[NTLUG:Discuss] Killing Off Linux: It's All Academic

[Pete. Koren]

Kathleen Weaver wrote:
> 
> >On Mon, Sep 20, 1999 at 10:38:36PM -0500, Kelly Scroggins wrote:
> >> The article mentioned Indiana University made a deal to distribute MS
> >> software to the student population.  In many schools you can obtain
> >> copies of Ms OS's and other products for as little as $6.00 per CD!
> >
> 
> UNT is considering this, according to a newspaper article last spring but I haven't heard anything. I don't see them doing anything to the CS machine though, they require UNIX for at least 3 of the classes I'm either taking or have taken. (1110, 1120, and 3400)

My daughter is taking CS at UNT and the deal you
speak of is in the works for next year. My son has
the deal ($5 for Windoze 98 and $5 for Office 97)
this year at UT Austin.

The problem is that some of the course work
requires reading and printing word documents (Yes,
I know that Star Office can import .doc files, but
not perfectly). Dual booting is still a reasonable
choice in this situation. BTW, the CS labs at UNT
used to be at the mercy of Win NT server, but they
are now running Free BSD.

The real danger that must be avoided is to let the
MS goons con the school bureaucrats into forcing
out competing OSs. Make sure the departments,
especially CS, let the pointy haired
administrators know in no uncertain terms that MS
is not academically acceptable to them. Here is
the way I would put it:

	Microsoft Windows is to Operating Systems as:

	a.	Lysenko is to Biology.
	b.	phlogiston is to Chemistry
	c.	cold fusion is to Physics
	d.	ain't is to English
	e.	all of the above.
ans (e)

Good luck,

Peter Koren
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