“…encourages participation and the democratization of knowledge and provides product independent competences… [a] reinforcement of equal opportunities” for students."

Heh, gee, do you think they'd read my paper?

"Using open source software, you teach co-operation and community, you teach them that everyone is a participant, you teach them that even that lowly 486 they got from Uncle Ted is a useful machine that can be recycled rather than used for landfill. You teach them that while computers are still buggy, a "bug" is an opportunity to learn and to make new friends, and you teach them that even one small voice can teach the world a new song."
[ Elementary Linux: Penguins in the School ]

and just a localization footnote for folks who may not know, but it was, what, maybe about 3 or 4 years back when senior education theorists at our own National Research Council had recommended yours truly as the best agent to effect precisely this sort of innovation for our own cash-strapped Bluewater District School Board -- so needless to say I was prompt and thoughtful in immediately forwarding the URL for your story to their new communications @ bwdsb.on.ca address. Not to say "I told ya so" mind you, but just to be neigbourly friendly like.

Hey Bub,

I facebooked you, added you to the minions. I still don't know if I could do Linux. I wonder if I dumped all my Vista crap, if it would void my warranty. I would probably be bugging you with every question known to man. Then again, it's probably best to let sleeping dogs lie. I don't do technology well. Just ask Dodge. . .

Well ... as the guy with the "Linux" license plates and having literally (co)wrote the book(s), I guess it behooves me to answer your Linux questions, VG, but first, here's a true story that happened just the other day:

Facebook message from a 'local artist': I just bought this cool EEE-PC and I need to install this program for work and, well, it's linux ... so I'm all confused. Can I SKYPE you?

Not a problem I say. The call comes, called right from the little Asus micro-laptop I might add, and we go through the process, and I go through the same steps here on my Ubuntu machine because, well, there's not a whole lot of difference between Linux breeds. I find it works for me once I just follow the manufacturer's instructions but ...

"Oh, wait," they say, "I didn't accept the license agreement! I just noticed the checkbox, checked it, and it's working now."

The salient detail being, of course, that they were able to facebook me, skype me, AND install their work software themselves despite the 'different' operating system, and that the 'trouble' was simply an OS-neutral case of not paying attention to what was actually there on the screen :)

But what I find fun and amusing was their immediate and tacit assumption that Linux had to be the source of the difficulty, because it was different, because (likely) of the heaps of anti-linux full-page all-media propaganda spread (to the tune of ONE BILLION DOLLARS) by its primary and proprietary competitor, and fun too that all that massive disinformation had here been completely dispelled in one simple software install exercise.

So, how do you like your Eee-PC?

"I love it!"

QED. If you're interested, Bruce has one tethered to the front counter down at Renewed Computers, tho its the littler and cheaper edition.

btw, I've never had a virus or a spyware or a trojan-horse or a script-kiddie intruder or even a BSoD. Not even once. Ever. What's it like?