Windows 7 enabled netbooks for schools to include open source software
- 26 August, 2009 15:37
- Comments 26
The 267,000 Windows 7 based netbooks that the NSW Government has started rolling out to high schools will come pre-installed with open source software.
The initial roll out that began today will see the 70,000 Year 9 students in NSW schools each receive a Windows 7 enabled Lenovo IdeaPad S10e by the end of this year.
Over the next four years, each Year 9 student will receive one of the devices as a gift, which they can keep once they have left school. A total 267,000 netbooks will be handed out over the course of the program, which is part of the Rudd Government’s $2.2 billion Digital Education Revolution.
Many spokespeople from the free and open source software community feel that a Linux-based operating system would have been a better choice for students in Australia, but the netbooks will be pre-installed with a variety of open source software.
A spokesperson from the NSW department of Education and Training (DET) today confirmed that GeoGebra, Dia, Audacity, Freemind and MuseScore would all be included on the devices.
Even so, open source consultant, Jeff Waugh, said that while putting computers in the hands of high schoolers is a fantastic step forward, many in the Open Source industry and community are disappointed that the NSW DET chose to use Windows 7 as its platform.
“The NSW DET didn't take this opportunity to leap into the future with a platform that encourages sharing, collaboration, ingenuity and learning,” he said.
Although other States and Territories are yet to announce comparable plans, a Microsoft Australia spokesperson said the company is confident that others will follow suit and roll out Windows 7 enabled devices to students as part of the Digital Education Revolution.
Waugh agrees that this is likely.
“Now NSW has done it, I'm sure other states will continue to see Windows as the 'safe option' — but perhaps we'll see a bit of classic state-vs-state competitive innovation strike Victoria, Queensland or South Australia,” he said.
A spokesperson from the ACT Department of Education and Training said that the ACT does not have any comparable plans in place at the moment.
Waugh said the roll out sent a strong message to the open source software community.
“As ever, those of us keen to see open source platforms succeed in desktop deployments must work harder to remind ICT decision makers that another path exists and that in many cases its benefits outweigh the perceived risks,” he said.
“There was a slam dunk to be had with NSW DET — they were certainly looking seriously at Linux platforms — but vendors didn't provide the answers or comfort they were looking for.”
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Comments
Anonymous
Windows 7 is a better choice because NSW does not want to educate a generation of computer designers or builders, they just want to educate a generation of computer users and consumers.
Anonymous
My Year 7 'computer user and consumer' has access to Mac, Linux and Windows machines. His personal choice for schoolwork is Ubuntu. His friends can't find the 'start' button. <shrug>
Anonymous
It has never been about educating future gen of computer designers, builders, users and consumers. It's about putting the current govt back in next election. Try using one and u'll see why taxpayers money have been wasted!
Anonymous
Windows is for students who "copy someone elses work" and have an "It can't be done any other way" mentality.
Anonymous
If they had gone with a Linux based system they could have saved the country close to a $1 billion in Microsoft licencing fees - do our governments ever think?
Phill
I think part of the problem with the Linux tenders was that they were represented by hardware vendors pushing Linux to increase their profit on the units, rather than pushing Linux because they believed in it or had the right answers.
Its a shame, between home and work we have several laptops running every major OS, and by far the best I have used on a Netbook is Ubuntu NBR.
But the DETs skills also come in to play. Educating teachers, IT admins etc in Linux and taking steps to ease their fears would likely have proven more expensive than Windows anyway.
Anonymous
I'm glad our kids are learning to use the same tools they need to use in the real world, instead of going for the cheap dream option.
Sam Russo
Hi Kelly,
As I was doing my
Hi Kelly,
As I was doing my morning reading I came across this article. Thought you'd like it to read it as well.
Sam
Anonymous
267,000 more potential botnet candidates.
2.2 Billion wasted on the most insecure OS of all time.
Great decision NSW Government. Perhaps if you'd taken a step forward other States would have followed and in the future we'd have a generation of computer software free of security problems, resource issues, stability problems and all at reasonable pricing.
Allowing Microsoft this contract is criminally negligent.
Anonymous
Speak for yourself mate... In the real world of Mission Critical IT Infrastructure, there is hardly any Windows
lying around
Anonymous
Most work places use windows. Giving students windows is the right decision. Giving them linux would have trained them to use a computer they will never see in the working place unless they are a select few computer people.
I support Linux , but I"m not a "rabid Linixian" I'm well aware that sometimes it is the wrong choice. And this is one of those times.
Anonymous
That is the most flawed logic I've heard in a long time.
When I learned computing I learned Word processing, spreadsheeting, graphical design. All concepts computing was suited for. Forcing Word and Excel on children is the most restrictive "teaching" method you could choose. Children should be learning concepts, not programs. Exposure to Linux in Education and Windows in other areas gives a student double the exposure, twice the education, and the ability to discern quality.
Just because the average person is thick enough to think that "Word experience" is good for a job these doesn't mean it always has to be that way, and it most certainly shouldn't be that way.
Stomfi
The big Linux problem for educators is the shell tools.
With this tool set students can create program scripts that can automate much of their and other's work instead of learning how to point and click in single user Microsoft fashion.
Where will increased employment be if students learn how to be more productive on Linux and write scripts that can put others out of work.
