'dumping Microsoft'
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UK PRIMARY SCHOOLS could cut their IT budgets by 100% if they stopped buying computers, shock new research carried... Three things come to mind: 1) We need to get kids exposed to Microsoft software early because those are the specific IT skills employers are looking for. Early exposure saves a lot of effort later on - it worked for the cigarette industry. 2) I wish I could buy Microsoft software at the prices our schools pay. 3) When I was in primary school they were all Acorn computers. Whatever happened to them?
Ðavid Wulff The Royal Woofle Museum
Audioscrobbler :: flickrDie Freiheit spielt auf allen Geigen
David Wulff wrote: 1) We need to get kids exposed to Microsoft software early because those are the specific IT skills employers are looking for. Now shapes the future, not the other way around. David Wulff wrote: Early exposure saves a lot of effort later on - it worked for the cigarette industry. AFAIK, Microsoft products are generally1 not addictive. :~ David Wulff wrote: 2) I wish I could buy Microsoft software at the prices our schools pay. You can, if you're a student! I remember buying VC++ 5.0 Pro for like a fraction of the retail price. David Wulff wrote: 3) When I was in primary school they were all Acorn computers. Whatever happened to them? [OT] Acorn must've been a UK thing, right? I've never ever seen an Acorn. I've just read about them in magazines and on web sites. 1Exluding gaming consoles and games. -- Schni Schna Schnappi! Schnappi Schnappi Schnapp!
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David Wulff wrote: 1) We need to get kids exposed to Microsoft software early because those are the specific IT skills employers are looking for. Now shapes the future, not the other way around. David Wulff wrote: Early exposure saves a lot of effort later on - it worked for the cigarette industry. AFAIK, Microsoft products are generally1 not addictive. :~ David Wulff wrote: 2) I wish I could buy Microsoft software at the prices our schools pay. You can, if you're a student! I remember buying VC++ 5.0 Pro for like a fraction of the retail price. David Wulff wrote: 3) When I was in primary school they were all Acorn computers. Whatever happened to them? [OT] Acorn must've been a UK thing, right? I've never ever seen an Acorn. I've just read about them in magazines and on web sites. 1Exluding gaming consoles and games. -- Schni Schna Schnappi! Schnappi Schnappi Schnapp!
Jörgen Sigvardsson wrote: Acorn must've been a UK thing, right? I've never ever seen an Acorn. I've just read about them in magazines and on web sites. Yeah, famous Acorn BBC A and BBC B with 32kb RAM and 32 kb ROM. The first version of Elite[^] was developed for this computer. However, I still argue that nothing beats Sinclair ZX Spectrum[^] :cool: and its Z80A on 4 kHz.
My programming blahblahblah blog. If you ever find anything useful here, please let me know to remove it.
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UK PRIMARY SCHOOLS could cut their IT budgets by 100% if they stopped buying computers, shock new research carried... Three things come to mind: 1) We need to get kids exposed to Microsoft software early because those are the specific IT skills employers are looking for. Early exposure saves a lot of effort later on - it worked for the cigarette industry. 2) I wish I could buy Microsoft software at the prices our schools pay. 3) When I was in primary school they were all Acorn computers. Whatever happened to them?
Ðavid Wulff The Royal Woofle Museum
Audioscrobbler :: flickrDie Freiheit spielt auf allen Geigen
Personally I feel if the government spent say £100 million developing office etc. software for schools and then gave it to them, and all uk citizens, free of charge it would be a far more cost effective solution. I use an old copy of Word for writing letters etc. and OpenOffice for everything elese that I need.
"An education isn't how much you have committed to memory, or even how much you know. It's being able to differentiate between what you do know and what you don't." - Anatole France
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Jörgen Sigvardsson wrote: Acorn must've been a UK thing, right? I've never ever seen an Acorn. I've just read about them in magazines and on web sites. Yeah, famous Acorn BBC A and BBC B with 32kb RAM and 32 kb ROM. The first version of Elite[^] was developed for this computer. However, I still argue that nothing beats Sinclair ZX Spectrum[^] :cool: and its Z80A on 4 kHz.
My programming blahblahblah blog. If you ever find anything useful here, please let me know to remove it.
Nemanja Trifunovic wrote: However, I still argue that nothing beats Sinclair ZX Spectrum[^] and its Z80A on 4 kHz. hah I was proud user of it's clones Didaktik Gama and Didaktik M[^] :cool: David Never forget: "Stay kul and happy" (I.A.)
