If this was just for fires, I don't think it is incredibly bad, but my first thought on seeing the headline was, "why are they releasing 911 data in the first place?" I mean, were they posting medical emergencies, too? That is kind of creepy.
But on the other hand, if they were releasing the information, I don't see anything wrong with someone actually using the data. The shock to me is that they were releasing it publicly...in real time to begin with.
TXU Electric Delivery, the largest electric company in Texas, plans on offering broadband over power lines to over 70% of its grid. TXU's partner in this venture is Current Communications Group...which has Google as an investor.
Service speeds and pricing details haven't been released, but Current said the network will have enough capacity to offer customers a "triple play" package, which would include telephony, TV service and high-speed Internet access. Users will be able to access the high-speed broadband network by plugging a device into an electrical outlet in the wall.
As mentioned, I haven't messed with the D-Link in about a year now. When got up this morning, it just popped into my head how I did it.
It isn't a click through captive portal. I made a user group w/ 128k access. I created a user name and password for the group, and I modified the login screen to look really nice, but above the login, it tells the user name and password to use, and under the login, it says that by entering the user name and password, you agree to the following.
This lets everyone log onto the network at 128k. Now if the hotel or someone needed extra speed, we would have to make another group and add users manually. That is a problem because the hotel employees aren't very computer literate.
No, you can put unauthenticated users into their own group and set the speed you want for that group.
What we did was have a click-through captive portal. Nothing fancy, just something like, "by using this service I agree to the terms." And the terms are basically that it is for paying hotel guests. (Of course anyone could still get on, but it does give the hotel something to give the freeloader in the parking lot an earful about).
It has probably been a year since I installed it, so I don't remember the exact setup. But any and all users who just walk up to the hotel are limited to 128k. And anyone needing more than that would need to be manually upgraded by putting them into a new class.
I do not think it is the perfect setup, but I do think it was a very easy setup that worked well in the situation it was need for.
Things were so bad before, they were actually wanting us to run an electrical circuit to the 3com OfficeConnect Secure router, so they could reboot it without having to go to the other end of the hotel. No lie. Exact same setup, just changed the router to the D-Link, and it hasn't hardly blinked since.
You could also boot the OS from a read only partition, like it was booting off of a live CD, and have a read/write partition for data and temp files. If something happened, an option at bootup could be for a clean bootup, bypassing any changes made to the OS that were stored in the second partition. Of course, patching and upgrading on a read only system would get a little tricky...but you guys should be able to come up with some solution to that.
Yeah, I started to mention that you can't do limiting by QOS or protocol, only by class. I just didn't think of it until after I hit the submit button.
What we did is set up all users on a class and limit them to 128k. The movie downloaders are free to download, only they are limited to 128k, so they aren't knocking everybody else off and they probably won't download as much since it now takes longer.
The service is provided free at the hotels, so everyone decided that 128k was fine. But if the hotel thought some guests needed faster service, or if they decided to charge for faster service, all we would have to do is create a new class at whatever speed we wanted and put those people into the new class.
If I set bandwidth to 128k, almost every test I have ever run has come out right around 128k. So in that respect, it seems to work well.
Another thing I like about the router is the remote management feature. Really nice to be able to sit in the office here and pull up the router at the hotel.
It is more expensive than an old computer with OpenBSD on it, but it very simple to set up and is very easy to limit the speed of users by class.
We had a hotel with a 1.5Mb wireless connection that had a movie downloader just hammering us night and day. Not only was it killing the service for other users at the hotel, it was killing service for other users all over our wireless network.
Solution: We talked the hotel into getting a D-LINK DSA-3100. I had it installed in an afternoon, the hotel had a captive portal to boot, and everyone got a smaller but much fairer share of the bandwidth.
We have not had hardly a single issue with that hotel since the router was installed.
And note that this router replaced a semi-high-dollar secure router...that hung up under heavy traffic left and right.