Stick to Microsoft's old '80s system and protect future employment and the jobs of all those MSCEs. Don't look forward to the 21st century, otherwise we might give our children the means to be cleverer than today's average Windows user.
typek_pb
I'm disappointed they chose windows :(
Linux powered would be cheaper for sure and would provide future independant from one company only dependant black-box operating system.
Anonymous
Corruption in Education? The only reason I would think that made them select Windows 7 as a platform, is that Microsoft paid them to do so. I wonder who's wallet is a lot thicker today thanks to the deal.
GregE
You have heard of OLPC
This
You have heard of OLPC
This is OVPC, the One Virus per Child project. I bet most will get a whole lot more than one.
Anonymous
Should have gone with Linux imo.
Anonymous
Excellent use of Australian education resources. The less intelligent students will be able to get jobs dressed up as paperclips, and the more intelligent can do data entry.
James
It's all good and fine for those in IT or hobbyists to use Linux, but to expect a school student who more than likely will get a job outside of IT to use an OS that they are unfamiliar with is just plain dumb. As others have said outside of IT people really don't use Linux. You go into any office and more than likely they will still be running Windows XP. Sure they may have Linux on the servers but 99% of people in that office wouldn't have anything to do with them.
Not that I have anything against Linux, I think its great. You have to be realistic though. I love how people (that obviously don't know) assume that companies or the government doesn't do detailed cost analysis when purchasing computers and software. Do you really believe that the government is just going to ask someones oppinion of the 2 OSs and go with his/her choice when spending billions of dollars? You have to give the government a little credit. As it says in the article they looked at both options.
In case you didn't know when doing volume licensing Windows is not nearly as expensive as it is retail.
JB
HyRax
Back in my late primary and early secondary school days there were Commodore 64's, Apples, Amstrad's and Amiga's. It didn't matter which platform you used because you learned about computing CONCEPTS which could be applied to ANY platform. You were never taught specifically how to use program "X" or operating system "Y".
Why do we teach this narrow-mindedness today? Why are we limiting our kids to a dependency on an American Megacorporation like Microsoft? Even worse is that this dependency is on the single most insecure, bloated and badly written operating systems every conceived.
Unfortunately I daresay the DET has gone in the direction of Microsoft not only because they were probably offered cheap licensing, but also probably because they were offered free technical support. Of course had they gone another route, there's less need for technical support because things don't break on a regular basis under Linux and OS X like they do under Windows.
My hats are off to the school IT admins who will be tearing their heads out dealing with the ongoing malware and virus issues on the school network instead of spending that time educating our kids.
Frustrated Teacher
If you have decision makers, who act as computer coordinators, just "discovering email could be used for teaching in June 2009!", then what do you expect? These are the idiots who make decisions about new technology and what is blocked. Laptops cannot be used effectively because we have idiots who will prevent us from effectively using the laptops. Remember the "Whiteboard saga" how many schools actually use the whiteboard now. Ask your kids.
Anonymous
Sorry but LINUX to.. Most of the critical system use UNIX.....
Anonymous
Linux is too most insecure OS of all time. BSD systems are secure.
Anonymous
Obviously the DET wanted their students to be productive which is why they chose Windows. When these students enter the workforce they will also be able to use the business systems that companies world wide are running on Windows as well.
Its about time all these self centres "open source" linux fanatics gave up their crusade. The world has already decided it wants Windows. They want something that "just works" has any application they want available, is supportable by their IT departments, and their fellow co-workers.
Linux is and always will be a niche product for tech-heads, and only a small minority of tech-heads at that.
Anonymous
With little to no hardware/driver support, minimal software support and what is out there is not compatible with the vast majority of windows users (regardless of claims by linux fanatics that it is).
Linux fanatics are always going to be disappointed, because the world at large doesn't care less about it, and couldn't be bothered attempting to be their own software programmer and hardware engineer, just so they can run a program and work out why it keeps coming up with inane error messages. The world at large wants something that "just works".
Also is secure. Microsoft made a huge error when it listened to linux fanatics and turned on UAC is Vista, this was one major reason Vista failed. Now that they are moving back to a "user friendly" Windows 7 that helps its users rather than frustrates them and it will be a huge success.
This is the same reason Linux always fails. 99% of the population can't use it haven't got a clue how to make it work, and have no inclination to spend their lifetime trying to figure out an arcane, unfriendly, unproductive operating system.
Anonymous
The choice of Windows was clear cut the more obvious and better choice. Imagine a generation of children who have grown up with Windows, most of who are a computer enthusiast and as such wouldn't care about Linux or even understand it, getting a netbook that didn't have Windows. It would be the blunder of the century.
In response to Windows being the most insecure system, of course you believe it's the most insecure system. It's the most used system, and as such, the most targeted system. Imagine if OSX was the most used, wouldn't that then be the most insecure, because hackers and virus makers would be trying to break into those computers instead. The same idea goes with Linux based computers. On that note, Apple release almost as many bug and security fixes as Microsoft does, so what does that mean?
The corporate deal that Microsoft does with the DET makes Windows by far (in the long run) the cheapest choice, what with the added Tech Support by the actual company that makes the product, something many Linux systems would be hard pressed to provide.
As someone else has mentioned above, Windows is the system that people are going to have to know how to use, because in the real world, where people aren't all computer techies working at big IT firms, they're using Windows, or its arch rival, Mac, which are both becoming rather similar.
So looking from a practical point of view, which the DET have already done, Windows 7 (which has been designed with netbooks in mind) is the better choice for school students.
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