Re: [school-discuss] Open Source Project

[Doug Loss <drloss@suscom.net>]

Monte Schaff wrote:

> What type of learning curve would you anticipate for faculty familiar with
> Windows and MSOffice to move to Linux/open source software?
>

That depends on how they gained their familiarity.  If they've used Windows and
MSOffice through many upgrades, they ought to be able to transition to KDE/GNOME
and OpenOffice fairly quickly.  If they've only learned how to select the
specific options they normally use in a single version of Windows and MSOffice,
you may find a "move the dog's water dish" resistance to any change at all.

>
> If you were to implement this project with 10 individuals, would you train
> the entire group, and roll the project out with all of the members migrating
> to the open source software at the same time, or would you proceed with
> training one faculty member at a time, getting them up and running and
> comfortable with the new OS and apps, making sure all network functionality
> is available, and then proceed with the next member of the test group, and
> so on?
>

Personally, I'd roll them all out at the same time.  We do regular training
sessions for faculty here, and I find that it's usually much more helpful to
have everyone attending the same session so that any questions that occur to one
person are heard (along with the answer) by all.  It's also helpful to have more
than one staffer leading the session, so that you have one person for every
three or so users to help them over any rough spots.  Most importantly, give the
users permission and contact information to talk to those staffers at any time
in the future if they have questions or need help.  You may find XMX
<http://www.cs.brown.edu/software/xmx/> useful for those contacts.


> What about the potential for virii, are these of much of a concern for Linux
> and open source users?
>

Virtually none.

>
> Is there an open source mail application similar to MS Exchange that can
> “talk” to an Exchange server?
>

Bynari <http://www.bynari.net/> is the place to look for this sort of thing.
Their InsightClient isn't free, but does work on Linux and with Exchange.
Ximian's Evolution has a proprietary add-on called Connector that gives similar
functionality.  I don't know of any open source mail apps that can talk to
Exchange other than as POP or IMAP clients.

>
> Is there a significant difference between Red Hat and Mandrake? I tried to
> download Linux from Red Hat, and even with a cable modem, this was taking
> way to long.  Are there mirror sites that will allow for faster downloading?
> If I purchase a copy of Red Hat or Mandrake, can I install this copy of
> Linux on any number of systems, or will I need to purchase/download a copy
> for each PC?
>

If you purchase a copy of any Linux distribution, you can install the open
sourced portions on as many systems as you like.  Be careful, though; many
distros include non-free additional software on a separate CD, which can't be
legally installed freely.  It's usually clear where this software is.  You may
also want to look into ELX Linux <http://www.elxlinux.com/1024/index.php>, which
is a new distribution that looks very promising.

--
Doug Loss                 All I want is a warm bed
Data Network Coordinator  and a kind word and
Bloomsburg University     unlimited power.
dloss@bloomu.edu                Ashleigh Brilliant