Linux in education: a genuine alternative

In Depth: People who have made free software work and pay in education

Using free software in education is not just about saving money. It’s also about preserving choice, not locking a student’s experience into a certain way of doing something Comptia A+ Certification 220-301 exam training.

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With Linux, there’s no vendor lock-in. Free software is more likely to be open-standards compliant, and it’s going to be more open to different languages, localities and curricula.

It also removes what can sometimes be a barrier to learning; using the same software on your own machine at home. And because there’s usually more than one piece of open source software for a job, free software makes it easier to broaden your experience and look at a variety of methods for completing that job.

All of which is essential in a world where technology is turned on its head every five years and where training needs are so unpredictable. It’s also never too early to start training in IT skills, and in the UK at least, computer training starts for many at primary school level.

For some, this will be their first experience of a computer. It’s also likely to be the first time they’ve had any kind of formal training on how to use one, and these first impressions are going to last. So there’s a strong argument that teaching should be as unbiased as possible.

Yet for a variety of reasons most schools favour Microsoft. There’s nothing wrong with this, as experience with Microsoft’s ubiquitous products is never going to be wasted, but as Linux users, we all know there might be a better option.

Linux and open source offers a genuine alternative, with many advantages over proprietary training that aren’t costrelated, although there’s no reason why this can’t be part of the overall solution.

Early starter

The best thing about Linux training in education is that there are already people doing it. There are establishments up and down the UK that have decided to include Linux on their syllabus and make a concerted effort to provide their students with the choice.

So if you’re a parent frustrated with the lack of options for your child, or you’re maybe a student who wants to learn Linux skills from the outset, there are places to go and people to speak to. They may be able to help you make the difference. But even if you can’t influence the training regime at your local establishment, Linux can still play a part.

Unlike in schools, Linux and open source software isn’t badly served by professional training. It’s this kind of training that pits Linux against Microsoft’s certification, and it’s the kind that prepares IT people for the real tasks they face while dealing with Linux systems.

The Linux Professional Institute, for example, has been dishing out qualifications for over 10 years, and its LPI certification levels have become something of a standard for Linux system administrators.

LPIC-1, for instance, covers all the basics of running and maintaining a simple Linux system, from dealing with the command line and helping new users to installing, configuring and connecting a workstation to the network. But more importantly, you don’t need any prior experience before starting on the course, and this has made it a great entry point for some of the more adventurous schools in the UK.

Case study 1

Barnfield College in Luton, Bedfordshire, is an establishment that offers plenty of further education opportunities for students to take on to a university or workplace. The college has a well-established computing curriculum, including all the common Microsoft applications, web design and data management.

Barnfield

But more interestingly for us, it also offers a comprehensive range of Linux courses, including an Introduction to the desktop, and uses Linux as the basis for some of its web development programmes.

John O’Neill, deputy head of Computing and IT at Barnfield, told us a little about how Linux training became part of the prospectus,

“Barnfield College has been offering Linux training courses since 2004. Back then it was an in house-devised course running Red Hat 5.2. Over time we have evolved our provision to include a range of distributions including Damn Small Linux, SLAX, Debian, Ubuntu, Fedora and OpenSUSE.

“Barnfield College has always prided itself on offering courses at the forefront of technologies. In the early part of the decade the college was an established Novell house using Netware 5. Students were given the opportunity to build and manage Netware servers as part of their coursework. Novell’s acquisition of OpenSUSE inspired the teaching staff to investigate this new contender to Network Operating Systems,” he told us.

When we asked him what the biggest challenge had been in supporting Linux alongside more mainstream operating systems, his answer was a logistical one, rather than a philosophical one:

“The biggest problem to the teaching team has been the need for maintaining adequate Network Security on our corporate network, while gaining access to Linux repositories. This has been resolved by the introduction of a dedicated teaching LAN with its own access to the internet.”

The breadth of Linux training offered at Barnfield is also significant, covering both user and administrator roles.

“Linux is integrated into the majority of our course provision and is used to teach students ranging from Level 2 user qualifications through to foundation degree and, of course, the vendor qualifications,” O’Neill explained. “Interest in these courses remains high due to the tutor’s passion and the ability for students to create their own distributions. The Barnix live CD being one such incarnation. This was developed by two of our 18-year-old BTEC National Diploma students back in 2004,” he added proudly.

The Barnix distribution can still be found on Distrowatch, and despite being around six years old, still looks in good shape for a distribution built around a technology that’s no longer available, in an attempt to ape an operating system that’s no longer supported.

