转向自由软件之路（翻译稿与原稿对照）

kaikai_r

转向自由软件之路

作者：Michael Surran
翻译：guagua kaikai（水平有限，请高手指正）


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2001到2002学年我的计算机实验室开始发生问题，鉴于实验室中大多是来自资助的二手电脑，发现在越来越新潮的软件冲击下，电脑开始变得不稳定了。不用说，该升级了。

Greater Houlton Christian学院是私立学校，不接受联邦财政资助，因此更换设备几乎是不可能的，作为管理员，升级软件会带来软件硬件的双重开销。在此期间，我对在俄勒冈洲已经发生的众多关于微软侵权的调查的事件所警觉，于是开始寻找开放的或免费的软件，这促使我开始关注，在最终用户许可协议规定下用户使用Windows究竟有怎样的权利，我开始被那些顽固不合理且模糊不清的警告和处罚措施所震惊。

既然不可能通过大宗购买行为来升级实验室，我转向了开源软件，能够在为学校节省一大笔开销的同时购置成套的软件，并为每台机器安装了系统和应用软件，实际只支付了一些象征性的费用。并且，这使我们拥有自由选择升级产品的机会和技术。

同样使我感兴趣的是GPL，一个与最终用户许可协议同样复杂、甚至更复杂的协议，但为用户保留了更多空间如定制自己的系统。我也就不必去理会那些不合理的许可协议和所谓证书了。

2002到2003学年开始了大的尝试，学生成为最终的系统测试者，工作的成果是肯定的，我没意料到，结果得到学生、家长和社区的巨大的赞同和支持。21世纪所必须的计算机技术和科学理念前所未有地成功地融合在一起了。

一、开放源代码(以下简称"开源")软件的优点
使用开源软件有许多好处.我不可能在这里列举所有的优点，但我会着重说一些我有体会的好处。开源软件一开始引起我们的兴趣是因为它几乎是免费的。这是因为那些花时间在开源项目上的人把他们自己看作为一个整体。这些程序是开放共享的，并且没有那些有约束的许可协议。

通常我们会有“因为开源软件是免费的,所以质量一定不行”这样的误解。正好相反，比如说LINUX，就是以它的稳定和高品质的个人操作系统而闻名的。这是因为它的源程序是可以被任何人查看和修改完善的。联合了世界上成千上万的程序员通过INTERNET来开发一个开源程序，你可以看到为什么开源软件能够和商业软件竞争甚至超过商业软件。
作为一个系统管理员，使用开源软件能带给我们最重要的一点是拥有自主权。许多人，包括一些系统管理员，都不能完全明白如今伴随着那些商业软件的典型的最终用户许可协议。由于软件公司出于对他们知识产权的保护，软件用户们发现他们自己被越来越多的限制在软件使用协议上。

与此相比，GPL公约使最终用户可以自主地安装，发布甚至修改开源软件。GPL的灵活性使我在我们的新计算机实验室电脑软件的安装和配置上节约了很多时间。并且，我不用再为违反那些概念模糊的“最终用户许可协议”而担心了。

自从把实验室的电脑升级成LINUX后我发现另一个更好的好处就是它使孩子们尝到一些新鲜而且不同的计算机知识。在过去的几年里，我经常在家中教孩子们使用操作系统的技能的时候遇到困难。因为这些系统都是孩子们所熟悉的，他们认为这些是“旧玩意儿”，并且我不得不努力工作来热情地培养他们。用了LINUX，孩子们非常感兴趣，几乎马上认识到他们正在学习一些新的有用的东西。这使教他们计算机的基础原理变得非常简单，并且可以将任何软件运行在任何操作系统上。


二、让学生面对一个真实的环境

曾经听到这样的议论，认为学生如果学习Linux，那么将来他所面对的会是另一个世界——即由微软操作系统和办公软件主导的世界，我将自己实验室与其他实验室的Macintoshe系统比较的时候也有这样的争论，当我重新评估开放软件时我发现这样的想法是片面的。

类似的争论来自两个假设，其一是，认为学生所学到的东西应该在以后的工作中能够使用到，我曾经教过MS-DOS, WordStar之类的东西，其中哪一样是现在流行的呢？甚至同一种产品都有不同的版本。这带来第二个假设，即我们教的应该是基本技能而非某种特点技巧，我们更应该教给学生普遍的特性，而不能被受限制于某些软件的单一特性。

