eSchoolNews Online reports a large desktop Linux implementation project in Indiana.

Taking a huge step toward its goal of a computer for every high school student, Indiana will introduce 1,600 new desktop computers running Linux-based operating systems and software in its classrooms this fall. The program could be the largest such undertaking involving open-source software ever carried out in U.S. schools.

And as many administers have already figured out, it’s not purely about cost:

Though the cost is a primary concern for Indiana state officials, Laura Taylor, director of Indiana’s Office of Learning Resources, said it is not the only issue to be considered. “This model is really about scalability, sustainability, and repeatability,” said Taylor. “It’s not just about cost, but cost needs to be considered if this is something that’s going to be replicated in multiple classrooms. But cost means little if it doesn’t work.”

Not much to say other than “viva la revolution!”

Tech Republic has posted a good article titled “Giving your surfing a boost with these 10 Firefox extensions“. There are some terrific extensions here, including favorites such as Greasemonkey, FoxyTunes, StockTicker and MeasureIt. Check out the article, and feel free to suggest any good extensions that aren’t mentioned.

Having so many distributions of Linux available can be more confusing than helpful. To make things a bit easier, here’s a helpful Linux Distro Chooser that can assist those looking for the right fit.

Note: This chooser is geared for x86 based-systems only.

Tom Radcliff recently put me on to Puppy Linux, a live CD Linux distro that he is using where he teaches high school. I got a chance to test it out, and I am really impressed. Check out the mission statement:

* Puppy will easily install to USB, Zip or hard drive media.
* Booting from CD, Puppy will load totally into RAM so that the CD drive is then free for other purposes.
* Booting from CD, Puppy can save everything back to the CD, no need for a hard drive.
* Booting from USB, Puppy will greatly minimise writes, to extend the life of Flash devices indefinitely.
* Puppy will be extremely friendly for Linux newbies.
* Puppy will boot up and run extraordinarily fast.
* Puppy will have all the applications needed for daily use.
* Puppy will just work, no hassles.
* Puppy will breathe new life into old PCs

Beyond the speed (it puts both my OS X and XP machines to shame in this department), I really like the idea that this Linux distro is as small as it is … only 60(ish) MBs. As stated above, users can actually use the other 590-640 MBs to store files as the OS setup allows you to use the existing CD-R space for file storage. Thus, no hard disk drive necessary. Those features, and the fact that the minimum requirements for use are PC’s with Pentium 200MMX and 64MB RAM (with swap partition), make Puppy Linux something that should be seriously considered for student/school use.