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Microsoft And Apple Target Schools In War With Chromebook (techcrunch.com)
An anonymous reader writes:
"Google [is] commanding 58% of U.S. K-12 schools. Windows is in second with around 22% and the combined impact of MacOS and iOS are close behind at 19%," reports TechCrunch, citing figures from consulting firm Futuresource. But now Chromebooks are under fire from cheaper iPads and Microsoft's upcoming Windows 10 Cloud laptop with its cloud-based software. "For many schools, the dream of a one-device-per-child experience has finally been realized through a consumer technology battle waged by the biggest names in the industry... Fostering an entire generation of first-time computer users with your software and device ecosystem could mean developing lifelong loyalties, which is precisely why all this knock-down, drag-out fight won't be drawing to a close any time soon."
That raises an interesting question. Do Slashdot readers remember the computers that were used in their own high schools -- and did that instill any lifelong brand loyalty?
The girls in the seventh grade thought I came from a "poor" family because we didn't have cable to watch MTV and we didn't own an Apple ][ computer. I hated the Apple ][ with a passion. Before the Apple ][, were just kids. After the Apple ][, we were kids with socioeconomic markers. Being the proverbial fat kid in school, I had all the wrong kinds of socioeconomic markers.
We didn't have computers in our high schools.
Now get off my lawn!
#DeleteFacebook
I had three Commodore 64's from middle school through college over a ten-year period. I had a NLQ dot matrix printer with a Commodore serial interface and Centronic parallel interface that lasted another ten years after I switched from Commodore to PCs. When laser printers became affordable (~$150), I ditched the dot matrix printer.
Personal computers came after my high school days, but I do remember;
a teacher bringing in an abacus for us to use
most of the top-achieving students were pretty fast with a slide rule (still have mine somewhere....)
These devices are not about learning computer science, and not so much computer skills either. They are about organizing information, research (internet), typing & submitting homework, etc. Anybody can learn how to use a mac or android or PC or chromebook.
Shouldn't we be teaching children how to critically think instead?
The political parties don't want smarter voters.
They can use inexpensive raspberry pi's for fuck sake and probably learn more.
If any device falls into the "I can't do my job or that task without this one special unique tool" category, it's the Raspberry Pi. Kids are more likely to find Macs and Windows at their future jobs.
Brand loyalty is a tricky one when all the companies that made computers when I was at school are gone. What I did learn from exposure to primitive 8 bit machines was variety and flexibility which took me into software development. Later when Macs and PCs hit schools, the level of interest kids had in programming or even understanding computers dropped so we ended up with a generation of kids who couldn't do much more than type up a letter in MS Word compared with my generation which were writing hand coded assembly and building robots. Thank goodness Linus came along with his kernel and we were able to have a real OS on cheap PC hardware and that has given me a solid career so if there's any brand loyalty it is to Linux. While I use a Mac today (best tool for the job when dealing with a mixed environment) I'm a Linux admin and programmer by profession. The fight by these companies to control the market is bad, we need a mixture and devices like the Raspberry Pi are what we should be using to get kids hooked. Typing up letters and doing spreadsheets is not computing but seems to be all the schools are prepared to teach.
"I have the attention span of a strobe lit goldfish, please get to the point quickly!"
In my high school physics class, everyone was required to bring their own slide rule. I still have it. Can't say it inspired any loyalty, tho.
"Shoot, a fella could have a pretty good weekend in Vegas with all that stuff."
This is terrible. Only free software should be used at schools.
We had a lot of odd minicomputers in my high school, but the one I used most in school was a Digital Equipment PDP-8. You loaded the bootstrap from a paper tape reader, and you loaded the paper tape reader program by switches on the front panel which allowed you to set memory address contents word by word and set the program counter to a particular octal address. Input/output was through a teletype that printed on a roll of paper.
I have to say that this primitive hardware was as satisfying in its way to work on as the latest core i7 laptop I'm writing this on -- despite the actual core memory's unreliability in our building which was next to a busy subway track. I suppose I did have positive feelings toward DEC, until I got to college and worked in a lab that stored its research data on RK05 disc packs.
In my experience -- which as you can probably tell is by now extensive -- there are two kinds of people, those that adapt readily to new stuff, and those who stubbornly stick with whatever they already know. And as you look at successively older cohorts, the greater the proportion of stick-what-you-knowers there will be.
So the idea that you'll imprint *kids* on your technology is dubious. Yes you will imprint them, but it won't prevent them from switching to something else.
Post may contain irony: discontinue use if experiencing mood swings, nausea or elevated blood pressure.
No malware, easy to use. Generic browser interface. They're cheap and reliable ideal for computers.
Apple are overpriced, have a User Interface almost no-one will use once they hit the corporate environment, people may have them for their home PCs, but few at work. They do have the advantage of fewer viruses. (yeah, I know if you're doing art stuff, and wearing sunglasses indoors, you may use a Mac in your office- but I'm talking about the majority of people).
Microsoft products would be a midlevel price and a User Interface worth learning from the standpoint, they will probably be using MS for most of their careers. The problem is, Microsoft gets expensive with maintenance and preventing the kids doing stupid things and downloading viruses.
For kids and schools, Chromebook just make way more sense.
"That's the way to do it" - Punch