这就好象学开车，我们从来不学开某种特别牌子的车。我们教的是驾驶的普遍技能，开源软件的特点是，他强迫学生必须掌握这些普遍技能，学生到大学时候可能并不使用Sun公司的Microsystems中的StarOffice Writer，或那个什么微软的word，但我可以提供他们学习最新的免费的开源操作系统和软件，至少学校可以为此节省大量开销。

再退后一步讲，我发现已经有越来越多的公司和社区对学校开展基于Linux的信息技术教育表现出极大的兴趣，因为在市场方面，Linux已经在美国的社区和公司中有了很好的拓展业绩，社会需要Linux的相关人才。我可以肯定自己的学生将来能够轻松地操作各种类型Windows的程序。与那些没有采取类UNIX架构的系统的学校的学生相比，我们的学生拥有更为出色的驾驭能力。

三、接受挑战

我越来越喜欢开源软件和它给我们学校带来的作用,在从一个操作系统走向另一个操作系统时会有一些挑战。我们必须面对的最大挑战是兼容性的问题。对于那些使用苹果电脑或视窗操作系统的用户来说，你知道程序很少可以同时在两个平台下运行。在不同的应用软件中交换文件数据也是一个很大的挑战。

如果你的学校已经购买了很多不支持的UNIX系统的软件，这会使你很犹豫是否使用LINUX。在LINXU下运行“Reader Rabbit”并不象在WINDOWS或MAC OS上那样，只要插入安盘后使用INSTALL这么简单的。实际上，许多不是为LINUX而写的程序不能运行在LINUX系统上。这就是说我们必须寻找相同功能的开源软件来代替它们。

这带给我们另一个挑战：寻找开源软件。大多数商店和目录都不提供开源软件的信息。实际上，许多开源程序都必须从INTERNET上下载；虽然，这是改变。LINUX正面临着“鸡和蛋”的问题。就算LINUX有和微软一样多的供应商支持，也不为有这么多的用户来使用它。不论如何，更多的用户转向LINUX平台，供应商们也不会过度热情地支持它。供应商们开始使用开放标准，同事间使用有权限的软件将至少在一些时候提供一个挑战。一个我对自己完成得非常满意的挑战是学习怎么使用LINUX。我听说把LINUX描述成十分难于维护和使用的操作系统。如果你只知道怎么使用WINDOWS，这是事实。虽然，我曾经学习怎样使用LINUX，我发现它还是比较容易维护和配置的。在过去的一年中，因为LINUX的高效稳定，我轻松地管理着我们的学校的网络和服务器。最大的挑战就是学习怎么去操作一个系统；当然一个令人愉快的挑战就是学习的过程。

不幸的是，不是所有的教育工作者拥有象我一样的面对最后一个挑战的情况，或是我对计算机技术的热情。当我和我的学生沉浸在学习新的技术的时候，有一些人却不愿去改变。这几乎在我帮助的每一所学校转向使用开源软件的时候都会遇到。对于那些已经熟悉原来的软件的人来说，使他们相信改变到开源是有益的是一个很大的难题。高层的职员加入培训，因为你的职员知道他们将在他们有问题需要帮助的时候得到支持，他们会对改变到开源更自然。

尽管道路崎岖，可是我发现，转向自由软件之路走得非常值得，如果有哪些学校要在管理或教学中升级系统有面临成本问题的时候，我强烈推荐他们使用开源软件。

四、开源软件之优势

价格：开源软件一般价格都不高，并且后续升级的费用也很低；
自由：GPL公约约定下，最终用户对软件安装、分发、使用、修改的约束都很小，大大降低了管理员的负担以及降低了软件审核方面的危险；
质量：由于对软件源代码的平等回顾权利，开源软件被许多软件高手修改地更趋完美和稳定；
分发：任何有经验的程序员，包括学生或教师，都能自由得分发开源软件的软件包；
平台：大部分主流开源软件都支持越来越多的硬件环境（不仅仅是PC机），用户有越来越多的硬件选择权；
认同：开源软件获得日益多的认同和支持，包括许多政府、企业以及机构已经开始使用开源软件。

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欢迎访问校园Linux之家 http://weiyu.3322.org
开源教学[开放-动力-教育] http://www.oedu.org
为什么问为什么（探讨哲学问题） http://question.blogone.net

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原文：

Making the Switch to Open Source Software


By Michael Surran


During the 2001-2002 school year I was struck with the reality that our computer lab would not meet the demands of our school for another year. The secondhand computers that were donated to us over the years had served us well, but they were beginning to fail regularly. Perhaps of greater concern was the inability of our computer lab to run modern software. Needless to say, it was time for a change.

