Although computers get bigger, run faster and accomplish more amazing feats all the time, they still store data in a 1970s-era file system. But that may be about to change.
The absolute numbers or Ubuntu servers in use is impossible to come by as anyone can download, copy and install the software on multiple servers without any form of registration.
Freelance animator Janne needed a cheap way to do a whole lot of CPU-intensive 3D rendering, so he built a Linux cluster into an Ikea filing cabinet to get the job done. The Helmer was a whole lot cheaper than what CPU cases would cost for the servers he built, and it saved a lot of space, too.
To reduce these we can do the following simple things:
* Stop using expensive software and use free software instead. Free, open source software such as Linux is, of course, just that - free. OSS is increasingly a 'shoe-in' for most of the expensively licenced proprietary software used in schools.
NComputing is working with the state governments of Assam and Tamil Nadu on pilots for the deployment of its virtual desktop technology on Linux PCs, according to Dukker.
Jim McAlpine, NSW Secondary Principals' Council president, said sellers could look at offering non-proprietary software for the laptops, such as Edubuntu, the education version of popular Linux distribution Ubuntu.
