This whole MS thing is turning into a right mess. On one side you have all the
techy types who know whats good for them, ie Linux, or anything apart from BSOD
MS, and on the other hand you have the Government, Teachers and Pupils who
mostly fear change, even if it will save x amount of quids.
The bottom line is, this is a personal opinion so disagree if you like, that
although Linux is technically more attractive in reality it is a daunting
thought to most people. For the simple reason that nearly everyone who has
bought a PC in the last 3 years will have an MS product on it, meaning they
know their way about it, Internet Explorer, MS Office, etc. Sadly the
educational support for Linux is lacking and all the popular packages available
for MS are not available for Linux.
I have had this argument so many times with a lot of people, they all seem to
agree that they havent got time to change over to a system that might not look
the same, behave the same as their beloved Windows.
After talking to Microsoft yesterday, they are attempting to respond to the
Linux "threat" by offering cheaper licencing and customisable School
Agreements, but they still feel that they are under no serious immediate threat.
Fools...........
This is reality
Quoting Paul Munro
Well- I don't want to bring this up again for fear of angry retribution! However, today I got notice from my College that I will HAVE to use MS Project Software for my latest course unit. Period. Before getting notification about this, I had looked at the excellent Mr Project for Linux--which I believe does allow Gantt graph design (though limited at this time).
Anyhow--so much for choice! I have had to wipe off my Mandrake install (which was fresh) and put on Windows ME (since I won't pay the money for XP). Straight after install, I got a BSOD; I have also had to invest in Antivirus software :-( That's something I haven't done for about two years (thanks to Linux)!
Mayeb those screaming for more choice in ICT within schools and also for the end-user should keep up their good work...otherwise this damned OS will drive me MAD.
Oh well- at least my laptop still has Linux on it :-)
Paul
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