[K12OSN] Article in the Honolulu Advertiser

Tue Sep 21 06:26:05 UTC 2004

On Tue, 21 Sep 2004, steve at hargadon.com wrote:

> Sure sounds like you have done some real good.
>
> But I am troubled by one thing--you seem to insinuate that the only
> legitimate way to install LTSP is to do so as a "volunteer."

Gee, I didn't detect that.  What i read was that the way
Scott has chosen to do this is as volunteers, showing the schools how to
be self reliant.  I don't recall him saying that's the ONLY way.

Personally, I applaud both the volunteers and those who are able to make
a business around deploying LTSP and Linux for schools, businesses,
governments, whatever.

I'd MUCH rather see people making money deploying LTSP and Linux instead
of deploying a Microsoft solution.  Opensource has turned software from
a product centric business model to a service centric business model.

Jim McQuillan
jam at Ltsp.org

>
> The principal at the school that I installed K12LSP for in Hawaii called
> you because I sent him an article about you.  After talking to you he sent
> me an email saying that you had asked him if I had "charged" him for
> installing LTSP.  I've got to say that deflated my balloon a little.  A
> concerted effort to promote LTSP to the school community will take
> investment, and will require revenue.  Hopefully we are doing so in a way
> that is commensurate with the great, open nature of the project.
>
> I agree that the best way to help those who will benefit from LTSP will be
> to help them help themselves.  But to say that they should not need anyone
> else to help them doesn't seem quite fair.  The school I worked with did
> not know anything about LTSP until they received a newsletter from my
> company, talked to me several times on the telephone, received a personal
> visit from me, and then had me help them install it.  I then helped them
> make contact with you.    Are those not reasonable services to provide?
>
> I worry that our culture has determined that you are either a
> volunteer/non-profit, or you are a greedy capitalist.  I, for one, still
> believe that our chosen work in a for-profit company can be seen as a
> "vocation."  I think the work you are doing is great--I just don't think
> it's fair to believe it's the only way it can or should be done.
>
> Hope you'll consider this the opening of a dialogue.
>
> Steve
>
>
>
> Original Message:
> -----------------
> From: R. Scott Belford scott at hosef.org
> Date: Mon, 20 Sep 2004 17:57:10 -1000
> To: k12osn at redhat.com
> Subject: Re: [K12OSN] Article in the Honolulu Advertiser
>
>
> Henry Hartley wrote:
> > Just thought you might want to see this.  It doesn't mention LTSP but it
> > does sound like that's what's being done here.
> >
> > Old computers good as new in Linux labs
> > http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/2004/Sep/16/ln/ln21a.html
>
> our site links to a few other articles.  I realize this is
> self-promoting, but, these are good stories for our cause.  Furthermore,
> we do what we do as volunteers, and our "business model," if you will,
> is to teach our recipients not to need anyone but themselves for support.
>
> One such school running a K12LTSP lab, Liholiho Elementary, was just
> recognized nationally for exceeding NCLB standards.  If the proof is in
> the pudding, this is rather tasty.  The article does not mention Linux,
> but it is known what platform was used to teach their computer literacy.
>   Peter Nakashima is a model for receiving and reciprocating the gifts
> of the OSS community.
> >
>
> Regarding the K12LTSP, we mentioned, and we promoted, and we
> demonstrated the K12LTSP.  We went on about the critical role a product
> of Hawaii's schools, Warren Togami, has played in the K12LTSP through
> the creation of Fedora.  Believe me, we tried, but, it just wasn't part
> of the story to them.  A shame, but Linux in schools is good enough, I
> suppose.
>
> Interestingly, the photographer was an intern from the University of
> Hawaii, and his room mate maintains some Debian package.  He was clued,
> and, when he saw my Debian T-Shirt, knew what was going on.  The
> thin-client model amazed him.  He took shots of the server, the switch,
> and the ragtag clients.  Alas, the editors did not find this as exciting
> as we did.
>
> Kudos go to Eric, Jim, the Open Source Community, and, of course, the
> amazing group of volunteers responsible for this volunteer example of
> your lug-in-action, HOSEF.  For the record, we provide free classes,
> workshops, and replacement clients in an attempt to build self-reliance
> and sustainability in our installations.  Giving the computers away is
> the easiest part.
>
> At the risk of going overboard, let me mention that we are sending 60
> computers running the LTSP to Western Samoa via the Peace Corps, and
> have just started funneling computers from our East-West Center to
> United Self Help.  The Peace Corps is going to set them up in 5 schools
> as thin clients (though we are installing linux on 2 hard drives, per
> computer, for redundancy.)
>
> USH is a group that donates computers to those with a host of mental
> challenges that are manifested by self-isolating.  Using the Linux
> Desktop to go online and participate in USH activities is no big deal,
> and, we have already uncovered two soon-to-be linux geniuses just by
> exposing them to the power of OSS.
>
> Keep on keepin' on, folks
>
> --scott
>
>
>
> --
> R. Scott Belford
> Founder/Director
> The Hawaii Open Source Education Foundation
> PO Box 392
> Kailua, HI 96734
> 808.689.6518 phone/fax
> scott at hosef.org
>
>
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