Detroit high school opens its desktops (NewsForge) [LWN.net]

Detroit high school opens its desktops (NewsForge)

Posted May 27, 2005 3:44 UTC (Fri) by jtc (guest, #6246)
In reply to: Detroit high school opens its desktops (NewsForge) by unleashedgamers
Parent article: Detroit high school opens its desktops (NewsForge)

"I wish my school had at least 1 linux (or mac) computer. ..."

Why don't you take things into your own hands and get permission from the appropriate person to install Linux on a few of those school computers. If they're too attached to their windows installations to allow them to be replaced by Linux, you could find a cheap hard drive on ebay, install it in one of the PCs as a 2nd drive, install Linux on it with a dual-boot setup and show them how much more stable it is. Pick one of the more unstable PCs to heighten the contrast. They might be impressed enough to let you install Linux on several computers. [If it's on the network, set up a good firewall so that it doesn't get cracked - That would give a bac impression :-)]

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Detroit high school opens its desktops (NewsForge)

Posted May 27, 2005 5:13 UTC (Fri) by unleashedgamers (guest, #27549) [Link] (2 responses)

Lol :-) I have tried, I have offered (and pleaded) all the options you mentioned including offering whole computers paid for completly by me (VFXWeb.com is where i would have got them)

They don't really care about the computers as long as they have them, it allows them to tell the parents that "This school is ready for the future with over 300 computers for the students to use"

Detroit high school opens its desktops (NewsForge)

Posted May 27, 2005 12:36 UTC (Fri) by huffd (guest, #10382) [Link] (1 responses)

In my situation I donated the computer to the classroom where my wife taught. Often the children would fight over using the Linux computer because it "always worked" and they said that the other one was a piece of.. [well children say the darndest things].

There was never a training issue with any of the children.

Detroit high school opens its desktops (NewsForge)

Posted May 27, 2005 15:56 UTC (Fri) by madscientist (subscriber, #16861) [Link]

> [well children say the darndest things]

Heh. If you ask either of my kids "and what do we think about Windows?" they will dutifully intone: "Windows is crap" :-)

This comes because I gave them my old system when I got a new one, that still had a dual boot Windows partition on it. They use exclusively Windows on it now (but they use FireFox/OpenOffice/etc.) because they have so many games that run under Windows (although my son is always asking to use my system so he can play Blobwars and Starfighter... I don't have a good enough graphics card for any of the GL games). Anyway, when their system breaks (which it often does), they have to stand there and listen to me rant as my fee for fixing it for them. I just don't want them to grow up accepting "crappiness" as "just the way things are".