I'm involved, somewhat, in a wireless ISP. It never ceases to amaze me the great lengths the people with the most money will go to in order to hang on to that money. We have installed for quite a few poor people, and they have never asked for a discount, though some have tried to get the install fee knocked down. However, without fail, a doctor will try and get the monthly cut in half, because they think they are freaking special or something. The nerve of someone making two or three hundred thousand-plus a year and living in a house whose concrete driveway and garage costs more than my entire house and land put together, thinking they shouldn't have to pay full price for something!
The other big nail in the coffin is that pirated versions of Vista will be shut down. A lot of people complained about MS in the past, but they used it because it was "free," to the point that they purchased one copy of something and used it on a bunch of computers around the office, or they had some legal machines and some with pirated versions of XP. When MS starts forcing people to be 100% legal, people are going to see the true TCO for MS products...and they are going to start looking for replacements.
While I have no idea where this took place, I happen to know a company with a legacy NT machine. They wanted to build a mirror of it and turn off the old system. So they installed a second copy of NT on a new(er) server. It was that easy. Imagine four or five years down the road when all of the easy to install versions of Windows have run their course (which they almost have) and every install involves jumping through Microsoft's hoops to get it activated.
Getting divorced, and while the wife was moving out, my old -- probably 1st or 2nd generation -- mp3 player disappeared. I don't need much, just something that will play a couple of hours of music while I go on a bike ride.
I went to Wal-Mart to get an iPod Shuffle, figuring it would do great for what I needed. I ended up getting a Creative Zen.
Not only was the Creative cheaper and did about the same thing, what made me choose the Zen over the Shuffle was that Apple required XP with Service Pack 2 on it (now this may not be true in actual use, so don't flame me, but that is what the iPod Shuffle box clearly says).
Personally, I don't like being forced into Windows service packs, especially buggy ones like SP2. So Apple lost a sale there.
(Also, I can put plain old rechargeable batteries in the Zen, so there is no need to pull it apart or send it back to Creative to get the battery changed.)
"Did you really think that we want those laws to be observed?" said Dr. Ferris. "We want them broken. You'd better get it straight that it's not a bunch of boy scouts you're up against - then you'll know that this is not the age for beautiful gestures. We're after power and we mean it. You fellows were pikers, but we know the real trick, and you'd better get wise to it. There's no way to rule innocent men. The only power any government has is the power to crack down on criminals. Well, when there aren't enough criminals, one makes them. One declares so many things to be a crime that it becomes impossible for men to live without breaking laws. Who wants a nation of law-abiding citizens' What's there in that for anyone? But just pass the kind of laws that can neither be observed nor enforced nor objectively interpreted - and you create a nation of law-breakers - and then you cash in on guilt. Now that's the system, Mr. Rearden, that's the game, and once you understand it, you'll be much easier to deal with."
What we are seeing is a maturing OS. In the past, you upgraded to get new features and get rid of the many, many bugs. But as it gets to the point where the OS does everything you need it to do, and does it somewhat on the stable side, you get to the point that upgrading is not as much of an issue.
Microsoft if doing the only thing they can do, make the OS obsolete for reasons other than a new "improved" OS to replace the old one that is working just fine anyway (for most people).
I other news, I heard today that MS is going to have pirated copies of Vista shut down. This move and the move to subscription, is going be great for Linux!
Somewhere in space, there is a planet full of bugs, with giant balls of cremated humans hitting it, and a bunch of bug news programs showing grainy footage of our magnetic ring used to launch our rain of terror upon their world.
And I don't mean our made for TV wars where we just fly over and drop some bombs, I mean an all out war.
In past world wars, we converted private industry over to making supplies for the war. We converted car plants into plants for making tanks, etc.
But if an all out war ever comes again, we will have to outsource all of that, too, because all of the real industries have left the US. And what if the countries where those industries went...are the countries we are at war with?
Personally, I think there have been a lot of wars we shouldn't have been involved in...including the one we are in now. But I, in theory, favor a strong defense, and part of that defense should include not shipping all of our jobs off to other countries and leaving us with nothing but fast food and Wal-Marts here. It would be a lot easier to convert a car plant into making tanks than it would be a McDonalds....And we would be in a lot better position in a major war if we had trained IT people in the US than to have all of those people working at Wal-Mart.
