Debian Edu / Skolelinux +keep gaining new users. Some weeks ago, a person showed up on IRC, +#debian-edu, with a +wish to contribute, and I managed to get a interview with this great +contributor Roger Marsal to learn more about his background.
+ +Who are you, and how do you spend your days?
+ +My name is Roger Marsal, I'm 27 years old (1986 generation) and I +live in Barcelona, Spain. I've got a strong business background and I +work as a patrimony manager and as a real estate agent. Additionally, +I've co-founded a British based tech company that is nowadays on the +last development phase of a new social networking concept.
+ +I'm a Linux enthusiast that started its journey with Ubuntu four years +ago and have recently switched to Debian seeking rock solid stability +and as a necessary step to gain expertise.
+ +In a nutshell, I spend my days working and learning as much as I +can to face both my job, entrepreneur project and feed my Linux +hunger.
+ +How did you get in contact with the Skolelinux / Debian Edu +project?
+ +I discovered the LTSP advantages +with "Ubuntu 12.04 alternate install" and after a year of use I +started looking for an alternative. Even though I highly value and +respect the Ubuntu project, I thought it was necessary for me to +change to a more robust and stable alternative. As far as I was using +Debian on my personal laptop I thought it would be fine to install +Debian and configure an LTSP server myself. Surprised, I discovered +that the Debian project also supported a kind of Edubuntu equivalent, +and after having some pain I obtained a Debian Edu network up and +running. I just loved it.
+ +What do you see as the advantages of Skolelinux / Debian +Edu?
+ +I found a main advantage in that, once you know "the tips and +tricks", a new installation just works out of the box. It's the most +complete alternative I've found to create an LTSP network. All the +other distributions seems to be made of plastic, Debian Edu seems to +be made of steel.
+ +What do you see as the disadvantages of Skolelinux / Debian +Edu?
+ +I found two main disadvantages.
+ +I'm not an expert but I've got notions and I had to spent a considerable +amount of time trying to bring up a standard network topology. I'm quite +stubborn and I just worked until I did but I'm sure many people with few +resources (not big schools, but academies for example) would have switched +or dropped.
+ +It's amazing how such a complex system like Debian Edu has achieved +this out-of-the-box state. Even though tweaking without breaking gets +more difficult, as more factors have to be considered. This can +discourage many people too.
+ +Which free software do you use daily?
+ +I use Debian, Firefox, Okular, Inkscape, LibreOffice and +Virtualbox.
+ + +Which strategy do you believe is the right one to use to +get schools to use free software?
+ +I don't think there is a need for a particular strategy. The free +attribute in both "freedom" and "no price" meanings is what will +really bring free software to schools. In my experience I can think of +the "R" statistical language; a +few years a ago was an extremely nerd tool for university people. +Today it's being increasingly used to teach statistics at many +different level of studies. I believe free and open software will +increasingly gain popularity, but I'm sure schools will be one of the +first scenarios where this will happen.
+ +