Fran Foo | December 02, 2008
IT'S one of the best Christmas parties the IT industry could ask for, but Microsoft may not score an invitation.
Tomorrow, all eyes will be on the NSW government tendering website as the computers-in-schools program finally kicks off.
Microsoft is set to be the biggest loser. Compared with wireless and hardware vendors, it is bound to lose a large chunk of revenue over the next few years as NSW moves to reduce software costs.
NSW is the largest recipient of federal Government funding for round one of the National Secondary Schools Computer Fund (NSSCF) but its months of haggling for extra money to manage the machines led to a stalemate.
States and territories were initially offered $1000 a student to buy computers but this was deemed insufficient. NSW said it required an additional $245 million on top of the $56 million over five years it was promised, while some projections showed there would be additional costs of $3 for every $1 spent on a machine.
The federal Government finally caved in and allocated an additional $807 million to the national fund.
As a result, the rollout would cost $2245 a student, NSW Education Minister Verity Firth said. All up, NSW will receive $256 million.
NSW wants to offer 197,000 secondary school students wireless-enabled netbooks that would possibly run on open-source software such as Linux.
In its submission to a review of the fund's additional financial implications, the state provided an alternative costing model based on open source software.
NSW said using open source software meant zero cost, as opposed to the $405 it typically spent on each machine.
In fact, the review concluded $200 per computer should be sufficient to cover the cost of software to support the computers. It said major software vendors had indicated willingness to negotiate more competitive pricing for software licences in light of the expansion in computers in schools resulting from the fund.
"Consequently, it might be possible to make sizeable savings against this notional allocation. The alternative option of open source software would also allow schools to achieve lower costs," the review, dubbed the Grimes Report, said.
A NSW Education Department spokesperson declined to confirm if the expression of interest would ask only for netbooks using open source software. The department intended to release a call for expressions of interest on Wednesday. A spokeswoman for Ms Firth said the aim was to have at least half the classrooms equipped with wireless access by mid-July, before the rollout of the netbooks.
The wireless network rollout will cost about $60 million, while the netbooks would cost about $98 million.
Each netbook would cost $500 and the wireless network was expected to come in at less than $290 to support each machine.
However, the architect of the open source netbook plan said he would like to see both models, including Windows, included as part of the call for expressions of interest.
"I would ask for both options - Microsoft Windows and open source," NSW Secondary Principals Council president Jim McAlpine said.
"This way we can really compare and see who can give our students real value for money."
Either way Microsoft will be in a pickle: it would have to drastically cut the cost of software licences to offer value for money if it wanted to do business with NSW, or risk a generation of youngsters growing up on a large dose of open source software.
A Microsoft Australia spokesperson said the company welcomed competition, as it provided one of the best education bases.
"We believe learning on the Microsoft platform would best equip school students with the necessary skills and experience for their future.
"Microsoft provides outstanding value, reliability and security in a familiar and easy-to-use operating environment. It also gives users the greatest choice, through the diversity of applications and learning technologies, available across a wide array of devices, as well as access to support from Microsoft's 14,000 Australian partners," the spokesperson said.
A possible frontrunner for the netbook tender is Intel's Classmate PC, distributed locally by ASI, which sits on NSW's desktop and notebooks panel. NSW, Victoria and Queensland have been trying Classmate PCs for months and results of their trials are due to be reported IN January, an Intel spokeswoman said.
Classmate PC, which comes with educational software, can run on Windows XP OR various Linux distributions.
Meanwhile, the other states and territories have welcomed the extra funding.
"The Queensland Department of Education, Training and the Arts expects to receive additional funding for round one in the order of $1500 for each of the computers, subject to finalisation of the COAG agreement," a department spokesperson said.
Tasmanian Premier David Bartlett said the on-costs to fund the computers in schools program for the state were still being worked out with the commonwealth.
"Tasmanian students have started receiving computers and it is expected that more than 40 per cent of round one funds to be used before the end of 2008 will be ready for the start of the 2009 school year," he said.
All Tasmanian government schools purchased from a central supplier panel that had Acer, Lenovo and Apple computers. Mr Bartlett said. Schools could select from a limited variety of desktop and laptop models.
South Australian government schools are finalising their orders for about 4400 desktops and laptops, which are due to be completed by Wednesday, a state education spokesperson said.
A Victorian education department spokesperson said the state had $185.7 million to spend on the computer program.
In the ACT, 13 schools have received their round 1 allocation, and a number will receive their computers by the time the 2009 school year begins.