But it’s the potential to access new technology without having to jump through software acquisition hoops that also makes Linux a good choice. As O’Neill put it:

“Linux gives our students unparalleled access to technologies ranging from VoIP through to in-depth security testing along with traditional desktop usage.” This is why the college has extended its Linux courses to integrate LPI-based certification alongside the CompTIA accreditation the college has offered for sometime, as O’Neill explained:

“Following the inclusion of LPI with CompTIA, Linux+, which the college has traditionally delivered, now simplifies vendor certification for students, and not only meets the requirements of industry partners, but also gives a clear pathway to certification.”

Which leaves the most important question. If you want your child to study Linux at their local institution, how should parents and interested parties make it happen?

“Colleges can use Linux across the range of their curriculum. It gives learners access to both GUI and command line interfaces, and even Microsoft is revisiting the command line with their Power Shell interface,” he states.

“Tutors need to be aware that Awarding Bodies will accept evidence obtained from many different operating systems as part of their coursework. Students and parents can be assured that skills learnt through the use of open source operating systems and applications only serve to better demonstrate the breadth of knowledge they have of cutting-edge technologies used in all business sectors.”

Microsoft releases 'complete' Mango SDK

New app creation tools offered up to developers

Microsoft has made its third big Windows Phone Mango announcement of the last 24 hours by releasing a “more complete” build of the operating system to assist app developers 70-640 Training .

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Earlier on Wednesday we learned that the Fujitsu Toshiba IS12T will be the first handset to boast Mango, featuring a 13.2mp camera, 32GB internal storage and an 800x480p, 3.7-inch display.

Yesterday Microsoft revealed it had finished work on the long-awaited OS upgrade and had handed the completed build over to manufacturers.

Now app developers will have access to an all new version of the SDK in order to create new and exciting applications for the Mango platform before its launch this autumn.

More complete build

Senior Product Manager for Windows Phone Cliff Simpkins said on the company blog: “We’ve received positive feedback on the Mango tools and bits we’ve shared, but appreciate that many devs are still interested in working with a more complete build.

“Today’s refresh of the tools represent a month of great progress by the engineering team, further refining and improving the Mango developer experience.

“What we are providing is a genuine release candidate build, with enough code checked in and APIs locked down that this OS is close enough to RTM that, as a developer, it’s more than capable to see you through the upcoming RC drop of the tools and app submission Microsoft Free MCTS Training and MCTS Online Training.”

Although much of the smoke has cleared, and the Mango picture is now much more illuminated than it was just yesterday, we still don’t know when the first handset will arrive in the UK.

Come on Microsoft, throw us a freakin’ bone here.

CompTIA A-Plus Training Programs Examined

Training for your CompTIA A+ has four specialist sections – you’ll need exam certification in 2 different areas to be seen as competent in A+. For this reason, the majority of colleges restrict their A+ to just two of the training options. We think this is selling you short – sure, you can pass an exam, but experience of all four will set you apart in your working life, where you’ll need to know about all of them. That’s why we believe you require information in everything.

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Qualifying in CompTIA A+ on its own will give you the ability to repair and fix laptops, Macs and PC’s; principally ones that aren’t joined to a network – essentially the domestic or small business sector. If you add Network+ training, you’ll also have the ability to take care of networks, which means you’ll be able to move further up the career path.

We can’t make a big enough deal out of this point: Always get full 24×7 professional support from mentors and instructors. You will have so many problems later if you let this one slide. Don’t accept certification programs which can only support trainees through a message system after office-staff have gone home. Trainers will try to talk you round from this line of reasoning. Essentially – you need support when you need support – not when it’s convenient for them.

Keep looking and you’ll come across professional companies that offer direct-access support all the time – no matter what time of day it is. You can’t afford to accept anything less. Online 24×7 support is the only kind to make the grade when it comes to computer-based study. Maybe burning the midnight-oil is not your thing; but for the majority of us however, we’re out at work when traditional support if offered.

The world of information technology is one of the more thrilling and changing industries that you could be a part of. To be working on the cutting-edge of technology puts you at the fore-front of developments affecting everyone who lives in the 21st century. Technological changes and connections on the web is going to noticeably alter our lifestyles in the near future; overwhelmingly so.

Incomes in IT are not a problem moreover – the usual income in the UK for a typical person working in IT is noticeably higher than in other market sectors. Chances are that you’ll receive a much better deal than you could reasonably hope to get in other industries. The search for properly certified IT professionals is certain for many years to come, due to the constant development in the technology industry and the very large deficiency still in existence.

