Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Old Software or Open Source?

Posted by CmdrTaco on from the just-give-'em-all-slide-rules dept.

Pakled writes "I teach a high school multimedia course. We were scheduled to get new software this year but due to several pointy haired bosses, no software was ordered. The software I have to teach is Flash 5, Dreamweaver 2000, Photoshop 7 and (god help me) Movie Maker. The question is: is it better to teach old commercial software or their open source counterparts (Komposer, Gimp, etc.)? Is the steep learning curve and slightly less uniform design worth a little student frustration to teach them software written in the past 5 years?"

6 of 454 comments (clear)

  1. Wow shortest Ask Slashdot ever. by notaspunkymonkey · · Score: 5, Funny

    Yes, next question?...

    1. Re:Wow shortest Ask Slashdot ever. by trainman · · Score: 5, Funny

      Agreed. This person came to slashdot to ask such a question?

      It'd be like asking Larry Ellison, "So, I have this old version of Oracle we use in the classroom, but I want to upgrade to something newer. Tell me about this MySQL thing I keep hearing about...."

      Heaven help us if RMS ever gets wind of this article....

    2. Re:Wow shortest Ask Slashdot ever. by Comboman · · Score: 4, Funny
      Sorry but I feel obliged to opint out that the word is albeit

      Sorry, but I feel obliged to point out that the word is point.

      --
      Support Right To Repair Legislation.
    3. Re:Wow shortest Ask Slashdot ever. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

      Sorry, but I feel obliged to point out that the word is point.

      I am obliged to you for pointing that out, but I feel obligated to point out that the word is obligated.

  2. Dear Choir: by Jimmy_B · · Score: 4, Funny

    Dear Choir:
            I teach a high school theology course. We were scheduled to get new books this year but due to several pointy haired bosses, no books were ordered. The books I have to teach are (god help me) pagan scrolls from the 3rd century BC. The question is: is it better to teach old religions or their open text counterparts (Christianity, Hinduism, etc)? Is the steep learning curve and slightly less uniform world view worth a little damnation to teach them religion founded in the past 5000 years?

  3. Re:Teach the commercial software by joshv · · Score: 4, Funny

    I stand corrected, the fact they there exists one person who was hired for their Gimp skills clearly obviates my claim that very very few people get hired for their skills with the Gimp.