Your Comments:
32 Comment(s)
LINUX IS FOR I.T. WINDOWS IS FOR OFFICE ADMIN WHICH IS NOT IT
I am sick of all the FUD around Linux and Open Source. (That's "Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt") As somebody who ACTUALLY USES Linux and Open Source almost EXCLUSIVELY I can tell you that there is NO PROBLEM with the software. Yes - it will have to be supported by the Education Department but in reality so does proprietary software! Most of the work that school IT admins have to do is related to the sheer amount of vulnerabilities and flaws that are in the Microsoft work stations. Securing and fixing flaws in Linux is child's play. Linux on the Netbooks is perfect from a technical and logistical point of view. All the "But how will they learn to use Windows?" talk is also silly - The world's most common OS is still going to be around and in the student's lives! In any case they do not have to be specifically trained in software to know how to use it! General computing skills usually smoothly transfer across most OSes. The only obstacle is ignorance, and poorly trained IT staff I guess. (The teachers will be on MS workstations and laptops still.) Also - I started using Linux and Open Source when I was almost in Year 10. That means that I learned all the Microsoft software first! Want to see my resume? ddevnet[dot]net[slash]misc/ (and download it) I'm sorry but I am quite employable for my age. *Writing from a Linux based company laptop* Any problems with Open Source and Linux, contact me and I'll help.
An OS is an OS, a word processor is a word processor, a spreadsheet is a spreadsheet ... it is the fundamentals that must be taught. Whether it is Microsoft, Linux, Apple or She-bang-a-bang branded is not important. Any one taught how to use a computer properly will fit into the workplace. The nuff-nuffs commenting here about needing Microsoft's platform to get a job should never be allowed to use a computer!
As someone who will be supporting the netbooks I really hope they don't got Open Source. Frankly we have enough trouble with teachers not being able to use windows. Imagine the fun and game with Linux
MS have live@edu and office.live which offer free access to students. Take a look at the offerings on the web. Seems to me that anyone who advocates that students DONT use MS products is doing the student no favour for their future
Forgone of Perth - BULLDUST!!! That is so wrong it is a joke. Trev of Townesville - needing no antivirus scanners? What planet are you on?? Clearly neither of you have ever worked in enterprise IT - just like the dills proposing this. The whole 'Open Source is Free' argument has been thoroughly debunked over and over again. Likewise the security arguments. Grow up people - try looking at the facts - not open source propaganda.
The costs quoted are amazing, regardless of MS or Open Source. It should be possible to provide a budget laptop with Office for less than $1000, even if bought retail from Dick Smith. So if the real cost is $4600, something is wrong.
The company I work for runs nothing but open source software, mostly Ubuntu Linux. No Microsoft at all. We've hired 2 students from the local school that teaches with open source (which the students prefer substantially to MS Windows)... So... I guess that school *did* prepare its students for the Real World, eh? Oh, and their IT costs have plummeted since the shift to Linux. Get this, the *students* provide them with support (and in the process, they learn the real skills that we - in the Real World - need), and they do it for free, because they *enjoy it*. Go figure.
What are these children already using at home? Windows. What are they gonna want to use at school? I don%u2019t think Microsoft has anything to worry about! Clearly another well thought-out piece of Rudd legislation. Clueless.
i agree with ram of blue mountains. open source is the way to go. people can customise and fine tune their systems for what they plan to use them for. there is a variation of the ubuntu distro that is specifically designed for education (called edubuntu). i switched from windows to freespire when xp lost its support, and have never thought of going back. the best thing about open source applications and operating systems is that they're FREE!
" ...because of a lack of understanding of the worlds most common operating system" -- We already have that anyway; I work with them everyday. You people aren't seeing computing for what it is, a layer of different abstractions, with the dumb layer on top, which takes very little effort to know how to use. The argument here seems to be that by using Windows, people will understand the lower level operations of Windows. Can anyone successfully argue this? The free clue is that a good amount of spin can make people see the act of using a computer to do work as a really nice idea, that is essentially bogus.
Using Open Source Software is an excellent move. Even better that it will be on Linux. People will soon discover that you don't need to adhere to microsoft at all, and, in fact, that those users will be better off. Just look at the growing popularity of Apple computers for home users and in business. Our kids will be smarter as a result.
"Open Source is free huh? So where are they going to get support from? The open source community? " Actually now that you mentioned it, yes.
Ryan just because it is open source doesnt mean the software is sub-standard.In fact its quite the contrary. And I beleive exposure to open source and its "culture" will only benefit us Aussies in the future.
