| CollegeLinux: Learning the Linux Way |
by Jill Ratkevic
DesktopLinux.com speaks with Professor David Costa, Dean of Robert Kennedy College (RKC) in Switzerland about his school's newly released Desktop Linux offering -- "CollegeLinux." Based on Slackware, the distribution offers key features which empower the average desktop user like single click installation and Samba configuration, Flash, embedded Java, hardware detection and more. Sharing his vision of educating Linux users about what is going on 'under the hood' of the OS, Dean Costa (aka the "CollegeLinux Guru") discusses the goals of this experimental Linux distribution and project out of the academic world . . .
DesktopLinux.com: Briefly, what is the story behind "CollegeLinux"? Why did you select Slackware as the basis for the distro?
David Costa: RKC is a small not-for-profit college with 350 students spread over 60 different countries. We mainly offer courses in the area of business and law for adults and the majority of our programmes are offered online with a state of the art technology.
Computing is a new subject we will introduce next year with a dual diploma programme in both Linux and business management which is targeting young high school graduates in our region. As such we didn't have a strong development base from our students. We hired some students from other Universities with a stronger school of computing.
The lead developer is a young student named Mihai Secasiu. He did make it happen in the way I wanted to be for our users. My contribution was mainly centered on the "end user" area. How things should look and feel, applications included, etc.
Our goal is to further validate Linux in an educational context and provide an ideal environment to both full time students and "students" of Linux.
Slackware is -- in my opinion -- one of the best distros in terms of stability and structure. I don't think that another Red Hat-based distribution can add something relevant to the original base. We wanted to have a user friendly environment but also a learning experience for the user, being himself a student or not. Furthermore, I think that Slackware package system is much more reliable them 'rpm'.
DesktopLinux.com: What does CollegeLinux offer compared to the leading Linux commercial distros? What are some of the advantages?
David Costa: CollegeLinux keeps ease, fun and learning altogether. Some users may prefer a GUI graphical interface like the excellent option proposed by RedHat, SuSE and Mandrake. The only problem is that with a windows-like installer, users will expect a Windows-like system in terms of adding applications etc.
In other words, CollegeLinux has an easy installer with hardware auto detection and a ready to run system for both novice and expert.
The first time I installed Mandrake (my first Linux distro) I was a bit disappointed to see no flash, no java, and not easy way to plug my computer into the Windows network. With CollegeLinux. 'flash' is there and all the majors browsers plug in -- both Konqueror and Mozilla. You are set up for network sharing within 2 clicks.
At the same time, you still get all the development tools, editors, and multimedia applications. We don't really compare CollegeLinux with a commercial distro. It is in a different league as they do provide an higher degree of support and documentation. Nonetheless, we made something different and not-for-profit.
DesktopLinux.com: By providing a learning environment for users, CollegeLinux successfully introduces users to key concepts of Linux without hiding the backstage processes. This is the opposite approach of many vendors who are seeking to simplify installation by hiding background processes. Can you discuss this unique methodology? Are there other examples of you "opening" the system up for the user to see "under the hood"?
David Costa: In each of our installer steps you learn something new about Linux and how it works. We do offer 2 options: easy and "expert". The easy option does auto-detect most of your hardware with no questions asked.
The expert setting is based on the Red Hat 'Xconfigurator' and allows, for example, set your monitor manually.
Hiding all the processes in the backstage is good for some users and does provide you a quick solution to a knowledge problem. But what do you do after installation? How do you install something from the Internet and not from that distros CD? How do you set up your network if your 'ip address' was misconfigured during installation? With CollegeLinux there is a link on the desktop which will open the 'netconfig' utility of Slackware on the console.
With a Windows-like installer, you don't learn anything new and inevitably, after installation, you end up comparing it to Windows which has a similar approach. My hope is that development of Linux and Open source solutions will foster more system knowledge for the average computer user. My hope is that CollegeLinux users will learn something new about Linux while using it.
DesktopLinux.com: CollegeLinux enables Windows sharing of networks in just two clicks with a simple text interface. You also offer a one-click applet to 'mount/umount' Samba for networking. These simplify Linux for the user. Can you explain other key features that make this distro ideal for the new Linux user? How does it satisfy the advanced Linux user?
