I got out of it about three years ago. I’m pretty proud of what I got done but I cannot say I miss it.

Kids of a certain age would often be issued a device for their exclusive use - that’s not all that uncommon - but requiring them to lug it home is a bit much, especially if they have a useful computer at home already.

I also hate Chromebooks. I’m not against the idea of a super simple boot-to-browser type device per se, but the artificially limited lifespan of the devices is ridiculous and ChromeOS is a pain in the ass to manage compared to other OSs. In the end, we actually found we were better off running Windows or MacOS and applying policies that limited use to a very specific set of applications. Also, we found that running Windows with only Credge available was usually snappier; you know ChromeOS is utter dogshit when it get outperformed by Windows+Edge on the same hardware, and it comes with the added benefit of being able to lift the policy at a moment’s notice, returning the device to a full OS.

With regards to the VPN and filtering thing, it sounds like they’ve done half a job. Depending on when you are, the school is likely ultimately responsible for what happens on a school-issued device, and that usually does mean having an always-on VPN that routes all traffic via the school’s web filtering/logging appliance of choice. I used Headscale for our VPN and had a couple of VPSs running FortiOS for that purpose. I get that you want to apply your own filtering, but the school probably just doesn’t have the time or staff to deal with supporting complicated home networks. That said, is absolutely sounds like they’re failing in their duty of care if they’re allowing unrestricted all-hours access: the default policy I set was a very restricted set of teacher-picked sites when they were out of school unless the parent/guardian specifically signed a waiver saying they’d take responsibility: even then, we still had to apply some filtering and logging and we offered to limit the number of hours per day.

Don’t get me started on those fucking apps.

I posted a rant above, but 100% this. You can put users into a particular group in your directory and then they’ll get their required screen reader, high contrast theme, large text, visual queues, native language, etc, on every Windows, Android, MacOS, ChromeOS or iOS device they use out of the box, no further tools needed. Debian, Ubuntu, Fedora? Not so much.

Fuck it, rant time.

I was IT lead at an education trust (kinda like a school district but bigger) covering K-21 for a long time, managing a few thousand endpoints for a few thousand students. Laptops, desktops, tablets, smartphones, digital signage and embedded; devices belonging to schools, partner organisations, staff BYOD and student remote learning; structured IT suites in school campuses, stateless networks for anything portable, antique appliances that simply must work but also be accessible to particular people from anywhere; it goes on and it never ends.

No-one has time for that.

From a few central interfaces, I could deploy an application to every device. And, I could make sure that a particular website was accessible to every student from their fifteenth birthday, not a day before. And, I could make sure that any device a Ukrainian refugee logs into speaks Ukrainian. And, I could remove any bloatware. And, I could make sure that when a brand new laptop is drop-shipped to a teacher’s home address directly from the distributor it will automatically configure itself with everything they need the second they connect it to their home Wifi without me even having to touch it. And, I could apply a photo-of-the-month to every device, even overlaying it with the appropriate school’s logo. And I could disable (or force enable) any unwanted hardware or software features on any device. And I could make sure that every student’s web traffic was appropriately filtered and, if nessecary, scrutinised.

And I could prove that all of it was working: I could prove it to staff, to parents, to governors and, when it came to it, I could prove it to the police and to lawyers. “When”, not “if”.

Forget schools for a second, look instead at big corporations. They are ruthlessly profit focused, but they all run Windows, Office, SharePoint, 365, etc because even though it costs money, it’s cheaper overall and comes with a lot of protection, both technical and legal. Schools get that stuff basically for free, and it just works. Linux isn’t there yet, not by a long shot, and no education authority worth their salt is going to take the risk of being the first to experiment with their student’s wellbeing, let alone curriculum, for effectively - in their eyes - zero benefit.

To be blunt: when one of the children you are responsible for safeguarding is the victim of an attempted kidnapping that was only possible because of lax data security, no-one is going to have any tolerance for your personal philosophy about software licensing or your home-spun scripts. Ask me how I know.

Also, if your schools are letting advertisers/social media/whatever inspect student’s data, that’s nothing to do with the technology and everything to do with mismanagement: forcing them to manage yet another OS isn’t going to fix that.

TLDR: If you want to make Linux replace Windows in schools, you first need to figure out how to make Linux replace Windows in hospitals, call centres and Fortune 500 corporations.

Torment Nexus: https://youtu.be/W_Qlb85JD_g

Well, it is “For You” then, isn’t it? Not “Here’s what you want” but “here’s what the algorithm has chosen For You”. For You: a bespoke, tailored, never-ending torrent of content that we have picked out based on the relentless automated psychoanalysis we carry out every second of ever day based on every swipe, zoom and key press to keep you outraged, distracted and malleable with the absolute bare minimum of entertainment and dopamine. Bon appetit.

This is great! It’s been frankly hard work avoiding using Meta, Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, Threads and all of Zuckerberg’s other merciless surveillance and manipulation systems, and now I don’t have to worry about avoiding it any more because I don’t need to give deliberate consent at all, I only need to be within range of someone who has given unwitting consent on my behalf. And inside my own home when I’m my most unguarded and sincere, believing I’m only sharing my thoughts with the people present. What a win!

My first words were “boba” and “kiki” but my parents were both abstract two-dimensional shapes so that might have affected things.

Haha, well you know what they say about $hometown - if you don’t like the weather, wait an hour! Haha!

I always updoot 6music. Well-managed ABC playlist, informed DJs who get to pick their own tracks, plenty of background and relevant conversation (Artist in Residence, Freak Zone, Round Table, etc), and because it’s the BBC there’s no adverts, no fucking obnoxious competitions, and no desperate attempts at listener engagement.

If you ever get a chance to go to the 6 Music Festival; do it.

I read “I R Madlad” in the style of “I R Baboon”.