I agree with Ryan of Sydney. Open source, Linux Systems, will not work in the real world. It doesnt make any sense. What exactly are the children benifiting from open source? I'd rather see my tax dollar go towards an education that will secure a job for younger generations.... even if he/she is from NSW.
Shane well proven higher TCO you have go to be kidding. Where do you get this rubbish.
When we teach people how to use computers we should teach principles - not how to use MS Word, but how to use a wordprocessor. This is truely educating - not by teaching Microsoft, but by teaching principles. Strictly from the users point of view, the differences between linux and windows arent actually that great - just as the difference between MS Word 2007 and MS Word XP arent that great - once you get over the initial appearances. Teach the principles, not the software.
I seriously hope that the government makes the decision to migrate to open-source software. I personally would never use anything else, given the choice. Ubuntu is just one example of a great gnu/linux distribution that has more support available for it than what most people ever get by using microsoft's products. The only reason microsoft has a monopoly, is because most people are unaware that software such as Open Office even exists. It will also save the government a fortune annually by not requiring anti-virus software.
So the government is paying educators $2245 to provide students with a $500 netbook. You're kidding right? What planet are these people from?
Open source is cheaper to obtain but has a well proven higher TCO (Total Cost of Ownership). As always the ALP government is only looking short term and isn't responsibly planning for the future.
Consider that it doesn't take a great deal of learning to work out how to use the 5% of functionality that 95% of the world uses in Microsoft Office -- they can pick that up anytime; quite trivial. Consider that being exposed to Linux from a young age, might actually give people a better understanding of the computer paradigm that we are inexorably bound to, in this modern world. Consider that that this in turn might enable them to troubleshoot and be able to respond to problems better than with a standard phrase: "it's not letting me..."
I love open source however if you are in school and developing your software skills for the future then MS would have to be the way to go. They have been around a lot longer and you will find that a majority of the global market use it especially in the corporate sector. Not only that but there is more support as before mentioned.
Bring in the open source - Microsoft licensing apart from being high is highly restrictive. Open source / Linux based GUI are fantstic and the only way to bring competetion to Microsoft products.
here we go again, more open source properganda. For such a secure, stable open source platform, linux still fails with audio and consistency. As for support, once you factor in the paid support for linux, it's no cheaper than any MS product that has support included in the cost. It may be free initially, but the long term costs are there AND it's still not the best solution available
The Aust. Govt's policy is to use opensource technologies before anything else. In fact the National Archives of Australia (Aust. Govt) has their own OpenSource project on Sourceforge.net - http://xena.sourceforge.net/ It's about time that people start looking at how much more reliable Linux is over Windows and its free..... In reference to support.... any good IT person will know Linux and there's always free support with the newsgroups.
there is an assumption by most people that the Department of Education and Training in NSW is "in there" for the students (and, to a lesser extent, the teachers). Nothing could be further from the truth. DET is only interested in spending the least amount of money on those pesky students and teachers as possible, while swelling the ranks (this word chosen wisely) of middle management - who are no longer "paper pushers", just "button pushers".
Why should they care that the machines being purchased are totally inadequate for training students in the tools used widely in the 'real world' (I am an Open Source Advocate, and RedHat certified, as well as Linux Professional Institute). Spend the minimum to satisfy the Federal Government's requirements.
a disgruntled teacher
You name me a company that actually uses open source software like what is being proposed here? you will have a generation of individuals who are useless when entering the workforce because of a lack of understanding of the worlds most common operating system. And this software is not "free" not at an enterprise level, yes its used in certain situations by major groups such as labs, but they have specially developed software, supported by specific groups - where does this support come from if you are going to put every school child on a linux based machine - something tells me htey dont have 14000 partners distributed across australia.
RAM says "Nearly all the world's scientific computers ,larger scale media creation workstations, and search engines run under Linux." So what about the other 99.9% of computers in the world??? Get real, Linux is not the future, the hype about Linux taking over the desktop is rubbish!!!
Surely one system is needed across the nation. Childen (and their families) are particularly mobile so changing computers and software with changes of state would apperar to be an unnecessary complication. NSW certainly has its snout in the trough if $2245 is their ambit claim from the Commonwealth. Are tender papers available on line??
Wow look another useless "education revolution". When last did you work in a company where they are running open source everywhere. This includes overseas. So effectively the Labor government wants our kids to learn to use software that is not only sub-standard and unsupported but no one uses in the real world
Open Source is free huh? So where are they going to get support from? The open source community?
It is about time NSW considered using Linux for its computers. Secure and stable, open source is ideal for education. Nearly all the world's scientific computers ,larger scale media creation workstations, and search engines run under Linux. Now that is preparation for the future!
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