More GNOME deployments
Someone pointed out on IRC that in this occasional series of blog entries, that I had not yet mentioned Spain (except for a comment in passing). So I thought it might be a good idea to correct that.
For those who don’t know, while GUADEC 4 in Dublin was being organised, the education authorities of two of the poorest regions in Spain, Extramadura and Andalucia (where the spaghetti westerns were made) made the brave and historic decision to install computers with GNU/Linux and GNOME on 40,000 computers (servicing 80,000 students) in schools in the regions. The local government also produced 150,000 installation disks for anyone who wanted one. There are plans to extend the project to 240,000 people over time.
Think about those numbers for a second.
The project had two stated goals, and these were their principal reasons for choosing Free Software:
- Accessibility for all; internet as a public service
- Stimulation of technological literacy
The junta has also created dozens of telecenters where people as old as 99 have learned how to use the internet, send e-mail and type letters on a computer – making GNOME a platform which really is software for everybody.
