Linux Desktop for university staff

Robin Laing Robin.Laing at drdc-rddc.gc.ca
Thu Feb 24 15:53:37 UTC 2005


Charles E Taylor IV wrote:
> On Wed, 16 Feb 2005 19:03:16 -0700
> Hodgins Family <ehodgins at telusplanet.net> wrote:
> 
> 
>>1) The professoriate are a class that strives for acceptance amongst
>>their peers. If it is "generally" accepted that program X works in a
>>certain way, our academics will be more inclined to use that application
>>even if an alternative is cheaper, faster, "better", more secure, etc.
>>Peer pressure is not something to be ignored. And remember, more money
>>is simply a grant proposal away. The cash to be saved by using open
>>source is simply not an issue in the academic world.
> 
> 
> At the few colleges with which I have personal experience, money is
> *always* an issue, especially among younger professors who don't have
> large grants.  Large amounts of cash are not "simply a grant proposal
> away".  And when we do have money for software, we chemistry folks want
> new instruments and don't much care about the operating system or the
> application vendor as long as the OS and applications can talk to the 
> instruments.
> 
> One problem we face with Linux is lack of this specialty software.  We
> have to have some Windows boxes simply because the Linuc boxes we have
> won't talk to the instruments.
> 
> 

My wife who works in micro would like to see Windows based lab 
equipment that work and don't crash in the middle of a test run.
Talking with the instruments is one thing, actually working is 
another.  She has fought with the supplier of a new machine since it 
has arrived for not working properly.  For office work she uses a Mac. 
  At home we use Linux and she wouldn't let me even think about dual boot.

-- 
Robin Laing




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