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If someone were using Linux to teach I as a student would think their using some crap computers. Like it or not students don't see the potential of Linux like w

by Fuxy 13y ago

If someone were using Linux to teach I as a student would think their using some crap computers. Like it or not students don't see the potential of Linux like we do and truth is Windows is still more user friendly then Linux when it comes to doing some moderately advanced things. Probably the closest you can get is KDE since for most users if the setting isn't in the GUI it doesn't exist. It would be cool if schools had a mix of windows and Linux computers though that way students can learn that Windows doesn't equal computer there are other OS's as well. And before you ask no, where I'm from Apple was as if it didn't exist. I only learned about Linux when i was 14 and to be honest i though it was crap at first since all Linux windowing systems that I tried were awful. But i continued to discover more of my system and figured out that Linux without the terminal is only appropriate for grandmas that can barely use a computer and are unlikely to run into driver issues when connecting new devices.

rbanffy 13y ago
> I as a student would think their using some crap computers. When was the last time you saw a machine running Linux in person? > unlikely to run into driver issues when connecting new devices. I am not a grandma and the last device that didn't play nice with my Linux machines was a prototype Blackberry phone. I somehow don't think it was the computer's fault.
- Fuxy 13y ago
  Actually my main OS is Arch Linux and i only use windows at work. While now I rarely run into driver issues that are very serious i still needed to replace my Wifi card on my laptop to be able to run it in monitor mode about 1 year ago. So no Linux still has driver issues with certain hardware. Granted this is a bad example since it's quite a technical requirement and it's not Linux's fault but the manufacturers however Linux driver coverage is not as vast as windows nor do products come with a CD containing drivers for Linux so if it doesn't work regular users aren't going to care why. Their going to blame the OS.
fnordfnordfnord 13y ago
>If someone were using Linux to teach I as a student would think their using some crap computers. Why does the installed OS imply anything at all about the quality of the hardware? > Like it or not students don't see the potential of Linux ... Why would they, if they have never been exposed to it? >and truth is Windows is still more user friendly then Linux when it comes to doing some moderately advanced things. I've always felt the opposite is true, that most Windows based solutions enable people to do easy things easier than with Linux, but that implementing more complex solutions often quickly becomes harder on the Windows platform than on Linux. That's been my experience, YMMV. >It would be cool if schools had a mix of windows and Linux computers though that way students can learn that Windows doesn't equal computer there are other OS's as well. And before you ask no, where I'm from Apple was as if it didn't exist. I agree. I think it makes for better educated graduates, and a better marketplace for computing products. >I only learned about Linux when i was 14 and to be honest i though it was crap at first since all Linux windowing systems that I tried were awful. That may have been a fair assessment at the time.
- Fuxy 13y ago
  > Why does the installed OS imply anything at all about the quality of the hardware? It doesn't for people who understand the technology but a kid learning in school will asses the entire package as a whole with the limited skills he has at using it mind you. > Why would they, if they have never been exposed to it? I doubt they would even if they were exposed to it. I takes a lot of dedication to reach the point where you're comfortable with the terminal and see it's potential. I don't think students would reach that point in school. > I've always felt the opposite is true, that most Windows based solutions enable people to do easy things easier than with Linux, but that implementing more complex solutions often quickly becomes harder on the Windows platform than on Linux. That's been my experience, YMMV. It is from a technical point of view but for the average person who will never need to do anything more complex it isn't. And even if they do need something more complex they're already invested into windows so it's unlikely they'll switch. Since windows made it easier in the beginning they'll assume that the pattern continues.
  - fnordfnordfnord 13y ago
hrktb 13y ago
While windows 95 was getting big, at school and we had a course of technical learning where we'd use a Thomson T-08 to move a robotic arm, picking bricks on a conveyer belt. Were we impressed by the machine ? Hell no, everyone knew it was a piece of crap in that day and age. Just as we were not impressed by retroprojectors, chalk boards, out of date cassette players and 10. years old science experiment stuff. Did we learn to program the arm in some simple basic like language I forgot how it looked like ? Well, yes, because we wanted good grades. Like for every other course. I think most of us didn't care about programming, but at least the ones that never touched a computer before got to know how an algorithm would look like and how a program runs. Linux at school should be efficient on the same level, to teach basic things (not just programming of course) and give a first experience in something students might not care about at all. [1] http://atomictoasters.com/tag/thomson-t08/ http://atomictoasters.com/tag/thomson-t08/ PS: to be clear, I don't think linux at school should be used to push linux, helping some group's agenda shouldn't be school's role. Giving students more insight into how the *nix like systems work and can be used is a better goal, primary windows user could bet behind as well.

