Daniel Pittman wrote:
Heracles <herac...@iprimus.com.au> writes:
I spent a great deal of time over the last few years trying to get parts
of the DET to look at free software with little effect. I found three
major hurdles.
1. The unfounded belief that anything free must be second rate
2. The complete reliance on their Microsoft trained advisers
3. The argument that the students will only ever encounter MS based
software in the workplace (also based on their advisers).
I know that these are bogus arguments, but the powers that be are
convinced that they are true.
You have a more liberal department than many of the Victorian
equivalents, then. Down here cause number one, of one, is that the
contractual agreement that gets them Microsoft software at reasonable
price also explicitly excludes them using any alternative OS.
IIRC, this is usually by billing for a copy of Windows to run on
everything, regardless of what actually runs on it, so the cost of Linux
is now hardware + Windows + Linux, no savings available.
It looks like it could be worse than that:
> Mr Rees said that this means students will have their own access to all the
programs commonly found in the modern office workplace, including Word, Excel
and Power Point.
>
> "The deal with Microsoft is a world-first in student licensing, based on a
per student approach rather than licensing per device.
<http://www.premier.nsw.gov.au/Newsroom/Articles/2009/April/090401_The_digital_education_revolution_is_here.html>
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Marghanita da Cruz
http://www.ramin.com.au
Phone: (+61)0414 869202
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