d r a g o n f l y

The character-based drama is about a SchoolNet team and teachers and learners at a remote rural school in Namibia. One of the issues it addresses is the controversy about the compatibility of Free and Open Source office applications and programmes with similar (and usually very expensive!) proprietary software more commonly used in the private sector. The Schoolnet director says: "We expect Hai Ti! to finally put such controversy to rest. The skills acquired by teachers and learners to cut, copy and paste, and use office tools such as word processors and spreadsheets, as well as the Internet, must be completely platform neutral, without affecting their career and learning opportunities.

Well, that's clear. And that is precisely why it is important that the Norwegian Competition Authority will investigate claims that the Directorate for Primary and Secondary Education is flooding schools with free copies of software behemoth Microsoft's programs. The Skolelinux (School Linux) foundation and Sunndal Junior High School in Møre og Romsdal have filed a complaint. The School Linux project claims the directorate gives away Microsoft software as part of its program of transferring slightly used equipment from the business sector to schools, preventing competition in the educational sector, financial daily Dagens Næringsliv reports. See article in Aftenposten

I watched the children playing games on the internet in our neighbourhood school. The pop-up windows with advertisements targeting children and invitations for porn sites were all around. Of course, Microsoft's Internet Explorer does not come standard with the option to block pop-ups. After talking with the school director I was left with the impression that all efforts were put into data protection but no one had thought about protecting the children from unwanted data. Skolelinux would offer an easy and cheap solution!