blog/Debian_Edu_interview__Roger_Marsal.html

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   6     <title>Petter Reinholdtsen: Debian Edu interview: Roger Marsal</title>
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  13     <div class="title">
  14  <h1>
  15      <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/">Petter Reinholdtsen</a>
  16
  17  </h1>
  18
  19 </div>
  20
  21
  22     <div class="entry">
  23       <div class="title">Debian Edu interview: Roger Marsal</div>
  24       <div class="date">30th March 2014</div>
  25       <div class="body"><p><a href="http://www.skolelinux.org/">Debian Edu / Skolelinux</a>
  26 keep gaining new users.  Some weeks ago, a person showed up on IRC,
  27 <a href="irc://irc.debian.org/#debian-edu">#debian-edu</a>, with a
  28 wish to contribute, and I managed to get a interview with this great
  29 contributor Roger Marsal to learn more about his background.</p>
  30
  31 <p><strong>Who are you, and how do you spend your days?</strong></p>
  32
  33 <p>My name is Roger Marsal, I'm 27 years old (1986 generation) and I
  34 live in Barcelona, Spain. I've got a strong business background and I
  35 work as a patrimony manager and as a real estate agent.  Additionally,
  36 I've co-founded a British based tech company that is nowadays on the
  37 last development phase of a new social networking concept.</p>
  38
  39 <p>I'm a Linux enthusiast that started its journey with Ubuntu four years
  40 ago and have recently switched to Debian seeking rock solid stability
  41 and as a necessary step to gain expertise.</p>
  42
  43 <p>In a nutshell, I spend my days working and learning as much as I
  44 can to face both my job, entrepreneur project and feed my Linux
  45 hunger.</p>
  46
  47 <p><strong>How did you get in contact with the Skolelinux / Debian Edu
  48 project?</strong></p>
  49
  50 <p>I discovered the <a href="http://www.ltsp.org/">LTSP</a> advantages
  51 with "Ubuntu 12.04 alternate install" and after a year of use I
  52 started looking for an alternative.  Even though I highly value and
  53 respect the Ubuntu project, I thought it was necessary for me to
  54 change to a more robust and stable alternative.  As far as I was using
  55 Debian on my personal laptop I thought it would be fine to install
  56 Debian and configure an LTSP server myself.  Surprised, I discovered
  57 that the Debian project also supported a kind of Edubuntu equivalent,
  58 and after having some pain I obtained a Debian Edu network up and
  59 running.  I just loved it.</p>
  60
  61 <p><strong>What do you see as the advantages of Skolelinux / Debian
  62 Edu?</strong></p>
  63
  64 <p>I found a main advantage in that, once you know "the tips and
  65 tricks", a new installation just works out of the box. It's the most
  66 complete alternative I've found to create an LTSP network. All the
  67 other distributions seems to be made of plastic, Debian Edu seems to
  68 be made of steel.</p>
  69
  70 <p><strong>What do you see as the disadvantages of Skolelinux / Debian
  71 Edu?</strong></p>
  72
  73 <p>I found two main disadvantages.</p>
  74
  75 <p>I'm not an expert but I've got notions and I had to spent a considerable
  76 amount of time trying to bring up a standard network topology. I'm quite
  77 stubborn and I just worked until I did but I'm sure many people with few
  78 resources (not big schools, but academies for example) would have switched
  79 or dropped.</p>
  80
  81 <p>It's amazing how such a complex system like Debian Edu has achieved
  82 this out-of-the-box state. Even though tweaking without breaking gets
  83 more difficult, as more factors have to be considered. This can
  84 discourage many people too.</p>
  85
  86 <p><strong>Which free software do you use daily?</strong></p>
  87
  88 <p>I use Debian, Firefox, Okular, Inkscape, LibreOffice and
  89 Virtualbox.</p>
  90
  91
  92 <p><strong>Which strategy do you believe is the right one to use to
  93 get schools to use free software?</strong></p>
  94
  95 <p>I don't think there is a need for a particular strategy. The free
  96 attribute in both "freedom" and "no price" meanings is what will
  97 really bring free software to schools. In my experience I can think of
  98 the <a href="http://www.r-project.org/">"R" statistical language</a>; a
  99 few years a ago was an extremely nerd tool for university people.
