> Schools need long term turnkey solutions that offer support No they don't. Schools need affordable and generally available software that kids can freely down

> Schools need long term turnkey solutions that offer support No they don't. Schools need affordable and generally available software that kids can freely download, and which are flexible and open enough to be tailored. It is ironic to label solutions that basically lock-down and lock-in student's options as "turnkey". More like "throw away the key"! > someone who will pick up the phone when they call. But no-one ever does. This harks back to the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) FUD Microsoft were spewing in the early 00's. In 2022 we all know exactly what big-tech customer support looks like even if you pay dearly for it. Basically you're on your own, and good luck to you. > Forcing folks to use niche software Forcing anyone to use any software is wrong. Software should be a choice in the same way that religion, diet, political affiliation and our choice of friends. There is not only one way. Understanding that there are choices - alternative ways of doing things - is fundamental to innovation and should be taught to kids from a very young age. > they cannot just use whatever the rest of the world is using That is a disingenuous generalisation. There is no "rest of the world". > when they graduate. One thing I've learned over many years of teaching tech, is that by the time students graduate and get into a real job market the things that were hot when they were freshmen have moved on. Google services have been axed. Adobe versions and licenses have changed. Microsoft applications moved into the cloud and radically changed their interfaces. It is actually Free Open Source Software that retains greater stability and offers greater career value longevity, even it is is functionally poorer. > Teachers, parents, students, etc would need to learn these new programs that they haven't used before. In tech, we all have to learn new things we haven't used before, all the time. It's the nature of rapid progress. To infer that this is somehow only true of open source software is wrong. > I'm sure there will be a lot of school sysadmins reading this and thinking "please just stay in your lane." We have a massive problem with de-skilling of ICT admins at the primary, secondary, and even higher-ed levels. I believe this is a direct cause of poorer educational outcomes because the technical support staff are unable to serve needs in a rapidly advancing world that demands innovation and deeper skills than clicking boxes on a webmin panel to choose some Windows options.