Shane Fagan » Irish Education

How Ireland can benefit from open source software

Shane — Sun, 08 Mar 2009 14:30:07 +0000

A few very simple points about how Ireland can save money and implement strategies to make our education system more competitive. First of all in Ireland the education system is full of windows computers or mac if like my old school they have a little extra money to spend. Here is the obvious points.

1. Open source software is cheep or even free so the only cost is implementation

2. Its useful in the base system for GNU/Linux desktops has office software and many other tools for free unlike windows and mac which you have to pay for.

3. Its faster than windows

Now all that being said 1 major selling point of GNU/Linux is that it is a true multitasking OS, you can have hundreds of processes and hundreds of different users logged in at one time. This is very useful because instead of just one user on one computer you can have one server running an entire school for the price of monitors keyboards and mice. The second reason FOSS software should be used is that for each windows computer you have to pay for a licence even if you don’t know your paying and that is quite the opposite in FOSS. The third reason is that the source code is available so there is unlimited possibilities so you can have your class room internationalised to the language of the students breaking down that barrier. Ubuntu in particular is translated into Irish which could be used as a way to keep Irish relevant.

So Free, useful, fast, cost efficient hardware wise, no licence per computer and the unlimited possibilities is why the Irish government should choose Open source software.

Where did all the money go?

Shane — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 00:41:34 +0000

If we look back to a year or even two years ago, we would see a world that looked in good shape. We were more worried about the finances of Africa than our own but now we have to reflect on how our government is in financial trouble and unemployment sky high. In my opinion the government wasted money and had no money set aside for a rainy day and about unemploymet the problem is simply poor conditions. To try to answer my own queston (Where did all the money go?) is hard.

The health service and the education system is the simple answer but in Europe in general that has always been true. Its not that simple though its not the social services in general its more the waste in the HSE, in the running of these services and in failed systems (an example is PPARS). Also quangos(Think tanks , tribunals..etc.) cost a lot of money to run. Now the main thing draining the country’s finances is the dole. With unemployment so high (and only getting higher) it costs the country a lot of money and takes away from other more important services. The simple fact is that we should have like a three month max for people on the dole. Also we need to make sure the money being given out is to people who deserve it. People who want to work and cant get a job. Not lazy sods or people who have a job and collect the dole.

The main thing is that now the people who are suffering are the 5-30 year olds. The people in the over crowded education system or people trying get on the job ladder.

Budget disgrace

Shane — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 22:29:03 +0000

The budget which was announced had many cost cutting measures but I am angry as a 3rd level student. Radical cuts to education to pay for the welfare line. Harming our future to pay for their mistakes in the present.

The Fine Fail lead government also cut the medical cards for older people which is harming the people who need the medical system most.

Yes we are in economic trouble but targeting the students and old people will haunt Fine Fail for years to come. The cracks are starting to show and the governments mistakes when we had the money are costing us now. I applaud the protesting and I hope to get up to Dublin to join in when I can.

Now is the time for Fine Gael to show their strength and take advantage of this opportunity.