Robert Pogson

There are fundamental differences between people who use GNU/Linux and those who use that other OS. The former rarely worry about the speed of their systems. The latter have DRM, malware, WGdisA and bloat constantly in their face. That was shockingly clear with Vista. Today I read an article about optimizing “7″, the poster-child of that other OS. A good OS is supposed to leave you alone to enjoy your PC. Oh, the horror! The user of that other OS also has to pay for the privilege of being abused and their IT resources squandered. A recent article described buying a PC with that other OS for $660. Shopping for everyday prices reveals that the naked equivalent is $550 so some folks are paying $100 for the privileges of going slower and slowing down. Great salesmanship. Not great IT.

Long live the difference. Those who value freedom and efficiency will continue to be motivated to move to GNU/Linux, ironically, by the OS designed to enslave them.

Next week I go back to work and on my agenda is a presentation to the staff demonstrating what the same equipment that has been bogging them down for years can do with a real OS and a reallocation of resources. If the reception of the whole staff is anything like the few trial balloons floated before Christmas, we should be looking at a firm plan of migration to GNU/Linux in whole or part in 2010. Everyone can see with their own eyes the advantages of measurable improvements in performance, immunity from malware, a real web server on the LAN, databases on the LAN and improved networking. All these blessing are ours out of the box when we use GNU/Linux instead of that other OS. For purposes of education, we will have a system that the school controls, not some corporate monopoly. We will have a system that works for us and our students, not against us.

In the past we had 40gB hard drives scattered around on thick clients all over the building, more than 1TB of storage, mostly unused. With a few tricks we can make that storage available to the whole LAN to back up servers, users files and databases, getting real value for the money invested in them. Previously they held bloat and a small amount of data that was lost on each staff change. By using central storage and databases we can build on the accumulated knowledge of staff and students to get the job done and to accumulate a useful body of knowledge. In the past, resources were squandered by following M$’s path to riches instead of doing what was best for the school. Our culture is changing.