Press Clippings from Around the Net
- Free Software in Education
- Free Software for Charities and Non-profits
- Free Software International Benefits
- Freedom of Information
Free Software in Education
Teaching educators about free software
Original last seen at: newsforge.com
What struck me, as I looked through the grant applications and scanned newspapers and other printed materials these schools were producing, was that they weren't trying to do anything I don't routinely do myself with OpenOffice 1.1, which costs $0.00.
Penguin Enrolls in U.S. Schools
Original last seen at: wired.com
“We chose Linux because acquisition and maintenance costs for Windows were too high,” [...] According to Rheinlander, Linux is easier than Windows NT to keep in shape. The school has no dedicated system maintenance, but Linux can be administrated remotely. [...] In addition, Linux runs on 486s and Pentium 75s—fairly ancient machines by today's standards—which are incapable of running the latest Windows environments. This is pretty handy, since most schools rely on donations of old computers.
Why schools should use exclusively free software
Original last seen at: newsforge.com
There are general reasons why all computer users should insist on free software. It gives users the freedom to control their own computers--with proprietary software, the computer does what the software owner wants it to do, not what you want it to do. And it gives users the freedom to cooperate with each other, to lead an upright life. These apply to schools as they do to everyone.
But there are special reasons that apply to schools.
Gnufans: Free Software in Education
Original last seen at: gnufans.net
Education is about learning and learning is promoted by free access to information. Not just information about science, humanities and other traditional long-standing subjects but also about the technology itself and the issues surrounding it. Technology in an education environment is more than simply a tool, it is also a learning opportunity in its own right.
Linux Earns User-Friendly Rating
Original last seen at: pcworld.com
The Relevantive usability study, which can be downloaded from the company's Web site, comes as numerous government bodies and companies in Germany's public and private sectors move to migrate their IT systems away from Windows to the Linux operating system, while others are still debating the pros and cons of such a move.
Free Software for Charities and Non-profits
Building a free software community in a PC Garage
Original last seen at: newsforge.com
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.
Help introduce charities to free software
Original last seen at: newsforge.com
When I recently searched for organizations that were trying to help introduce charities to free software, and I found practically no information. I find this particularly surprising, as charities are, in many ways, the most worthy organizations to use free software. If you can go to a charity and propose a solution that is more stable and secure, free from vendor lock-in, and free to use and maintain, you can help the organization plough the savings into the work it is there to do.
Building An Open Source Office
Note: This is more than just a new article. The lincproject has a step-by-step case study of completely non-technical people setting up a small office with Linux.
At: lincproject.org
This article is meant for people who are interested in deploying open source software in Grassroots Organizations. It should be of particular interest to non-profit technology assistance providers working with small resource-strapped organizations. Grassroots organizers, as well, may be interested in our overview of what it takes to bring open source into their own organization.
Free Software International Benefits
Open sources local heroes
Original last seen at: The Economist
Adopting open-source software can reduce costs, allay security concerns and ensure there is no danger of becoming too dependent on a foreign supplier. But there is another benefit, too: because it can be freely modified, open-source software is also easier to translate, or localize, for use in a particular language. This involves translating the menus, dialogue boxes, help files, templates and message strings to create a new version of the software.
Open source helps education effort in Third World
Original last seen at: siliconvalley.com
In Africa, in Asia, in much of the world—especially in the developing nations—open source is looking like the best way to usher in the information age. Money, flexibility and plain old independence from a monopolist's clutches are a powerful combination.
Brazil Leans Away From Microsoft
Original last seen at: excite.com
Paying software licensing fees to companies like Microsoft is simply “unsustainable economically” when applications that run on the open-source Linux operating system are much cheaper, Amadeu said. Under his guidance, Silva's administration is encouraging all sectors of government to move toward open-source programs, whose basic code is public and freely available.
Freedom of Information
Library “radicals” targeted in latest copyright battles
Original last seen at: news.com.com
In this digital age, the custodians of published works are at the center of a global copyright controversy that casts them as villains simply for doing their job: letting people borrow books for free. Librarians are actively facing free-speech threats. [...] “The mission of libraries is to ensure access,” she said. “The nature of copyright is to restrict access. There's a real tension there.”
Project Gutenberg
Project Guttenberg is a repository of free online books. Here is a text copy of Alexis de Toqueville's “Democracy in America” so that you might remember what democracy is about and how crucial free access to information is to a healthy democratic society.