[K12OSN] Do we need to spread the message?

[ahodson at elp.rr.com]

Hi list members

I find myself having to write more and more letters to software makers that are not addressing the growing need for Linux/Java portals for their web-based software... Am I alone here?
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Greetings

My name is Alan Hodson, and I work for the El Paso ISD (TX) Technology Services Department. One of my responsibilities is to make sure that our sizable investment on diskless Thin Clients that are deployed in many labs (and increasingly as replacement desktop units) work flawlessly with the software that Curriculum and Instruction determines should be accessible by our teachers and students. I've looked at Windows and Mac interfaces for XXXXXXXX, but I am coming up short as far as Linux/Java. I need to know if there are plans to develop a Linux interface (or system independent Java) to make sure nobody is left behind, or to begin efforts to migrate to a system that does.

Depending on the caliber of your programmers, any web-based solution has a myriad of work-arounds specific to an app that you want in your customer's CPUs. The problem is in most companies one of foresight - only Mac and Windows solutions is a last-century approach to last-century customers. More and more districts are seeing the light (mostly savings) in converting to thin clients and Linux-based servers (ala K12LTSP). I hope yours is a progressive company, that is "able to effectively tap the potential of the Open Source community" (a quote from Don Tapscott's Wikinomics book)

I hope to hear good news from your R&D folks. The product looks really cool!

Cheers


Alan A Hodson MEd.
oF: 915-887-6871
fX: 915-779-4100
aahodson at episd.org
http://links.episd.org/
http://tinyurl.com/3e4sh8

Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take,
but by the moments that take our breath away
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