MozOO.org and TheOpenCD.org
Using an Open Source software collections is a better way for schools to distribute some well integrated and free software applications to students than dishing out multiple bits of software on different cd-roms. Here are two that were just pointed out to me
MozOO.org is a set of productivity tools for home and small business users who "just want to get on with work" but are tired of expensive office package upgrades. The package includes an Windows installer for Firefox, Thunderbird, NVU and the OpenOffice suite. You can download the free ISO to try out and order an online MozOO coffee mug :-)
http://mozoo.org
Another and perhaps better collection of high quality Free and Open Source Software is by TheOpenCD.org. It is a . The program installer runs in Windows and cover the most common tasks such as word processing, presentations, e-mail, web browsing, web design, and image manipulation. Certainly worth a look at.
http://www.theopencd.org
University of Florida IT security staff ran a special workshop to install Firefox on all their workstation browsers and now has FireFox configured as their default web browser. If teachers are still wondering why school should give serious consideration towards a move in this direction, have a read of this opinion article in Technology News.
The generation that I helped launch into IT with DBase, MSW LOGO, Word Perfect 5.1 or heaven forbid, the mysteries of ^K in Wordstar seem to have survived and done very well with themselves ... the tertiary graphics student that played about with PaintShop Pro, the Sun engineer that once tinkered with Linux at school and the Film graduate that grew up on the Ulead software suite. There are as many lurches and stumbles between software versions and mandated "upgrades" than between all these exciting flavours. I have had some fun switching my elderly parents to OpenOffice, Thunderbird and Firefox on their old computer. They remarked that their computer is easier to use, runs faster and better since the "upgrade" and turned down an offer for me to show them how it all works.
I guess that is what it comes down to, it's no magic. It just plain old works.
MozOO.org is a set of productivity tools for home and small business users who "just want to get on with work" but are tired of expensive office package upgrades. The package includes an Windows installer for Firefox, Thunderbird, NVU and the OpenOffice suite. You can download the free ISO to try out and order an online MozOO coffee mug :-)
http://mozoo.org
Another and perhaps better collection of high quality Free and Open Source Software is by TheOpenCD.org. It is a . The program installer runs in Windows and cover the most common tasks such as word processing, presentations, e-mail, web browsing, web design, and image manipulation. Certainly worth a look at.
http://www.theopencd.org
University of Florida IT security staff ran a special workshop to install Firefox on all their workstation browsers and now has FireFox configured as their default web browser. If teachers are still wondering why school should give serious consideration towards a move in this direction, have a read of this opinion article in Technology News.
The generation that I helped launch into IT with DBase, MSW LOGO, Word Perfect 5.1 or heaven forbid, the mysteries of ^K in Wordstar seem to have survived and done very well with themselves ... the tertiary graphics student that played about with PaintShop Pro, the Sun engineer that once tinkered with Linux at school and the Film graduate that grew up on the Ulead software suite. There are as many lurches and stumbles between software versions and mandated "upgrades" than between all these exciting flavours. I have had some fun switching my elderly parents to OpenOffice, Thunderbird and Firefox on their old computer. They remarked that their computer is easier to use, runs faster and better since the "upgrade" and turned down an offer for me to show them how it all works.
I guess that is what it comes down to, it's no magic. It just plain old works.