Ubuntu vs Freespire

[marc]

Steve Barnhart said...
> Umm except for the fact that all hammers are basically the same. There
> may be many kinds of software that when it comes down to it, is used
> to do the same thing, but does it differently. What exactly should the
> kids be taught then? Just grammar? Tools that every wordproccessor
> should have?

Top-posting is an example of poor communication skills.

Discuss.


Instruction - it's not teaching - on how to use software is instruction 
on how to use a tool. The function of the tool is the interesting thing; 
what you can do with it. So I concur with your comment about hammers. 
(There will, of course, be hammer geeks who will argue to the death that 
there are hammers and there are hammers.)

Part of the problem seems to be that while kids should at least be made 
aware that there other hammers, the system enforces the illusion that 
there is only one hammer. So, later, when face with a hammer with a 
hammer with a different coloured handle, the individual is flummoxed and 
runs for the safety of the one true hammer.

It's indoctrination of a sort.

You can see this behaviour today in the workplace with recent recruits. 
You'd expect those leaving school today to be comfortable with a change 
of browser or email client - this was, after all, the generation that 
could effortlessly program a video recorder. A small change of hammer 
should be something that they take in their stride. But that's not what 
I'm seeing.

Recently, I saw a marketing droid throw a hissy fit at having to use a 
Windows machine - bear with me. Next day he/she arrived with his/her Mac 
desktop from home in tow insisting that this was the only tool for the 
job. Now, frankly, I think there's something not quite right there.


> On 8/23/06, Felipe Alfaro Solana <felipe.alfaro at gmail.com> wrote:
> > > I think the issue is that the kids learn to use office in school. How close
> > > the openoffice functionality is to the ms office functionality, the
> > > interface isn't quite the same.
> >
> > I understand your situation, but I wonder why kids are taught MS
> > Office at school.
> >
> > When people study to be a carpenter, they are not taught to use hammer
> > brand XYZ, but any hammer in general. The problem with MS Office is
> > that nearly everyone out there believe it's a hammer when, in fact, is
> > a hammer brand MS. There are other office suites brands, like
> > OpenOffice.org, but...
> >
> > People should be taught to use any kind of tool, not tools from just a
> > single brand. Else, when brand XYZ disappears, there will a lot of
> > people that will have to re-learn what they already learnt in the
> > past. What a waste of time.

-- 
Best,
Marc