> > IMO, the first role Linux can take in schools is as a server. Many > > schools have small to medium sized networks which either don't have a > > central server or rely on a Windows server running on a too-slow > > machine. Using Linux as the server can reduce costs by both eliminating > > the need for server licenses and Microsoft CALs and allowing schools to > > use simpler machines for servers. A Linux server can also supply better > > firewalling with iptables, and can provide in-school email using > > sendmail/qmail/postfix etc. Technically innovative schools might also > > allow easy remote access for their students by deploying some kind of > > SSH-based clients to their students. >
> All those are true for every network with windows computers. I know it is :-) I just think that at the current state of Hebrew support this would be the best place to start migrating schools to Linux. I think that if a school installs a Linux server and is happy with it, it'd be easier to convince them to migrate their stations as well. If a school switches its stations to KOffice/OpenOffice right now they'll have too much trouble to consider continuing this "adventure". > > > I also think that Hebrew on Linux, as advanced as it may seem in > > comparison to the past, is still not ripe enough for high-school > > students to use, and OpenOffice and KOffice aren't ready to provide a > > complete alternative to Hebrew Word, Excel or PowerPoint -- the three > > most commonly used MSOffice applications in schools. > > Crossover office runs msoffice 2000 pretty well with full hebrew support] "Pretty well" is the key word here - you need perfect compliance IMO. And CrossOver is not free (or am I wrong?), which means you need to purchase an Office license and CrossOver, so the cost saving shrinks. > > > Here's a thought -- some schools have 15-points Computer Science > > classes. How about contacting Ort or another school which emphasizes on > > technology and proposing them to let their students help in the > > development of Hebrew support for OpenOffice/KOffice as their project? I > > don't think we can count on the Ministry of Education to support that, > > they're married to Microsoft at this point since they provide them with > > valid solutions. > > Openoffice would have full hebrew support in about 2-3 more months, > koffice support hebrew preety well, in all aspects it still has few bugs > but they are getting fixed as people notice them. gnome office of gnome > 2.2 is also rumered to have preety well hebrew support. > I hope you're right. BIDI editing support is not a simple task. > I think that schools with no money would be easier to be convinced > there are a lot of them in israel. > > schools which like technology already has linux networks, > (like some schools at ort network) I didn't know that. What is Linux used for in these schools? Alon. ================================================================= To unsubscribe, send mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the word "unsubscribe" in the message body, e.g., run the command echo unsubscribe | mail [EMAIL PROTECTED]
