[ubuntu-za] Education

[William Gebers]

Hi.

My name is William Gebers.

I am a student studying electrical engineering at Wits University.  I
have been using Ubuntu Linux for the last 3 years.  I was initially on
my own, but there are now a few more students using Ubuntu.  LaTeX and
Beryl were two pieces of software that generated much interest in Linux
as an alternative to Windows.

The challenge in moving across from a Windows based environment is
finding the appropriate software applications that perform the same
operations as their Windows counterparts.  For example using Octave for
mathematical simulations as apposed to Matlab.

Logically, Ubuntu makes sense in this environment.  As most of the
students have their own PCs, free software reduces the capital cost
involved in setting yourself up.  However, there is as always a
misconception about how much support is available for Linux.  By this I
mean that if a student is having a problem with some software he/she can
always ask a friend if they are using the popular software.  But at the
moment with only a few students using Linux in the department, this
approach is difficult.  

>From my experience, what this environment needs is:

1) a list of technical software available for Ubuntu and examples of how
it works.
2) maybe a Cd of the applications for Linux and windows (where
applicable) as suggested by William Kinghorn
3) a more reliable freedom toaster and additional sources for Cd's.
4) a technical user group specifically orientated towards using Linux
for electrical engineering purposes.


Hope this contribution helps.

William