LinuxSA Mailing list archives

  From: Brian Astill <bastill@sa.apana.org.au>
  To  : Stephen Ward <sward@trinity.sa.edu.au>
        LinuxSA <linuxsa@linuxsa.org.au>
  Date: Sat, 28 Apr 2001 23:19:47 +0930

Re: MS Curriculum at schools and TAFEs ...

On Sat, 28 Apr 2001, Stephen Ward wrote:

Heaps of interesting stuff.

Stephen,
I think you might have missed the point I was trying to make, which was
that the notion that the *nix whomever should/must/need to challenge M$.
I don't think this is the issue, and such challenging is not possible
in practice anyway.

My concern in this M$ vs *nix (or any other OS, for that matter) is
that  public bodies have no right to dictate the use of a particular
commercial OS as they do at the moment.  That stricture applies to all
education institutions, too.
In essence your post would indicate that you support the
self-fulfilling prophesy that because M$ is so ubiqituous M$ should be
taught and used universally, which would result in M$ becoming so
ubiquitous that you would need to teach and use M$ unversally .... ad
infinitum 
I think we need to insist that our society get off that bandwagon.  

It is unacceptable for governments to have web sites that can only be
fully accessed using a particular browser, or which offer documents
in a particular commercial format.  It is also unacceptable that
schools give their students the impression that the only way to use a
computer is the M$ way.
While we enjoy running Installfests and engaging in other promotional
activities, we shouldn't need to do so.  And wouldn't if educational
institutions educated, rather than channelled, IT thinking.

-- 
Regards,
Brian

********************************************************
Dr Brian Astill  Visiting Research Fellow
Flinders University Institute of International Education
Bus 8201 3480     FAX 8449 9199
bastill@sa.apana.org.au
********************************************************

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