Recent Forum Posts

From categories:

All categories General Discussion: Discuss Ideas

Re: Tutorials

Boss Lepton 1177622027|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover
in discussion General Discussion / Discuss Ideas » Tutorials

Name: Plus nt many ppl noe abt their way around linux since our IT awarenes is nt too high in Msia. Students my also b reluctant to learn linux as it does nt benefit them in future undertakings of which most [26 Apr 07, 13:36]

I agree that IT awareness is not too high around Malaysia. This is one of the primary objective of the project as well, we to provide more facilities so that students can generate an interest in this field.

Getting around linux can be quite a daunting task given its notorious reputation. But over the years, development has been so rapid that even I find the transition from Windows to Linux isn't quite as daunting as I heard.

Students don't have to know their way around the system. As long as they can use the browsers, OpenOffice.org, probably some instant messenging service, then I'm already quite happy with the progress. Those with the interest can go further but it's all up to the students.

I propose that we give a project(to be approved by the school admin) for a group of students to design a school website. We should be able to guide them along the way using the latest WYSIWYG editors. It should be quite a good way to promote learning.

Name: companies r using win. Even if they had, skools generally discourage them to immerse themselves too deep in non-academic albeit educational pursuits [26 Apr 07, 13:40]

Companies are using windows yes. If you have a bunch of linux users, and given that using linux is already known to be harder(just a bit) than using windows, chances are companies wouldn't discriminate them. In fact, it may be beneficial to the students in the long run too as more companies embrace linux.

A word about school discouraging students to immerse themselves too deep in non-academic pursuits, I know what you're saying. All of the us have gone thru that stage where we are spoonfed. Probably only a small percent of students would be influenced into immersing themselves in computers.

Most other students probably just surf around to get more information, checking emails and, if possible, blog. I will go all out to encourage blogging at the same time too.

Thank you for your valuable feedback, it means a lot to me.

Approval to run Linux in Schools

Boss Lepton 1177621380|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover
in discussion General Discussion / Discuss Ideas » Approval to run Linux in Schools

I received some interesting comments over in my blog.

One of points that were highlight is

Name: abt the project you have mind. I think approval is needed to run linux system in skool for the sake of synchronisation since most skool comp r on winxp. [26 Apr 07, 13:34]

I think this is a valid and important point, will look into approval prior to organising a full-blown attempt on this project.
The important thing is to be able to present a valid and reasonable case to the Ministry of Education. This is by no means an easy task as we know how much bureaucracy is involved in getting a permit to do something. Nonetheless, this should be top priority for the project in the initial stages.

Where to get old computers?

Boss Lepton 1176951489|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover
in discussion General Discussion / Discuss Ideas » Where to get old computers?

We could contact a few e-waste disposal companies in Malaysia to have them supply the project these computers.

Another option is to approach companies to ask them to donate their old unwanted pcs. We could possibly put a sticker on the donated computers to help these companies improve their image in terms of corporate social responsibility.

We could also appeal to the general public to donate their old unwanted pcs to the project team.

Tutorials

Boss Lepton 1176951265|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover
in discussion General Discussion / Discuss Ideas » Tutorials

Currently I am not taking teachers into account because I believe that teachers should not be burdened more. I hope to be able to directly allow the students to use the computers without the contraints from the teacher.

My suggestion is to gather a bunch of interested students (possibly the computer club members) to be the people responsible to learn, teach and maintain the computers. It's a good way to train them to handle responsibility.

Financial Gain?

Boss Lepton 1176951054|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover
in discussion General Discussion / Discuss Ideas » Financial Gain?

I am still exploring this area as to where the project could possible get a sustainable income from, any comments are welcomed.

Ideas I've come up with:

1. Sell ready made computers at really low price, equipped with linux and open source.
2. Lease computers for a small fee.

I hope to keep this project non-profit so that the beneficiary of the project is the society as a whole.

Why Open Source?

Boss Lepton 1176950393|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover
in discussion General Discussion / Discuss Ideas » Why Open Source?

A comment from freethinker:

But open source ? With people too comfortable with Microsoft, it'll be hard.

The advantage of open source are well known, it is chosen for this project because of several reasons:

1. Due to the nature of this project, we are going to need to install the Operating Systems to a lot of computers. With virtually zero funding, it is not possible for us to obtain Windows license for each and every compute.
2. I think it is better to expose the students to linux as it allows them to learn the very essense of computing.
3. Linux runs well on low spec computers.
4. Desktop linux is also relatively easy to use compared to windows. With the ongoing development I believe that by growing the community, students can freely explore the system without much constrain.

Hello World

Boss Lepton 1176949474|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover
in discussion General Discussion / Discuss Ideas » Hello World

Hello world, just browse over to the Welcome Page for a summary of the ideas. Hope to hear from you.