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Re: How bandwidth requirement could be reduced when using thin clients?



Knut Yrvin wrote:

In Norway the the Norwegian Competition Authority has instructed the Directorate for Primary and Secondary Education to support open standards in education. The Directorate are also investigated for supporting[1] Microsoft by flooding schools with free copies of software behemoth Microsoft's programs. In a meeting with Skolelinux 1th of september the Directorate promised[2] to give 100% support to schools that uses Skolelinux. So the tables has turned. They who don't support free software has to explain them self to the Competition Authority. They who recomended us to take contact with the Competition Authority was the Ministry of Transport and Communications.

Theres a similar investigation in the UK, with the Microsoft in Schools agreement coming under scrutiny, but TBH I dont see much coming of it for years yet. As the powers that be are quite content to buy 2003 server at £60 a go, were using the approach of 'Teach Computing, not Teach Microsoft'.


When it comes to user evaluation of Skolelinux, The municipal department of education in Oslo has tested Skolelinux at three schools. They report the same as Statskonsult that says[3]: Skolelinux is a good product for the schools, satisfying all of the main needs of the schools. It is inexpensive, stable and can be used together with varous learning platforms and learning portals. Using thin clients, Skolelinux in a school environment is less expensive to acquire and operate than different Windows versions.
  [...]
According to our evaluation, Skolelinux is well suited for use in the school.

I'd be very interested to hear how you handled the training issues with the staff, this has been our major sticking point with the adoption.

Regards,

Ben
--
On two occasions I have been asked [by members of Parliament], 'Pray, Mr. Babbage, if you put into the machine wrong figures, will the right answers come out?' I am not able rightly to apprehend the kind of confusion of ideas that could provoke such a question.

Charles Babbage



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