Greater Houlton Christian Academy (www.ghca.com) is a private school in Maine, and thus does not have access to state or federal funding. This meant that financing a new computer lab would be an incredible challenge. As the system administrator, I not only had to consider the cost of upgrading our hardware, but the cost of upgrading our software as well. It soon became obvious that the price of new software was just as much as, if not more than, hardware products.

It was also during this time that I became aware of the software audits costing schools in Oregon many thousands of dollars for violations of their software licenses with Microsoft. This prompted me to research the details of the End-User License Agreement (EULA) that stipulates how proprietary software like Microsoft Windows can be used. I was amazed at the inflexibility of the typical EULA that accompanies today's software and frightened at the stiff penalties for even the simplest violations of these obscure licenses.

Realizing that we would not be able to afford upgrading our lab using traditional software offered by big vendors, I looked to open source, or "free" software, as an alternative. With open source, I could save our school thousands of dollars by purchasing bare-bones computer kits, then installing a free operating system and supporting applications on each computer myself. Open source software would allow me to build our computer lab for a fraction of what schools in our area typically pay. It would also give me the ability to upgrade our software in the future for free, ensuring that we would have the latest in software technology for years to come.

Of equal interest to me was the General Public License (GPL) used to license most open source software. I found it much more flexible and reasonable than the EULAs of proprietary counterparts, which gave me more freedom as the system administrator to customize our computer lab. With the GPL, I would never need to worry about software audits, surprise visits from the Business Software Alliance or unreasonable fines for misplacing my certificate of authenticity.

After much research and testing, our school committed to upgrading the computer lab using state-of-the-art computers running the open source Linux operating system and supporting applications. I will admit that it has taken me some time to personally make the switch from a Windows environment to the UNIX-like environment of Linux.

The 2002-2003 school year was the great test for our new computer lab running open source software - with our students being the ultimate testers. While I expected positive results, I was not prepared for the overwhelmingly promising feedback that I have received from our students, parents and the community. This has definitely been our most successful year for integrating technology in the classroom and teaching the necessary computer fundamental skills needed to succeed in the 21st century.

The Benefits of Open Source Software

There are a number of benefits to using open source software. I can't list them all here, but I will focus on some of the more prominent benefits I have experienced. Our initial interest in open source came from the almost unbelievable fact that open source software can be obtained at little or no cost. This is because those who donate their time to open source projects see themselves as part of a community. These programmers desire to have their software shared openly, not controlled or licensed.

The common misconception is to think that because open source software can be obtained for free it is cheap. On the contrary, Linux, for example, is known for its superior stability and quality of design compared to popular proprietary operating systems. This is because the program code is available for anyone to view and improve. Combine this with the ability for thousands of programmers from around the world to collaborate on an open source project using the Internet, and you can see why open source software can compete with and even surpass proprietary software.

As a system administrator, one of the greatest benefits of using open source software is freedom. Many people, even some system administrators, do not fully understand the typical EULA that accompanies today's proprietary software. As software companies continue to protect their intellectual property, software users find themselves bound by more and more restrictive software licenses.

In contrast, GPL gives the end user incredible freedom in the installation, distribution and even modification of open source software. The flexibility of the GPL saved me many hours of installing and configuring the software in our new computer lab. Also, I no longer have to worry about violating some obscure stipulation hidden away in an EULA.

A rather surprising benefit I have seen since switching our computer lab to Linux is the eagerness of children to learn something new and different. In past years, I would often hit a roadblock in my attempts to teach children computer skills using an operating system most had at home. Because it was something the students were familiar with, they saw it as an "old hat," and I had to work hard to foster enthusiasm. With Linux, students dive in with great fascination, almost immediately recognizing that they are learning something new that is cutting edge. This makes it easier to teach the fundamental principles in computer science, which can apply to any application running on any operating system.

