Linux at the Right Price

Nelson is talking about the Linux operating system, a no-brainer purchase that doesn't cost schools a cent. Last year, when Nelson and his colleagues were considering what to buy for the district's soon-to-be-opening high school, they opted to go with Linux's K12-LTSP (Linux Terminal Server Project) operating system, which is tailor-made for K–12 schools. They also made another shrewd, money-saving decision: they bought 80 workstations (with 15-inch, flat-panel screens) for $500 apiece—roughly half the price of new PCs. Why so cheap? The workstations are thin clients—computers that are slow, old, and lacking hard drives but are just fine for connecting to a server. (For more information about thin clients, see August 2002, "Stretch Your Network," pp. 52–53.)

With their Linux-based server now up and running, Riverdale's staff and students have access to the same sort of software that's found on PCs or Macintosh computers. Linux's Open Office Word Processor program, for example, is comparable to Microsoft Word; Mozilla, a Linux-friendly browser, is a good substitute for Netscape and Microsoft's Internet Explorer browsers; and Open Office Impress takes the place of Microsoft's PowerPoint program. The K–12 LTSP Linux software is free to download or, if you prefer, operating system installation disks—which include a copy of Open Office—may be ordered online at www.k12ltsp.org for a modest $15.

Nelson originally figured that most teachers and students would want to use Microsoft Office for their word-processing needs, so the district spent $10,000 on a districtwide license. "Then I discovered that we didn't need it," says Nelson. "Almost everyone was happy using the Linux software."

Like Nelson, Kirstin Tonningsen, the district's only library media specialist, praises Linux. Thanks to the virtually trouble-free operating system and software, Tonningsen says she now spends most of her time working with students and teachers, instead of dealing with cranky hard drives and other assorted computer woes. Her sole complaint is that Follett doesn't offer a Linux version of its automation system. To compensate, Tonningsen runs Riverdale's Follett system on a separate Windows-based server. But since Microsoft's server software is frequently a victim of Internet viruses, Nelson is reluctant to let students access the library's online catalog from home. (Follett Software spokesperson Kathy Sharo says that the company is aware of the problem, and "we do have plans to fix it.")

Even though Linux's operating system is free and the cost of maintaining its software is low, school technology directors have been slow to jump on Linux's bandwagon. Nelson, LTSP's number-one cheerleader, knows of only 86 schools in the Pacific Northwest that are using the K12-LTSP operating system, and "a few others" elsewhere. He attributes much of the slow acceptance of Linux into the K–12 world to simple inertia, and to the same kind of perception that a school can't survive without Microsoft Office that made him initially reluctant to do without it.

But Jeanne Hayes, president of Quality Education Data, an education research company, thinks great things are in store for Linux. "Right now, Linux has barely raised its head in the school market—it's still a blip," she says. "But my son is a programmer, and he tells me that it's the next big thing."