From: "Trevor Warren" trevorwarren@yahoo.com Sent: Tuesday, February 26, 2002 6:10 PM
There should be no doubt that the most important places where free software should be advocated and propagated are schools and colleges. Instead of trying to wean away people at a later stage when they are used to or worse, addicted to proprietary software, we must educate people about free software when their exposure to proprietary software is minimal and when they are most amenable to absorbing progressive ideas and beliefs.
I think this a harsh remark on proprietary software. I guess the gist of the discussion is proprietary software == bad free software == good
The facts: (CT Sept .2001) 1.Indian IT market share $23.1 billion. growth rate 31.6% 2.Indian nationals employed in IT and telecom in US: 250,000 3.Indians in Microsoft in R&D : 32% 4.Q1 revenue due to software in 2001-2002 : 8,600 crores with growth rate of 52 % !!!
Could this have been possible without "proprietary stuff" ?
If a kid says Hey I wanna make money with coding. Should we say: no way? With India earning so much from software exports I really think that kids in schools should be given the right information. Sometimes money also is a stimulus for some brains. It is a fact we can't deny. .
The long term goal of FSF-I/LUG's should of course be to ensure that the school and college syllabi are free of all proprietary software and
I'm skeptical. Let's take an example. TYBcom. people have an optional comp subj. One of my friends has opted for excel and foxpro. Let's face it : Microsoft Office is the most popular and most widely used software in businesses. Now suppose that varsity changes the syllabus to exclude the proprietary stuff. Will the students be well equipped to compete with other students who have had an hands-on experience with the proprietary software?
With the widespread use of proprietary software like Microsoft Windows , Adobe PhotoShop, AutoCad,Corel,MS Office, foxpro,.... etc. I really don't think excluding it from the syllabus will be a wise decision.
Proprietary software and free software will co-exist.
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