Costa Rica chooses Microsoft over Gnu/Linux

[Lazarus500]

Another victory for ignorance:
The Ministry of Education announced yesterday in the newspaper, La Nación, that Costa Rica will buy new MS licenses for the public schools. The reason that was given by the Ministry was that it would be cheaper to use MS than Linux. Alberto Orozco, the Director of the Ministry (the ignorant or corrupt one- take your choice) said that it would have been very expensive to train 35,000 teachers to use Linux (Ubuntu was mentioned). Since the teachers already knew Windows, there would be no associated training costs.
Roberto Sasso (the enlightened one), President of the "Technological Investigation Club" (I don't know a better way of translating this), mentioned all the usual reasons why a Linux distro would be a better choice, including, of course, lower costs. He also said that, "the Government is not changing to FOSS because there is no pressure to to become more efficient, like there is in the private sector."

Ok, that's the bad news. The good news is that 2 years ago the possibility of using Linux would not have been considered. And Ubuntu was mentioned in a Costa Rican Newspaper! Yes, times... they are a..changing.

[Giant Speck]

Well, it goes to show that even when presented the freedom to choose, one also has the freedom to not choose. If it works for Costa Rica, then so be it.

[bashveank]

Another victory for ignorance?
It sounds like they did their research before deciding.

[Regenweald]

In the long run it may not be cheaper, but at this point if they all know Windows already than so be it. At the end of the day Costa Ricas children will be computer literate and hopefully exercise their power to choose. My computer literacy was gained totally on microsoft products, but here I am, Ubuntu as my primary OS.

[NightwishFan]

I would like to see how Windows could somehow cost 'less' than Linux, even a commercial one. The only thing I could think of is incompatible hardware. However! Assume that they are using Xp as their OS, which is foolish, Xp has outlived it's time. Assume they are using Vista, in which every PC would need a higher end cpu and a series 7 nvidia at least to run right. Well you could argue reduced down Vista would run alright, but who wants to waste time disabling features. You have to choose between no security and support or new high end hardware. Linux needs optimization in neither.

[Pasdar]

Training 35.000 teachers in costa rica to use Linux. Learn to do what? Click to open a program? wtf? It's the administrator that has to know or be trained to install to deploy it on all their systems, make it secure and install all the packs they need. Each admin at each school can put one beamer up, showing how to start the programs they need.

Let's assume they need training anyway, 7 days of intensive training 8 hours per day. 20 teachers per instructor, 35000/20 = 1750 instructors. 7 days * 8 hours = 56 hours = 56 USD per instructor (minimum wage costa rica). 1750 * 56 = 98,000 USD for training all 35,000 teachers.

Now let's buy Windows licenses. Assuming that per teacher they have 10 PCs, that's too few actually, but whatever. You'll see just how expensive it is to go this route.

35,000 * 10 = 350,000 PCs,
(at student discount price, you can't get any cheaper)

If Windows XP gets deployed: 22,750,000 USD
If Windows VISTA gets deployed: 34,650,000 USD
If Windows 7 gets deployed: 69,996,500 USD

Now compare that to 98,000 USD for giving the teachers a 7 day intensive course. Or 196,000 USD for 14 days intensive course. Or 2,450,000 USD for 6 months intensive course (8 hours, every day of a week), roflmao.

[NightwishFan]

Mass deployments get 'discounts' from Microsoft. ;)

[Marlonsm]

The Brazilian state of São Paulo (the richest one) has done something simillar.

They've sold laptops to teachers at a lower price, and most teachers bought it. ALL laptops came with Windows Vista, MS Office, MS Math and many MS stuff in it. While everything a teacher would ever need can be found in Ubuntu (or Edubuntu) for free.

[happysmileman]

Mass deployments get 'discounts' from Microsoft. ;)

Discounts of over 99.5%? (based on the Windows XP costs above and the training costs, I imagine training costs would be higher, but I also imagine that even if the training costs where several times higher it still would be cheaper.)

[NightwishFan]

You would have to do the research yourself. I just know that this occurs.

[monsterstack]

Training 35.000 teachers in costa rica to use Linux. Learn to do what? Click to open a program? wtf? It's the administrator that has to know or be trained to install to deploy it on all their systems, make it secure and install all the packs they need. Each admin at each school can put one beamer up, showing how to start the programs they need.

Let's assume they need training anyway, 7 days of intensive training 8 hours per day. 20 teachers per instructor, 35000/20 = 1750 instructors. 7 days * 8 hours = 56 hours = 56 USD per instructor (minimum wage costa rica). 1750 * 56 = 98,000 USD for training all 35,000 teachers.

Now let's buy Windows licenses. Assuming that per teacher they have 10 PCs, that's too few actually, but whatever. You'll see just how expensive it is to go this route.

35,000 * 10 = 350,000 PCs,
(at student discount price, you can't get any cheaper)

If Windows XP gets deployed: 22,750,000 USD
If Windows VISTA gets deployed: 34,650,000 USD
If Windows 7 gets deployed: 69,996,500 USD

Now compare that to 98,000 USD for giving the teachers a 7 day intensive course. Or 196,000 USD for 14 days intensive course. Or 2,450,000 USD for 6 months intensive course (8 hours, every day of a week), roflmao.

Completely agreed. I reckon the excuses spewed by Linux-avoiders about the training costs are totally bogus. Especially when you consider most of the users will be using kiosk-type terminals without any real power to break stuff. It makes me wonder who on earth works for these people that they need to give them weeks of specialised training. Presumably their employees must be brain-dead halfwits mindlessly mashing and drooling on the keyboard, the type of people who look for an Internet Explorer button the computer box to turn the damned thing on. "WORD IS NOW CALLED WORD PROCESSOR! MY MIND IS EXPLODING!!!"

[NightwishFan]

My local library told me that Linux as a desktop would 'confuse' users. Why? Because they are brainwashed to think we need a blue panel and green start menu?

The only thing the library is used for is to:

Browse Internet
Type and print documents
Other stuff is not technically allowed.

All of it is available by default on Ubuntu, even Word/Excel support. Ubuntu is also locked down, and they waste time locking down Windows manually.

How hard is it to add an icon for OpenOffice, and call it Word Processor? Or Firefox, and call it 'Web Browser'.

It is because Microsoft gave a 'grant' for it to get new PCs it did not need. The old ones were decent, and the new ones still use XP!

[SuperSonic4]

People are idiots but I suppose people have the choice to be idiots.

[Mehall]

MSFT will give Windows away for virtually nothing (or sometimes literally nothing) as if people only know Windows, they are more likely to use it on their personal computers.

They may have even cut a deal with an OEM to cut the price of the computers as well as of Windows

[KiwiNZ]

Closed due to insults with out being in possession of the all the facts