British study: schools can save by ditching Microsoft

A study by Britain's Educational Communications and Technology Association found that primary schools in the UK could cut their computer costs significantly by avoiding software from Microsoft.

Results of the study, which are due to be released next week, were reported on Friday by The Times Educational Supplement, a British paper. The TES said that the study doesn't actually use Microsoft's name, but leaves little doubt by referring to the world's largest software maker.

According to the paper, the study compared costs at 33 schools that employ commercial software and 15 using open source. The study finds that the open source-based schools saved an average of 24 percent on software, hardware and support, again according to the TES report.