Comments on: Vietnam joins Asianux

By: SaigonNezumi (Kevin)

SaigonNezumi (Kevin) — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 10:12:49 +0000

@Tracy: I do. Today my students started to intall LAMP on their netbooks and laptops

By: Tracy Reed

Tracy Reed — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 20:30:01 +0000

Right. So support FLOSS in your schools and companies!

By: Ken

Ken — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 20:27:49 +0000

I guess you misunderstood my point about children using Microsoft in school. My point is that it is instill in people that Microsoft is the norm, these same children is going to grow up and become CEO’s, business owners, and decision makers in companies. This is where going with Microsoft goes into place, humans are creatures of habits, and once they’re used to something, they really don’t want to change. Now, that’s the problem that is present in promoting the use of FOSS, even with the word free on it, it’s not appealing to some people because they simply don’t want to change. However, with hard times coming in the next few years, maybe it’ll be an easier time to promote OSS. I didn’t mean that it’s hard to train employees because they grew up with Microsoft, it’s hard to get those CEO’s who grew up with Microsoft and they are way too comfortable with it to make a change. Also, of course I understand that no one is too invaluable to let go, but as a company you don’t want well trained, well experienced and productive employees to leave for any reason.

By: Tracy Reed

Tracy Reed — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 17:44:30 +0000

Children are not the problem. Children are smart and can figure anything out. They adapt to Linux faster than anyone because they have no bias.

I think we should look at computer education similarly to how we look at reading, writing, and arithmetic: Teach fundamentals. It does not matter what particular operating system you learn on if you learn the basic fundamental ideas. Know what the cpu, disk, memory do, that is just a machine mechanically cranking out computations, that files are organized into directories/folders and that icons and menus are often used to start programs etc. Then you can use Windows, Mac, Linux, or whatever will be the OS of the future. It is the difference in getting a well rounded education that enables you to take on almost any task vs a purely vocational education that trains you to work only in a very specific and menial field and unable to take on anything outside your field.

In a large sized company it is rare that there is any one employee who is worth more than the years of ongoing license fees and downtime that comes with being a Microsoft shop. In the case of Oak West it was a case of either the employees adapt or leave or the whole company goes out of business.

By: Ken

Ken — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 16:53:23 +0000

Well, I don’t dispute that it does work; in fact, I know that it works more efficiently. The hurdle you’ve mention is true, large corporation would definitely have a very hard time switching to OSS, not from a technical standpoint but in a decisional one. It would really take a lot of convincing at the top and that person at top would need a lot convincing to the bottom. Tell employees they can leave the company isn’t as easy as it sounds; especially, if that employee is a highly productive employee. But like you said, it really takes somoene at the top that has made it his/her mission to go OSS; that in itself is one of the major hurdle. Nonetheless,the biggest hurdle of all is that children are taught from grade with Microsoft software and applications and so it’s difficult to sell someone something they know very little about.

By: SaigonNezumi (Kevin)

SaigonNezumi (Kevin) — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 01:55:54 +0000

But it takes someone at the head of the company with some real vision and commitment to pull this off.

You hit it on the nail Tracy. There is just too many guys at the top who just do not understand technology in general. The guys at the bottom are just too lazy, perhaps complacent, to learn.