--- Richard Smedley <richard.smedley03@ntlworld.com> wrote:
Ah - thanks for that. The situation seems quite depressing :-( When my contemporaries went off to college, *nix was the default choice. What subject are you reading, and at which university?
I am reading [1] Software Engineering, at Southampton Solent University. I am in my final year, thank God.
Apparently LXF readers want to know the buying practices of UK educational institutions; their patterns of OS and software
I'd be interested to know where and how such ""information"" is sourced and collated, as I fail to believe that to be their primary interest.
use; what pressures they are under; and what budget restrictions; how they are grouped (in a university's case, whether policy is set across depts, or across the entire institution); what's the budget; what versions of MS windows and office are still in use?
I can only speak for the Faculty of Technology. Within that department, there is a number of courses (which oddly enough somehow includes fashion-related course --- don't ask) that are predominently IT-based. Of course, the de fact o OS is MS-Window 2000+ (i.e. 2000 is the minimum, with a majority of the computers running XP where the spec of the PC is enough to handle it). Campus-wide policy is held such that all staff PCs and student PCs will run a windows OS, because external examiner guidelines as well as lecturer's preferences are to use MS-products --- for no other reason that that's what they were "trained" and used to using. But the Faculty of Technology is different in that they do to an extent operate a small subset of the campus network in isolation from it. This has come to be my "home" for the past five years that I have been unlucky enough to be in further/higher/whatever the hell they call it nowadays education. It acts like any other computer in that you wouldn't realise it was separate. All the computer labs have modern PCs running XP, etc. The reason that was done was so that programming languages could be taught up there, specialist software with minimal site-licenses could be used up there, etc. But it is still a very MS-dominant University. A former lecturer (who has now left, alas) and I, were looking into setting up and distributing a VNC-server <--> VNC-clinet infrastucture within this subset. That's still pending -- the results of which were demoed to the BCS at a meeting in October of last year. It looks promising, and it's about *time*. Budget wise...hmm. I couldn't say. What I do know is that each faculty has an injected sum of money per year, and then they have to "bid" for various things, such as PC equipment, etc. I think the Faculty of Technology is releasing two things: 1. That Linux is a consideration for prospective students joining the University. 2. The costs of its use within education as a teaching aid, etc., is a serious viable alternative. I'll ignore point 1., as that's something this list (inculding myself) have covered to death in the past. Point two however is self-explanatory. A report by the vice-chancellor of the University, stated that Linux is being "looked into" (as of last year) to see where it could be used. Open Office is now installed on all PCs around the University -- the first precedented FOSS application to be in wide-spread use, if the student so wishes to use it -- the stronghold, alas, is still with MS-office. But allowing student to see, or use Linux would be an advantage. The government is wanting more and more people to buy into IT as a career. It would be nice if those at University could use it -- or at least see it, to say that have.
I'm also interested in what needs to be done to change things?
Slapping the government around with a wet fish ought to do it. There's not a lot you _can_ do to change things. What is it you're wanting to change, exactly? People don't _like_ change, Richard. They react badly to it; treat it with disdain and contempt. Seemingly switching over to Linux, albeit gradual or otherwise is almost always going to annoy people, such that they'll see it as a ramned-down-your-throat alternative to Microsoft. Whilst having one or two schools doing 'interesting' things is a nice thing to do -- do you really think that's going to change much? Sure, there's the argument of: If you don't try, you'll never know, etc., etc. But ultimately there needs to be more ralling at the Council level (if you're talking about compulsory education) or God only knows where for higher education.
Where can influence be exerted? What can individuals do?
See above.
The example of the BCS's blessing from the above-mentioned thread was very interesting.
That still stands. -- Thomas Adam ___________________________________________________________ 24 FIFA World Cup tickets to be won with Yahoo! Mail http://uk.mail.yahoo.com