Comments on: Exceptional Linux programs for Kids

By: chas rivera

chas rivera — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 03:15:22 +0000

How easy to characterize schools as spouting “blather” when making decisions about which operating systems they use, while not offering one argument against “that’s what the business world uses.” You might forget that beyond reading, ‘riting, and recess, schools do look to prepare students for the workforce. The workforce does not use Linux.

Linux is free, and is good for basic training for poorer school districts until they can afford ‘better’ programs. But there’s no such thing as a free lunch, one has to make do with what it offers, which isn’t much.

Our school switched to Linux and I can tell you that with very few exceptions, its Ubuntu is inadequate in many areas. For one, the interface is counter intuitive. Tux Paint for example can only be configured to save in a folder called “saved”, text is un-editable, and the images are of poor choice and quality (a murdered rag doll, anyone?). Don’t get me started with GCompris and its mind boggling “word processing” for kids. I would rather go online to use a web-based word processing site like Houghton-Mifflin’s.

Second, support is horrid. Does everyone know which version of Debian or Red hat to click when downloading anything from their website? Why exactly is it called Synaptic packages and not “Install” or something more understandable? I tried to change my mouse to a larger and more kid friendly icon and discovered I needed to know some programming to do that.

Third is content. I like that I can edit Kanagram, Ktouch and a few other programs to include my list of vocabulary for example. But that’s about all the control I have over the content. OO.org Writer has tons of cool icons and clipart, but must the students really see clip art of a half-naked mermaid, different panty hoses, a Playboy silhouette, and a smoking “bad guy” cartoon just to name a few examples?

I wish the “I-Hate-Microsoft/Steve-Jobs” bunch would stop ‘their’ blather about how Linux is our technology savior. It’s not, it’s a stop gap, band-aid measure until hardware and software prices plummet. Linux has cool games, but it’s anti-user friendly where it really counts.

By: Jeniffer Aaron

Jeniffer Aaron — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 07:19:25 +0000

Fantastic Informations, i just found this blogpost story from my technorati profile news feeds section! I was searching for this since past 3 months and i am glad to see it here. Thanking you much

Jeniffer.

By: Islam Abou El Ata.

Islam Abou El Ata. — Sat, 09 May 2009 23:08:41 +0000

isn’t there any window manager for kids? I think this is the most important thing to be done.

By: gabriele bianchi

gabriele bianchi — Sat, 18 Apr 2009 20:25:48 +0000

Thanks a lot for the information. I have a 4 years old kid and he is just beginning to use the computer, and Iam looking around for software good for him. He enjoys a lot Childsplay.

By: Educational software for your computer | syngshin.com

Educational software for your computer | syngshin.com — Sat, 13 Sep 2008 07:58:19 +0000

[...] require the Linux operating system to run, most will also run on Windows or Mac. Have a look at this comprehensive list to see what’s available and what’s recommended for students of all ages and skill [...]

By: Bill

Bill — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 19:28:44 +0000

You should take a look at Kiddix. My kids love it, and it includes a bunch of the applications you listed above, and more. It is definitly the best “Kids Operating System” out there today.

There website is here:
http://www.kiddix-computing.com

By: ubuntu linux for kids

ubuntu linux for kids — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 05:31:18 +0000

[...] Many folks out in the blogosphere have written on the merits of Linux for kids. One such blogger at FanaticAttack.com hits the point well as he writes: The idea in technology (and education for that matter), is to [...]

By: Entertaining the Kids for Free - With Linux | Special News | The complete database of World Technology

Wed, 28 May 2008 04:36:34 +0000

[...] the sharp team over at Fanatic Attack has put together an excellent list of the best Linux programs for kids, which was noted by Scott [...]

By: PhilipLawlor.com » Blog Archive » Entertaining the Kids for Free - With Linux

Tue, 27 May 2008 15:14:34 +0000

[...] the sharp team over at Fanatic Attack has put together an excellent list of the best Linux programs for kids, which was noted by Scott [...]

By: Mike

Mike — Sat, 17 May 2008 22:01:33 +0000

http://theopendisc.com/

many of these programs and a whole lot more.

Start with Open Source Software (OSS) that runs on both Windows and Linux. Let people realise they can still do the things they want without having to Buy or Pirate brand name commercial software. ONce you get them comfortable with OSS, the transition to Linux is not such a big step.