Re: Educational software for Linux--progress report

[Douglas Loss <dloss@csrlink.net>]

>>>RD == Roger Dingledine <arma@mit.edu> wrote at Mon, 6 Jul 1998 04:45:01 -0400 (DST):
>In message <199807032328.TAA08645@csrlink.net>, dloss@csrlink.net writes:
>>  I've sent email to RedHat encouraging them to come out with a version of
>>their distro specifically aimed at the kindergarten through 12th grade market.

>If you forward me a copy of this letter, we can put it up on our website
>so more people will read and consider it. (Also, this has the benefit that
>Redhat starts hearing more people talk about it.) I can also send it to a
>couple places that could publicize it more thoroughly (eg LWN seems to like
>getting letters like that). Keep me posted.
>
I'll be happy to do that when I can get to it.  I think it's on my computer at
work, and I won't be back there till the 20th.  And it's possible that I wrote
it in a submission form on RedHat's web site, in which case, I don't have a
copy of it.  I I can't find a copy, I'll try to reconstruct it from memory.

>>   I've drafted and sent out to ~40 educational software companies a letter re
>>questing them
>>to support Linux.  (A copy of the letter follows)
>[snip]
>
>Looks like a good letter. Thanks for taking the initiative to move ahead
>in this.[...]
>A howto describing educational software on Linux is conspicuously missing.
>
>Things to include might be a discussion of target audience (why it's
>relevant to have educational software on linux these days (though be
>careful about statements like "all relevant linux users are male and in
>their early twenties" (though I'll shut up now because I'm male and in
>my early twenties))), good resources for converting current educational
>applications from conventional platforms to Linux, good resources for
>developing new educational applications under and for linux, and a
>list of desired types of programs and maybe even who is providing them
>once they're provided. A means of centralized advertising for new
>companies porting their edu-software to linux might be a good goal in
>itself.
>
>This would be a lot more widely read than an individual campaign, so it
>would get a lot more accomplished.

Your points are well taken and I'll see what I can do towards this end as
soon as I finish the training session I'm in that runs till the 20th.  The
only thing that I (mildly) disagree with you about is that I said anything
like "all relevant Linux users are male and in their early twenties."  I
mentioned "primarily" male and young, which is pretty definitely true.  I
think that when we deal with commercial entities it's important that we're
very careful not to misrepresent our community or its relevance to them in
any way.  It goes directly to our credibility.

--
Doug Loss            The time for action is past!  Now
dloss@csrlink.net    is the time for senseless bickering!
(717) 326-3987          Ashleigh Brilliant