It was recently announced that it is going to cost students 5 cents per page for printouts in the computer lab. Though I am sympathetic to the rising costs of maintaining a computer lab for students, I believe there is a better way to proceed.
In her recent letter to the editor, Carol Sobczak reports that “USM spends over $70,000/year for paper and toner for the computer labs and libraries.”
Clearly, this is a significant sum. Students should indeed be more prudent about what they choose to print.
However, I am wondering if there are other areas in which the computer lab – and USM as a whole – could save money. I’m specifically referring to the software costs of the computers, along with the “necessity” of upgrading computers every few years to keep up with the increasing demands of newer software. For the purposes of this discussion, I’ll limit myself to the PCs in the labs that currently run Windows software.
What is the cost of the software installed on each computer? At minimum, there is MS Windows and MS Office. Together, these two programs alone cost hundreds of dollars per computer – or “per seat” in licensing terms. This does not include other (expensive) proprietary software packages. Again, for the purposes of this discussion, I’ll limit myself to these two programs.
I don’t know what USM pays for these programs in the computer labs, but I’ll go by the cost for them in the USM bookstore. The latest version of Microsoft Windows costs students $99.95; the latest version of Microsoft Office is $199.00. Note that these prices are heavily discounted, “academic” prices; the list price for Windows is currently $299 per computer; Office currently lists for $579.
But even with these academic discounts, USM is probably paying about $300 per computer in the computer lab for the privilege of running proprietary Microsoft software.
There is an alternative. I am speaking of Linux. I’ve been a Linux user for about 3 years; it has been remarkable to watch it evolve beyond the point where it is certainly useable for the “average computer user” who wants to surf the web, check email, put together a spreadsheet, and write a paper. There is an incredible amount of software available – all at no cost – that runs under Linux. I can even import MS-Word documents into a Linux word processor.
But best of all, Linux is free, in both the monetary and free-speech sense of the word. Let me say it again: Linux is free. USM could download a Linux distribution, burn it to a CD, and install it – freely and legally – on every single computer at USM.
I am guessing that there are at least 200 computers in the computer labs/classrooms at USM. If this number is accurate, then simply by switching to free software such as Linux, USM could instantly save $60,000, a figure that only accounts for the cost of Windows and Office.
Additionally, more savings could come up down the road: Linux will continue to be free to upgrade. Linux also runs on very old computers; USM could save even more money by not having to buy new computers every year or two.
I do realize that a USM-wide switch to Linux would inconvenience almost everyone in the short-term. Because Windows is everywhere, most students have learned how to use it.
However, I can say from experience that modern Linux systems, once installed and configured correctly, are very easy to use. And they are certainly more predictable; computer crashes are a thing of the past for me. I haven’t lost data in a very long time.
I concede that there will be a learning curve for the end user. However, this curve will be minimal; most of the difficulty comes in installation and configuration, which is something the students won’t have to worry about anyway. And if students choose to install and run Linux on their home computers (I highly recommend doing so), then there is ample support – again at no cost – available in the community. Groups like USMCUG and MELUG could take the lead here, not to mention the HelpDesk.
So it comes down to this: are students willing to accept some temporary inconvenience in having to learn a new (but very user-friendly) way of using a computer? Or would they prefer to suck it up and pay 5 cents per page, maintaining their dependence on a company that only seeks to extract every possible dollar out of its users? For example, is Office 2000 really that much better than Office 97? Is it worth the upgrade price?
In my opinion, the answer is clear: it’s time for a change in the way we do computing at USM. Free software is the future; it’s already at least as user-friendly as proprietary software. It will only get better. Given the budget crunch that is plaguing USM as a whole, this seems an obvious way to save money.
James Lindenschmidt
Senior, philosophy