I am celebrating the third anniversary without Microsoft, this Christmas.
Is there anybody other than Anuradha doing work only on Linux in Sri-Lanka?
Please post an email or comment below so that we can have a private party.
I was trying to catch 100 students (school leavers to train free) from Kandy.
That was a total failure (blessing in disguise for me) but welcome free time for me to enjoy life with my kids.
Monday, November 15, 2010
Science Education and Linux
One of my first articles on Linux was based on Linux in education.
Then, I was grumbling about not been able to find a Linux Guru either in Kandy or Colombo.
Result at that time was an appallingly negative outcome.
Of course I found a few Gurus from abroad which included Cristopher Naegus.
Unfortunately he has stopped writing or updating the Linux Bible.
The way Linux is progressing, nobody can keep pace with, including books on Linux.
Moment you write something on Linux and post it, it is outdated by many a miles.
My entry today is to talk about contribution of Linux to Education in general and Science in particular.
Material included from preschool to university level.
I found few packages very interesting and deal with them first before proposing a scientific way to establish this scenario of Open Source Science and Education.
I call it OSSE-U (Open for Students, budding Scientists and Explorers of this Universe).
There is is a serious of 7 to 10 Linux CDS for Science which I have not downloaded yet. (I have done it now-writing on science may be not in the immediate future)
Therefore, I am not going to talk about science at the moment but education in general.
Unfortunately India also has failed because Indian Maha Rajas also think education is money like their colonial Past Masters.
In this context Russia without a global outlook has failed to catch the market.
Everybody think that once a CD ISO is posted at their web site for free download the job is done.
That is not so.
It took 12 to 14 hours for me to download SuSe Sugar (please do not download SuSe Sugar, it is slow and has a serious bug in the Grub File).
Because of the proliferation of mobile industry Telecom Industry cannot think of a Giga bite download speed for another decade or so.
That is also if one pays a hefty fee.
UNICEF has failed.
UNO has failed to impart emphasis on education because education from preschool to university is big money spinner.
They think by giving outdated free education material to students free that they have solved our Education Problem. It is not so!
With this digital age that information can be had for 10% of the price.
If one wants to learn about Linux and Education, just go to Google and type Linux and Education you get a heap of material form nearby Australia to Germany and France.
1.OLPS with my new OSSE-Universe Linux
2.SOAP
3.Knoppix for Kids
4.Look for defunct Freeduck
5.gCompris
6.Alt Linux form Russia
7.Pardus Linux from Greece and many more.
Educational package should in my opinion should have they following as the base.
Mysql.
Mysql PHP
Mysql Admin graphic face
My Admin as the front end for student to play with and develop a database of packages.
Gbasic as a front end of Visual Basic application
gFlash as or Flash as a front end.
A Quick time simulator for playing Apple Education software.
Some way to hack itunes.
Kind of Play Station based on Wine and similar emulators.
I would like the distribution to named as OSSE-U Linux (Open for Students, budding Scientists and Explorers of this Universe).
That is my contribution for the time being!
Asoka
Edited 0n the 15th of November. 2010
Original 14th of October, 2009
Open for Students, budding Scientists and Explorers of this Universe).
Copyright name of OSSE-U belongs to me anyway!
Google you can improve on this idea with cloud computing in mind.
Microsoft do not steal this idea.
I will be on your tail!
Then, I was grumbling about not been able to find a Linux Guru either in Kandy or Colombo.
Result at that time was an appallingly negative outcome.
Of course I found a few Gurus from abroad which included Cristopher Naegus.
Unfortunately he has stopped writing or updating the Linux Bible.
I want blame him for his delay. (I bought his new edition few months ago which came after almost after 5 years).
The way Linux is progressing, nobody can keep pace with, including books on Linux.
Moment you write something on Linux and post it, it is outdated by many a miles.
My entry today is to talk about contribution of Linux to Education in general and Science in particular.
With the introduction of One Lap Top for Child (OLPS) project there was proliferation of educational products from France to Germany to Poland and Spain.
Material included from preschool to university level.
Unfortunately due to interference of Microsoft and they being able to port their product on OLPS with the sole object of destroying the initiative is hindering the progress of the OLPS.
For OLPS there is SOAP (Sugar On A stick or Plastics -means Flash Drive) packages but unfortunately nobody seems to streamline and organize these educational material in a systematic and stepwise manner (Built on an existing platform and add on serially to suit the different age groups and needs).
I found few packages very interesting and deal with them first before proposing a scientific way to establish this scenario of Open Source Science and Education.
I call it OSSE-U (Open for Students, budding Scientists and Explorers of this Universe).
There is is a serious of 7 to 10 Linux CDS for Science which I have not downloaded yet. (I have done it now-writing on science may be not in the immediate future)
Therefore, I am not going to talk about science at the moment but education in general.
