Re:No! This is awful! (Score 1)

Interesting thought. Here was my evperience today from a middle school running 2 Linux servers (proxy/communication, one file/user network authentication). These are students (grades 6-8) who just moved from Apple to Win 98 boxes with far fewer problems than the teaching staff. They were researching carreers while I was busily installing Dual boot RH Linux and win 98 capabilities on the machines. They were having an argument on how to spell Linux. One of the 6th graders is teaching himself at home. I wandered over and told him what I was doing. He eagerly agreed to be one of my desktop testers. How do they save M$Word Documents? Simple. we have Star Office installed on both Desktop OS's. It will save all documents that students would be able to create, and it saves them as MS word, to be pulled up on a Mac or Windows platforms. We've already tackled the platform war. and trained students that the software that is running is the main issue. If you know how a computer works and how to use logic and reason, you can figure out how to use any Office suite (Oh, they use AppleWorks too!) So far, students have learned from the Linux on the district servers (all 25 of them, with 10,000 users), that: 1) Linux saved enough money to let the district buy 2 labs full of "real" computers. 2) Linux doesn't crash the server everytime an entire class saves hyperstudio projects at once. They brought down the NT server last year, when the recieved timeouts. It appears that Linux has less overhead on the same hardware. 3) The quickest way to speed up logins is to install Linux. 4) Zero Administration is a marketing ploy aimed at executives wanting to remove IT staff. An enterprise network has thousands of parts and individual users. A well designed network and an OS that has been tested by a large number of people before release will help reduce downtime, but not eliminate it. The district does have an RHCE on the staff of the network conultants and the students have picked him as the head geek and ask him all kinds of questions that they get from their home Linux systems. They have become so interested that they want to the school to offer an RHCE program. The RHCE300 test is real life server trouble shooting and setup, rather than an electronic pencil and paper test. If you want the opportunity to see what students can do, Ford Middle School in Brookpark, Ohio, will be the host site for a Linux in schools presentation. We'll be reviewing the Linux servers and desktops in schools, warts and all. Sandy McGuire, System Administrator, Berea City School District, SSNI