On Tue, Mar 20, 2001 at 02:26:14AM +0000, Michael Brown wrote:
Back to more interesting and practical matters:
As promised, here is a (brief) summary of the key points from the OSIE presentation of last Monday. Please do read the end of this e-mail, even if you skip the details of the presentation - there is important information at the bottom.
(NB: "Linux" is used as an abbreviation for "Linux and other free, open-source software" throughout)
1) Why should schools use Linux? - Cost - no licence fees - plays nicely in a thin-client setup (a la LTSP) - lower maintenance costs - easy to automate routine admin tasks - easily administered remotely - Reliability and security - UNIX has been multi-user for many years - software generally co-operates well with other software - security built-in right down to desktop level - Some "killer" applications (e.g. LyX, GIMP, Octave, Apache) - Comprehensive - includes functionality that schools may not want when starting, but it's already in place for when they do want it (e.g. database server) - Freedom - easier for schools to get improvements made to open-source software
- Adheres to open standards & protocols - avoids vendor lock-in I don't know if that was mentioned but perhaps it should be, as IMO it's one of the most important reasons for anyone to use Linux. -- Frank *-------*-----*-----*-----*-----*-----*-----*-----*-----*-------* | Boroughbridge | Tel: 01423 323019 | PGP keyID: 0xC0B341A3 | *-------*-----*-----*-----*-----*-----*-----*-----*-----*-------* http://www.esperance-linux.co.uk/