Apple has been trying for 15 years to corner the market under the theory that if you hook 'em in school then it will bubble up into the corporate market. Funny, it hasn't happened, despite their high market share in academia. Seems that businesses don't care what new hires would prefer.
The only difference in the argument in this article is that M$ is trying to replace the servers at schools, rather than the clients. But let's differentiate between the computers that are used to provide functionality to the school (administration, records, paper-writing, email) and the computers that are used to teach computer scientists. They're not the same. Where I went to school, the CS department was an entirely unix shop, while the rest of the campus happily used VMS and Macs-- a common setup in those days. Neither of those platforms, you will note, has gone on to take over the world.
I think that the fear expressed in this article is partly due to the age of the author. This scenario would have been scary ten years ago, when you HAD to do programming work on the big central server-- but my desktop today is more powerful than a server was back then. The computer science department no longer needs to use the big expensive central computer to teach with in the first place-- it's cheaper to fill a lab with PC's running linux. And don't forget the CS students with "servers" in their rooms-- they're happily hacking away as we speak, sharing code with each other, and couldn't care less what the school's server OS is.
If you are right-handed, switch your mouse to your left hand.
As a programmer (VC++), most of the input I do is not typing words of code, but moving around in the code using the mouse and the cursor keys. I suspect many non-programmers may experience a similar usage pattern, if you do more editing than entry.
Most keyboards have cursor keys on the right hand side, so having the mouse on the right side puts extra stress on your right hand because it's doing most of the work.
I experienced this a couple of years ago; my right wrist was getting sore all the time but not my left. I switched my mouse to the left side and the problem disappeared. It also made me faster since now I can mouse and cursor at the same time.
There is a period of adjustment; it takes about 2-3 days before you're not totally stumbling around with the mouse, and your quake game will take 1-2 weeks to rebound, but then you can easily mouse on either side with no problems.
(I also use a microsoft natural keyboard (the old kind, which is great, not the new one with the cursor keys in the moronic + configuration), in addition to a fully adjustable keyboard tray and an adjustable chair. So the mouse switch thing was only a partial solution.)
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Apple has been trying for 15 years to corner the market under the theory that if you hook 'em in school then it will bubble up into the corporate market. Funny, it hasn't happened, despite their high market share in academia. Seems that businesses don't care what new hires would prefer.
The only difference in the argument in this article is that M$ is trying to replace the servers at schools, rather than the clients. But let's differentiate between the computers that are used to provide functionality to the school (administration, records, paper-writing, email) and the computers that are used to teach computer scientists. They're not the same. Where I went to school, the CS department was an entirely unix shop, while the rest of the campus happily used VMS and Macs-- a common setup in those days. Neither of those platforms, you will note, has gone on to take over the world.
I think that the fear expressed in this article is partly due to the age of the author. This scenario would have been scary ten years ago, when you HAD to do programming work on the big central server-- but my desktop today is more powerful than a server was back then. The computer science department no longer needs to use the big expensive central computer to teach with in the first place-- it's cheaper to fill a lab with PC's running linux. And don't forget the CS students with "servers" in their rooms-- they're happily hacking away as we speak, sharing code with each other, and couldn't care less what the school's server OS is.
No worries. You may continue with the revolution.
If you are right-handed, switch your mouse to your left hand.
As a programmer (VC++), most of the input I do is not typing words of code, but moving around in the code using the mouse and the cursor keys. I suspect many non-programmers may experience a similar usage pattern, if you do more editing than entry.
Most keyboards have cursor keys on the right hand side, so having the mouse on the right side puts extra stress on your right hand because it's doing most of the work.
I experienced this a couple of years ago; my right wrist was getting sore all the time but not my left. I switched my mouse to the left side and the problem disappeared. It also made me faster since now I can mouse and cursor at the same time.
There is a period of adjustment; it takes about 2-3 days before you're not totally stumbling around with the mouse, and your quake game will take 1-2 weeks to rebound, but then you can easily mouse on either side with no problems.
(I also use a microsoft natural keyboard (the old kind, which is great, not the new one with the cursor keys in the moronic + configuration), in addition to a fully adjustable keyboard tray and an adjustable chair. So the mouse switch thing was only a partial solution.)