Yeah, I know, we have to keep the stock holders happy...but isn't it possible for anyone to look above the bottom line anymore and think about something beyond the next quarter profit report?
It doesn't matter if it is lethal or non-lethal. The question is, does blowing a huge blast of microwave RF interfer with HAMs? Rule #1. Don't screw with RF without consulting the HAMs first, because if it screws with the HAMs, it isn't going to happen on US soil.
I think you made my point, it isn't going to happen by voting, it is going to happen with money, and lots of it, changing hands. Sadly, it has become the American way. Do you think there are actually politicians that care about adding a broadcast flag to consumer recording devices? No. The reason stuff like that gets passed is because the RIAA lobbied/paid for it. Congressmen are supposed to represent their home district, but how many people do you know that would want their congressman to vote in a broadcast flag that stops something that have done for a decade or more with no restrictions? So it is painfully clear the lobbying and bribery works, we just need to be doing something concrete by offering more money...not dreaming about getting enough votes to make...well, actually no difference even if we got said vote.
I have been involved in grass-roots efforts for many years. I can tell you it is hard to get real change through voting. Doesn't seem to matter if the Republicans are in control or if the Democrats are in control, the country still moves in the same direction (same direction...just at different speeds depending on which one has control at the time). A thrid party in control might actually get something good done, but the chances of that are about none.
A better method would be to form a lobby group and buy off a few key politicians. If just a tiny fraction of the over 1 billion dollars made from PC game sales alone went to buy off, errr lobby, the politicians, it would be an enormous amount of money (and that is just the money from PC games, not console sales and/or console games see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Video_game).
Transporter_ii
Article taken from Wikipedia???
on
Crypto Snake Oil
·
· Score: 3, Interesting
So did he write the article and then post it on wikipedia, or did he swipe it from wikipedia and post on his site?
I have a friend who has a wireless ISP in East Texas. We live in a crappy Sprint (Embarq) territory, but for his backend, he manged to pull in a sweet 6 meg connection on fiber that just happened to run into an AT&T territory, so he got a really good price on it compared to Embarq.
While pusing a little over 100 customers, what is his big bandwidth trouble? Movie traders or music traders? No, he does have trouble with that, but that isn't what got him. He hooked up a mail server for our county courthouse (a pre-exisiting domain) with several hundred e-mail addresses on it. The amount of Spam hammered his bandwidth like crazy.
He spent an entire day or two building filter lists to cut out a lot of the crap.
If spam to one domain with a couple of hundred addresses on it, can seriously degrade a 6-meg fiber connection, then imagine what huge ISPs are having to deal with.
(And then combine that with all of the traffic on the Net from owned Windows boxes searching around for other system to take over. There must be a real shit storm of useless crap constantly hammering the Net).
All very good points. But way back in the day, when I paid a crap load of money to a college, the word processor of the day was Word Perfect. Of course, we were trained on Word Perfect...since that is what *everybody* used.
My mindset has changed a little since then, but I can say that if, back then, I had spent a crap load of money and got to learn a word processor that nobody was using, I would have been highly pissed.
As it turned out, as everyone went to Word, I just happened to get on with probably one of the last companies that used all WP, so everything worked out pretty good (and as someone else pointed out, with Window's based word processors, it isn't that hard to move between them, especially for me).
As I said right at first, I want everyone to switch to Open Office. My point is, it isn't fair to say that a head IT person is a complete moron or doesn't know about alternatives, when tons of businesses use Word...and just about everyone knows it. I'm not a big fan of public schools, but one of the things most people want, is for their kids to be taught something useful in the "real world." It could be, and maybe it is a stretch, but it could be that the head IT person thinks he is teaching what all the businesses are using. Or do you think that makes that person a moron?
(And yes, I do realize people don't spend a ton of money to go to high school (at least directly out of pocket)).
