A bit about me....

["Andy Henson" <andy@irlcsl.demon.co.uk>]

Hi All,
	Just thought I'd come out of the shadows to introduce myself and my
interest in this mailing list.

My name is Andy Henson, I'm currently working for a small computer company
(which I will explain more in a moment), having studied at Computer Science
at Loughborough University, England, for a year. I left because I was
unimpressed with the course in general - far too theoretical, not enough
practical and the examination system left a lot to be desired.  I decided
that taking a job in the industry would be more useful to me.  Fortunately
I've landed on my feet, working for IRL Computer Systems Ltd.  I'm helping
to set up this company, looking after most of the technical side.  The other
main proponent comes from an educational background.  He was a science
teacher before working for a trust, that he helped to set up, to promote
technology in schools by providing them with extra money if they were
prepared to raise enough themselves.  He then became an independant
consultant doing various school inspections, specialising in IT and science.
This brought about the formation of this company.  We are trying to get more
access to the technology in all schools by decreasing the cost and
increasing the support and training that teachers and pupils alike require
to take full advantage of it to increase the learning potential of the
children.

As part of this aim I am interested in Linux as an operating system for
school networks, primarily to begin with on file servers and eventually
moving onto the desktop.  I would like to do this by creating an educational
distribution for schools.  I am very new to Linux, however, and would
appreciate advice and comments on what there is available out there
(hardware & software,etc) that would assist me in this task.

i.e.

suitable interfaces
office applications (WP,spreadsheets,database, graphics)
CAD
music software
art (photoshop alikes)
dtp
maths (anything that would make maths less boring!)
pretty much anything that would enhance learning in any area of the
curriculum
admin software - registration,testing,pupil records,etc.


Whew.......Not exactly the short intro I had hoped but I think it's best to
give you a background so you can see where I'm coming from.

Andy
--
Andrew Henson - Technical Support & Development Manager
IRL Computer Systems Ltd.
Email : andy@irlcsl.demon.co.uk
www   : http://www.irlcsl.demon.co.uk