David's thoughts / dnhsoftware.org / MyHTMLTidy -
>> they were all Acorn computers. Whatever happened to them? i think i've still got an archimedes in storage :) .dan.g. AbstractSpoon Software
I have an Acorn Atom , and my old beloved BBC Model B in my parents Attic. The BBC had the best Defender game Ever. .nuetter
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Jörgen Sigvardsson wrote: Acorn must've been a UK thing, right? I've never ever seen an Acorn. I've just read about them in magazines and on web sites. Yeah, famous Acorn BBC A and BBC B with 32kb RAM and 32 kb ROM. The first version of Elite[^] was developed for this computer. However, I still argue that nothing beats Sinclair ZX Spectrum[^] :cool: and its Z80A on 4 kHz.
My programming blahblahblah blog. If you ever find anything useful here, please let me know to remove it.
Nemanja Trifunovic wrote: its Z80A on 4 kHz. Phew, lucky mine ran at 4MHz ;) The tigress is here :-D
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Jörgen Sigvardsson wrote: Acorn must've been a UK thing, right? I've never ever seen an Acorn. I've just read about them in magazines and on web sites. Yeah, famous Acorn BBC A and BBC B with 32kb RAM and 32 kb ROM. The first version of Elite[^] was developed for this computer. However, I still argue that nothing beats Sinclair ZX Spectrum[^] :cool: and its Z80A on 4 kHz.
My programming blahblahblah blog. If you ever find anything useful here, please let me know to remove it.
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UK PRIMARY SCHOOLS could halve their IT budgets it they stopped buying Microsoft software, research carried . . . http://67.19.9.2/?article=23070 From 'The Inquirer'
"An education isn't how much you have committed to memory, or even how much you know. It's being able to differentiate between what you do know and what you don't." - Anatole France
Saw this article earlier in the week. What kind of budget do primary schools have for IT anyway? Last time I looked it was pretty small. And if they think they can halve it, by changing to open source that implies they are buying computers that cost the same amount as a copy of Windows, that is probably already discouted for education. So thats like a £20 computer!!!!!!! :doh: They should be asking what the hell are they buying £20 computers for? Hardly a long term investment, as I'm guessing they will not be able to do very much.
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Nemanja Trifunovic wrote: its Z80A on 4 kHz. Phew, lucky mine ran at 4MHz ;) The tigress is here :-D
Trollslayer wrote: 4MHz :doh:
My programming blahblahblah blog. If you ever find anything useful here, please let me know to remove it.
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Nemanja Trifunovic wrote: its Z80A on 4 kHz. Phew, lucky mine ran at 4MHz ;) The tigress is here :-D
:laugh::laugh::laugh: Boredom, Bull$^%&, Baggage, Bar - all start with 'B'
Coincidence? -
UK PRIMARY SCHOOLS could cut their IT budgets by 100% if they stopped buying computers, shock new research carried... Three things come to mind: 1) We need to get kids exposed to Microsoft software early because those are the specific IT skills employers are looking for. Early exposure saves a lot of effort later on - it worked for the cigarette industry. 2) I wish I could buy Microsoft software at the prices our schools pay. 3) When I was in primary school they were all Acorn computers. Whatever happened to them?
Ðavid Wulff The Royal Woofle Museum
Audioscrobbler :: flickrDie Freiheit spielt auf allen Geigen
David Wulff wrote: I wish I could buy Microsoft software at the prices our schools pay. You can get a very good deal with the British Computer Society - IIRC, they also get the educuational discounts for their members. However, also note that it is the educational license that comes with it too.
My: Blog | Photos | Next SQL Presentation WDevs.com - Open Source Code Hosting, Blogs, FTP, Mail and More
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Jörgen Sigvardsson wrote: Acorn must've been a UK thing, right? I've never ever seen an Acorn. I've just read about them in magazines and on web sites. Yeah, famous Acorn BBC A and BBC B with 32kb RAM and 32 kb ROM. The first version of Elite[^] was developed for this computer. However, I still argue that nothing beats Sinclair ZX Spectrum[^] :cool: and its Z80A on 4 kHz.
My programming blahblahblah blog. If you ever find anything useful here, please let me know to remove it.
Nemanja Trifunovic wrote: 4 kHz That is a bit slow. My Spectrum ran at 3.51MHz.
