Re: non-free?
fredag 26. mars 2004, 12:29, skrev Hilaire Fernandes:
> Can't the non-free software be moved in an additionnal non-free
> CD-ROM? That way we could keep happy everyone.
Would it? This is not about happy. It's about suitability. If the
teacher loses the CD, they will find the correct CD, not the #2. One CD
is easy to distribute in a computer magazine. The one CD strategy is
about simplicity.
When introducing 2 or more CD's we complicate the road to or main goal.
Instead of just installing the system, we have to switch CD's and so
on. We get stuck in questions about how to download two CD. The
voluntary acceptance of Skolelinux should give us some credit here :-)
http://www.skolelinux.no/testskoler/map/skolelinux-norway.png
Why this choice? We have some experience with what questions we will get
if we introduce an other CD just because of some political issues. We
don't want that kind of questions because we have a greater cause. We
aren't against a lot of software vendors, we are strongly committed to
support free software and spread it out.
Opera shows how to include others that don't follows the open source
business model. Every time somebody attack Skolelinux to be to
idealistic and bad for business in a MS FUD-way (and believe me they do
even if their own job is more in jeopardy bacause of huge governmental
tax-cuts which cut's a lot of jobs in public sector), we just answer
that Microsoft is invited to do the same as Opera: to make their
product runnable on Free Software with open standards.
We don't know why this is so difficult for a company with Microsoft
resources when a small Norwegian company does it? In our perspective
the Microsoft-FUD will be stopped at the doorstep and we can advance
further with installing Skolelinux beyond the Windows-Joe's objections.
In that way it's more easy to fight down the local ICT-managers who are
more interested in doing their job for Microsoft than for their users
(costumers).
We are not against everybody else. We are strongly supporter of free
software to solve the needs in education. We have some ideas and
practice on the methods in doing that without a lot of external effort
with almost no money. In that respect I think the advice from Petter
and Andreas should be followed. In that way we don't confirme the
Windows-Joe's loudmouthed FUD by enforce unpractialities when
distributing the Skolelinux CD. We just ask the question why Microsoft
don't when Opera does?
The most important question for us just now is to close bugs ... I cant
see your name in the effort in making Skolelinux better with testing
and bug-squashing activities. You effort will be appreciated!
http://lwn.net/Articles/47510/
http://edu.kde.org/interviews/skolelinux.php
- Knut Yrvin
Projectmanager Skolelinux Norway
Reply to: