I look after the ICT (computer stuff) for our kids' school on a voluntary basis, this takes around 1 - 4 hours a week. I have just finished having a play with the Edubuntu classroom server v 8.04, released recently. This product is fantastic for schools, especially primary schools, here's why:
- You can use relatively old PC's with no performance problems. All you need is one or two grunty servers.
- You only have to maintain one server, not many workstations.
- Edubuntu comes bundled with heaps of education related software. Including open office.
- Kids can't hack it or mess it up (unless you let them)
- It's secure, it's free, and it's really stable!

Just reread my previous comments sorry about typos, etc...
Anyway just noticed an article on Stuff... the plot thickens, eh.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/4082106a28.html

Has anyone here used Mac Office recently?

Anyway... just one problem or two problems. NCEA!
Being a primary/Intermediate Teacher... I don't really care, but poor old secondary teachers/students apparently will have some difficulty with Neo-Office and Open Office lacking certain Macro and Graphing (Excel specific) capability.

I wasn't really listen when it was explained, but a certain type of graph is needed (I'm not talking Pie here).

Even a lack of ClipArt in Neo-Office will add 20 minutes to NCEA level whatever (students need to create their own graphics).

Do folks really see Mac Office as a complete dog?
Like I said, have you used it?
Ok sure it ain't free.
I could list a stack of funky features that don't necessary make it worth the price tag.
- Built-in image editing (More powerful than anything in Windows Office prior XP or 2003).
- Notebook feature
- Advanced editing features ~ extremely powerful for teachers and students in terms of developing and understanding the journey (history) of written language.

The impression I have is that the Ministry did not budget for the number of Apple computers in schools.
Those who are slapping the Min of Ed on the back for making changes towards Open source are misinformed or making bold assumptions.
They just ran out of money.

Although I suppose rewriting NCEA might be cheaper than forking out for whatever number of millions were required to legally license Mac Office.

On the topic of "Linux and open-source being better..."

"The proof is in the pudding", as the old saying goes. Witness
the **huge** list of bodies like states (e.g. Massachusetts), regions
(Extremadura in Spain), and even countries (Brazil) switching to open-source software.

Here's a great site that gives some idea of the **HUGE** scale of this switch -
http://www.starfishsystems.ca/Share/oss.php

Reading all your comments, you blame Micrsoft for this who situation, when microsoft didn't actaully do anything here, the Ministry of Education is the one who cancelled the contract.
Also what is it with all you Liinux users here that assume because you use linux and are open source your better with information technology than the rest of the world. Here at work we have Windows 98, 200, xp and vista, but then we have OSX and about 7 variations of linux, the thing is it always comes down to what people find easiest to use. This tends to be the same as whatever comes with the PC they buy bundled in town. Linux intimdates alot of people because of the idea its hard to use, and Apples are just damn expensive, how about knocking $1000 off and then it might be more widely used.

When I was at school we had 5 PCs to share between 500 kids, Can kids these days still even work a pen and paper?

If you tell someone something enough they will belive it. Microsoft tells the whole world about their products! Office this Office that. After a while we just think "Office". Its a shame we are so easy to brain wash. We belive what we are told.
I can't blame the schools for doing what most of the rest of the world do (rightly or wrongly) and on the upside someone out there is trying to change the mind of the masses - not an easy task!

Don't forget that those schools which use PCs pay for Micro$oft Office as well. Sure, it may come bundled with the machines, but the cost is included in the price of the computer.

The real root of Micro$oft's monopoly is not the software. The problem is that they made the Word, Excel, Powerpoint file formats the de facto "standard" that became ubiquitous. Hence, the easiest way to manipulate and promulgate those files is with Office. The only alternatives were deemed to be open "Office" analogues which still use the same file formats.

One of the best things that could come out of this would be the schools could ditch Office file formats, and join the growing movement of organisations using the OpenDocument format. When the file format is an open standard, it doesn't matter what software the school, or anyone, chooses to use to create, open, or modify the document.

Why are schools training people to use proprietary software?

Why the hell aren't they EDUCATING the kids? Computers aren't educational equipment.

Teach the kids to write. Not how to make "presentations" (which can be content-free, but "look nice").

Teach them how to work out mathematical problems, not how to enter numbers into Excel, and produce wrong results.

If they need to use computers when they reach employment, it's up to the employers to train them. It should take a week to get an educated person to use commercial software designed to be usable by the illiterate.

.. yeah... open standards, open ideas..=> leads to quick and light speed innovations... see guyz.. ^^V

Why is it that so many people expect Microsoft to give away their software?

Does PC World, or its publishers give away its magazine? Do supermarkets give away food? Does anyone expect to get free electricity or free fuel?
Do teachers teach for free?
As a software developer I like to be paid for my work, so software I develop has to be sold.

That some people contribute their time and effort to free softwae is commendable - but that doesn't mean all software has to be free.

When PC World's journalists agree to work for free then and only then will they have the right to criticise software companies (not just Microsoft) for expecting to be paid for their software.

Sure Microsoft could have been smarter and reduced its prices for software for schools as a marketing promotion - but that's their choice not yours.

BTW I use both an older copy of MS Office (which I paid for) and Open Office. To be honest I prefer Word & Excel.

I'm an IT consultant and after much thought switched to Macs last year after 20 years as a Microsoft user (DOS, Windows, languages and Office). I now use NeoOffice on my Mac, it works very nicely and for a school there is no reason to spend money on Mac Office, buy more computers for the kids instead !!!

MicroSoft does it again - it is high time Government gave them the flick, especially in so far as education is concerned. Laziness in not thinking outside the Microsoft square has helped them get their dominant position, and given them the muscle to squeeze the last dollar out of software that generally has so many defects because of an unholy rush to get updated and new product on the market without adequate testing.
I personally have strong almost religious convictions about using MS products where there are quality alternatives, especially IE and Outlook.

Place yourself in the position of theses school... mid way through the year they are asked to remove Mac Office from their networks. A kick in the teeth for already over worked techie teachers or school budgets.

Neo Office is functional, but like taking the Mini for a drive. Sure it gets you from A to B... But it aint all that.
Open Office still require X11... to run a native version is some time away.

I was looking forward to finally running Mac Office natively on Intel... as a Teacher I'll get it, how will teachers cope with teaching one office app while using another?

The whole story isn't told here. The Ministry is still paying for Apple OS and iLife updates, KidPix (Oh Joy) and Apple's iWork (Pages and Keynote).

My school would need to fork about $20,000 to run Mac Office on class computers.

Those schools who have spent the money on buying Office, probably paid an extra $50 on top of your figure to get software assurance to get the next version of Office coming out at the end of the year-ish.

So sure we'll look at Pages etc and look more at the free alternatives.

Free software like Freemind - catch my attention. Open source such as Open Office need to get a little more exciting and imaginative...

I agree with Richard Win's comments.

I use both Linux and OpenBSD, and the quality of those operating-systems (and the software available for them) is *light-years* ahead of anything that MS can produce.

MS isn't a software company - it's a toy-maker. Windows is a toy, and an abysmally-designed one at that. However, don't expect the Government to wake up to that fact. They must be the "easiest sell" of any of Microsoft's accounts.

Once again Micro$oft wins the day, or course its due to misunderstanding and lack of research into viable alternatives. For sure Open Office has bugs but no more than Office and they are open and honest about them, not only that the patches and version’s are regular and free, produced openly by the combined programming skills of very talented people throughout the open source software movement.

Firefox is another example of excellent free software and thankfully is very quickly grabbing its rightful share of the browser market and once again its free and a better alternative to IE.

These days just about every shopping cart you buy products from on the web has open source software running it with a slick designer skin over the top yet we don’t stop buying online because it might have the odd bug. Its about time we did the same with having faith in other open source software solutions most of all where it concerns our children’s futures.

The sooner more people begin to look at open source with open minds the sooner the developers will be able to bring it more mainstream, when this happens and it will happen, everyone will win not just Micro$oft.

I installed 'Darwin' and mainstream OpenOffice on a MiniMac in mid 2005 and it worked beautifully. It's a bit clunky going through 'Darwin' which is probably why people prefer the Java version. Not to mention I'm not sure if Darwin is still supported. At any rate it is criminal to pay for software you've already paid for and installed.

Yes I agree, well done to the Government for heading in this direction, they can go a lot further still. Here is our real life example: Over a year ago I gave our children's principal a copy of EduBuntu on a CD, within a few months he had it installed on 50% of his computers and even his own laptop. He installed every bit of it himself, he is not a techy. A year later and the school's library is open source, he has an Edubuntu terminal server for the older 166MHz PCs... seeing is believing, there is so much software to install, it's free of lock-in and best of all free of charge.

Can't anyone see that there must be a sort of corruption made by Micro$oft towards politicians, directors, etc.
In what other way can such a thing be explained? Quality? Nooo...

Quote from elsewhere: 'But Mr Le Sueur (school principal) said the NeoOffice website warned users to expect problems and bugs.

"That's not the sort of software we should be expecting kids in New Zealand to be using." '

Better stop using Microsoft Office then, Mr Le Sueur - it has just as many problems and bugs. But rather be up-front about their existence like Openoffice.org does, Microsoft pretends they don't exist on one hand while frantically pushing belated patches out the door with the other. I know which ethic I'd rather "kids in New Zealand" took note of.

The computers used by NZ schools (Apple Macs) are already a clear second-place (to PC's) in terms of popularity/common use - but they are arguably very good in terms of ease-of-use and everyday performance, and perhaps even superior in several of the ways that really matter. The same could be said of OpenOffice.org and it's Mac derivative NeoOffice, over and above Microsoft Office. The money-saving is just a bonus - and from this taxpayers point-of-view, a welcome one.

Well done to the Government for heading in this direction!