To begin with there is gCompris from France with a definite French accent for Linux and Microsoft.
But my best in Knoppix for Kids (probably originated form Germany) but unfortunately there are no updates after 2005 or 2007.
There are packages from Russia, Brazil, Argentina, Greece, Spain, Poland and Italy and many other countries(including China-Taiwan-Linpus Linux-now become commercial).
But all these are catering for the domestic audience with their language bias without international clout.
Unfortunately UNICEF and UNO is Dumb and Numb about producing educational (Freeduc-that originated probably from France died in infancy at the hands of UNO) material at least for children and doctors of the Third World.
There is nothing from England and USA, who still with the colonial attitude and mind that they are the repository of Education, which is not so, now. If Open Source take a root in the Developing World their monopoly in education would slowly diminish in importance (European countries are embracing Linux, Spain in particular and Latin Americans including Brazil) but
Unfortunately India also has failed because Indian Maha Rajas also think education is money like their colonial Past Masters.
In this context Russia without a global outlook has failed to catch the market.
I am still to get a live CD version of ALT Linux (they have a DVD version in English-I have the Russian version, though) from Russia in spite of contacting them on several occasions. I have got a CD in Linux now.
I think my Linux 100 and critical comments on the web are bearing fruits in less than 6 months and stock market crisis is a blessing in disguise for the third world except U.N.O pundits who have succumbed to the pressure and insinuation by Microsoft.
I think my Linux 100 and critical comments on the web are bearing fruits in less than 6 months and stock market crisis is a blessing in disguise for the third world except U.N.O pundits who have succumbed to the pressure and insinuation by Microsoft.
Everybody think that once a CD ISO is posted at their web site for free download the job is done.
That is not so.
They do not realize that the Telelom Industry is still in infancy in the Third World and download speed is appallingly slow.
(This has become appalling after the introduction of PEO TV in Sri-Lanka).
(This has become appalling after the introduction of PEO TV in Sri-Lanka).
It took 12 to 14 hours for me to download SuSe Sugar (please do not download SuSe Sugar, it is slow and has a serious bug in the Grub File).
Because of the proliferation of mobile industry Telecom Industry cannot think of a Giga bite download speed for another decade or so.
That is also if one pays a hefty fee.
UNICEF has failed.
UNO has failed to impart emphasis on education because education from preschool to university is big money spinner.
Unfortunately, even in this Banana Republic of Sri-Lanka it is true.
They are not thinking digitally (Brain Atrophied).
Currently trying to destroy the existing system and the students..
I think many more children will go abroad and will never come back with the budget for education going down while budget for defense is going up.
They are not thinking digitally (Brain Atrophied).
Currently trying to destroy the existing system and the students..
I think many more children will go abroad and will never come back with the budget for education going down while budget for defense is going up.
They think by giving outdated free education material to students free that they have solved our Education Problem. It is not so!
They do not pause to think why our brightest students and the children of rich families with foreign connections go abroad paying massive sums.
With this digital age that information can be had for 10% of the price.
All what the student should have is a laptop with Apple Approach (I would write about Apple computer in preference to Microsoft in due course).
This I have to defer since the price is not within the reach of average Sri-Lankan who has to pay almost 50 Rupees for a coconut now!
Mind you now Linux is porting free Linux distributions for Mac too.
This I have to defer since the price is not within the reach of average Sri-Lankan who has to pay almost 50 Rupees for a coconut now!
Mind you now Linux is porting free Linux distributions for Mac too.
We have to import English Teachers from Hyderabad to teach our teachers, having killed the English Education for the last 35 years.
If one wants to learn about Linux and Education, just go to Google and type Linux and Education you get a heap of material form nearby Australia to Germany and France.
This is only a glimpse. I would give a list below and wind with some hints for the Educational Developers with a Linux bent.
1.OLPS with my new OSSE-Universe Linux
2.SOAP
3.Knoppix for Kids
4.Look for defunct Freeduck
5.gCompris
6.Alt Linux form Russia
7.Pardus Linux from Greece and many more.
Even though SuSE Community assembled many of these resources from the repositories they have done a poor job.
Educational package should in my opinion should have they following as the base.
Mysql.
Mysql PHP
Mysql Admin graphic face
My Admin as the front end for student to play with and develop a database of packages.
Gbasic as a front end of Visual Basic application
gFlash as or Flash as a front end.
A Quick time simulator for playing Apple Education software.
Some way to hack itunes.
Kind of Play Station based on Wine and similar emulators.
Then divide the material as preschool, Junior, Intermediate, Higher and University Level to begin with.
Common software repository with series of Levels (for the Linux Distribution in mind) to download.
I would like the distribution to named as OSSE-U Linux (Open for Students, budding Scientists and Explorers of this Universe).
That is my contribution for the time being!
