[OSGeo-Edu] [Fwd: Sorry can't make it]

[Tyler Mitchell]

That'd be a good start toward an overview document Gary.  

Thanks.

Tyler

----- Original Message -----
From: Gary Watry <watry at coaps.fsu.edu>
Date: Friday, May 12, 2006 8:40 am
Subject: RE: [OSGeo-Edu] [Fwd: Sorry can't make it]

> There are some good FOSS tools out there that are currently 
> limited to
> Windows only, But I have yet to come across any that were limited 
> to Linux
> or Mac's,(Although I am sure there are).
> 
> Maybe when I get time, I'll post a table on the web of the 
> different desktop
> FOSS and what operating systems they are compatible with
> 
> Here we run Windows and Mac's
> 
> That is my two cents worth ( or a penny and a half now-a-days)
> ______________________________________________________________
> Gary L. Watry
> 
> GIS Coordinator
> Center for Ocean-Atmospheric Prediction Studies
> FSU / COAPS
> Johnson Building, RM 215
> 2035 East Paul Dirac Drive
> Tallahassee, Florida 32306-2840
> 
> E-Mail: watry at coaps.fsu.edu
> 
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Charlie Schweik [mailto:cschweik at pubpol.umass.edu] 
> Sent: Friday, May 12, 2006 11:25 AM
> To: discuss at edu.osgeo.org
> Subject: Re: [OSGeo-Edu] [Fwd: Sorry can't make it]
> 
> Helena Mitasova wrote:
> > Charlie,
> >
> > I use Mac and I have just installed Fedora5 at work and both 
> have very 
> > nice GUI and are easy to use
> >
> > Most students that I work with have no problems going from 
> Windows to 
> > Linux or Mac (small kids are the best).
> > Just give it a try. If you want to pursue Open source I think 
> you 
> > should give your students opportunity to use
> > open source all the way including the operating system,
> >
> > Helena
> Hi Helena,
> 
> Indeed, I am doing this. I am the PI of an open source teaching 
> lab that 
> is one of the first (according to my colleagues at IBM who donated 
> the 
> lab) trying to expose students in the social and behavioral 
> sciences. 
> And yes, the GUIs like KDE and GNome are very user friendly and I 
> have 
> found  that moving to other FOSS office software (open office) is 
> indeed 
> easy for students.
> 
> But the problem I am running into is slight resistance from 
> students who 
> are used to Windows because of their fear of file management 
> differences 
> on Linux. This is probably pretty minor. But I also ran into the 
> problem 
> that the MassGIS website offers downloadable shape files in a 
> zipped 
> executable, and extracting them on Linux is a bit of a headache. 
> So this 
> has scared and confused them a little. Moreover, I don't know what 
> I am 
> headed for in terms of platform differences in the future as I 
> move 
> toward GRASS. Certainly I'll find out over the next 6 months. But 
> I 
> raise this because I am developing first-drafts of modules and 
> want to 
> know if the group feels various education modules need to have 
> different 
> versions written for FOSS GIS software running on different 
> operating 
> systems.
> 
> So -- Should modules written be platform independent? Or should we 
> focus 
> on one operating system platform to start? Or is this generally 
> not a 
> concern?
> 
> And what I am trying to do is develop an online course out of 
> UMass that 
> would hopefully be somehow connected to OSGEO -- if nothing else, 
> the 
> curriculum material is there and I am just offering a service as 
> an 
> instructor. My motivation is in part because I have worked in 
> Nepal and 
> with some African scholars in the past and know that I have 
> colleagues 
> in these countries  that need GIS for their environmental work. 
> Others 
> in this group may be trying the same thing which I think is great. 
> I am 
> envisioning someone who has limited technical background and maybe 
> not 
> that much technical support. I'm not sure what will be more 
> prevalent -- 
> Windows, Linux, etc. But I can imagine that if it is Linux based, 
> there 
> may be issues about getting a Linux machine for them to use. 
> Perhaps a 
> early module in the curriculum would be more on computer 
> requirements 
> and how to install the operating system? Or maybe some links to 
> websites 
> that describe this?
> 
> Cheers and thanks for your feedback.
> 
> Charlie
> 
> 
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