Ask any knowledgeable consultant and they can normally tell you many worrying experiences of how students have been duped by salespeople. Only deal with an experienced industry advisor who asks lots of questions to uncover the best thing for you – not for their pay-packet! You need to find the right starting point of study for you. With some real-world experience or base qualifications, it may be that your starting point of study is very different to someone completely new. It’s usual to start with some basic user skills first. It can brush up on your current abilities and make the slope up to the higher-levels a less steep.

Authorised exam preparation and simulation materials are essential Free MCTS Training and MCTS Online Training – and really must be supplied by your training company. Due to the fact that many examination boards in IT tend to be American, you’ll need to be used to the correct phraseology. You can’t practice properly by simply answering any old technical questions – they have to be in the same format as the actual exams. Ensure that you have some simulated exam questions so you’ll be able to check your comprehension at any point. Simulated or practice exams add to your knowledge bank – so you’re much more at ease with the real thing.

Field Service Technician

The Field Technician II is responsible for troubleshooting and resolving user support requests and incidents for customers of NSPI*s managed services. The technician may field incidents via phone, email, or ticket escalations from a central service desk - and will act as the primary dispatch support mechanism for assigned customer/s. The Field Technician may be assigned to work primarily out of one or more customer office locations Monday through Friday during standard business hours, and may be required to be *on-call* for after hour*s dispatches. Regardless of technology or nature of request, the Field Technician will act as a first level escalation point, sometimes acting as primary point of contact, tracking requests for resolution or escalation and keeping customers continuously informed of status. Requests will primarily consist of user, local application, and desktop problems of varying platforms and providers. Experience will be heavily focused on desktop systems, commercial applications, network devices, and related current technologies.

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REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS / TECHNICAL SKILLS
To perform this job successfully an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required.
* Advanced: 4+ years experience providing desktop support on Apple platforms (MacOS, iOS)
* Advanced: 4+ years experience providing desktop support on Windows based workstations
* Intermediate: Experience troubleshooting network connectivity on LANs, WANs, and WLANs
* Intermediate: Knowledge of system components and how they are used
* Intermediate: Experience using Desktop Remote Control/Management software tools
* Intermediate: Experience troubleshooting network printers
* Basic: Experience with using Active Directory for password resets, group membership, domain membership, etc
* Excellent oral and written communication skills and customer focused demeanor
* Proven ability to work well with a team, manage stressful situations and show initiative.
PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS / TECHNICAL SKILLS
The following skills are preferred and helpful, but not required
* Experience working in a Service Provider environment or a large enterprise
* Experience configuring and supporting mobile devices
* Experience with Networking Protocols and Troubleshooting Network-related issues
* Experience with one or more of the following enterprise applications: Exchange Server, Citrix, CRM or ERP applications.
* Familiarity with ITIL v3 concepts and methods

EDUCATION and/or EXPERIENCE
* 4+ years of related experience in a technical support role
* Preferred Computer Science or Information Technology Degree, 2 or 4 year Degree
* Preferred technical certifications, one or more: Apple, Microsoft, Cisco, or CompTIA certs
CERTIFICATES, LICENSES, REGISTRATIONS: Specific technical and/or OEM oriented training and associated certification(s) may be required to obtain while in this role.
ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
Technical Deployment and Maintenance:
* Onsite contact for all technical problems, service requests, and inquires.
* Primary internal escalation resource for central service desk.
* Supplement central service desk with remote call handling as volume and staffing requires.
* Utilize available resources to resolve onsite customer issues as quickly as possible.
* First-level contact for all incoming technical incidents, service requests, and inquires.
* Identifies and resolves recurring internal and customer desktop issues
* Ability to assess technical and business impact of an IT incident
Communication:
* Responsible for making regular status updates to customers on a variety of service requests and incidents
* Verbal and written communication skills must be professional level and business oriented
* Regular communications with customers is required (both verbal and email)
* Keep customer updated on ticket status, problem resolution, or inquiries.
Administration:
* Documentation of hours and work details in order to track efficiency and billing is required
* Maintain customer technical information within defined documentation standards.
* Use of ticketing / work management system to track issue and project task status
* Prioritizes ticket workload and dispatch assignments based on customer and technical impact.
* Participates in scheduled and ad hoc internal and customer specific meetings.
Personal:
* Dependable and eager to learn cutting-edge technologies
* Ability to work on multiple concurrent assignments is essential
* Strong self-motivation and the ability to work with minimal supervision
PHYSICAL DEMANDS and WORK ENVIRONMENT: The job involves light physical work demands requiring lifting and/or carrying items up to 20 lbs. maximum; heavier items will lifted/carried with assistance from another person or by using appropriate handling equipment. The physical demands and work environment characteristics described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

