Hello,

There are numerous universities that are not supporting Linux, few of them allow to use Linux/BSD, OpenSource softwares,...

Having Linux during studies is a great opportunity, of course. However, admins have some fears of hackers... It is not necessarily and easy during studies, if you decided to work and to use Linux on your notebook.

Even, at MIT, it is not very easy with Linux: difficult to get access to the network, restrictions on the installed distro (Fedora is obliged),...

Linux and Education: Does your University or College Support Linux?

Not sure where you got that impression. Linux looks to be very well supported at MIT: https://ist.mit.edu/os/linux
Not only is it one of their recommended operating systems, they will actually give you a copy of RHEL and install it for you: https://ist.mit.edu/hardware/guidelines

--jeremy

Indeed, any institution of training or learning must support "the actual things that are out there." Macs are everywhere, but so are Windows machines, Linux, and even the occasional midrange and mainframe system. Engineering departments sometimes have working industrial-automation production lines set up in labs. You have to expose the student, in the classroom/lab, to what s/he will encounter in the workplace. And that necessarily includes "many things."

Just the other day in a coffee shop I watched a student who was busy doing something in Windows .. in a window .. on her Mac.

What about chromebooks are they used in universities?

I know chromebooks are used in middle schools where Apple was once a leader in that industry. I could be wrong as I don't follow those stories. Just citing what I read a long time ago.

Fedora is quite recommended.
https://math.mit.edu/services/help/faq/linux#personal

Well when I was there, my college supported the PDP-11!

I'm sure they support Linux now.

That's specific to one department, and they don't seem to allow any OS other than Linux on the network at all. From the main FAQ:

--jeremy

You're looking at a question about computers that are physically located and installed in the math department, compare https://math.mit.edu/services/help/faq/linux.php#laptop

and https://math.mit.edu/services/help/f...eral.php#pcmac
and https://math.mit.edu/services/help/workstations.php

One of the community college courses that I sometimes teach is ... COBOL.

And don't think that "there is no demand for it anymore!" When you "swipe your card at Starbuck's," there is a near certainty that the data will at some point or another be handled by COBOL. Why? "Because it works ... like a sonofabeech!"

A particular department might standardize on one type of machine for no more reason than that they have standardized the department on software which expects it. You'll find this to be the case throughout your career, and so your education had better prepare you for it.

My son attends West Virginia Northern Community College at Weiron, West Virginia. In many ways a nice institution, and I do like the people, but...
They do not support Linux on campus. They have no "Word Processing" class, or "spreadsheet applications" class, they have Microsoft Office classes! They are not even using the current VERSIONS! My proposed motto : "Preparing the managers of tomorrow for the technology of two decades ago!".

I have been on campuses where the best computer and network support was the student technology groups, but this seems excessively backwards. Since my son has learned a significant "vendor agnostic" attitude from me, I find it a bit sad ans sometimes amusing. He is paying his own way, mostly: were I paying his way I would be seriously upset at the poor educational value (bang for the buck) ratio.

I agree not just with Jeremy's point, but also feel that the original question/premise seems to be general and opinion based. Granted I'm in the northeast USA and there is a huge concentration of Universities here, but I can go to:

1. MIT
2. Northeastern University
3. Boston University
4. Boston College
5. UMASS University
6. Tufts University
7. Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
8. Worcester Polytechnic Institute
9. Harvard Univsersity
10. Brown University
11. Yale University
12. Southern Methodist University
13. Princeton University
14. University of CA (all campuses)

To their websites and find PLENTY of information about Linux, courses, computer systems, connecting using clients to their VPN. And so forth.

So please share a bit more why you feel this is true, or what these numerous universities are that you feel are not supporting Linux.

I will agree that community colleges may not have it because they have very limited budgets, small curriculum, and typically do not offer Bachelor degree programs. Quinsigamond Community College in Worcester, MA does support Linux, as well as Linux courses, and they are very much into the subject. Meanwhile Newbury College which is a liberal arts school, does not have Linux.

Doesn't matter if they do if we do. Evolution sandwich with catch-up... mmmm.

Most offer Linux courses but at the same time use m$, I'd only have to use it there if they set me in front of a screen with a test otherwise use Linux all the way!

At Cambridge
One up for Linux!

It is kinda "forcing" users to use a specific distribution?

"To their websites and find PLENTY of information about Linux, courses, computer systems, connecting using clients to their VPN. And so forth." You can have numerous webpages, and the reality, the staff with use windows products everywhere. Kinda, Linux in a Windows world.

Ummm... "obviously, you have not worked at the Academic Computing department of a University!"

Or, "customer support" in general!

Pragmatically speaking, if you're tasked with "answering the customer's questions," and "supporting the customer's computing environment," it is in your best interests to try to "reasonably constrain the 'independent variables!'" To try to get everyone beating on more-or-less the same drum, and to be singing from more-or-less the same songbook.



C'mon ... (been there, did that. actually loved(!) doing it ) ... "give 'em a break."