[GLLUG] Fw: [mdlug] OO.org in Mi schools

Mike Rambo mrambo at lsd.k12.mi.us
Tue May 15 13:45:25 EDT 2007


Lachniet, Mark wrote:
> I'm sure Mike Rambo could comment on that but....  One thing I will say 
> is that schools get that Microsoft software at a steep discount.   When 
> looking at the overall cost of conversion (training teachers, in 
> particular) it may not be the best value proposition.  For "grunts" (non 
> information workers) who work in companies paying full price, the 
> argument for OO is much more compelling..
>  
> Mark Lachniet
> Analysts International
> (517) 336-1004 (voice)
> (517) 648-7903 (cell)
> mailto: mlachniet at analysts.com
> 

(sorry - this is a bit long)

FWIW,

I saw the lsj article this morning. Even forwarded it to my supervisor.

I've used OO exclusively at work (on a Linux desktop) and at home (on 
windows and linux) for years - since it was Star Office at least on the 
windows side.

For LSD, Open Office is on every image we deploy. Even new computers 
that we buy are shipped with one of our images and thus come with OO. 
It's pretty safe to say OO is on >95% of the (windows os) computers LSD 
owns. Departments and buildings which then want MS Office are, for the 
most part, required to spend their own building or department funds to 
get it.

Most do. At ~$50 a copy they can't see why not (while not stopping to 
think of how much $50 times thousands of computers adds up to when 
everybody does it).

I don't really know what OO usage has been but if we have even 5% of the 
users of those 95+% of computers with OO that actually use it I'd be 
surprised - or that would be my guess anyway. In spite of it's slowness 
and bloated feel OO does everything the *vast* majority of our users 
would ever need - but almost nobody wants to use it.

Must be something in the water.

That said... there are apparently some genuine operational issues for 
certain power users. My supervisor is generally quite OSS friendly. The 
majority of our infrastructure is Linux. He has used OO extensively at 
times. He generally ends up back with MS Office simply because it makes 
some things he needs to do easier - or prettier. He'd have to identify 
what (and might since last I knew he watches this list). I'm told our 
accounting dept has some excel macros which don't work right on OO too. 
They'd have to identify what :-).

I guess one other possible show stopper could be curriculum. I haven't 
seen it myself as that isn't what I deal with but I'm told that most 
curriculum doesn't teach how to use a word processor but rather teaches 
how to use Word. How true that is I don't know. I *do* know that my son 
was once in a class where the instructor insisted MS Word was the only 
way to successfully do the class. That was before OOo existed. 
Staroffice was too cumbersome at the time so I had my son use (the AFAIK 
now defunct) 602 software's free writer for the class. That instructor 
to this day believes he won that debate - me and my son know better. But 
there is a lot of that. People that don't know better just believe the 
FUD and live happy.

My son is going to Kettering University now and has been looking for a 
job to fulfill the coop part of the experience. The potential employers 
which have asked have wanted to know about Word and Excel experience, 
not word processor and spreadsheet abilities. Right or wrong it makes 
the curriculum vendors look like they're doing just what they need to do.


> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
> *From:* linux-user-bounces at egr.msu.edu on behalf of Mark Szidik/mlc
> *Sent:* Tue 5/15/2007 9:47 AM
> *To:* linux-user at egr.msu.edu
> *Subject:* [GLLUG] Fw: [mdlug] OO.org in Mi schools
> 
> 
> Cool article below from a Superintendent that is starting to "get it". 
>  I wonder if the Lansing School District is listening?
> 

A few of us are - have for years. Hasn't made a difference. Most folks 
just want to get work done with least effort. As long as there is money 
to buy it - it'll be bought.

> 
> ---
> Mark Szidik, CIO
> 
> 
> http://www.lsj.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070513/DEWITTBATH02/705130419/1006/news05

-- 
Mike Rambo
mrambo AT lsd.k12.mi.us

Avoid having your ego so close to your position that when
your position falls, your ego goes with it.
     -Colin Powell


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