One of the biggest arguments used against Linux in grade school level education is that we aren't teaching kids to use the applications they'll use in the "real world". As the Technology Director for a K-12 school district, I've heard that argument many times. After all these years, I still don't buy it.

All over the world millions of kids are studying computers and technology. Imagine what a difference we could make if we could figure out how to help the open source community embrace that opportunity. What if we could help kids explore how computer systems in the real world work in a friction-less playground that allows them to crack open the box, explore its insides and tinker.

School will soon be out for the summer. There are a slew of Linux programs for kids -- including Tux Paint, Celestia and Edubuntu -- that parents can use to entertain the little ones.

Love it or hate it, Microsoft Windows is the world's most dominant operating system.

Operating systems seem to have received more attention these days than they have ever before, and while there are numerous available discussion points, in relation to new versions of these operating systems, one of the biggest trends that has been fascinating to watch is how people are switching operating systems like crazy.

Occasionally I have written about how Linux has become a viable alternative operating system for the desktop. Linux is a “free” operating system, and is the flagship offering of the open source software movement. Open source is software developed by a community of developers and offered at no charge to the public.

"Sri Lanka's open source software community is promoting free programs that can be used on operating systems like Microsoft Windows, without breaking anyone's copyright."

Working with school systems one thing you will notice in almost every case is a pathetic library…there is just not enough money for books. Each district has a budget for books which is often augmented by a Library Fair or some type of way of selling stuff to get money for the Library. But still there just is not enough money for kids to have books.

About 70,000 students and their 7,000 teachers in the Geneva school district will gradually be moving to Open Source. The decision to move to Open Source was taken by the Geneva Public School District in March 2006. Eventually all teachers will be supplied with laptops running Ubuntu GNU/Linux.