[plug] Microsoft's insidious domination in Australian schools

[Senectus .]

On 5/6/06, Gavin Chester <sales at ecosolutions.com.au> wrote:
>    >-----Original Message-----
>    >From: plug-bounces at plug.org.au [mailto:plug-bounces at plug.org.au]On
>    >Behalf Of Patrick Coleman
>    >Sent: Saturday, 6 May 2006 13:21
>    >To: plug at plug.org.au
>    >Subject: Re: [plug] Microsoft's insidious domination in Australian
>    >schools
>
> -snip-
>
>    >> Apparently, higher powers in head office dictate
>    >> that every computer located in any government school across
>    >the whole State
>    >> MUST run Microsoft - even if the hardware on which it runs is donated.
>    >
>    >Teachers were also apparently offered laptops by the education
>    >department a few years ago, and she mentioned that they were given the
>    >choice of Acers or Macs. She went for the Acer, because at that point
>    >she'd never heard much about macs, but I heard she was intending to
>    >switch to the mac at the next upgrade cycle after she saw one of her
>    >collegues using one.
>
> Forgive me if I'm missing something here :-/ ...  I seen a couple of
> replying posts that make the same reference to some schools/teachers using
> Macs.  Mac may use its own OS (until OSX, that is) but that still means that
> _every_ other piece of software on that machine is probably Microsoft.  So,
> I don't get the point of making this distinction because MS have nearly
> always written a Mac version of anything they code, surely?  Anyway, the
> point of the campaign (and that's what my original intention it seems to
> have become now) is that it's a case of proprietary software versus FOSS in
> WA schools.  Mac (hardware and software) is still _very_ proprietary, even
> if not as insidious or all-pervasive as MS.
>

The point was not so much to say that "you're wrong because macs are
being used and that's ok", but more of a "I think the headmaster has
either been misinformed or just wants you to go away, because that
information is not universal in WA".

I suspect that he's been misinformed by someone that has a particular
barrow to push. If you can get testimonies from people here that his
information is wrong, and follow those testimonies up with official
confirmations from the schools that have deviated a little and been
successful with it then you will have either a grateful headmaster
that will change his mind and take your idea on, or a headmaster that
will be honest and say he doesn't want you're help
thankyouverymuchgoodbye :-P
Some teachers/school masters don't like having their school disturbed
by non official movements, others will welcome them and take advantage
of the parents and community's willing to assist.

--
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Ubuntu Dapper 6.06
The less you know, the more you believe. - Bono