Microsoft to Build High School in Philadelphia, PA

LynchMan writes "According to the The Philadelphia Inquirer, Philadelphia is too be the home of a Microsoft funded High School. While having an inner city public school with a large tech fund ($46 Million) will be a great asset to those young students interested in technology, is the Philadelphia School District selling out to Microsoft really the only way to achieve this? Especially with all of the negative press that Microsoft has had recently, is this an attempt to do some good and help out those who cannot afford private school? Or is Microsoft just making sure that they secure themselves another generation of coders/admins/users? This being the first school of it's kind, will a Microsoft high school be coming to a town near you?" This looks very much like the Microsoft buses that toured from school to school a couple years back, but much larger and much more stationary.

Comments

Little billy did something bad

[zakezuke]

Little billy... report to the head sysop!

A few things we can be sure of

[KingDaveRa]

1. Their network will go down when the next worm appears

2. All kids will have an irrational hatred for penguins.

3. Apple? Who?

Re:A few things we can be sure of

[AbbyNormal]

Graduation will now be known as "Upgrading" or "Security Patching".

Re:A few things we can be sure of

[littlefoo]

..having quickly nipped into the future and seen it, i'm quite impressed.. it looks lovely from the outside and is very easy to use. The bulding used most of the resources in PA and the rest of the continental US ran slow until it finally come up. One of the things I like is the ability to right click on the walls and change the decor from the standard green rolling hill and sky (which, frankly, is a bit confusing when you're first trying to find the place!). One of the confusing bits is the rooms.. or lack of them.. by default you're only shown the rooms that you've recently used or use most often - this makes the place look tiny for the first couple of hours but if you jump up and down on the double arrows on the floor or squint /real hard/ the rest of the rooms suddenly appear - man that place is *big*.. which is where the auto-completion of walking can be a huge help - start to stroll in a direction you've been before and it'll try and whoooooosh you to where it thinks you want to go.. ..bloody unpractical but great fun none the less :o) ..shame that 2 days after I saw it, the whole place crashed and wiped out the last 7 generations of students who hadn't backed themselves up... ah well..

Re:A few things we can be sure of

[aeinome]

No apples? I guess cafeteria food got even less healthy, if that's even possible...

Corporate Sponsorship in Schools

[byolinux]

I thought many other US Schools were sponsored by soft drink companies, by sports-goods companies, etc.

I heard of a case where a kid at a Pepsi-School was sent home after drinking a Coke.

Perhaps the same will happen with Linux and Mac OS X users at Microsoft School.

Article about Corporate Coke here.

"Admission will not be based on academic ablility"

[Greyfox]

Sounds like they're putting the kids on a fast track for an MCSE.

Apple

[CGP314]

I wonder if Apple will sell them computers : )

Re:Blinded By Hate

[Jellybob]

Now, who do you see trying to outdo Microsoft in the 'we supplied all this shiney new kit.

So you want to hold a business decision made by their *competitors* against them now?

How about we all just be done with it, and say their contributing because Bill Gates enjoys eating babies.

Excellent Idea

[tarquin_fim_bim]

As the Microsoft user base dwindles it will be important to keep a well trained core of people who can administer these legacy systems.

Funny

[borgdows]

change 2 words in the last sentence and it becomes :

This looks very much like the Microsoft CEO that toured from government to government a couple years back, but much larger and much more stationary.

yeah! It's Steve Ballmer! (compared to Bill Gates)

Hail Bill

[davejenkins]

I for one welcome our new Microsoft ove... oh... wait.

Service Pack 2

[jamesjw]

I'll be awaiting Microsoft High School Service Pack 2..

I believe its tentativly expected to fix a few bugs (Termites and Wasp infestations in the ceiling)..

Oh and it will replace a few corrupt bricks..

-- Jim.

Microsoft Teachers?

[cyclist1200]

Won't they have to patch and reboot the teachers weekly? How often will the faculty BSOD? You know someone was going to say it...

HubbardTech

[all_new_turambar386]

Ah, they're just using the patented HubbardTech to apply LearnTech to students.

"Ms Hoover... I don't see why the GPL is viral. The argument makes no sense!"

"Well, Jimmy, that's because there is a word in B. Henry Gates' lecture that you don't understand. Go use WordClearTech until you find it. The rest of you: class dismissed because a worm has crashed the LAN again."

Re:Blinded By Hate

[RobotRunAmok]

it would be the coolest thing if RedHat decided to help a school

In fact there was a small city in the mid-west that was scheduled to build a Linux school. But when the school-board realized that by the time they resolved all the dependencies it would be time to graduate, they dropped the idea.

Another Gnu/Linux Grammar School broke ground in Seattle about six years ago. Known as K-12, the project's gotten stalled as the masons and carpenters juggle its construction with the demands of their paying jobs. I understand the foundation is "stable," however.

Unfortunately, there is now some confusion in the community due to a fork of the school that has just broken ground across the street from the original. Called P.S. YALGS (Yet Another Linux Grammar School), the project is currently seeking carpenters, masons, administrators, and teachers; no professional experience neccessary.

A letter to Jon's Parents

[lateralus]

Mr. Doe I'm sorry to say that your son's report "What Microsoft Applications I Ran This Summer" was not graded because our systems can't read old Word files anymore. Please upgrade to a newer version of MS Word at home and resubmit your son's work for grading before the next semester.

Do all posts seem to be something like this....

[sp3c1alK]

DimeStorePhilosoph3r writes "According to the Peoples Linux Daily, a worker at Microsoft was reported to give a server at Sally's Bar and Grill a "nice tip". While it's nice that this employee was generous, do we really want Microsoft's hand in food service gratuity? Is this another step in the M$ sponsored take over of the worlds restaurant market? Is the money even usable? IMHO, I think not." This seems very similar to the takeover of birthday music by Irving Berlin.

Re:Blinded By Hate

[Geek of Tech]

You think they'll make the kids sign a NDA, or just let em start using the PCs right away?

Re:Blinded By Hate

[Sphere1952]

Everyone knows you can't enforce a contract against a kid. They'll make the parents sign.

School Rules

[fussman]

School Rules:
1. Those who say the name of any open source project in any flattering matter will be suspended on the first offense, and on the second expelled.

2. Anybody who mods their xbox will be expelled.

3. Any photos of Linus Torvalds that are not unflattering will be confescated and burned.

4. All are required to have a picture of our lord and master Bill Gates in their locker.

5. You all love blue screens.

Crash days?

[WiggyWack]

I wonder if instead of "snow days" the students will be hoping for "crash days".

Notice to all students at Microsoft High

[ekc]

1. Textbook patches will be released biweekly. Application of the patches is mandatory.

2. When the blackboard suddenly turns blue, students must leave the classroom in an orderly fashion and return to their seats after ten minutes. No explanation will be given.

3. An alarm bell will sound to signal a massive virus outbreak or worm infestation at Microsoft High. Students are required to calmly exit the building. No drills have been scheduled for this procedure, as it is believed the bell will ring frequently throughout the term without them.

4. Visits to Open Source High are stictly forbidden. Students are, however, encouraged to visit other area schools and report any smaller, well-run institutions with innovative programs to expedite their hostile acquisition by the Microsoft School Board.

5. Our MSSAT exam is similar to--though subtly incompatible with--its government counterpart.

6. Please do not be alarmed by the video portraits of Bill Gates whose eyes follow you down every hall. He got the idea from reading Harry Potter.

What will they name the school?

[Thu Anon Coward]

I can just see it now

-I graduate from Bill Gates High

-goto Steve Balmer Community College

-transfer to Microsoft University

Go to work for (insert name of your favorite Linux vendor)!