Here's my letter: ----------------------------------------- Date: Thu, 23 Nov 2006 23:16:39 +0000 (GMT) From: "Ashley Hooper" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: EDM 179 : SOFTWARE IN SCHOOLS To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Dear Simon Hughes, I'm a Southwark resident of 5 1/2 years, and recently heard about EDM 179 which John Pugh MP has tabled to encourage the use of free and open source software in UK schools. http://edmi.parliament.uk/EDMi/EDMDetails.aspx?EDMID=31752 I notice you have not yet signed it and would like to encourage you to do so, if I may. I believe it's vital that, wherever possible, public money is not spent on often unnecessary software licensing costs. Free software such as Firefox, OpenOffice, Thunderbird etc is rapidly increasing in popularity worldwide, and for most tasks is now more than adequate; perhaps you already use say, Firefox yourself on your computer? I do believe it will become increasingly difficult to justify expenditure on proprietary software where user-friendly, robust, free alternatives exist as with the examples I've mentioned. Additionally, it is held that BECTA, the government agency responsible for use of IT in education, often provide somewhat questionable advice to schools. BECTA's supplier relationships tend to favour proprietary software, and lend themselves to 'vendor lock-in'. Yet even BECTA's own case studies found considerable cost savings in schools using open source software. I must urge you to add your name to John Pugh's Early Day Motion number 179, entitled "Software in Education". Yours sincerely, Ashley Hooper -- "We do not inherit the earth http://backtobreath.com/ from our ancestors; ...-- __@ we borrow it from our children" ....--- _\<,_ -- Antoine de St. Exupery (_) (_) Reg. user: Linux #390621 Ubuntu #7291 Send instant messages to your online friends http://uk.messenger.yahoo.com -- [email protected] https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-uk https://wiki.kubuntu.org/UKTeam/
