[ale] Palladium/MS: ideas for retaliation

[Charles Marcus]

> From: Geoffrey [mailto:esoteric at 3times25.net]
> Sent: Wednesday, June 26, 2002 11:52 AM

<snip>

> Because of the investment in software these school systems
> have, and the comfort level the average teacher has with M$
> environment, you won't be able to touch the computers in the
> classroom or labs.

While I would disagree with the 'absoluteness' of this statement in general, I
think that the combination of licensing/upgrade pressure with the approaching
deadline for M$ s/w, with the fact that this is actually being done, though
definitely not on a mass basis yet, proves that it indeed *can* be done.

> Now, if we're talking servers, yeah, we know that can be
> done, so I'm game.  Question is, where to start?  Who do we
> talk to?

Servers are always the obvious place to start - and the really neat thing
about LTSP is you can install it on any server you set up, and then just setup
a few 'demo' workstations, running all of the K12LTSP school oriented
software, and let them know that the only cost of setting up a lab or class is
some minimal upfront configuration costs.

Also, LTSP allows schools to use *much* older hardware (486's, P90, etc) and
get very reasonable performance out of it, as opposed to the M$ way of forcing
hardware upgrades with almost every major OS upgrade.

Anyway, just my .02 clad-coin worth


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