| William H. Magill on Tue, 22 Oct 2002 00:20:05 -0400 |
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On Friday 18 October 2002 09:54 am, Bob Schwier wrote:The problem is simply the time to go through learning Unix. Most of the students are innately familiar with Windows from high school and home. That's part of the reason I wanted to create the Linux boxes from old give away computers. Some familiarity in high school with Unix or Linux would make the transition easier. Digital pioneered this technique years ago, and grew to be a great powerhouse as a result. Their "fall from grace" virtually matched their ignoring of their long-time educational market in favor of "The Enterprise." Sun and Apple learned from Digital as did Microsoft, and so far Sun has not forgotten its Academic roots. But Apple did exactly the same thing that Digital did, and is only just now trying to resurrect its Academic credentials. Sun and Compaq were quick to exploit, respectively, DEC's and Apple's abandonment of the Educational Market. (Don't forget, Microsoft never sold a computer to anyone.) Way back then (circa 1990) computers were still rare. People had to learn everything about computers. Today, the reverse is true... everybody knows all about Windows... It's just like the Automatic Transmission in a car. Not that long ago (1980s), an "automatic" was a "feature" and cost more -- just like touch-tone telephones -- now if you want a Manual transmission, you have to pay more for it, and it actually REDUCES the resale value of the vehicle because it seriously cuts down on the number of people who are able to drive it! In honor of Halloween, here is your scary thought for the day... Today, (i.e. in the 2000s) you actually have many people using computers who have never used ANY operating system other than a Microsoft product ...! T.T.F.N. William H. Magill magill@mcgillsociety.org magill@acm.org magill@mac.com
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