David Costa: Windows sharing was one of the main problems for the desktop user. There are others and we don't claim that all are solved on CollegeLinux (yet) but we did solved some of the issues which where not covered in other distributions.
The beginning Linux user has all he needs for his daily office activity with OpenOffice, Kmail, Koffice, browsing with flash and plug-ins installed, mp3 multimedia tools, edutainment utilities, games, graphics, fax utility etc.
The advanced user can benefit from the Slackware base applications included in our distro and can install any additional Slackware package with ease.
DesktopLinux.com: What is CollegeLinux's approach to stem compatibility issues and eliminate dependencies? How does the software improve the ease and reliability of package management and installation?
David Costa: Slackware 'pkgtool' and 'kpackage' will handle any compatible package with ease. This allows no troubles with dependencies as you may have with the rpm-based system.
Currently, the new Linux user should have all he needs on the distro and easily find Slackware packages. We do plan to compile more packages (as we did with Open Office 1.0.2. included in the distro now) to satisfy any possible need. With a proper package and 'kpackage', the installation process is really straightforward.
DesktopLinux.com: What is your view of open source and how is the philosophy employed in the CollegeLinux distribution?
David Costa: I think that software should be free from the financial standpoint and leave to the user the "freedom" to modify, copy, improve -- everything needed.
For a student it is really hard to learn anything from an application without the source code. In fact all you learn without the source code is how to use proprietary applications.
Another issue too -- how could a student in Eastern Europe or Asia afford to pay 300US$ for a basic OS that does not even include the office suite?
I applaud the effort of commercial Linux distributions. Our case is different, but there is nothing wrong on having an excellent Linux distribution like Red Hat or Mandrake and sell it for a reasonable amount of money. After all programmers have the bad habit to eat sometimes ;)
DesktopLinux.com: What is your vision/expectation for the opportunity of Linux on the desktop? In your opinion, what are the main barriers to the success of Linux on the desktop, and what are the key things that can be done to maximize the success of Linux in the desktop market?
David Costa: I started as a desktop user. Even my pseudonym -- "CollegeLinux Guru" -- is somewhat funny and shows that even someone with zero knowledge of Linux can learn a lot of things in a very reasonable amount of time.
We first installed Linux in all computers leaving a couple of computers on Windows. Initially I had some problems, now I use Windows only to retrieve old emails -- and very rarely.
I think the main barriers are:- Marketing -- (yes, windows users mostly think Linux is for geeks only). Advertising is important and should not be channeled only in Linux publications but everywhere.
- More applications
- Mindset -- The mindset factor is still very strong. I mean that some users just discard the notion of Linux for the desktop based on a specific application or game not running on Linux. In some cases - this is a real problem. In other cases is mainly our natural aversion to change.
I think universities in general should use Linux and teach Linux much more. Not only to computer science students -- to all students.
DesktopLinux.com: How does the academic nature of CollegeLinux set it up for success or failure? Are you working with other universities to help develop the project further?
David Costa: Many universities are not considering Linux as much as they should. I think this is once again a problem of knowledge. How many professors (beside computer science professors) are familiar with Linux ?
The majority of students are using Microsoft Windows. Fostering a cultural change is a challenge for both educational institutions and students. What I am in fact ssurprised about is how some universities with huge computing departments did not start a Linux distro with continuous upgrade by its students. It would be a great learning experience.
We are grateful to the Technical University of Vienna which provided a mirror for our iso image. And it did it with no delay whatsover -- all done in a day!
DesktopLinux.com: At less than one month old, what has the reception and feedback been so far?
David Costa: The official iso was made available last Monday. The number of downloads was surprisingly high. We received few reviews and the majority are positive. We will need at least few months and many more feedbacks before closing the balance.
DesktopLinux.com: The move to Linux has reportedly been strongest outside the United States. Care to comment on that trend and discuss it as it has manifested in your region? How about in education?
David Costa: The trend is still very slow here in Europe. But I am more positive - as soon, more users will be made aware of the great possibilities that Linux offers. The new developments on user friendly system are also enhancing the reputation of Linux as a desktop solution.
DesktopLinux.com: How can we get CollegeLinux?
David Costa: You can download CollegeLinux freely at this link or purchase our cd for 6 US$ ;) We do want to upgrade the current functionality as soon as possible. But we also need feedback and support from our users!
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