Detroit School Saves $100K+ By Switching To Free Software

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ECP FREE SOFTWARE

OPEN SOURCE EXPLAINED
http://www.edu-cyberpg.com/Technology/Linux.html

What about changing over to Linux in Schools?
This is the tricky part.
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Detroit high school opens its desktops
By: Kevin Quiggle
<http://software.newsforge.com/software/05/05/18/1944227.shtml?tid=130&tid=93>

In 2003, John Hansknecht, the director of technology at the University of
Detroit Jesuit High School and Academy, had a tough decision to make. The
school had about a hundred older computers running Microsoft Office 97 and
Windows NT, and some kind of upgrade was clearly required. It would have been
an easy decision to simply upgrade to Microsoft Office 2000, but that would
have required replacing all the computers with more powerful systems -- a
large expenditure which could be better spent on other technology needs.
Hansknecht had a better idea: OpenOffice.org.

The previous year Hansknecht had begun evaluating OpenOffice.org with the
assistance of Peter Guenther, the computer applications teacher, and Vondra
Abbott, the school librarian. Hansknecht thought that if he could meet the
school's requirements with an office suite that worked with both Microsoft
Windows and Linux, he could eliminate the cost of Microsoft Office and reduce
the need for periodic and expensive hardware upgrades.

However, it was not sufficient that OpenOffice.org was free software; it was
also essential that the software meet the school's requirements for quality
and functionality. As a college preparatory school with almost a thousand
students, U of D Jesuit has a strong commitment to academics, including
teaching technology. Any office suite chosen for the school would have to
meet the requirements of both students and faculty in terms of stability,
functions, and features. Hansknecht would also have to convince the school's
Faculty Technology Committee, with both facts and a cost analysis, that
OpenOffice.org was a good choice.

The essential facts were these: The school had a total of 158 newer PCs
running Microsoft Windows XP, and 110 older PCs running Microsoft Windows NT
and Microsoft Office 97. Realistically, upgrading the older PCs to Windows XP
would require a complete hardware replacement. As an alternative, Hansknecht
thought the older PCs could be converted to Linux terminals using software
from the Linux Terminal Server Project (LTSP). Although it would be necessary
to purchase Linux servers to support LTSP clients, no PC replacements would
be required.  [...]

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WIFI
READ WHAT DAVE RECOMMENDS
CAN BE DONE TO GET ALL SCHOOLS
WIRED WITHOUT SPENDING ALL THE
MONEY THAT WE THE TAX PAYERS ARE SPENDING!
http://tinyurl.com/7st5b
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