On Wed, 16 Feb 2005 19:03:16 -0700, Hodgins Family <ehodgins@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote: > Good evening! > On Tue, 2005-02-15 at 19:18 -0600, Les Mikesell wrote: > > On Tue, 2005-02-15 at 16:14, Hodgins Family wrote: > > > > > I'd like to refocus this thread by posing a question to the OP: > > > Many universities have computing departments that have been using *nixes > > > for decades (before Microsoft and Apple were popular). How does the OP > > > propose to do what these departments have been unable to do? I mean, > > > while it is a commendable idea to bring Linux to university staff (it > > > is free, customizable, generally secure etc), how will you propose to > > > convince the professors to switch from their "pet platforms"? > > > > It's really all about applications. Those decades-old unix versions > > had text mode apps that were great for server-side and automated > > work but not something you'd like to use interactively. Now there > > are decent fonts, nice GUI features and most of the apps that > > anyone would need available for Linux. Some people may have > > already given up their choices by allowing their own data to > > be stored in proprietary formats that require specific programs > > to access, but anyone starting from scratch should find everything > > they need on Linux. > > I would offer the thought that the decades-old unix versions have long > since fallen by the way-side in these departments. Rather, these > departments have had the same access to current distros that we enjoy > (Heck, many of these departments HOST the mirrors that we download our > distros from). So the question comes back: Tenured experts in *nixes > have been unable to hold back the proliferation of expensive OS amongst > their peers. How would the OP do things differently? It really merits > some attention. > > Here are 2 realities that I feel will oppose the OP in his/her quest: > > 1) The professoriate are a class that strives for acceptance amongst > their peers. If it is "generally" accepted that program X works in a > certain way, our academics will be more inclined to use that application > even if an alternative is cheaper, faster, "better", more secure, etc. > Peer pressure is not something to be ignored. And remember, more money > is simply a grant proposal away. The cash to be saved by using open > source is simply not an issue in the academic world. > > 2) The professoriate are also subject to "ego". I would argue that it is > more important to the academic class to be seen using an expensive > application (for show-value) instead of a cheaper (or free) application > that might imply that their work/research grants don't merit a higher > level of funding. And ego amongst our academics is as vital a force as > peer pressure. > > While I agree with Les that it does come down to applications, I have to > point out that it doesn't just come down to applications. I want to > state that the OP must recognize and address the wants and needs of the > audience. Otherwise, he/she might just wind up putting together a basket > of software that might address an academics needs but won't feed the > academics status. > > Have a great day, > > Rob > > -- > fedora-list mailing list > fedora-list@xxxxxxxxxx > To unsubscribe: http://www.redhat.com/mailman/listinfo/fedora-list > This is backwards. In my university, myself and a few other linux users are respected because we use linux. We are thought of as the computer-guys. Even if I've been on linux for about three months and I continually ask newbie questions. No one will thing that you cant afford windows if you dont use it. They will think that you've outgrown it. Dotan Cohen http://English-Lyrics.com http://Song-Lyriks.com
