[Lias] windows apps in schools (was: netNOW article)

[Simon Bryan]

I like Linux for many reasons, but my job is to support teachers in my
school to get the best results for their students. If there are Windows apps
that do this job better than anything on Linux then I have a responsibility
to ensure that they remain available. My approach for a long time has to not
try and replace Windows with Linux - as the discussion here has shown it
won't work. Rather introduce Linux doing the things it does well - servers,
a use of legacy machines for  a limite range of apps, web based
applications, email clients, simple drawing packages (our TAS department
have long looked for a simple Gantt chart creator - I just found the default
one in RH).

What other apps run on Linux well, are NEW to teachers and can easily be
setup and managed on a Linux workstation? This is not a rhetorical question!

Get them used to running Linux for certain tasks (dual boot machines?)
Modern machines boot fast enough into Linux or Windows to make that
practical. Then when they start asking can I run that Windows app in this
machine - you either offer an alternative or test that one under WINE.

With the 100 apps you distribute, have you done any checking as to how much
they actually get used? Of course many of them are 'seasonal', that is
related to certain aspects of the curriculum. Perhaps even a mapping over
the year as to where the software is used (a use for a Gantt chart?)

> -----Original Message-----
> From: lias-admin at lists.linux.org.au
> [mailto:lias-admin at lists.linux.org.au]On Behalf Of Leon Brooks
> Sent: Sun, 27. April 2003 11:22 AM
> To: lias at lists.linux.org.au
> Cc: allies at lists.linux.org.au
> Subject: Re: [Lias] windows apps in schools (was: netNOW article)
>
>
> [crossposted to ALLIES because I think it's important enough]
>
> On Sun, 27 Apr 2003 07:41, Ian Ralph wrote:
> > A few minutes ago I did a quick count and there are 100  Windows
> > applications (not including Web based apps, "office" apps or web
> > browsers) that we distribute for staff and students at my school.
>
> Really, the only reasonable prospect for coping with a load like that is
> to run the vast majority of them through WINE. Even finding someone
> with the time to do as little as throw each at WINE and see how far it
> gets would involve several full-time man-months. Which I ain't got and
> I expect none of you do either.
>
> Does anyone know of a suitably motivated retiree who would start on this
> and document what they're doing?
>
> A retiree would be more likely to have the patience to do it well, and
> the time to actually do it, and having a worthwhile project like this
> on their plate *will* improve their life expectancy.
>
> Cheers; Leon
>
> --
> http://cyberknights.com.au/     Modern tools; traditional dedication
> http://plug.linux.org.au/       Committee Member, Perth Linux User Group
> http://slpwa.asn.au/            Committee Member, Linux Professionals WA
> http://linux.org.au/            Committee Member, Linux Australia
>
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