Preparing Students for the Real World

This brings up an interesting argument that I have repeatedly heard: "Students are not being prepared for the real world by being taught Linux." This premise is based on the fact that Microsoft currently owns a vast majority of the market share of desktop operating systems and office applications. It was an argument that I once used when comparing our old lab to another computer lab of Apple Macintoshes. However, I was forced to re-evaluate this misconception when I began my lengthy investigation of open source software.

There are two assumptions behind this argument: The first is that the software students learn in school will be the software they use in the workplace. I was taught in school using products like MS-DOS, WordStar and Multiplan, which obviously are not the "killer apps" of today. Even different versions of the same program can change drastically over the years. This leads to the second assumption: We should teach a specific vendor's application rather than fundamental concepts. Knowing that the software our children use today may be obsolete tomorrow, is it wise to focus mainly on those specific features that are limited to a single vendor or application.

I like to think of it as learning to drive a car. We don't teach someone how to drive a specific make or model; we teach them the fundamental principles of driving. Therefore, I have found using open source software to be a benefit because it forces us to teach our students those fundamental principles. I know that they may not use Sun Microsystems' StarOffice Writer, or for that matter Microsoft Word, when they go to college. But, I am now able to offer them the latest in application software using a solid, modern operating system because cost is not an issue. We could not do this if our school had to pay a hefty price every time we wanted to upgrade our software.

Even as our school focuses on the fundamentals, I have seen an increased interest from community businesses in our computer science program because we are using Linux to teach computer skills. Linux is also steadily gaining market share in corporate America and governments worldwide. There are businesses looking specifically for individuals with experience using Linux and applications such as StarOffice. While I am highly confident that our students can easily use the more common Windows operating system, they definitely have an advantage over students in other school systems who have never been exposed to a UNIX-like operating system such as Linux.

Embracing Challenges

As much as I have grown to love open source software and what it has done for our school, there are challenges in making a switch from one operating system to another. The greatest challenge we have faced is compatibility. For those who have used both the Macintosh and Windows operating systems, you know that programs from one rarely work in the other. Exchanging files between different applications can also be a challenge.

This can be especially daunting if your school already has invested in a number of software titles for a non-UNIX operating system. Running "Reader Rabbit" in Linux is not as easy as popping in a CD-ROM and letting it install as you would in Windows or Mac OS. In fact, many applications not written for Linux will not run in Linux at all. This usually means finding equivalent software in open source.

This leads to another challenge: finding open source software. Most stores and catalogs do not carry open source titles. In fact, most open source programs currently need to be downloaded off the Internet; though, this is changing. Linux faces a "chicken vs. egg" problem right now. Until Linux has the same number of vendors supporting it as Microsoft does, not as many users will commit to using the operating system. However, until more people switch to Linux, vendors will not be overly eager to support its operating system.

In contrast, GPL gives the end user incredible freedom in the installation, distribution and even modification of open source software. The flexibility of the GPL saved me many hours of installing and configuring the software in our new computer lab. Also, I no longer have to worry about violating some obscure stipulation hidden away in an EULA.

A rather surprising benefit I have seen since switching our computer lab to Linux is the eagerness of children to learn something new and different. In past years, I would often hit a roadblock in my attempts to teach children computer skills using an operating system most had at home. Because it was something the students were familiar with, they saw it as an "old hat," and I had to work hard to foster enthusiasm. With Linux, students dive in with great fascination, almost immediately recognizing that they are learning something new that is cutting edge. This makes it easier to teach the fundamental principles in computer science, which can apply to any application running on any operating system.

Preparing Students for the Real World

This brings up an interesting argument that I have repeatedly heard: "Students are not being prepared for the real world by being taught Linux." This premise is based on the fact that Microsoft currently owns a vast majority of the market share of desktop operating systems and office applications. It was an argument that I once used when comparing our old lab to another computer lab of Apple Macintoshes. However, I was forced to re-evaluate this misconception when I began my lengthy investigation of open source software.

