Linux Fits in Education
Quentin Hartman
From the desktop to the server room, there is a place
for Linux in nearly any educational institution, large or small. The
flexibility, stability, and cost savings Linux offers is compelling. With
the right skills and careful planning, things that were impossible become
possible, and formerly daunting tasks become simple.
This is particularly true in small and medium-sized
K-12 institutions where IT budgets are often woefully insufficient. For
example, the annual technology budget I worked with most recently for
equipment, maintenance, ink and toner, telephone systems, and software
costs amounted to just under $30 per student, or $50 per workstation. With
the needs of staff and students and the expectations now put on technology
this isn't a lot to work with. Stretching every penny is absolutely
required.
Linux helps stretch that money. Not only is there
direct savings to be had in the form of license fees that need not be paid
for a variety of software, there are indirect savings in the form of lower
maintenance and lengthened hardware life cycles. The best part of all this
is that the barrier to entry is significantly lower than many people expect
and educational institutions can begin realizing some of these savings even
if their IT staff has little or no Linux or Unix experience.
Linux on the Desktop
"Linux on the desktop" has been the
subject of countless articles, discussions, and flame wars over the years.
Both sides have strong arguments in the right context. That's the
key, context. I often characterize Linux on the desktop as a "95%
solution", meaning that for 95% of the people 95% of the time, it
works just fine.
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