by Fuxy 13y ago

rbanffy 13y ago

> I as a student would think their using some crap computers. When was the last time you saw a machine running Linux in person? > unlikely to run into driver issues when connecting new devices. I am not a grandma and the last device that didn't play nice with my Linux machines was a prototype Blackberry phone. I somehow don't think it was the computer's fault.

Fuxy 13y ago
Actually my main OS is Arch Linux and i only use windows at work. While now I rarely run into driver issues that are very serious i still needed to replace my Wifi card on my laptop to be able to run it in monitor mode about 1 year ago. So no Linux still has driver issues with certain hardware. Granted this is a bad example since it's quite a technical requirement and it's not Linux's fault but the manufacturers however Linux driver coverage is not as vast as windows nor do products come with a CD containing drivers for Linux so if it doesn't work regular users aren't going to care why. Their going to blame the OS.

fnordfnordfnord 13y ago

>If someone were using Linux to teach I as a student would think their using some crap computers. Why does the installed OS imply anything at all about the quality of the hardware? > Like it or not students don't see the potential of Linux ... Why would they, if they have never been exposed to it? >and truth is Windows is still more user friendly then Linux when it comes to doing some moderately advanced things. I've always felt the opposite is true, that most Windows based solutions enable people to do easy things easier than with Linux, but that implementing more complex solutions often quickly becomes harder on the Windows platform than on Linux. That's been my experience, YMMV. >It would be cool if schools had a mix of windows and Linux computers though that way students can learn that Windows doesn't equal computer there are other OS's as well. And before you ask no, where I'm from Apple was as if it didn't exist. I agree. I think it makes for better educated graduates, and a better marketplace for computing products. >I only learned about Linux when i was 14 and to be honest i though it was crap at first since all Linux windowing systems that I tried were awful. That may have been a fair assessment at the time.

Fuxy 13y ago
> Why does the installed OS imply anything at all about the quality of the hardware? It doesn't for people who understand the technology but a kid learning in school will asses the entire package as a whole with the limited skills he has at using it mind you. > Why would they, if they have never been exposed to it? I doubt they would even if they were exposed to it. I takes a lot of dedication to reach the point where you're comfortable with the terminal and see it's potential. I don't think students would reach that point in school. > I've always felt the opposite is true, that most Windows based solutions enable people to do easy things easier than with Linux, but that implementing more complex solutions often quickly becomes harder on the Windows platform than on Linux. That's been my experience, YMMV. It is from a technical point of view but for the average person who will never need to do anything more complex it isn't. And even if they do need something more complex they're already invested into windows so it's unlikely they'll switch. Since windows made it easier in the beginning they'll assume that the pattern continues.
- fnordfnordfnord 13y ago

hrktb 13y ago

While windows 95 was getting big, at school and we had a course of technical learning where we'd use a Thomson T-08 to move a robotic arm, picking bricks on a conveyer belt. Were we impressed by the machine ? Hell no, everyone knew it was a piece of crap in that day and age. Just as we were not impressed by retroprojectors, chalk boards, out of date cassette players and 10. years old science experiment stuff. Did we learn to program the arm in some simple basic like language I forgot how it looked like ? Well, yes, because we wanted good grades. Like for every other course. I think most of us didn't care about programming, but at least the ones that never touched a computer before got to know how an algorithm would look like and how a program runs. Linux at school should be efficient on the same level, to teach basic things (not just programming of course) and give a first experience in something students might not care about at all. [1] http://atomictoasters.com/tag/thomson-t08/ http://atomictoasters.com/tag/thomson-t08/ PS: to be clear, I don't think linux at school should be used to push linux, helping some group's agenda shouldn't be school's role. Giving students more insight into how the *nix like systems work and can be used is a better goal, primary windows user could bet behind as well.