As someone who uses only free software at home, and the network administrator for a medium-sized (~500 kids aged 11-16, ~50 staff) high school, I'm very keen to push free software in there wherever possible/appropriate. I've got kids, teachers, my boss, the head teacher and even some of the bureaucracy beyond the head all very interested with the philosophy behind it all, and very impressed with the demos.
But the fact remains: the kids have to use Microsoft. They have to use Microsoft Windows, Microsoft Office, and Microsoft Internet Explorer. All I can do is implement free software around all that (i.e. by making available alternatives, such as OpenOffice) and try and educate as many people as I can; until that changes, it simply isn't a possibility. The people are there (at least in our circles, where we *are* those people) and are all very willing and capable to implement free software in schools, but until we get the right people to make some changes, most of us are stuck with Microsoft.
As this page, which includes many demos from Loki, proves, SDL is at least one, fairly easy to learn, free alternative to DirectX. Do we really need DirectX that badly?
Why is this issue such a problem? We know how much radiation these things give off (or at least, we could find out very easily). We know that the radiation messes about with some of the stuff inside our head (e.g. water molecules and presumably, to some extent, DNA). We also know (or again, could find out, or could calculate without difficulty) by how much our skulls should reduce the amount of radiation penetrating into our brains. We know how many DNA strands (give or take a power of ten, maybe) our heads comprise of, and how those DNA strands are built, and therefore we should know how much energy you need to put into one to start changing its structure and possibly make it cancerous... and so on.
My point being that there should be no reason whatsoever why a few biochemists armed with the right equipment and a little time (no doubt easily provided for by the amount of money that governments, and presumably mobile phone companies, are pumping into this kind of thing right now), shouldn't be able to produce a few numbers, with errors. None at all. Don't give me all that crap about how completely unpredictable it would all be - we have a huge amount of knowledge about what's going on here. Then we'd have a real idea of whether the radiation given off by these things is (a) Extremely dangerous (i.e. short term use can lead to cancer - seemingly not very evident), (b) Dangerous over extended use (half an hour a day pressed against our skulls for 15 years, anyone?) or (c) Completely insignificant. Then we could educate the public and shut the press up once and for all.
And yes, to be honest, I'm sure that someone's already done this. It's probably the mobile companies best interests to keep the whole thing under cover, and in the medias interests to carry on printing endless inconclusive articles about the issue. In the meantime, I'll carry on making do with my landline and save my money, thankyou very much.
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As someone who uses only free software at home, and the network administrator for a medium-sized (~500 kids aged 11-16, ~50 staff) high school, I'm very keen to push free software in there wherever possible/appropriate. I've got kids, teachers, my boss, the head teacher and even some of the bureaucracy beyond the head all very interested with the philosophy behind it all, and very impressed with the demos.
But the fact remains: the kids have to use Microsoft. They have to use Microsoft Windows, Microsoft Office, and Microsoft Internet Explorer. All I can do is implement free software around all that (i.e. by making available alternatives, such as OpenOffice) and try and educate as many people as I can; until that changes, it simply isn't a possibility. The people are there (at least in our circles, where we *are* those people) and are all very willing and capable to implement free software in schools, but until we get the right people to make some changes, most of us are stuck with Microsoft.
As this page, which includes many demos from Loki, proves, SDL is at least one, fairly easy to learn, free alternative to DirectX. Do we really need DirectX that badly?
Why is this issue such a problem? We know how much radiation these things give off (or at least, we could find out very easily). We know that the radiation messes about with some of the stuff inside our head (e.g. water molecules and presumably, to some extent, DNA). We also know (or again, could find out, or could calculate without difficulty) by how much our skulls should reduce the amount of radiation penetrating into our brains. We know how many DNA strands (give or take a power of ten, maybe) our heads comprise of, and how those DNA strands are built, and therefore we should know how much energy you need to put into one to start changing its structure and possibly make it cancerous... and so on.
My point being that there should be no reason whatsoever why a few biochemists armed with the right equipment and a little time (no doubt easily provided for by the amount of money that governments, and presumably mobile phone companies, are pumping into this kind of thing right now), shouldn't be able to produce a few numbers, with errors. None at all. Don't give me all that crap about how completely unpredictable it would all be - we have a huge amount of knowledge about what's going on here. Then we'd have a real idea of whether the radiation given off by these things is (a) Extremely dangerous (i.e. short term use can lead to cancer - seemingly not very evident), (b) Dangerous over extended use (half an hour a day pressed against our skulls for 15 years, anyone?) or (c) Completely insignificant. Then we could educate the public and shut the press up once and for all.
And yes, to be honest, I'm sure that someone's already done this. It's probably the mobile companies best interests to keep the whole thing under cover, and in the medias interests to carry on printing endless inconclusive articles about the issue. In the meantime, I'll carry on making do with my landline and save my money, thankyou very much.