And yes, by 2015 people will still use something that looks like Word or even open office. Word processors have gotten pretty polished and there is only so many ways to arrange words on a screen. As far as word, what the heck else could anyone want it to do? That is why MS is desperately trying to swap to a subscription model. If a word processor does everything you need it to do, who needs to upgrade?
That's a familiar story - schools waste a lot of money on MS products around here because
the one making the decisions either hasn't a clue there are alternatives, or because they don't WANT
to look for them.
I will say I'm just as in favor of getting rid of Microsoft as just about everyone around here...but considering that most businesses currently use MS Office, as well as a host of other MS products, that maybe the people in charge want to train the kids on what businesses actually use?
Myself, I think businesses will start using Open Office. And when it gets to the point that a large number of businesses use Open Office on Linux...then I'm sure more people in charge will start to look at deploying it in schools (and taxpayers will save a ton of money).
And when that happens, Linux has won! But until that happens, I can at least see why schools would want to be using Microsoft, even if I don't agree with it.
Again, for the record, I think Bill Gates should be taken apart with a blow torch and a pair of pliers
Slashdot Mirror
If this was just for fires, I don't think it is incredibly bad, but my first thought on seeing the headline was, "why are they releasing 911 data in the first place?" I mean, were they posting medical emergencies, too? That is kind of creepy.
But on the other hand, if they were releasing the information, I don't see anything wrong with someone actually using the data. The shock to me is that they were releasing it publicly...in real time to begin with.
Transporter_ii
TXU Electric Delivery, the largest electric company in Texas, plans on offering broadband over power lines to over 70% of its grid. TXU's partner in this venture is Current Communications Group...which has Google as an investor.
more info here
Transporter_ii
As mentioned, I haven't messed with the D-Link in about a year now. When got up this morning, it just popped into my head how I did it.
It isn't a click through captive portal. I made a user group w/ 128k access. I created a user name and password for the group, and I modified the login screen to look really nice, but above the login, it tells the user name and password to use, and under the login, it says that by entering the user name and password, you agree to the following.
This lets everyone log onto the network at 128k. Now if the hotel or someone needed extra speed, we would have to make another group and add users manually. That is a problem because the hotel employees aren't very computer literate.
Transporter_ii
No, you can put unauthenticated users into their own group and set the speed you want for that group.
What we did was have a click-through captive portal. Nothing fancy, just something like, "by using this service I agree to the terms." And the terms are basically that it is for paying hotel guests. (Of course anyone could still get on, but it does give the hotel something to give the freeloader in the parking lot an earful about).
It has probably been a year since I installed it, so I don't remember the exact setup. But any and all users who just walk up to the hotel are limited to 128k. And anyone needing more than that would need to be manually upgraded by putting them into a new class.
I do not think it is the perfect setup, but I do think it was a very easy setup that worked well in the situation it was need for.
Things were so bad before, they were actually wanting us to run an electrical circuit to the 3com OfficeConnect Secure router, so they could reboot it without having to go to the other end of the hotel. No lie. Exact same setup, just changed the router to the D-Link, and it hasn't hardly blinked since.
Transporter_ii
Transporter_ii
You could also boot the OS from a read only partition, like it was booting off of a live CD, and have a read/write partition for data and temp files. If something happened, an option at bootup could be for a clean bootup, bypassing any changes made to the OS that were stored in the second partition. Of course, patching and upgrading on a read only system would get a little tricky...but you guys should be able to come up with some solution to that.
Transporter_ii
Yeah, I started to mention that you can't do limiting by QOS or protocol, only by class. I just didn't think of it until after I hit the submit button.
What we did is set up all users on a class and limit them to 128k. The movie downloaders are free to download, only they are limited to 128k, so they aren't knocking everybody else off and they probably won't download as much since it now takes longer.
The service is provided free at the hotels, so everyone decided that 128k was fine. But if the hotel thought some guests needed faster service, or if they decided to charge for faster service, all we would have to do is create a new class at whatever speed we wanted and put those people into the new class.
If I set bandwidth to 128k, almost every test I have ever run has come out right around 128k. So in that respect, it seems to work well.