After 30 years, IBM says PC going way of vacuum tube and typewriter

Post-PC era? Microsoft says no

While that sounds pretty vague, Dean notes that IBM has boosted its profit margins since selling off its PC division with a strategy of exiting commodity businesses and "expanding in higher-value markets." One example: IBM's Watson, newly crowned Jeopardy champion.

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"We conduct fundamental scientific research, design some of the world's most advanced chips and computers, provide software that companies and governments run on, and offer business consulting, IT services and solutions that enable our clients to transform themselves continuously, just like we do," Dean writes.

For all the debate over whether this is a "post-PC" era, it's clear more people today own Windows computers and Macs than smartphones and tablets, and our new mobile devices are complementing desktops and laptops rather than replacing them.

It's hard to beat the convenience of an easy-to-use, Internet-connected device in one's pocket, but many tasks are cumbersome without a full, physical keyboard. Even social media, which seems as "post-PC" as it gets upon first glance, requires a lot of typing.

Some people envision a future where a smartphone is the hub of all your computing needs, and simply hooks into a dock for those rare times you want a bigger screen, mouse and keyboard. Others talk about a future where any surface, whether a wall or table, is transformed into a touch-screen computer with a snap of one's fingers.

For now, though, most people making these proclamations are typing their blog posts on PCs.

Microsoft's Smartphone Share Declines Again: Report

Microsoft has experienced another smartphone market share decline, according to new data from research firm comScore.
Microsoft saw its smartphone market share decline in the three-month period ending in June, according to research firm comScore.

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Specifically, the company saw its share decline from 7.5 percent to 5.8 percent, over a period when both archrivals Google and Apple experienced gains. Research In Motion also dipped, from 27.1 percent to 23.4 percent.

ComScore also listed the top mobile OEMs, in descending order, as Samsung, LG Electronics, Motorola, Apple and RIM. Of those, Motorola and RIM experienced incremental declines, while the rest enjoyed equally slight gains.

Microsoft’s market share included both its antiquated Windows Mobile platform and the newer Windows Phone, which was supposed to reinvigorate the company’s fortunes in the smartphone space.

Instead, Windows Phone is showing signs of anemic adoption by consumers and businesses. According to data from Nielsen, Microsoft occupied some 9 percent of the U.S. smartphone market in June—trailing Google Android with 39 percent, Apple’s iPhone with 28 percent and RIM with 20 percent.

During a July 11 keynote speech at the company’s Worldwide Partner Conference, CEO Steve Ballmer described Windows Phone’s market share as “very small,” but insisted that other metrics (such as consumer satisfaction) boded well for the platform overall.

“Nine out of 10 people who bought Windows Phone would absolutely recommend it to a friend,” he said, reiterating a talking point voiced by many a Microsoft executive over the past few months. “People in the phone business seem to believe in us.”

Microsoft is hoping that its upcoming “Mango” update, which supposedly includes some 500 new tweaks and features, will help spur Windows Phone adoption. Mango reached its Release to Manufacturing milestone July 26. The next day, one of the company’s hardware partners revealed its first smartphone running the software: Fujitsu Toshiba Mobile Communications’ IS12T, which will offer a 3.7-inch screen paired to a 13.2-megapixel camera. It will arrive on Japanese store shelves by September or later, according to an IDG video uploaded to YouTube and posted on multiple news Websites, including PC World.

Samsung, HTC, LG Electronics and Nokia have all committed to building new Windows Phone devices preloaded with Mango, along with Acer and ZTE.

In the meantime, Microsoft has stayed reluctant to share any Windows Phone revenue numbers. The Seattle Post-Intelligencer recently dug into Microsoft’s annual U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission report and hypothesized that, after tinkering with the revenue numbers from the company’s Entertainment and Devices Division, Windows Phone earned less than $613 million since its release.

Considering that Microsoft rolled out Windows Phone in late 2010, that $613 million (if accurate) wouldn’t be reflective of a full year of sales. Nonetheless, that sort of revenue would be anemic, compared with those of Apple’s iPhone over a similar period or even the combined family of Google Android devices.

