[plug] Linux ideology (was: EduBDO/SIGfest)

[Leon Brooks]

On Sun, 25 May 2003 22:00, Chris Caston wrote:
> On Sun, 2003-05-25 at 11:56, Leon Brooks wrote:
>> The bottom line is that the children going through high school now
>> will be starting to hit decision-maker territory in less than a
>> decade. If all they've seen, all they're used to is Borgware,
>> they're not going to be making decisions anything like as
>> favourable to you and your interests and industry as they would
>> otherwise.

> Let's show the benefits to education that open source software has.
> I'd rather not go after high schools just because we have the
> superior ideology and want the world to be using Linux.

I don't think you `get it'. Read on carefully before taking umbrage.

The sad truth is that the vast majority of commercial Linux 
installations are done for one of only two reasons: up-front cost or a 
rep for security. All of the myriad other good reasons for installing 
Linux (or FOSS in general) count for naught, because the 
decision-makers don't understand them. Many Linux installations do not 
happen because the decision-makers *think* that they *do* understand  
some of the broader issues (e.g. thrown together in people's spare 
time), and are terrified of them; this is a leading ploy from Linux 
opponents.

The nett effect of this is that the single most effective way to teach 
people about Linux, to make it a big enough player that hardware 
suppliers will take it seriously and software suppliers will find it 
difficult or impossible to lock out, is to get it installed for the 
"wrong" reasons.

A better way of putting "wrong reasons" is that we should "sell" Linux 
on the advantages that matter to the decision-maker at the time, but 
equip it so that it is easy to extend the deployment when areas that 
its other advantages shine in become important.

For example, if you install a server that's basicly twiddling its 
thumbs, you might also offer to configure it as a public file-share or 
SPAM filter, or to process traffic logs on it (hello, webalizer), or to 
set up whatever it is replacing as a learning tool for their computer 
classes (PuTTY in and learn about real networking).

For some people it will always be an appliance and they'll get very 
little extra benefit out of it compared to Windows. Others (maybe one 
in 8 or 10) will start to use the extra features, learn about the power 
and flexibility, and so we will have another fellow traveller.

> A lot of parents want them to teach Windows/Office in high school
> because they believe it gives their kids a better chance of giving
> them the skills that employers want.

What will they do when Microsoft goes bankrupt?

We can't ask them that question, it's not a comprehensible possibility 
for them or even close. Big, "stable", "secure" companies don't go 
bankrupt, examples from Chrysler, Enron, etc notwithstanding - in their 
minds.

All we can do ideologically is point out that while MS-Office is 
dominant now, it won't always be that way, and "dominant" doesn't mean 
"universal". For the best chance at a job, Little Johnnie needs to 
learn about several different office suites so he won't be totally lost 
when he faces something different. He also needs learn principles 
rather than rote/recipes so he is able to cope with updates and 
unexplored areas of even the MS toolset, and the best way to do this is 
to show him several different flavours. Mention KOffice at this point 
even if your primary "sell" is OpenOffice.org.

Ditto MS-Windows vs Linux and other apps such as Kexi versus MS-Access 
or The GIMP vs Photoshop.

> So do we want Linux as an extra curricula thing for kids (that are
> interested in tech) to play around with (build servers and the like)
> on the machines that the school isn't using anymore or do we want it
> as part of the curriculum?

Both.

> How can Linux offer a wider and more satisfying course that students
> want to select when they are deciding their subjects?

See above.

> How can administration be convinced to give students the choice in
> the first place.

Linux (and FOSS in general, don't forget to sell them MOzilla, OOo etc 
on Windows too) reduces acquisition and maintenance costs. Linux allows 
them to boast about offering more choice, preparing their students 
better for the workplace.

For the relatively few students with suitable aptitude, it also provides 
an avenue to pull apart the tools that they and everyone else are using 
to find out how they work and experiment with the guts of live, 
real-world applications. Think software frog. (-:

Cheers; Leon