Another thing I like about the router is the remote management feature. Really nice to be able to sit in the office here and pull up the router at the hotel.
Transporter_ii
It is more expensive than an old computer with OpenBSD on it, but it very simple to set up and is very easy to limit the speed of users by class.
We had a hotel with a 1.5Mb wireless connection that had a movie downloader just hammering us night and day. Not only was it killing the service for other users at the hotel, it was killing service for other users all over our wireless network.
Solution: We talked the hotel into getting a D-LINK DSA-3100. I had it installed in an afternoon, the hotel had a captive portal to boot, and everyone got a smaller but much fairer share of the bandwidth.
We have not had hardly a single issue with that hotel since the router was installed.
And note that this router replaced a semi-high-dollar secure router...that hung up under heavy traffic left and right.
Transporter_ii
I'm involved, somewhat, in a wireless ISP. It never ceases to amaze me the great lengths the people with the most money will go to in order to hang on to that money. We have installed for quite a few poor people, and they have never asked for a discount, though some have tried to get the install fee knocked down. However, without fail, a doctor will try and get the monthly cut in half, because they think they are freaking special or something. The nerve of someone making two or three hundred thousand-plus a year and living in a house whose concrete driveway and garage costs more than my entire house and land put together, thinking they shouldn't have to pay full price for something!
Transporter_ii
Oh, and by the way, I fully expect MS to back down on killing pirated versions of Vista. Anybody want to make a bet?
Transporter_ii
The other big nail in the coffin is that pirated versions of Vista will be shut down. A lot of people complained about MS in the past, but they used it because it was "free," to the point that they purchased one copy of something and used it on a bunch of computers around the office, or they had some legal machines and some with pirated versions of XP. When MS starts forcing people to be 100% legal, people are going to see the true TCO for MS products...and they are going to start looking for replacements.
While I have no idea where this took place, I happen to know a company with a legacy NT machine. They wanted to build a mirror of it and turn off the old system. So they installed a second copy of NT on a new(er) server. It was that easy. Imagine four or five years down the road when all of the easy to install versions of Windows have run their course (which they almost have) and every install involves jumping through Microsoft's hoops to get it activated.
Transporter_ii
in innovation yet again, as its tech support has used pedal power to power its tech support computers for several years now
Transporter_ii
In probably a Tivo-type of way. I wonder if this is one of the things that the GPLv3 would prevent?
Transporter_ii
Getting divorced, and while the wife was moving out, my old -- probably 1st or 2nd generation -- mp3 player disappeared. I don't need much, just something that will play a couple of hours of music while I go on a bike ride.
I went to Wal-Mart to get an iPod Shuffle, figuring it would do great for what I needed. I ended up getting a Creative Zen.
Not only was the Creative cheaper and did about the same thing, what made me choose the Zen over the Shuffle was that Apple required XP with Service Pack 2 on it (now this may not be true in actual use, so don't flame me, but that is what the iPod Shuffle box clearly says).
Personally, I don't like being forced into Windows service packs, especially buggy ones like SP2. So Apple lost a sale there.
(Also, I can put plain old rechargeable batteries in the Zen, so there is no need to pull it apart or send it back to Creative to get the battery changed.)
Transporter_ii
"Did you really think that we want those laws to be observed?" said Dr. Ferris. "We want them broken. You'd better get it straight that it's not a bunch of boy scouts you're up against - then you'll know that this is not the age for beautiful gestures. We're after power and we mean it. You fellows were pikers, but we know the real trick, and you'd better get wise to it. There's no way to rule innocent men. The only power any government has is the power to crack down on criminals. Well, when there aren't enough criminals, one makes them. One declares so many things to be a crime that it becomes impossible for men to live without breaking laws. Who wants a nation of law-abiding citizens' What's there in that for anyone? But just pass the kind of laws that can neither be observed nor enforced nor objectively interpreted - and you create a nation of law-breakers - and then you cash in on guilt. Now that's the system, Mr. Rearden, that's the game, and once you understand it, you'll be much easier to deal with."
