School teacher claims "No software is free, Linux is not legal"

David M Williams
Sunday, 14 December 2008 17:14

Opinion and Analysis

Let’s cut to the chase: immediately, when I read Karen’s words to the Helios Project it jars me how much money is wasted within schools. Budgets are tight; funding is a constant source of concern. Despite this, cash is squandered when it doesn’t have to be.

I previously presented some case studies on high schools around the world that have deployed Linux as a solution to their cash-strapped technology budgets.

In each and every case the schools found a sizeable saving. Of course, we can’t just focus on the numbers. You want to be sure the educational outcomes are preserved. After all, you could totally obliterate spending on computing if the only goal was to decrease costs without any concern for the best result for the children.

The experiences showed that Linux still prevailed. Students picked it up naturally (it was only the adults who had difficulty adjusting to something other than Windows!), the software was tremendous, virus problems disappeared, maintenance became easier and on and on.

This isn’t purely the experience of high schools; pre-schools and primary schools also have benefited from packages like GCompris.

Interestingly, the Philippines government received a tender submission to supply computers for 1,000 schools which proposed Fedora Linux. The bureaucrats were perplexed and puzzled that somebody would give away software for free.

Yet, they did not toss the proposer in jail for blatant flouting of pirated software but instead looked into the claims. As a result, they awarded the contract – and due to the money saved by not paying for licenses an additional 300 schools were catered for too!

It thus grates that Karen espoused the views she did. It is not merely a case of an individual being ignorant but rather a deeper sign of waste within the educational system simply because supposedly intelligent people do not know of, or look into, other options.

Let’s not criticise Karen personally, by any means – but there is certainly something rotten in the educational systems that foster and cultivate such opinions.

Once again, don’t get me wrong here: maybe a school or a business or a home user has evaluated Linux and has come up with good, sound reasons why Windows suits them better. That’s good and fine: it’s important to use the right tool for the job with costing being merely one of the variables in the mix. Yet, to simply think there is nothing other than Windows is outrageous in this day and age.

If operating systems can be likened to religions – and definitely it’s not uncommon to find over-zealous advocates of either – then perhaps Linux ambassadors can take a leaf out of the so-called “good book.”

Fundamentalist Christians around the world believe Jesus Christ is going to return and usher in a new age and kingdom. While attempts to set a date on just when this might happen have historically all failed a school of thought has arisen which believes Christ can’t return until every person on earth has had an opportunity to hear his message, as espoused through missionaries and evangelists.

I’m certainly not weighing in on any religious debate by any means but if this claim is to be believed then logic would suggest if Christians want Jesus to come back then they ought to be getting on with the job and spreading their news to those who haven’t heard.

Is there a message to thus of us who embrace, advocate and exhort Linux as a real alternative? Does Karen’s e-mail to Helios serve as a wake-up call that a new age of harmony and peace in the world of computing can’t come until we’ve taken the good news of FOSS to every person?