Seriously Explaining OSS to Normal People?

[Cyberclops]

Seriously this time, I think the value in open source is its "sense of
community."  At is heart is the idea of sharing.  It has more of a
valuable economic impact for the end user, rather than the creator,
which in itself is rather unique.  For these reasons alone it seems like
a logical choice and perfect fit for educational or academic
enterprise.  The fact that it is usually shipped not only with the
source code, but the tools for modifying the existing code or developing
new code, it seems to be the perfect tool for computer science.  The
fact that it is a viable alternative is valuable in an of itself.  In a
sense, Linux is similar to the idea of "art for art's sake."   Linux is
the pure form of computing based on one of the oldest and most stable
platforms.  More over it is a "multi-user" plat form which is perfect
for education.  Presently, the Apple Macintosh and the Windows 9x
systems are essentially single user systems, and are not as well suited
to classroom use as the Linux operating system.  The fact that the
teacher and the students can share the same computer without the chance
of the students accidentally destroying the system is a big plus.  Also
a separate "log on" for the teacher and the students provides
confidentiality of sensitive documents such as student grade reports and
other highly confidential information.  Thus the wide spread adoption of
Linux would protect the educational system from the danger of litigation
due to the failure of the present systems to provide proper
confidentiality.  Finally the fact that licensing of multiple
installations of the operating system is not requirement, provides an
extremely strong financial incentive for its acceptance as the operating
system of choice for educational institutions.  Last but not least, the
present applications are as good as or better than their equivalents in
competing platforms.  Moreover, the fact that Linux is open source, it
has not actually become the default standard for the world wide inter
operabilty of all computer systems.  If a compete system does not work
with Linux, it is not a viable operating system.  This is evidenced by
Apple moving to OS-X which just like Linux, is based on a Unix variant
kernel.


Warren Togami wrote:
> 
> This grant came as a total surprise to us, and we have a very limited time
> to write the grant proposal and submit it.  We're scrambling to create the
> necessary documentation before the due date...
> 
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Jimen Ching" <jching at flex.com>
> To: "Linux & Unix Advocates & Users" <luau at list.luau.hi.net>
> Sent: Saturday, April 28, 2001 4:00 PM
> Subject: [luau] Re: Explaining OSS to Normal People?
> 
> > If she wants to learn the ways of the free software and open source world,
> > why not have her attend one of your Linux install fest meetings?  Get
> > first hand experience.  One thing I learned about free/open source
> > software is that it is a hands-on domain.  You just can't get the full
> > benefit by sitting on the side lines.
> >
> 
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