Thursday, July 20, 2006

Brandon Elementary transformed by K12LTSP

Two parent volunteers at an Atlanta district school have revolutionized technology use there by replacing Windows workstations with Linux on thin clients, using K12LTSP

Having Linux on the desktop has been a shot in the arm for the school in many ways. Howard and Fragakis estimate that installing used hardware with a cost-free operating system saved Brandon Elementary 90% of what it would have cost to install Windows XP PCs, and that doesn't include savings on operational and support costs. But the biggest benefit can't be counted in dollars.

"It was really nice to have desktops that were simply up, and issues being resolved in moments." The two have received "stacks" of thank you notes from teachers and students for the luxury of having computers that "just work."


Tina Gasperson reports in this article in Newsforge

Wednesday, July 12, 2006

Free Computer Based Training for OpenOffice.org

I will certainly be the first to admit that I like free, whether it is free (libre) as in free speech or free (gratis) as in free beer. ( For more on free, read The Free Software Definition at http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/free-sw.html )

That is why I was quite excited to find free computer-based training for free software while out surfing on the web recently.

The OO.CBT is free computer-based training for OpenOffice.org 2.0 which is available free at http://www.openoffice.org/

OpenOffice.org 2.0 is a multiplatform and multilingual office suite and an open-source project. Compatible with all other major office suites, the product is free to download, use, and distribute.

OO.CBT is an online training portal developed for OpenOffice.org 2.0 users.

International Organization for Standardization (ISO) has officially approved the OpenDocument Format (ODF) as an international standard in May 2006. This marks an important milestone in the effort to help governments solve the very real problem of finding a better way to preserve, access and control their documents now and in the future.

OpenOffice.org is the most popular application today that supports ODF. We forsee an upcoming wave of OpenOffice.org users coming on board to join the growing OpenOffice.org community. However, there are several obstacles that non-OpenOffice users face when switching over from MS Office to OpenOffice.org, with retraining cost often cited as one of the top concerns. The amount of time and money to be spent on classroom based retraining are considerable, and there is a fixed range of time period where one can opt in for the training. This is one of the fundamental reasons why Resolvo Systems decides to build this online DIY training portal where one can learn at his convenience.

Check out these free resources today.

Tuesday, July 11, 2006

About TOSEF (re-post of Introduction)

As an Open Source Advocate, one of my desires has been to help educate the world about Open Source and its many advantages. Like so many other dreams, a great place to start planting seeds is with the young.

My inital goal was simply to form an organization to re-cycle older pc systems for the benefit of lower income families and non-profit, service organizations, such as Boys and Girls Clubs and the like.

Lots of older computers can do a great job of meeting the needs of many people when running Linux operating systems. Not everyone needs to be caught up in the MicroSoft trap of more hardware and more software.

As I shared ideas with some close friends I learned about the Hawaii Open Source Education Foundation and decided to start sharing my own personal thoughts and ideas with others. Many concepts (including the organization name) have been copied after the HOSEF model. This was done intentionally as someday I would love to see an organization in each and every state in the union.

Ideally this initial blog post will lead to the establishment of a dialog with other like-minded individuals and eventually non-profit groups to provide low-cost computing. As a result, a large pool of individuals experienced in Open Source software and its advantages will develop right here in Tennessee.

A skilled talent pool such as this could be very beneficial in bringing high tech companies to the state along with awesome job opportunities and incredible boosts to the economy.

Today I learned how important knowledge about Open Source would be to everyone. Many schools are requiring students to purchase laptop computers that run WindowsXP! Even with "student discounts", Linux is a lower cost alternative operating system and is ideal for "student budgets".

Some schools also require MicroSoft Office even though OpenOffice.org provides all the functionality of MicroSoft Office for considerably less (FREE vs $???)!

Please add thoughts, ideas, and suggestions via comments to this blog.

HTML link at GBZ Technology

Friday, July 07, 2006

Building a free software community in a PC Garage

Four Debian enthusiasts in New York City got together in 2003 and created the Community Free Software Group (CFSG), a non-profit entity to promote the use of free software in the local community. Since the group's inception, CFSG members have been busy helping young people in city neighborhoods learn how to install and run Debian Linux on hardware donated by area businesses and individuals.

Learn More At PC Garage