Current mood:	relieved
Entry tags:	freedom, linux, osx, ubuntu, windows

Hammer and Nails

My IT students have fun learning networking by playing with Ubuntu but we dont run it on everything at our college. Here is a list of the splendid things we put into our tool kit of software and experiences for college students.

Linux runs on some servers and sweetly enough on the netbooks, library and SunRay terminals. The only app once kept on breaking was Cambodian. It is not supported with Windows without a obscure hack but now happily runs with OpenOffice thanks to the tireless efforts of the splendid KhmerOS team. (I believe we are the only secondary school in Australia to teach Khmer).

Nothing is token, everything is valued and has a place including the freedom to run FLOSS and commercial software.

We use Final Cut Pro .. and dont need (and could hardly afford) to run it on anything more than our studio Power OSX computer. We no longer use ClickView. It's a cute product but we saved our precious dollars for a MythTV setup that suits our needs and is free. The 2Touch IWB doesnt need any software, just plug, play and go with any computer in the school. We dont use much Adobe sotware, instead investing in an HUGE A1 printer with archive ink powered by Gimp and Inkscape and a class set of digital cameras for students. Ok, Flash was briefly nice but bringing home a free 1 x 3 m panorama visualisation of your design / artwork or photo can really kick butt. We use Garage Band in the Mac lab .. Sibelius in the Windows lab .. OpenOffice and Pencil 3D animation software in both.

When all you have is a hammer, all your problems look just like a nail.