On Thu, Aug 26, 2004 at 07:42:46AM +0530, Nikhil Joshi wrote:
On Wed, 25 Aug 2004, Devdas Bhagat wrote:
Well, if you remove the enforced Windows requirements from courses, then *some* people may be motivated to move to Linux/BSD/Unix.
ease of development provided by Visual Basic. Many of Open Source developers despise VB just because it is a Microsoft product. software to be delivered as fast as possible; Visual Studio comes to the rescue. the emergence of .NET technology J2EE I feel is certainly going to face some competition.
What was the last open source compiler / IDE that you used?
Given this scenario I feel the people who design the curriculum are obliged to include more of Windows content than Linux
Teach technologies like Visual Studio, .NET, J2EE in colleges? Is that what education is about? Ever heard of minor things like algorithms, data structures, software engineering, ToC, grammars, programming languages, OOT?
I remember there was an effort at cleaning up the curriculum mess that Nagarjuna was contributing to ... wonder what's up with that.
3-4 years ago when I started using Linux, I hoped I will see widespread use of Linux in Desktop environment, but alas, Linux has still remained in the domain of enthusiasts.The present if is indicative of future, I beleive Linux will continue to dominate the Server environment and Windows the Desktop environment.
What world are you living in? Where do you get your reports from? Come to IIT once and I'll show you where "the world" (not IIT) is going with Linux. The problem with typical city-graduates is that they think their city and their neighbourhood defines the world. They seriously think that a few PHBs sitting in their plush offices define the IT scenario. Dream of Linux in the mainstream? Linux is already mainstream, man!
I feel this debate is kinda two-three years too late. Linux penetration will soon cease to be a problem. The thing worth thinking about is how do LUG'ers and general enthu people create business opportunities for themselves. Whenever any road-side hussler says "Linux" the PHBs stop their Mercs and get down to listen to him. There's a lot of money in Linux training right now. I know, because I make some all the time! ;)
A couple of comments. IIT enforces linux for the first semester on all new students. Also, most assemblers today do provide PCs with only Linux pre-installed. If yours doesn't, throw him out the door with loads of ridicule.
When it comes to students not appreciating these things, I don't really care ... especially if they are engineering grads from city universities. Appreciation and contribution to open source is and always will be the domain of the enlightened few. Most students treat education as a means to job. The fact that they chose engineering is incidental, since that's what currently assures them a job. Nothing wrong with that ... everyone has a life to live. Just don't waste your time crying over lack of enthusiasm ... you're bloody looking at the wrong people! You don't need to be a CS guy, or even an engineer to appreciate open source and the hacker mentality! Ask Pamela Jones from Groklaw if you don't believe me.
Sameer.