If exploring neural nets in a REPL is the spark that finally lights a fire under Octave, I'm all for it! But I think they already lost the battle to Python. >

If exploring neural nets in a REPL is the spark that finally lights a fire under Octave, I'm all for it! But I think they already lost the battle to Python. > Matlab looks really cool, but I feel it unfair to advocate un-Free software if my students can't take it home. Why is it your job to advocate anything? Inform them of what's available. Challenge yourself to make your lessons applicable to a broader range of tools, including ones your students might craft themselves. Let them know they can get the job done with GIMP but there's Photoshop at $9.99/month that might save them time and make them more employable. $1999 MacBook, $649 phone, but somehow $99 for a critical piece of software is unacceptable. And people wonder why students have debt but can't find jobs.