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Russian schools abandon Windows, embrace Linux
Posted by JLP on February 7th, 2007
The new year has barely started and good news for Linux and free/open source software just don’t stop coming in. This time story goes something like this. A headmaster of a school in Russia got accused of software piracy. Now Russian schools are so afraid that authorities would find unlicensed software on their computers, that they have started to look at alternative options to overpriced Windows and software for it. And Linux operating system and free and open source software is the perfect choice. Not only will they be able to stop worrying about freely copying the software around, they will also save a lot of money, get safer and more stable platform, which in addition has higher educational values. The philosophy of free access to source code, collaboration and sharing that is behind free and open source software is just a perfect fit for schools. And it is a great way to finally put an end to software piracy. Way to go Russia! More about this on CNews. And to learn more about the use of open source software in education visit K12 Open Source wiki.
February 12th, 2007 at 08:03:20
And about time I should say. Looks like MS’s monopoly is starting to slip.
February 13th, 2007 at 07:32:08
All of the software that I use at my school costs thousands of dollars a year in licensing fees and my students ask me how they can get the software. I tell my students of legitimate sources but many of these are far too expensive even for educational versions and they find alternative sources. With all the illegal educational software out there I have definitely been looking at the Open Source Linux applications on the web. Several of my students have shown interest in the Linux based OSystems. As software companies continue to put a choke hold on education I can see why Russian schools would pull the plug on Windows.