My: Blog | Photos | Next SQL Presentation WDevs.com - Open Source Code Hosting, Blogs, FTP, Mail and More
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Nemanja Trifunovic wrote: its Z80A on 4 kHz. Phew, lucky mine ran at 4MHz ;) The tigress is here :-D
Trollslayer wrote: mine ran at 4MHz An early example of overclocking? The processor in a ZX Spectrum was running at 3.5MHz
My: Blog | Photos | Next SQL Presentation WDevs.com - Open Source Code Hosting, Blogs, FTP, Mail and More
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UK PRIMARY SCHOOLS could cut their IT budgets by 100% if they stopped buying computers, shock new research carried... Three things come to mind: 1) We need to get kids exposed to Microsoft software early because those are the specific IT skills employers are looking for. Early exposure saves a lot of effort later on - it worked for the cigarette industry. 2) I wish I could buy Microsoft software at the prices our schools pay. 3) When I was in primary school they were all Acorn computers. Whatever happened to them?
Ðavid Wulff The Royal Woofle Museum
Audioscrobbler :: flickrDie Freiheit spielt auf allen Geigen
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Trollslayer wrote: mine ran at 4MHz An early example of overclocking? The processor in a ZX Spectrum was running at 3.5MHz
My: Blog | Photos | Next SQL Presentation WDevs.com - Open Source Code Hosting, Blogs, FTP, Mail and More
Actually my computer was a Nascom 2 at 4MHz. The tigress is here :-D
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UK PRIMARY SCHOOLS could halve their IT budgets it they stopped buying Microsoft software, research carried . . . http://67.19.9.2/?article=23070 From 'The Inquirer'
"An education isn't how much you have committed to memory, or even how much you know. It's being able to differentiate between what you do know and what you don't." - Anatole France
Everyone is forgetting that Open Source Software typically requires more setup and maintenance. I'm NOT saying that MS software is maintenance free, but their setups and installations are far simpler than anything on a Linux environment. The tradeoff could still be beneficial. However, hardware and software costs need to take into account the service and maintenance costs associated with a higher requirement for more skilled IT staff. I would offer Apple as a suggestion, but those things are $$$ PRICEY $$$
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Everyone is forgetting that Open Source Software typically requires more setup and maintenance. I'm NOT saying that MS software is maintenance free, but their setups and installations are far simpler than anything on a Linux environment. The tradeoff could still be beneficial. However, hardware and software costs need to take into account the service and maintenance costs associated with a higher requirement for more skilled IT staff. I would offer Apple as a suggestion, but those things are $$$ PRICEY $$$
I don't know what Linux distros you've been looking at lately but installing office software on most mainstream desktops these days is something my mom could do. As for service and support - my mom would be just as stuck with Word as with Kword (for example) if a problem occured.
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I don't know what Linux distros you've been looking at lately but installing office software on most mainstream desktops these days is something my mom could do. As for service and support - my mom would be just as stuck with Word as with Kword (for example) if a problem occured.
I'm talking about setting up Linux and all of its packages in the first place. With MS and Apple, you just pop in the CD, turn on the computer, and after timezone and username selection, you're ready to go. Getting a PC with a good Linux distro and all of the apps preinstalled is not always easy. In turn, the IT staff would have to setup the partitions, drivers, and all of the other goodies. I'm not saying that Windows or OSX is completely carefree. I'm just saying that in terms of usability for the beginner, commercial software tends to win. The main exception to that is Firefox :)
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Everyone is forgetting that Open Source Software typically requires more setup and maintenance. I'm NOT saying that MS software is maintenance free, but their setups and installations are far simpler than anything on a Linux environment. The tradeoff could still be beneficial. However, hardware and software costs need to take into account the service and maintenance costs associated with a higher requirement for more skilled IT staff. I would offer Apple as a suggestion, but those things are $$$ PRICEY $$$
You could argue commercial software has a larger PR department behind it Linux doesn't. Neither are perfect, but if you take my point that is the govenrment spent £100 million they could produce andoffice system, and a Liux distro they could give away 'free'. Putting in a disk and hoping Microsoft software will work, now I could tell you lots of stories, but here is a recent one, a neighbour had a problem with their PC, I could not fix, I worked out it was caused after a Microsft update, he rang his help line and they said, 'Oh there have been lots of problems like this over the last couple of days'. If that had happend at a school or schools would have caused some chaos, so both types require 'support'
"An education isn't how much you have committed to memory, or even how much you know. It's being able to differentiate between what you do know and what you don't." - Anatole France
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I have an Acorn Atom , and my old beloved BBC Model B in my parents Attic. The BBC had the best Defender game Ever. .nuetter
BBC B with 5 1/4 inch floppy drive :) Only got the drive to play the best computer game EVER - Elite! And if anyone disagrees please take note - after 20years I am STILL a fugitive and do not take any grief from police patrols etc. Come near me and I'll pop you apart with my beam weapon and capture you as a slave :) I still remember having to write your own code in FORTRAN rather than be a cut and paste merchant being pampered by colour coded Intellisense - ahh proper programming - those were the days :)