EDU-Nix Philosophy and Mission

Mission Statement

EDU-Nix aims to provide U.S. Public Schools with Open-Source alternatives to expensive proprietary software products. The project will consist initially of a redistributable CD that has both a live CD environment, as well as Windows versions of the office and productivity programs.

By ensuring that all students and faculty have equal access to high-quality Free Software, EDU-Nix will help to bridge the digital divide in American schools, allowing students access to the same software they use at school wherever they can get computer time.

What is Free Software?

Note the capital F in Free, as opposed to no-cost software, adware or spyware. Free is for freedom, and refers to the license terms of the software.

Free Software, in a nutshell, is software whose license terms does not restrict users ability to use the software for any purpose, or to modify and/or redistribute the software to others who may find it useful.

You can learn more about the Free Software Definition and movement by visiting the Free Software Foundation organization website.

What do you mean "Digital Divide"?

In some cases, the cost of an Office Suite will actually exceed the cost of hardware for an economy PC. Sadly, many students cannot afford to legally obtain these software programs in order to complete their school assignments.

Standardizing on OpenOffice.org will allow students and faculty the peace of mind in knowing that their software is indeed legal and they are always entitled to its use and support.

While the acquisition of a PC and internet access is still sadly outside the realm of too many students, at least they can use EDU-Nix to access their software as a guest on a public or friend's PC. Students who own a PC can use OpenOffice.org installed under Windows, or boot from the Live CD.