Linux Desktop for university staff

[Dotan Cohen]

On Wed, 16 Feb 2005 19:03:16 -0700, Hodgins Family
<ehodgins at telusplanet.net> 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 at redhat.com
> 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