We recommend using Linux or Windows as the Operating System for the laptops/desktops. 

As Windows will cost money to license, Linux might be the better option because it is open source and you can find specific versions of Linux that look almost exactly like the Windows user interface. This will allow the students to be able to also have more flexibility in their technical education because they can work on Linux with the command line interface or the GUI interface. In terms of specific versions of Linux, Lubuntu or Ubuntu are the most recommended because of their user-friendly interfaces.

Windows comes with all the basic elements and start-up applications on its operating system, but Linux operating systems do not. Certain applications will need to be downloaded in order to be able to, for example, look and listen to videos on YouTube.

Recommended start-up applications for Linux:

• Audio Applications:
  • We recommend Audacity, which is an open source application. http://audacity.sourceforge.net
  • Other open source options are:
  • Ardour (http://www.ardour.org/),
  • Grip (http://nostatic.org/grip/),
  • Hydrogen (http://www.hydrogen-music.org/)
• Graphic Design Applications (2D)
  • We recommend Scribus (http://www.scribus.net) but other open source options would be
  • Pixelize (http://lashwhip.com/pixeliae.html),
  • MyPaint (http://mypaint.intilinux.com/) is great for tablets,
  • GIMPshop (http://www.gimpshop.com/),
  • Inkscape (http://hugin.sourceforge.net/)
• Graphic Design Applications (3D)
  • We recommend Art Of Illusion (http://www.artofillusion.org/), but other options would be
  • Blender (http://www.blender.org/),
  • G3DViewer (http://automagically.de/index.shtml?g3dviewer),
  • PovRay (http://www.povray.org/)
• Video Applications
  • We recommend AvideMUX (http://avidemux.berlios.de/index.html) which is a free video editor. Other options would be
  • Cinelerra (http://heroinewarrior.com/cinelerra.php3),
  • CinePaint (http://www.cinepaint.org/),
  • Slideshow Creator (http://slcreator.sourceforge.net/)
• System Applications
  • APTonCD (http://aptoncd.sourceforge.net/) is a tool that allows you to create CDs or DVDs
  • Picasa (http://picasa.google.com/linux/) is a free application for photo editing.
  • VideoLAN (http://www.videolan.org/vlc/) is a VLC media player.
  • ClamAV (http://www.clamav.net/) is an anti-virus toolkit that is designed especially for e-mail scanning on mail gateways.
  • FileZilla (http://filezillal-project.org/) allows for fast file transfers.
  • K3b (http://k3b.plainblack.com/) is a CD burning application.
  • OpenOffice (http://www.openoffice.org/) has key desktop applications like word processing; it’s features and userface are similar to other office suites.
  • openSSH (http://www.openssh.org/) encrypts all traffic for security purposes (including passwords).
  • PDFedit (http://pdfedit.petricek.net/pdfedit.index_e) for manipulating PDF documents.
  • Pidgin (http://www.pidgin.im/) is a multi-protocol Instant Messaging client.
  • Wine (http://www.winehq.org/) is a compatibility tool for running Windows-based programs.
  • Bugzilla (http://www.bugzilla.org/) is a Web-based general-purpose bugtracker tool.
  • Firefox (http://www.mozilla.com/firefox/)
  • SeaMonkey (http://www.seamonkey-project.org/) has an HTML editor that allows you to create a web page.
  • Google Earth (http://www.earth.google.com/)
• Educational Applications for Linux
  • Kalzium (http://edu.kde.org/applications/all/kalzium) is an open-source chemistry tool.
  • Stellarium (http://stellarium.org/) is a free open source planetarium for the computer.
  • TreeView X (http://darwin.zoology.gla.ac.uk/~rpage/treeviewx/) allows for you to easily view and explore phylogenetic trees which is a diagram that shows the evolutionary relationship between different species based on their characteristics.
  • Quantum GIS (http://www.linuxlinks.com/article/20080414064630512/QGIS.html) allows one to create, visualise, query and analyse geospatial data.
  • GRASS (http://www.linuxlinks.com/article/20080414073358358) stands for Geographic Resources Analysis Support System, which is an earth science application.
  • GnuPlot (http://www.gnuplot.info/) is an interactive 2D/3D plotting tool

Smartphones will be Android phones because they utilize a Linux OS, which would allow for more cohesion between the software on the phone and the software on the laptop/desktop.
Tablets will also be Android-powered to allow for cohesion.
Below is a list of educational applications from the Android app store:

• Google Translate (translates languages)
• Layar
• Google Star Maps
• PCM Recorder or Voice Recorder
• MyAndroid Protection for Android 1.5-1.6 (enables antivirus and malware protection)
• MyAndroid Protection for Android 2.0 or later (same as above but different version)
• World Atlas
• Google Reader
• My Docs Google Docs
• Science Pal ($1)
• Science Facts
• Chemistry Helper
• Nature Facts
• StudyMaster
• IT & Computer Dictionary 2.1 ($2.17)
• The Physics Professor ($0.99)
• Biology I: Plant Biology ($0.99)
• Google Voice