Legal to install Linux in school computers?
 

Hello
I was just wondering, would it be legal to install Mandrakelinux on the computers of my school. If there is a better version for this purpose I would love to know what it is. Currently we run Windows 2000 :mad: It is super slow and sluggish. By the way, the school computers are old P2 machines (that's all the info I could get!) but I would expect very little ram also (128MB? at most).
Any help would be appreciated!
Thanks
Kasra

i would think this is completely legal within the LAW. but is your school approving of this? thats what i would find out. because getting the teachers to lean a new OS is not exactly an easy task.

Hm..Good Point
I'll have to check.
And anyways all they do is use Word, and OpenOffice is almost the same.
=)
Kasra

If the school is not approving it and you go ahead and install it, it is not within the law; it'd be considered vandalism.

I'd have a lot of trouble installing it if they don't approve. Install takes at least an hour per computer and I doubt the library will be empty for a whole hour!
=)

Maybe you should check out the termial project. You just set up a server with plenty of memory and good hardware. Then the client machines don't need to be spunky at all.

http://www.k12ltsp.org/

Anyways, do you think Mandrake 10.1 is the best choice for the school computers?
Kasra

Never mind my last post (I didn't see homey's) response. I'll have to check what kind of a "server" the school uses. (I doubt its too good!=))

why bother with that hassle, just grab the latest Knoppix and run off the CD that way you can run a better OS, run OO, and not get the school mad at you.

Installing or using Linux is not illegal, period. What matters is whether or not your employer has granted you permission to install [some piece of software] on its machines. If so, no worries, if not; check with your employer as to how to proceed. As for which distro might be the most suitable, the only answer is to try several, then make the decision as to which one best suits your needs and preferences. Many distros offer Live CD versions, which is a huge help in the evaluation process, given that you only need to d/l the ISO and burn it to a blank CD. No installation required. (A Live CD runs Linux entirely off the CD rather than the hard drive. It's not as fast as a standard Linux installation, but in terms of functionality, everything is there.) In any event, good luck with it. -- J.W.

_______________________
KimVette> Another helpful hint: the less your signature - the better:) Look:

Thanks for all your help, but there seems to be a problem:
My school has a contract with Micro$oft that prohibits them to use anything other than a MS product (Linux is, thank god, not a MS product so I can't even use the live CD's).
It really is too bad.=(
No one except me has tried Linux and most of them thinks it sucks. But since none of them have tried it, how can they say that!! It makes me so mad!
Maybe Bill G. brainwashed all of them and forgot me!
Anyways thanks for your help,
Kasra

I've heard of that before but I wonder why someone doesn't take it to court. See, public institutions like schools are supposed to put contracts up for fair bid. Locking out the compitition doesn't seem like it would hold up, especially, if you can show a big savings.

The best thing to do might be to write a letter to your school district and/or a local newspaper explaining some of the advantages of using open source software ... particularly in terms of cost savings (particularly if your school is a public school and thus supported by taxes). What you shouldn't do is go on a rant about how Microsoft is evil or their software all sucks. Microsoft is a company out to make a profit for its shareholders, not win a congeniality contest. Likewise some of their software isn't half bad. But if you can explain in reasonable terms why it is in their interest to do so, and build up a grass roots movement, your school administration may be willing to take a second look at that contract when it comes up for renewal. For all we know, they may have signed it because they did not realize that there was a viable alternative (or they may have signed it more than a couple years ago when Linux was nowhere near as viable a desktop system).

Try Slax www.slax.org