Specifications

www.linuxjournal.com august 2008 | 71
to those who do.
Something I find as irritating as
the giant Maine mosquito is the use
of proprietary protocols, standards
and codecs that exclude Linux users
from certain parts of the Internet. The
Internet was built on open protocols,
and it probably wouldn’t exist in any
meaningful way today if it had been
locked up with proprietary standards
owned by individual companies. Yet,
there still are Web sites and services
using closed protocols. It is highly
frustrating when we cannot access
on-line content because we don’t
have a proprietary plugin, such as
ActiveX or Adobe Shockwave. For
example, our school wants to use an
on-line education tool to enhance our
curriculum, but the company that
offers this tool relies on Shockwave.
So we are “locked out” because of
this one missing piece.
Finally, a lack of key commercial
software is a real issue. Some good peo-
ple in the Free Software community
don’t want commercial software on
Linux, but I have to be more pragmatic.
When there is a fine open-source alter-
native to a key commercial product
(such as with OpenOffice.org and
Microsoft Office), I am happy to use it.
Unfortunately, not all proprietary soft-
ware has a good open-source equiva-
lent. Until there is, the solution isn’t
eloquent. GHCA has a single Windows
machine in our office for the sole pur-
pose of running Intuit’s QuickBooks. I
suppose we could use Wine, but that
brings its own headaches.
Despite these pitfalls, I have no
regrets. Let’s look at those big ques-
tions again. Is Linux ready for the
desktop? Yes. Our teachers and stu-
dents have been using Linux on the
desktop successfully for the last five
years. What about TCO? Every orga-
nization is unique, but Linux has
saved us many thousands of dollars,
and we’re a small school! Have users
adjusted? Absolutely. Was it worth
the switch? There is no doubt in my
mind. That’s not to say there haven’t
been bumps in the road, but to quote
Robert Frost, “I took the [road] less
traveled by, and that has made all the
difference.” I look forward to where
this road we call Linux will lead us in
the future.
I
Michael Surran is the head of GHCA’s Computer Science
department. He is responsible for building and maintaining
GHCA’s Linux network, and he teaches Computer Programming,
Computer Technology, Research and Presentation, and the CS
electives. Surran promotes open source in education both
locally and regionally through newscasts and seminars.
Figure 4. When I couldn’t find an open-source
program that met our needs, I wrote my own.
Resources
Linux from Kindergarten to High
School:
www.linuxjournal.com/
article/6349
Making the Switch to Open Source
Software:
www.thejournal.com/
articles/16448
Harnessing the Power of Open Source
Software:
video.google.com/
videoplay?docid=7860580137648
446279
SchoolForge: www.schoolforge.net
GHCA’s Computer Lab:
www.ghca.com/computers