Re: (FWD) Re: Fw: RE: [seul-edu] Comprehensive Student Management

[Ray Olszewski <ray@comarre.com>]

At 04:06 PM 9/2/00 -0400, Michael Williams wrote:
...
>I am not a programmer, I can't make sense of any of the code I have and do use.
>I use and advocate the use of open source software when ever and where ever it
>is appropriate, because it gives me the opportunity to hire someone who can
>make sense of the code and modify it for our needs and follow through with
>support and documentation. 

Could I encourage you to expand on this? Earlier in this thread (or perhaps
its anscestor), I expressed the concern that schools were being deluded into
thinking they could get the benefits of Linux without paying to support Open
Source. I wasn't specific about *how* schools might pay to support Open
Source, but this is a nice illustration ... since you say you're not a
programmer, it could be a nice model for how supporters of Open Source
software can make their support more tangible than mere advocacy.

What kind of Open Source programs have you paid to have modified? Did you
pay an Open Source developer (such as the creator of the package) to do the
mods, or did you get somebody local? Did you make the resulting modified
programs (and documentation) available to the Open Source community? How? 

And has anyone else actually tried this approach to supporting Open Source
in a school setting? It certainly is one of the support models the Open
Source advocates recommend (or close to it, anyway). Examples of it actually
being done would do a lot to strengthen this argument, which is typically
offered with little in the way of real examples. 

>I do not think that it has to be "free" as in beer,
>but "free" as in freedom of choice, freedom of speech, freedom from the greed
>that seems to guide the technology industry ( I am not implying that all people
>in the IT field are greedy) and I'm not just talking monetarily, I'm talking
>knowledge and information. Solutions are more than code.

I sympathize with your view, and I am impressed by your willingness, and
your school's (Haywood County Schools, I assume from the headers in your
message), to put your (and its) money behind it. Describing the details as
well can really give advocates some great ammunition.

It would also be instructive to know more about how you decide where Open
Source solutions are "appropriate", since that sort of information from a
site that actually supports Open Source programming activity (beyond just
using it) would help developers understand where their best opportunities are.


--
------------------------------------"Never tell me the odds!"---
Ray Olszewski                                        -- Han Solo
Palo Alto, CA           	 	         ray@comarre.com        
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