There are two assumptions behind this argument: The first is that the software students learn in school will be the software they use in the workplace. I was taught in school using products like MS-DOS, WordStar and Multiplan, which obviously are not the "killer apps" of today. Even different versions of the same program can change drastically over the years. This leads to the second assumption: We should teach a specific vendor's application rather than fundamental concepts. Knowing that the software our children use today may be obsolete tomorrow, is it wise to focus mainly on those specific features that are limited to a single vendor or application.

I like to think of it as learning to drive a car. We don't teach someone how to drive a specific make or model; we teach them the fundamental principles of driving. Therefore, I have found using open source software to be a benefit because it forces us to teach our students those fundamental principles. I know that they may not use Sun Microsystems' StarOffice Writer, or for that matter Microsoft Word, when they go to college. But, I am now able to offer them the latest in application software using a solid, modern operating system because cost is not an issue. We could not do this if our school had to pay a hefty price every time we wanted to upgrade our software.

Even as our school focuses on the fundamentals, I have seen an increased interest from community businesses in our computer science program because we are using Linux to teach computer skills. Linux is also steadily gaining market share in corporate America and governments worldwide. There are businesses looking specifically for individuals with experience using Linux and applications such as StarOffice. While I am highly confident that our students can easily use the more common Windows operating system, they definitely have an advantage over students in other school systems who have never been exposed to a UNIX-like operating system such as Linux.

Embracing Challenges

As much as I have grown to love open source software and what it has done for our school, there are challenges in making a switch from one operating system to another. The greatest challenge we have faced is compatibility. For those who have used both the Macintosh and Windows operating systems, you know that programs from one rarely work in the other. Exchanging files between different applications can also be a challenge.

This can be especially daunting if your school already has invested in a number of software titles for a non-UNIX operating system. Running "Reader Rabbit" in Linux is not as easy as popping in a CD-ROM and letting it install as you would in Windows or Mac OS. In fact, many applications not written for Linux will not run in Linux at all. This usually means finding equivalent software in open source.

This leads to another challenge: finding open source software. Most stores and catalogs do not carry open source titles. In fact, most open source programs currently need to be downloaded off the Internet; though, this is changing. Linux faces a "chicken vs. egg" problem right now. Until Linux has the same number of vendors supporting it as Microsoft does, not as many users will commit to using the operating system. However, until more people switch to Linux, vendors will not be overly eager to support its operating system.other positioning techniques. Until vendors start using open standards, the sharing of files with colleagues that use proprietary software will at least sometimes offer a challenge.

One of the challenges I faced with great satisfaction was actually learning how to use Linux. I have seen Linux often described as a more difficult operating system to maintain and use. If you only know how to use Windows, this is true. However, once I learned how to use Linux, I found it was much simpler to maintain and configure. I have saved myself many hours this last year due to the stability of Linux and the ease with which I can manage our computers, servers and networks running the operating system. The biggest challenge was learning how to operate the system; yet, what an enjoyable challenge the learning process was.

Unfortunately, not all educators embrace this last challenge as I have, or share my passion for computer technology. While my students and I have enjoyed learning something new, there are those staff members who like things the way they are and would rather not change. I have seen this in every school I've helped switch to open source. Once someone is in the comfort zone of familiar software, it can be a real challenge to convince them that change is good. This is where high-quality staff training comes in, because if your staff knows they'll receive the support they need when they have questions, they will be more gracious with the switch.

While it has been a bumpy road, our switch to open source software has shown itself to be the perfect solution to a problem that more and more school systems find themselves facing. If your school is looking to offer more in the way of modern software, while reducing costs and gaining freedom and stability in its management, then I highly recommend open source software. It has certainly surpassed our expectations.


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Advantages of Open Source Software

Cost - Open source software can be obtained at little or no cost, and future upgrades are also obtainable free of charge.
Freedom - Under the GPL, the end user is free to install, use, distribute and modify open source software with very few restrictions. This greatly reduces the burden of system administration and eliminates the risk of software audits.
Quality - Because the source code is open to peer review, open source software is known for its superior quality and stability.
Contribution - Anyone with programming experience, including educators and students, can contribute to the collection of available open source software.
Platform Independence - The majority of open source software is available for a number of hardware platforms (not just the PC), which results in greater flexibility in hardware choices.
Acceptance - Open source software is gaining acceptance worldwide on a daily basis, with many businesses, governments and organizations already using it.