One of Canada's leading academic institutions, Nova Scotia's Acadia University, will provide students and faculty with Linux equipped notebooks in the fall semester.
All Acadia first-year students receive notebooks as part of their tuition. This year they will be receiving Dell Latitude D600 laptops pre-installed with both Microsoft Corp.'s Windows and Xandros Inc.'s desktop Linux distribution.
Xandros and Acadia announced that the Xandros Desktop Operating System (OS) was selected as the Linux distribution of choice for its undergraduate students. The innovative Canadian university is providing 9,000 notebook computers over three years to its students and faculty.
"Acadia students depend on their notebooks to complete their coursework and participate in class," said Dr. Gail Dinter-Gottlieb, President and Vice-Chancellor of Acadia University. "With the Xandros Desktop they can feel comfortable in conducting research and completing assignments. Xandros provides flawless wireless connections, while off campus students and faculty can dial in to our extensive campus network."
"Acadia's commitment to innovation is evident across academic disciplines through its technology-rich teaching and learning environment that integrates university-supplied notebook computers into the undergraduate curriculum," said Dr. Frederick H. Berenstein, Xandros Chairman and CTO. "We are honored to be the Linux desktop of choice for the Acadia’s unique program and look forward to an ongoing relationship that keeps both Acadia and Xandros in the forefront of technological innovation."
Acadia's students receive Dell Latitude D600 notebooks for use during the academic year, and their computers become an integral part of their learning experience. The Xandros Lab has certified the Xandros Desktop OS on the Dell D600 model, including the detection and operation of wireless network cards and other peripherals.
Dr. Berenstein added that "we believe that Linux will play an enormous role in the educational market, as it offers schools and universities a cost-effective, stable and secure computing environment for their students. Software applications being developed for the educational market are amazingly useful, incredibly compact and fast. And with twenty-five countries voting to wire their school systems to the Internet with Linux, there will soon be hundreds of millions of students surfing the net with Linux on their desktops."
The Xandros Desktop OS provides students and teachers with a familiar set of tools that integrate seamlessly with existing Windows environments and wireless networks.
Of these 4,500 users, Acadia expects between 300 and 400 of them — mostly in the computer science and math departments — to regularly use the Xandros desktop; Acadia's notebook program has been in place since 1997 and the Linux template has been available for students since 1998, it was reported.
About Xandros
Founded in 2001 with headquarters in New York and research and development facilities in Ottawa, Xandros, Inc. is the leading developer of easy-to-use Linux solutions targeting home and enterprise markets. Xandros pioneered a low-cost alternative operating system that provides seamless compatibility with Microsoft Windows programs and networks. For more information please visit www.xandros.com
About Acadia University
Located in Wolfville, Nova Scotia, Acadia was the first university in Canada to integrate notebook computers into the undergraduate curriculum. Through its technology-rich teaching and learning environment, students use today's technology to develop the advanced analytical skills they need to adapt to ever-changing study and work environments. For more information please visit www.acadiau.ca
