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

Thats seems like a good idea (to write a letter) but I beleive MS gave the school the OS and Office for free or at a really cheap price. I read somewhere that MS does this so that the children only learn to use their products. Therefore, when they look for jobs, the employers must purchase from MS or there will be no one to work for them.

That is true in some cases. In that case, you can make the argument that many companies and universities use Linux and Unix systems extensively, graduates of your school are at a disadvantage vis a vis student who may have had some exposure in HS. I concede that it's not as strong an argument, particularly since so much of the world is Windows based, but it is a valid point.

at the one technical school I went to in the computer programming area the teacher let the students use linux (but he was new). At the college I am at now I am taking a linux class and they turn off all network to the room whenever we use linux. And any computer that has linux will have the internet turned off for it unless a teacher is there supervise the students. All on some campuses they do not allow linux on computer in the dorms because it has server like qualities.

How much money does the school district pay Microsoft a year for licensing? Think of the extra computers that the school could of purchased.

If someone is considering putting linux in a school, they may be interested in this earlier post.
http://www.linuxquestions.org/questi...ight=blacklist

It may not be in contravention of the contract to use a Live CD version of Linux on any of the computers. Usually these contracts stipulate that you shall not "install" another operating system and since a Live CD version does not install anything it would be within the contract to do so.

Exactly where is your school ?

such a contract here in Australia would almost certainly be illegal.

floppy

My school falls in the TDSB (Toronto, Canada).
I am starting to write a letter to the board. I will share it when I am done for more of your suggestions.
Thanks!
Kasra

Oh, by the way I'm not in high school ;).
I'm younger.

Well, it's never too early to start using Linux :-).

Also, Windows machines can run servers just as well as Linux systems. As whited posted, though, some admins try to keep Linux off their networks by claiming it can run all sorts of servers. This just goes to show that there are really some not terribly well clued in people in IT departments. I mean, if you want to keep traffic off your network, firewall it off for goodness sake. Or even run periodic port scans and disconnect just those machines running services violating site policy.