Linux version of the Programming Editor?

[geoff07]

Now that a) Bill is likely to ditch support for XP just as soon as he has got his hands on our dollars for Vista, b) the price of Vista (in the UK, double the US price), and c) the increasing interest in a secure and powerful operating system that is free to all, secure, and starting to penetrate even corporate desktops, how about a Linux version of the PE? I would have thought that a totally free quality system would be of interest to schools and it certainly is to me.

Given all the previous discussions, and recognising the cost to Rev-Ed of doing it, is now not the time to move away from high-priced but basically same-again OSs to something free to all?

Edited by - geoff07 on 06/04/2007 23:19:39

 

[Dippy]

Is that true?
I see paid/security support for 98, 98SE and Millenium ends soon, but XP? I can't believe that, sorry. Where is that info from?
(Actually nothing would surprise me really)

Whilst I applaud Linux as an excellent alternative (and as an anti-ms statement) is the PICAXE related market big enough to justify the Man-hours where adaptation and conversion etc. is required? Just wondering, I simply don't know.

 

[chipwich]

I'd love to see a Linux version. I use linux on my home machines and about 50% professionally. As picaxe users are technically knowledgable, I'm sure that Linux usage is higher than in the regular computer using population.

I don't know how portable the current code-base is, but with Sun putting JAVA into the FOSS pool, a JAVA implementation of the editor would cross-platform quite nicely and probably have a good future.