Egypt's LUG Will Use Linux To Train Schoolchildren

kbahey writes "The Information and Communication Technology for Development in the Arab World (Arab Dev) has teamed up with Egypt's LUG to provide training for school children in upper Egypt with training on FOSS and GNU/Linux. As you may recall, a while back Slashdot interviewed Egypt's LUG. Here are the questions and here are the answers."

Re:This is great news

[bwd234]

In the USSR, LINUX had YOU!

Re:This is great news

[AresTheImpaler]

Oh come on.. the parent poster was being sarcasting (and funny). Give him a break.
Some real news would be: Egypt's LUG Will Use Windows To Train Schoolchildren

Barrier removed

[amran]

The main barrier for average users wanting to move over from Windows to Linux is that they have used Windows forever, and are so used to it that they find a change uncomfortable, and would just rather continue using what they are familiar with.
But teaching children how to use Linux really removes this barrier, since it allows them to become familiar with how it works, the genral look-and-feel of the desktop, etc.
Bravo Egypt LUG.

Re:Barrier removed

[lachlan76]

It's easier when you've learned to use a CLI.
I started out on a DOS box (can't remember what sort, it was 9 years ago). I'm 14 now, moved a couple of my computers to Linux a few months ago, when I got hold of some RH8 CDs (I have 56k, but use 33k modem, since my 56k is a Winmodem, bad for stability), had no immediate problems.

The reason people have problems is that they don't like using the keyboard. Teach kids to use a keyboard, and they can do anything. Don't and they can't.

Always good, if only for choice

[kbahey]

Something like this is always good, if only to give students more choices. They should not be indoctrinated in a monoculture from the start.

Microsoft has been playing tough in many countries including Egypt.

Initially, Microsoft looked the other way when there was piracy. People still pirate software there, but for personal use, and not in businesses.

As part of playing tough, there has been an Intellectual Property Police for about 8 years now. They can check business for Windows licenses, and confi

Discussion

[MadFarmAnimalz]

H'lo there. I'm from EGLUG, and I just stumbled across this discussion.

Yes, we're teaming up with ArabDev, and the latest word is we have people lobbying the GUC (German University in Cairo) to gt behind the effort. This is critical, since we don't yet have that much people hours. Volunteers, remember?

Hit our site; there's a DELUGE of initiatives. Off the top of my head, we've presented at an FOSS conference run by the Journalists' Syndicate (i.e. the movement is hitting bigtime), we've been contacted by

Re:Discussion

[kbahey]

Hello Youssef I forwarded this link to Alaa yesterday after the story got accepted.

we've been contacted by the biggest public library in Cairo to assist in migrating the systems there to FOSS (any suggestions?

There has been some discussions on library computers using Linux on Ask Slashdot. Cannot find it now, but if you dig hard you may find it. However, computer use in libraries in North America may be different than back in Egypt. The questions focused on computers used for library visitors to bro