Re: [school-discuss] Korea brings homegrown open source to schools

[Phil Carinhas <pac@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

On Fri, Jun 24, 2005 at 08:53:16AM -0600, Alec Couros wrote:

> >>My only concern about instituting Linux into all these schools is that 
> >>you are mandating now what teachers are expected to use. 
> >
> >You mean like how MS is mandated in many schools?
> Yes ... that was my point. Any technology mandated in a school is a 
> mandated technology. I don't think you actually read my post.
> >
> >>I think it's great that South Korea has gone ahead and discovered the
> >>economic and technical benefits of Linux, and I think this will be really
> >>interesting to see local support economies benefit from this as well.
> >>   
> >>
> >
> >Poor school districts can barely afford software much less hardware. For
> >them Linux and other free *nix systems makes a LOT of cents.
> > 
> >
> Are you just supporting what I said?

  No, not at all. Linux and other FOSS is not going to be a mandate in most
circumstances, but a resource of last resort for those schools that can
not afford anything else. It may be a defacto mandate, but not an
official one. The real issue is whether or not they can afford the
alternatives as well.

> >>Still, when technologies are mandated or institutionalized, innovation and
> >>flexibility can be be hindered.  What happens when the alternative becomes
> >>the mandated, dominant force and the ONLY choice?
> >That is very unlikely to happen, at least with Linux and OSX. MS seems to
> >do a very good job of mandating with their incentive programs. I always
> >wonder why people make the arguments of FOSS mandating when MS has been
> >trying/doing that for a decade.
> >
> Unlikely because...? Can you see the future?
 
  Yes, I actually can.

-Phil Carinhas
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