The beginning of October heralded a new chapter for Delhi University students as the first year students started receiving laptops promised ahead of the academic year. It is a move that integrates modern technology with modern educational methods. These laptops come armed with Ubuntu, a free Linux-based and open source operating system.
Speaking to students, teachers and technical experts, Metrolife gauges the first impressions of the newly introduced laptops.
A Physics (Hons) student, Piyush sharma says, “There’s no denying the fact that DU has done an amazing job by providing us with these laptops. But how do we get 100 per cent benefit out of it? These have been released only a month prior to our first semester exams. On that, it will take us a lot of time to understand the Linux-based system Ubuntu, which is majorly command-based.”
Preparing a non-chordates presentation for her Zoology class, Neha Sonthwal says, “Owning a laptop would not be a matter of affordability anymore. It gives an equal opportunity to all as we can also access college’s internet network for our work.” But she adds, “Wish that these laptops were more fun. We can use them purely for
academic projects.”
The operating system remains a common rue for the students who welcome the move but constantly ask for a Windows-based operating system. Breaking the myth that Ubuntu is a complicated operating system as compared to Windows, Tarun Sharma, a software |
engineer says,” It is not tough to operate or install any software in Ubuntu. There are different extensions for installing softwares in it, something that the students will easily figure out along the way.” Speaking on the entertainment front, “There no gaming zones available for this OS as it keeps on developing over six to eight months so developers don’t find it stable to make Ubuntu-specific games. Else, it has everything that a student may need for his day to day tasks.”
As per the affidavit filled for registration, students are not allowed to modify their systems. These laptops will be taken back for a check on April 15, 2014. Rahul Bangia, the system administrator at Sri Venkateswara College says, “ We do not have any instructions about the re-release dates for the laptops after the April 15 deadline.” This deadline evokes a concern in students that they have been provided with these laptops almost at the end of a semester, giving them less than a year’s time to own these systems.