Asoka
Edited 0n the 15th of November. 2010
Original 14th of October, 2009
Open for Students, budding Scientists and Explorers of this Universe).
Copyright name of OSSE-U belongs to me anyway!
Google you can improve on this idea with cloud computing in mind.
Microsoft do not steal this idea.
I will be on your tail!
Education and Linux
It is worth writing few lines on education and its relationship with Linux.
Ultimately teachers are hooked to the bait.
With words there is a proprietary format for Microsoft.
Why UNO or UNICEF is not pushing for a standard word format is an open question.
Are they caught up in the myriads?
I was downloading almost one live distribution (of Linux) a day for testing with a view to (I may have hundred by December at the rate I am going on) sorting out the best ten for a web article.
What is written in the web is all about standard and well established distributions but there are many flavours (Gloria, Myah, Chacra, MoonOS, SuperOs, PCLinux,SAM, Mepis and many more) of Linux used by newbie and the savvy.
They are excellent in their own way but very few people write about them except listing them in a Live CD list.
I accidentally typed Linux and Education got an amazing list of Linux distributions that bundle in one package all the educational utilities.
One of them is ADIOS originated from Fedora Core 2.
They have done a wonderful job and what I downloaded yesterday had the Red Hat look and feel which was dear to me not many moons ago.
That is not the only distribution Ubuntu has its own version called Qimo.
Knoppix for Kids (2003) is another, unfortunately not updated for nearly five years.
The community should reactivate it.
Youknowforkids is another.
If you type Asoka and Linux you get me in the web.
But if you type Linux and Education, you get much more.
Why our politicians fail to visualize that is due to their indulgence with Microsoft and ignorance.
Edited today, 15th November, 2010
Asoka - First published at www.writeclique.net before my adventure with Google.
21, September, 2009
Even though we do not have teachers trained in Linux to help with education including computer literacy, it is evident that in many other countries including Latin America and Australia are investing on Linux in a major way.
Education is big business in America and in the West and neglecting other avenues are deliberately done with the help of Microsoft.
Only in this spring that Americans are awakening to the fact that in eduction at least monopoly should be negated by using Linux. They have highlighted the Seven Sins of Microsoft and I will talk only about their insinuation in educational institution (other factors are well known to an average soul).
Only in this spring that Americans are awakening to the fact that in eduction at least monopoly should be negated by using Linux. They have highlighted the Seven Sins of Microsoft and I will talk only about their insinuation in educational institution (other factors are well known to an average soul).
First they donate few computers, then they give a scaled down version of words package and the carrot and the stick approach is done to the politicians and the teachers abroad (as well as this country).
Ultimately teachers are hooked to the bait.
With words there is a proprietary format for Microsoft.
Why UNO or UNICEF is not pushing for a standard word format is an open question.
Are they caught up in the myriads?
How I stumbled upon education (there are many utilities of education value in any Linux distribution) utilities in Linux is quite an accident of some sort.
I was downloading almost one live distribution (of Linux) a day for testing with a view to (I may have hundred by December at the rate I am going on) sorting out the best ten for a web article.
What is written in the web is all about standard and well established distributions but there are many flavours (Gloria, Myah, Chacra, MoonOS, SuperOs, PCLinux,SAM, Mepis and many more) of Linux used by newbie and the savvy.
They are excellent in their own way but very few people write about them except listing them in a Live CD list.
I accidentally typed Linux and Education got an amazing list of Linux distributions that bundle in one package all the educational utilities.
One of them is ADIOS originated from Fedora Core 2.
Once I saw that all the anger I had with RED HAT due to their departure from Linux average community disappeared into thin air. Unfortunately this is done by voluntary basis and not updated frequently. I believe they (ADIOS) are waiting for Fedora 14 (newest version of Fedora with radical change in approach to coincide with the new needs and trends) to upgrade the systems.
They have done a wonderful job and what I downloaded yesterday had the Red Hat look and feel which was dear to me not many moons ago.
Unfortunately it cannot be installed into hard disk but very soon I believe ADIOS Community would do that.
That is not the only distribution Ubuntu has its own version called Qimo.
The Sugar on a stick approach (SOAS) was amazing it can be booted in a CD as well as on a Pendrive (Flash Drive).
Knoppix for Kids (2003) is another, unfortunately not updated for nearly five years.
The community should reactivate it.
Youknowforkids is another.
If you type Asoka and Linux you get me in the web.
But if you type Linux and Education, you get much more.
Pleas note that Microsoft has taken arms against the OLPC (One Laptop Per Child) Project which is based on Linux distribution and Latin American children are carrying them on their shoulder with pride and SOAS (Sugar on a stick) are meant for that Laptop.
Why our politicians fail to visualize that is due to their indulgence with Microsoft and ignorance.
Edited today, 15th November, 2010
Asoka - First published at www.writeclique.net before my adventure with Google.
21, September, 2009
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