[PLUG] Windows conspiracy theory...

[Shahms King]

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plug_0 at robinson-west.com wrote:

> PCC and PSU attempt to lock computer science students into Microsoft Word,
> latest version, and Waterloo Maple, latest version.  Weren't the Maple 6 
> and Maple 9 releases fairly close together?  I remember at PCC that the
> computers tended to have multiple versions of Maple and insufficient 
> memory, as well a broken MS-Windows interface.  Computers in the classroom 
> that are slow or broken seem rather pointless, yet I'm guessing that PCC 
> lacks the will even for the math department to abandon Microsoft.  PSU 
> appears to be no better about this.  PCC is trying to shove Maple into the
> CS curriculum because of PSU.  Yes there is Maple for Linux, but that
> costs just as much and you don't get free upgrades as you upgrade your
> Linux system.  You are buying a binary, so it's easy to upgrade the
> library it depends on.

I cannot speak for PCC, but PSU most assuredly does not "attempt to lock
computer science students into Microsoft Word".  The vast majority of CS
(and math) classes assume and teach to a UNIX environment, often
Solaris, but frequently Linux.  I have never had a Professor ask for an
assignment in .doc format.  I *have* had professors specifically exclude
.doc from the list of acceptable formats.  As for the Maple requirement
for some classes, Maple is provided on the PSU lab computers, to which
you can SSH.  In fact the last project for which I needed to use Maple
was done entirely from home using Maple running at school, displaying at
home using the wonders of SSH X tunneling (not to mention the beauty of
a network transparent window system).

In fact, PSU is a very strong supporter of Open Source.  It hosts
freedesktop.org, for example.  They employ a number of professors who
are strong proponents and very active in different areas of OSS.
Microsoft's presence within the PSU CS department is minimal (although
growing slightly, no doubt as a result of some large donations) and it's
influence and prevalence within classes almost nil.

- --
Shahms E. King <shahms at shahms.com>
Multnomah ESD

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