tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18676377.post115825912385317469..comments2024-03-18T10:20:04.643-04:00Comments on Steve Hargadon: OpenOffice.org Interview: First Choice for Some Schools Now?Steve Hargadonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17776685502090744803noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18676377.post-1840859841876584282008-01-02T10:13:00.000-05:002008-01-02T10:13:00.000-05:00Anonymous:I agee on the risk issue. What's intere...Anonymous:<BR/><BR/>I agee on the risk issue. What's interesting about that is the degree to which it encapsulates how technology decisions are made in the school environment--which might be categorized as "passive" or "reactive." Nobody who used Word Perfect when it was the leading word processing program should have any difficulty seeing that mainstay programs are less and less static--and anyone paying attention right now might say that teaching MS Word is actually teaching old technology, since Google Docs is likely to be more pervasively used in five years. So while I am sympathetic to how the school decision-making systems reward those who keep their necks less exposed, I also think the result of that (in most cases) is a lack of vision and a more proactive integration of technology into education.Steve Hargadonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17776685502090744803noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18676377.post-64537828271220078542008-01-02T08:23:00.000-05:002008-01-02T08:23:00.000-05:00The problem with getting Open Source software in t...The problem with getting Open Source software in to school districts is that it is perceived as a risk. Most people at work use Microsoft Office so that is what parents and board members will now and 'trust'. If a IT Director runs with a plan to migrate to Open Office they run the risk when problems occur that they will be blamed. Most, IMHO, prefer to avoid that risk.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18676377.post-1158766966937933712006-09-20T11:42:00.000-04:002006-09-20T11:42:00.000-04:00Yes. Sorry about the sound quality. We think we'...Yes. Sorry about the sound quality. We think we're doing better now! :)<BR/><BR/>I'm not sure that the formats in the office productivity programs lock anybody in now. OpenOffice.org, for example, seems to open and save in the .doc, .xls, and .ppt formats quite well. I do think that we continue to use that which we are most familiar and comfortable with, and so MS is smart to discount to schools and students. They are not the only company to do so.<BR/><BR/>While I've read that same quote before, I do think we need to be careful not to be drawn into demonizing commercial software companies (not that there aren't times when they deserve it). For me, it can sometimes detract from the other positive messages of the Open Source movement.Steve Hargadonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17776685502090744803noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18676377.post-1158737974587896542006-09-20T03:39:00.000-04:002006-09-20T03:39:00.000-04:00I enjoyed listening to your interviews. The ones ...I enjoyed listening to your interviews. The ones about LTSP, were excellent despite the poor sound quality in some.<BR/><BR/>The latest interview, that with Solveig Haugland, Ben Horst, and Randy Orwin, was interesting, too. However, in regards to the pricing not only are many universities giving away MS Office or selling it for a token sum, the schools themselves are getting heavy discounts, some as much as 90%. <BR/><BR/>However, there is a catch and I was surprised that none of the four in the podcast pointed it out. The catch is getting locked into the file formats. The file formats have been a constant sore point for interoperability. That's not only between MSO and its competitors but also different versions of MSO. So the initial price of MSO may appear low, but there is a catch and MS does plan to recover the money.<BR/><BR/><BR/>"Someday they will [pay], though. As long as they are going to steal it, we want them to steal ours. They'll get sort of addicted, and then we'll somehow figure out how to collect sometime in the next decade."<BR/>--http://news.com.com/2100-1023-212942.html?legacy=cnetAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com