[SGVLUG] Still shopping for school computers

[juanslayton @dslextreme.com]

Dan,

     I'm sure you're accurately reading how open your colleagues are
to alternative platforms.  There is another aspect to the ethics of
the situation which it might be profitable to raise sometime.  One of
the things that propelled me to Gnu/Linux was the ubiquity of
bootlegged programs in our school's computers.  A computer lab run by
a competent administrator can be kept reasonably legal, but when you
get a hundred plus machines scattered across thirty or forty
classrooms, there's no practical way to control what gets installed.
A teacher comes in with a legitimately purchased program, the
temptation is pretty strong to share it with as many people as
possible.

     I do think this problem has been reduced by the trend to web app
contracts, but it's still worth discussing.  You don't want the
situation where the school declares its copyright policy with a wink
and a smile.

John