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Apartheid Starts Here

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apart20073

Originally uploaded by greekmaninsask

I admire social activism, and it’s a wonderful thing to see an example of it in this city.

This sign which reads “Apartheid Starts Here” was placed on the train overpass at Saskatchewan Drive on the way to North Central Regina. The location is significant as the entrance to inner city Regina. Obviously, the sign is to make more apparent the functional and economic apartheid in our city. This is especially timely as National Aboriginal Day was yesterday and the National Day of Action is coming up June 29, 2007.

I wonder how long this will stay up. Please, spread the word.

See location of sign on Google Maps.

Starting Over In Google Reader

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One of the things I mention when I present at conferences or to university students is that one of the first things I do in the morning is read my RSS feeds. At times, I’ve had over 1000 feeds in my Google Reader although I’ve whittled this number down significantly. I don’t know, lately, I’ve just found things just are too repetitive, boring, mundane, written for the sake of writing, etc. In other words, I’ve become a bit disinterested in many of the feeds I am reading.

People often ask, “How do you keep up with so many blogs, etc.”. I’ve said in response that I’ve made it a big part of what I do, that I check my RSS before my email, or before diving into those (often) boring academic articles. However, I think something inside my needs a big change. So, today I’ve made the decision to dump all my feeds, and start over.

GoogleReaderBefore

GoogleReaderAfter

It’s a bit drastic, but I’m going to start filling up my reader with all of the sources that I can think of from the top of my head, friends and colleagues who I enjoy reading, and who inspire me. From there, as before, I’ll add others that interest me. However, this time, I’ll be much more particular as I really want to be able to interact with those I read. I’m making a commitment. If I read you, I want to also be able to give back.

So my list may be embarrassingly small for the time being. However, change is good, and sometimes drastic change is the best.

For those edubloggers out there, inspiring us all do a better job as educators and as leaders … I’ll find you again.

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Schools Save Money With Open Source Software

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Here’s an interesting account of cost-savings in a school district written by the Technology Coordinator of Noxon Schools in Montana. The school district has been using open source software for the past six years.

Here is the summary of the cost-savings:

Office Suite
OpenOffice Cost for 185 computers = 0 ($0 over 10 years)
Microsoft Office Cost for 185 computers = $11,936.20 ($50,000 over 10 years)

Anti-Virus Software – ClamAV
ClamAv Cost for 185 computers/servers = 0 ($0 over 10 years)
Other Anti-Virus Vendors – $4000 ($40,000 over 10 years)

Servers
Red Hat Enterprise 3 servers – $150 ($1500 over 10 years)
SUSE, Slackware – $0 ($0 over 10 years)
Microsoft $7889 (10 Year estimate $23,667)
Novell Yearly Subscription $1000 (10 Year estimate $10,000)

Hardware
LTSP Server and 100 workstations – $4500
3 additional LTSP Servers – $4000
100 New Computers and Server Hardware for Microsoft Product $78,500.00
10 Year Cost Estimate (upgrade 3 times) – $225,000

Total Open Source Savings for Setup – $92,675.20
Ten Year Savings – $338,667.00

The reality of these figures for Noxon Schools is that if we had Microsoft products only we would not have185 computers we would have 50 because that is all we could sustain. That is the big difference for us.

Relatively, this is a very small school district (only 270 students). Could you imagine the savings in a larger district?

Update: While on this topic, I just noticed a recent short essay by Robert Pogson, a sysadmin in La Loche Saskatchewan. Here, he makes the case for using LTSP (Linux Terminal Server Project) in schools in order to save money on computer hardware.

Regina Public School Closures Halted

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Although I can’t seem to find an official press release, word has it that the proposed closure of 11 schools in Regina will no longer proceed. Since the announcement of the proposed closures, several parent associations have been critical about the plans of the Regina Public School Board.

Public school administrators didn’t do their homework before announcing possible school closures or give parents enough time to study the issues. (Source)

For many in Regina, this will come as welcome news. However, the issue that prompted the school closure plan (decreased enrollments) still exists, and officials will need to be creative in addressing any shortfalls.

Update: OK, I found the official press release.

Amazing Xmas Lights Show

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A video of an amazing, well-choreographed Xmas lights show has been making its rounds via email, and if you’ve missed it, have a look. I wasn’t really sure whether or not this was legit or not, as I thought there may have been some video editing. However, Snopes reports that this is an actual light display of a family in Mason, Ohio.

This display was the work of Carson Williams, a Mason, Ohio, electrical engineer who spent about three hours sequencing the 88 Light-O-Rama channels that controlled the 16,000 Christmas lights in his annual holiday lighting spectacular (from Christmas 2004). His 2005 display includes over 25,000 lights that he spendy nearly two months hooking up. So that the Williams’ neighbors aren’t disturbed by constant noise, viewers driving by the house are informed by signs to tune in to a signal broadcast over a low-power FM radio station to hear the musical accompaniment.

Leo Laporte On UNIX, FOSS & Open Content

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Mad Penguin featured an interview with Leo Laporte where he discussed the future of Unix, free and open source software and open content. It’s a good read, and neat to see someone so embedded in the proprietary content industry advocate strongly for open ideals. Laporte states:

It’s ironic, because my background isn’t open content, it’s proprietary content, if you want to make that distinction. It’s working for mainstream media companies, and that’s what my career has always been. It funds everything else that I do. I still have to make a living. The books that I write, the radio show that I do, the television show that I do are all traditional mainstream media. But on all three of those venues, one of the things that I really advocate for and believe in is the opportunity for everyone to have a platform with digital media, to have a voice through open code and content.

And on the future of open source vs. proprietary …

It’s gonna get increasingly difficult for private enterprise to compete against open source, because open source combines the goodwill and efforts of thousands of people in all different areas in a way that they can marshal so much more brainpower than any private company can. What open source teaches us is that while money is an important motivator for people, it’s not the only motivator.

Ahhhh … that’s a nice thought.

How To Make Enhanced Podcasts

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MAKE recently produced a very detailed article on how to created enhanced podcasts, “audio files that can have slideshows, URLs and some cool features.” I love the idea, and would love to try incorporating this into my courses … the article even includes some neat ideas for learning integration . Neat stuff! However, the BIG drawback is that this only works with .m4a/b files, and therefore, only on compatible devices (e.g., iPods) or with iTunes.