[IAEP] USB based access in Australia

[forster at ozonline.com.au]

> hi Donna and other Aussies,
> 
> Do you know the folks at Cybersource?
> http://www.cyber.com.au/press/government_laptop_best_value_solution.html
> hi Donna and other Aussies,
> 
> Do you know the folks at Cybersource?
> http://www.cyber.com.au/press/government_laptop_best_value_solution.html

Con has done quite a lot of work promoting the use of open source software here and will be well known to many IT teachers. At least in the state of Victoria, the education department has done a bulk purchase of Microsoft software and software is then seen as effectively free at the school level in government schools. Even though the schools are free to chose what software they teach with, there is little driver to move them to open source.

The high fee private schools have more incentive to move to open source, the cost of software per student is quite high, but nearly all still prefer to go with MS is it is seen as an industry standard. This misses the point that IT education is not about learning to operate specific packages but to use them as tools to think with.

Many students are effectively forced to use pirate MS software if they wish to work at home.

So my full support for Con's work but dont expect any sudden adoption of open source here.