Microsoft announces embedded dev winners in global student competition

Microsoft announces embedded dev winners in global student competition
Microsoft announced three winning teams in the Embedded Development part of its Imagine Cup 2011 student contest, which just concluded in New York. Their victorious Windows Embedded Compact 7 devices include: one that indicates safe fire escape routes in real time; another that turns the tedious task of blowing into a lung training device into a musical game; and a third that can find its way home robotically.

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Last month, we covered Microsoft's announcement of three winners in its embeddedSPARK 2011 challenge, which asked academics, hobbyists, or developers to come up with interesting Windows Embedded Compact 7 devices. (The $15,000 first-prize winner was a flying camera designed to locate disaster victims; the $5,000 second prize went to a touchscreen meal planner with a Windows Phone 7-style user interface; and the $1,000 third prize was awarded to a electronic bulletin board whose contents can be manipulated over the Internet.)

But as many readers will already be aware, Microsoft also has a massive competition for students in the form of the Imagine Cup, billed as "the world's premier student technology competition" and now in its ninth year." The 2011 Imagine Cup -- whose finals concluded July 13 in New York -- asked student teams to "imagine a world where technology helps solve the toughest problems."

As in past years, the 2011 Imagine Cup had multiple categories, any of which could be entered by teams consisting of three or four students and a faculty member. The categories included Software Design, Game Design, Digital Media, Windows Phone 7, Interoperability Challenge, Windows 7 Touch Challenge, IT Challenge, and the Orchard Challenge (the latter involving Orchard, an open-source CMS that's under development by Microsoft).

The category we're naturally been following, however, is the Embedded Development challenge. In the first round of this competition, which ended on Jan. 9, teams were asked to submit a "Project Vision Report" (five pages or fewer) that explains what problem they are trying to solve, what the proposed solution is, and why this would be best implemented as an embedded device. The report should briefly discuss proposed hardware and software architecture, Microsoft added.

Out of 350 initial teams, 150 were selected for the second round, and received DM&P's eBox-3310A-MSJK (pictured), a compact PC that includes a 1GHz MSTI PDX-600 (a version of DMP's Vortex86DX), 256MB or 512MB of DDR2 RAM, and a Type II/II CompactFlash slot. While being free to add additional hardware and software, teams had to use the eBox and a Windows Embedded Compact 7 operating system image that they themselves configured, built, debugged, and deployed.

The second round concluded on May 5, by which time teams had to submit information on the embedded device they built in the form of written documentation and a video not to exceed five minutes in length. Not long after, the 20 finalist teams -- listed on Microsoft's website -- were chosen to receive the free trip to the New York finals.

And the winners are

Starting on July 8, the teams each presented their devices in front of two separate judging panels, who whittled their numbers down to 12 and then just six, according to Microsoft. In the final round of judging, the first-, second-, and third-place teams were selected.

After six days of grueling competition, the $25,000 first prize went to Taiwan's Team NTHUCS, for "Right!! This way." This project uses a wireless sensor network to compute the safest fire escape routes in real time, according to Microsoft.

The second prize, worth $10,000, went to team Harmonicare from China. Their project -- visible in the CNN video embedded below -- aids those suffering from respiratory failure, turning the tedious task of blowing into a lung training device into a musical game.


Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer appeared on CNN to promote the Imagine Cup
(click to play)

The third prize of $5,000 went to team Endeavour_Design from Romania.They created an intelligent robotic system designed to automaticallyavoid obstacles and find its way back to its control signal when itloses contact with a human operator, Microsoft says.

According to Microsoft, more than 400 students from 70 countries traveled to New York to compete at the Imagine Cup finals. The festivities included remarks from: philanthropist, activist and actor Eva Longoria; CEO of the Startup America Partnership Scott Case; and New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, the company adds.

S. Somasegar, senior vice president of Microsoft's developer division, stated, "The innovators, entrepreneurs and humanitarians who compete in the Imagine Cup have developed an inspiring spectrum of projects, raising the bar higher and higher each year. We are in awe of the students' solutions for addressing social and real-world challenges, and want to help them take their projects to the next level with the financial, technical and business support they need to change the world."

Further information

The tenth annual Imagine Cup will be held in Sydney, Australia, in July 2012. More information on the just-concluded event may be found on Microsoft's Imagine Cup 2011 website. Specifics about the Embedded Development competition may be found here, and details of all the finalists who went to New York may be found here.