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Suhit Anantula's Library tagged linux →  View Popular

27 Jan 09

» Windows kicks Linux to the curb | Storage Bits | ZDNet.com

  • This is as it should be: operating systems are becoming commodities, like a cell phone OS. The real innovation will be in netbook pricing models and new applications.

iTWire - Only Linux can deliver 1 million school laptops within budget: systint

  • he solution, in summary:



    1)  Each pair of students is provided with a new netbook (ie. Eee PC, Aspire One, Dell Mini 9, etc. style laptop).



    2)  Each individual student is given a 2-4GB USB key, which has a 
    self-booting Linux OS and all the core apps they need. This greatly
    reduces ongoing IT tech support costs as the software is easy to
    'install', update and 'revive'. Simply remove the old or 
    non-functioning USB key, pop in the new one, and reboot.



    3)  The students store all their data on the USB key, and sync that
    data with a central server. They can access this data through a
    web-interface, ie, the school Intranet or Learning Management System
    (eg. Moodle or LAMS, both of which are free software).
  • 4)  The school's existing wireless/wired network is used for
    connectivity, so no additional cabling is needed. The school's existing
    power sockets are used to recharge the netbooks; no additional power
    resources are needed.



    5)  If "anything" goes wrong with the operating system or applications,
    the student's USB key is re-imaged with a fresh OS/apps copy, and their
    data is fetched from the central Intranet server.



    6)  If the student forgets their USB key at home, they can be issued a 
    temporary one, and their 'data' is always available via the school's
    file-store Intranet.



    7)  The USB system and application image comes bundled with hundreds of
    free and open source applications (eg, Firefox, OpenOffice.org etc),
    for all manner of school and educational requirements: Maths, Science,
    Geography, Music theory, Multimedia and Languages.
  • 1 more annotations...
29 Oct 08

The Race to Instant-On Computers Begins - Bits Blog - NYTimes.com

  • People have grown used to smartphones, which give them e-mail in a flash. Often they don’t really need Windows software to communicate, surf the Internet or even do work. They want the Web, and they want it now.

NSW considers giving students Linux laptops | Australian IT

  • NSW secondary school students could be issued with $56 million worth of Linux-based laptops as part of Kevin Rudd's digital education revolution.



    The state wants government secondary school students to tote around computers built specifically for the education market.


    Jim McAlpine, NSW Secondary Principals' Council president, said sellers could look at offering non-proprietary software for the laptops, such as Edubuntu, the education version of popular Linux distribution Ubuntu.


    "The laptops can run on an open source operating system with a suite of open source applications like those packaged under Edubuntu.


    "This would include Open Office for productivity software, Gimp for picture editing and the Firefox internet browser.

07 Oct 08

Linux laptops see 4x returns compared to Windows | Hardware 2.0 | ZDNet.com

  • So, people are attracted by the price, get the machine home, unpack it and fire it up. They then quickly figure out that the system isn’t booting up into Windows as expected and realize that while the price is right, they’d rather pay more for what they are used to. Put another way, what’s happening is that the wrong kind of users are being attracted to these machines based solely on price, but these folks aren’t willing to put in the effort to learn how to use Linux and find free alternatives to the software that they are used to paying for.

  • I can find nothing to indicate that these netbooks are being bought exclusively by “early adopters who are far more technically sophisticated than average.” These netbooks are dirt cheap and I think that this makes the device attractive to average users - if these devices were aimed at early adopters I’d expect the price to be a lot higher.


    Ed also mentions “rough edges and usability gotchas” but I think that we need to be careful here - we have no data relating to why the Linux systems are being returned.

25 Sep 08

Microsoft: Windows and Linux offer same TCO in emerging markets | All about Microsoft | ZDNet.com

  • Utzschneider continued:


    “For me, the huge, eye-opening takeaway from this work isn’t that Windows and Linux cost about the same to put into school labs in poor countries, it’s that the 5 year cost of ownership for doing so is about $2,700.”


    Utzschneider that the cost of electricity, training, repairs, infrastructure problems are all contributing to this unacceptable figure. The Vital Wave study offered a couple of solutions for helping control this chaos, he said, including increasing management/automation via the introduction of servers.


    So far, Microsoft has been focusing primarily on getting Windows PCs and Windows Mobile phones into emerging markets. But just this week, Bill Laing, Microsoft’s Corporate Vice President of Windows Server and Solutions mentioned to me that Microsoft was evaluating whether introducing some type of Windows Server configuration spcifically tailored for emerging market audiences would make sense.


    Who knows… maybe OSPS (One Server Per School) will be the next Linux/Windows battleground in the emerging-market space….

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