The message 200312050952.03164.nick@danielsn.freeserve.co.uk from nick daniels nick@danielsn.freeserve.co.uk contains these words:
Sorry I meant to add on the bottom " how much would the saving be if open source was adopted" I spent a few years using Fortan on A PDP in the early 80's and never touched another computer until about 2 years ago. Somebody gave me an old 200MHz? machine and a copy of Suse 7.0? and after a few weeks I was o.k I certainly do not consider myself a genius, I had never used Windows and still have used it hardly at all. I am saying why are our children taught Windows a "requirement"? Would a child taught on Linux find Windows "terrible" as I do?
<ramble>
My mother bought an Amstrad PCW while writing a medical book, and despite my brother taping instructions to the front, I was always called-upon to close the program and shut it down properly, or, when she had been stuck for a word, filled several pages with one letter, or.... so as a writer (of sorts) I developed an interest in computers.
When Locoscript PC came out I bought a 386SX and one Roger, who built it insisted that I would need Windows because 'everything is written for Windows these days' so, uncharacteristically taking him at his word bought Win 3.0 and its destructions tome with the Dos 5.
My initial resistance proved well-founded for the only program I ever ran in Win 3.0 was Paintbrush, and that I never used after finding the DOS-based program Neopaint.
The only reason I continued on the Windows road was that Zetnet's own internet software ZIMACS was written for the OS, and the computer game shop next-door to ours built me a computer and installed DOS 6.22 and Win 3.11 (though Win 95 was just available it had some disturbing habits) and on another partition as installed Lasermoon's Linux FT. The original plan was dual-boot.
The Windows installation very quickly rolled over with all its legs in the air, and a new 'technician' reinstalled it, hootered the dual-boot and made FT inaccessible, and didn't have the know-how to put things right - nor did I, and all fdisk's warnings put me off trying it, and Partition Magic didn't seem any less risky.
So, Windows it was for ZIMACS, but DOS was King of the rest, and Linux would have to wait until I had the right-shaped tuits and a suitable level of confidence. Things just sort-of muddled on. Then ZIMACS went 32-bit and Win32s didn't help, so more steps down the Windows road. Anyway, all I used the computer for was writing and internet, so, mañana ruled.
It's all down to Roger, I guess, insisting that everything's being written for Windows these days'.
Rather than play with dual boot I have a number of caddies and even more trays....
I suppose (returning to the quoted text) it depends on the attitude of a child's first IT teacher: one who only knows (about?) Windows will teach its use rather in the same way as scripture is presented: In the beginning there was Windows....
And kids tend to be very loyal.
Moral? Convert the primary school IT teachers, or at least make them aware of other platforms? Subvert the teacher training colleges? Devise the best game ever?
</ramble>
No. A much better idea: let's make Linux illegal.