December 2014 - Free-software-melb - lists.softwarefreedom.com.au

Mandatory ipads in schools
by Martin Ebourne 23 Dec '14

23 Dec '14

Hi all, I've been lurking on this list for quite a while now, because it is a topic that interests me. I would come to some of the meetings, but I am in Adelaide so that somewhat precludes it. :-( Anyhow I have an issue that concerns me and I'd be interested in other people's experiences in this area. It seems an increasing number of schools, even primary schools, are requiring parents to purchase and support an iPad or similar closed proprietary technology as part of their day to day education. Even state/public schools are in on the act here, and it rapidly seems to be becoming normal that the cost of a public education in Australia is $600 per child to Apple Inc on a semi-annual basis. This situation feels totally wrong to me. eg. See these threads a few days ago on the linux-sa list: http://www.linuxsa.org.au/pipermail/linuxsa/2014-November/096770.html http://www.linuxsa.org.au/pipermail/linuxsa/2014-November/096782.html My sons' school is next on the bandwagon it seems, more information here: http://www.craigburn.sa.edu.au/files/BYOD%20iPads/innovative_learning_prgra… Regardless of the merits of using a mobile computing device for daily learning - and I see both pros and cons here - the requirement to provide a specific device from a single company and tied into that corporation's highly proprietary and restrictive platform and license terms is in my opinion potentially disastrous. It also puts me in a very difficult position as my beliefs and principles preclude me from purchasing such a device, but then I already have 2 children and soon a 3rd at the school, and clearly I also do not want to disadvantage them in any way. Although the program is stated to be entirely optional it is abundantly clear that this is not necessarily going to be true, nor is it likely to remain true once an accepted norm is established. eg. http://www.mamamia.com.au/parenting/bring-your-own-device/ IMO this latest threat to users' computing freedom and thus all of our futures is potentially one of the most damaging I have seen for a very long time, much more so than government legislation. If the entire education system is geared to binding children and their families into a single vendor's platform, and teaching them all to be perfect consumers, then the war would be lost. I'd be interested in any experiences and opinions others have on this as I intend to put a submission to the school explaining why I think they are making a bad decision. Cheers, Martin

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Coreboot improvements
by Adam Bolte 06 Dec '14

06 Dec '14

I had not read Phoronix in a while, so was skimming through recent articles and came across this: Coreboot Now Works On A ~$70 Intel Motherboard http://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=news_item&px=MTg1MTM "Coreboot has been ported to work on another Intel motherboard... The new port is for the Gigabyte GA-B75M-D3H, a micro-ATX motherboard that's fairly decent if you're still using SNB/IVB era hardware." "The Gigabyte motherboard port was done by Damien Zammit and is based on Coreboot's Lenovo X230 port. Damien says Coreboot on this board can boot to Linux via SATA or USB and all USB ports are reported to work." It's great to see more hardware supported by CoreBoot that is still available in retail. Great stuff Damien! -Adam

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Visiting Melbourne in January
by Deb Nicholson 01 Dec '14

01 Dec '14

Hi all, My name's Deb Nicholson. I work on a bunch of free software stuff, like the Open Invention Network, GNU MediaGoblin and OpenHatch. I also used to be the Membership Coordinator at the FSF. Anyway, I'm going to be at LCA in January and would love to visit Melbourne after the conference, approximately January 18th or 19th through the 23rd or 24th. Ben tells me that I'll be missing your regular meet-up. So I was wondering if any of you would be up for an ad hoc meeting or dinner while I'm in Melbourne? I'd also be interested in visiting other meet-ups with flossy folks, visiting your workplace if they want to chat about ameliorating their risk of software patent lawsuits and seeing whatever stuff a nerdy tourist *really* ought to see in Melbourne. Apologies in advance for laggy responses since I'll probably be getting your emails while I sleep. Cheers, Deb

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