use the list whether you want them to
>> or not. A school here set up a server, Msql database, and
>> some other things. The cost to them was very low to nothing.
>> Even though they could not have afforded commercial software
>> a large software company estimated the cost of replacing the
>> free software with commercial software and counted this as
>> a loss to their business. It is not the sales managers who
>> root out such items.
>> 
> 
> Two things come to mind.  First, Microsoft (let's name names)
> probably already knows about these schools.  All Jennifer's data
> are doing is giving us some of the same information.  I don't
> see why we shouldn't have access to the information too. 
> Second, if we hope to make Linux a major player in education by
> sneaking it in unnoticed, we've already lost.  Linux must (and
> will) stand on its own strengths.  What Jennifer's list will do
> is give us a better chance of refuting MS's lies about Linux in
> an educational setting.