 100 Today it's being increasingly used to teach statistics at many
 101 different level of studies.  I believe free and open software will
 102 increasingly gain popularity, but I'm sure schools will be one of the
 103 first scenarios where this will happen.</p>
 104 </div>
 105
 106       <div class="tags">Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian edu">debian edu</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/intervju">intervju</a>.</div>
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 110
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 114     <div id="sidebar">
 115
 116
 117
 118 <h2>Archive</h2>
 119 <ul>
 120
 121 <li>2015
 122 <ul>
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 131
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 156
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 158
 159 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2014/12/">December (5)</a></li>
 160
 161 </ul></li>
 162
 163 <li>2013
 164 <ul>
 165
 166 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2013/01/">January (11)</a></li>
 167
 168 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2013/02/">February (9)</a></li>
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 170 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2013/03/">March (9)</a></li>
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 172 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2013/04/">April (6)</a></li>
 173
 174 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2013/05/">May (9)</a></li>
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 176 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2013/06/">June (10)</a></li>
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 178 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2013/07/">July (7)</a></li>
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 180 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2013/08/">August (3)</a></li>
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 182 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2013/09/">September (5)</a></li>
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 184 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2013/10/">October (7)</a></li>
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 186 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2013/11/">November (9)</a></li>
 187
 188 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2013/12/">December (3)</a></li>
 189
 190 </ul></li>
 191
 192 <li>2012
 193 <ul>
 194
 195 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2012/01/">January (7)</a></li>
 196
 197 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2012/02/">February (10)</a></li>
 198
 199 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2012/03/">March (17)</a></li>
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 201 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2012/04/">April (12)</a></li>
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 203 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2012/05/">May (12)</a></li>
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 205 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2012/06/">June (20)</a></li>
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 211 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2012/09/">September (9)</a></li>
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 213 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2012/10/">October (17)</a></li>
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 215 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2012/11/">November (10)</a></li>
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 217 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2012/12/">December (7)</a></li>
 218
 219 </ul></li>
 220
 221 <li>2011
 222 <ul>
 223
 224 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2011/01/">January (16)</a></li>
 225
 226 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2011/02/">February (6)</a></li>
 227
 228 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2011/03/">March (6)</a></li>
 229
 230 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2011/04/">April (7)</a></li>
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 232 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2011/05/">May (3)</a></li>
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 234 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2011/06/">June (2)</a></li>
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 236 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2011/07/">July (7)</a></li>
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 238 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2011/08/">August (6)</a></li>
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 240 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2011/09/">September (4)</a></li>
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 242 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2011/10/">October (2)</a></li>
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 244 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2011/11/">November (3)</a></li>
 245
 246 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2011/12/">December (1)</a></li>
 247
 248 </ul></li>
 249
 250 <li>2010
 251 <ul>
 252
 253 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2010/01/">January (2)</a></li>
 254
 255 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2010/02/">February (1)</a></li>
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 257 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2010/03/">March (3)</a></li>
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 259 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2010/04/">April (3)</a></li>
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 261 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2010/05/">May (9)</a></li>
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 263 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2010/06/">June (14)</a></li>
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 265 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2010/07/">July (12)</a></li>
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 267 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2010/08/">August (13)</a></li>
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 269 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2010/09/">September (7)</a></li>
 270
 271 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2010/10/">October (9)</a></li>
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 273 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2010/11/">November (13)</a></li>
 274
 275 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2010/12/">December (12)</a></li>
 276
 277 </ul></li>
 278
 279 <li>2009
 280 <ul>
 281
 282 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2009/01/">January (8)</a></li>
 283
 284 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2009/02/">February (8)</a></li>
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 286 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2009/03/">March (12)</a></li>
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 288 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2009/04/">April (10)</a></li>
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 292 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2009/06/">June (3)</a></li>
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 294 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2009/07/">July (4)</a></li>
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 296 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2009/08/">August (3)</a></li>
 297
 298 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2009/09/">September (1)</a></li>
 299
 300 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2009/10/">October (2)</a></li>
 301
 302 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2009/11/">November (3)</a></li>
 303
 304 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2009/12/">December (3)</a></li>
 305
 306 </ul></li>
 307
 308 <li>2008
 309 <ul>
 310
 311 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2008/11/">November (5)</a></li>
 312
 313 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2008/12/">December (7)</a></li>
 314
 315 </ul></li>
 316
 317 </ul>
 318
 319
 320
 321 <h2>Tags</h2>
 322 <ul>
 323
 324  <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/3d-printer">3d-printer (13)</a></li>
 325
 326  <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/amiga">amiga (1)</a></li>
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 338  <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/chrpath">chrpath (2)</a></li>
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 340  <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian">debian (109)</a></li>
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 342  <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian edu">debian edu (153)</a></li>
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 344  <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/digistan">digistan (10)</a></li>
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 346  <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/dld">dld (15)</a></li>
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 354  <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/fiksgatami">fiksgatami (23)</a></li>
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 364  <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/intervju">intervju (42)</a></li>
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 366  <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/isenkram">isenkram (10)</a></li>
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 380  <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/multimedia">multimedia (32)</a></li>
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 386  <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/offentlig innsyn">offentlig innsyn (16)</a></li>
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 388  <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/open311">open311 (2)</a></li>
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 406  <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/ruter">ruter (4)</a></li>
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 408  <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/scraperwiki">scraperwiki (2)</a></li>
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 410  <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/sikkerhet">sikkerhet (41)</a></li>
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 412  <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/sitesummary">sitesummary (4)</a></li>
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 414  <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/skepsis">skepsis (4)</a></li>
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 416  <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/standard">standard (46)</a></li>
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 418  <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/stavekontroll">stavekontroll (3)</a></li>
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 422  <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/surveillance">surveillance (30)</a></li>
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 424  <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/sysadmin">sysadmin (2)</a></li>
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 428  <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/valg">valg (8)</a></li>
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 430  <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/video">video (50)</a></li>
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 432  <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/vitenskap">vitenskap (4)</a></li>
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 434  <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/web">web (35)</a></li>
 435
 436 </ul>
 437
 438
 439     </div>
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