- Ayn Rand, Atlas Shrugged
I found a link here:
s p?id=40795&cid=11
:)
http://www.itbusiness.ca/it/client/en/home/News.a
I expect this to make a Slashdot story...in about a week or so.
Transporter_ii
What we are seeing is a maturing OS. In the past, you upgraded to get new features and get rid of the many, many bugs. But as it gets to the point where the OS does everything you need it to do, and does it somewhat on the stable side, you get to the point that upgrading is not as much of an issue.
Microsoft if doing the only thing they can do, make the OS obsolete for reasons other than a new "improved" OS to replace the old one that is working just fine anyway (for most people).
I other news, I heard today that MS is going to have pirated copies of Vista shut down. This move and the move to subscription, is going be great for Linux!
Transporter_ii
Space burials (presumably of cremated remains).
Somewhere in space, there is a planet full of bugs, with giant balls of cremated humans hitting it, and a bunch of bug news programs showing grainy footage of our magnetic ring used to launch our rain of terror upon their world.
transporter_ii
And I don't mean our made for TV wars where we just fly over and drop some bombs, I mean an all out war.
...And we would be in a lot better position in a major war if we had trained IT people in the US than to have all of those people working at Wal-Mart.
In past world wars, we converted private industry over to making supplies for the war. We converted car plants into plants for making tanks, etc.
But if an all out war ever comes again, we will have to outsource all of that, too, because all of the real industries have left the US. And what if the countries where those industries went...are the countries we are at war with?
Personally, I think there have been a lot of wars we shouldn't have been involved in...including the one we are in now. But I, in theory, favor a strong defense, and part of that defense should include not shipping all of our jobs off to other countries and leaving us with nothing but fast food and Wal-Marts here. It would be a lot easier to convert a car plant into making tanks than it would be a McDonalds.
Yeah, I know, we have to keep the stock holders happy...but isn't it possible for anyone to look above the bottom line anymore and think about something beyond the next quarter profit report?
Transporter_ii
It doesn't matter if it is lethal or non-lethal. The question is, does blowing a huge blast of microwave RF interfer with HAMs? Rule #1. Don't screw with RF without consulting the HAMs first, because if it screws with the HAMs, it isn't going to happen on US soil.
Transporter_ii
I think you made my point, it isn't going to happen by voting, it is going to happen with money, and lots of it, changing hands. Sadly, it has become the American way. Do you think there are actually politicians that care about adding a broadcast flag to consumer recording devices? No. The reason stuff like that gets passed is because the RIAA lobbied/paid for it. Congressmen are supposed to represent their home district, but how many people do you know that would want their congressman to vote in a broadcast flag that stops something that have done for a decade or more with no restrictions? So it is painfully clear the lobbying and bribery works, we just need to be doing something concrete by offering more money...not dreaming about getting enough votes to make...well, actually no difference even if we got said vote.
Transporter_ii
I have been involved in grass-roots efforts for many years. I can tell you it is hard to get real change through voting. Doesn't seem to matter if the Republicans are in control or if the Democrats are in control, the country still moves in the same direction (same direction...just at different speeds depending on which one has control at the time). A thrid party in control might actually get something good done, but the chances of that are about none.
A better method would be to form a lobby group and buy off a few key politicians. If just a tiny fraction of the over 1 billion dollars made from PC game sales alone went to buy off, errr lobby, the politicians, it would be an enormous amount of money (and that is just the money from PC games, not console sales and/or console games see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Video_game).
Transporter_ii
So did he write the article and then post it on wikipedia, or did he swipe it from wikipedia and post on his site?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snake_oil
Not trying to troll, I just couldn't figure out which it was and I don't have a lot of time to investigate.
Transporter_ii
I have a friend who has a wireless ISP in East Texas. We live in a crappy Sprint (Embarq) territory, but for his backend, he manged to pull in a sweet 6 meg connection on fiber that just happened to run into an AT&T territory, so he got a really good price on it compared to Embarq.
While pusing a little over 100 customers, what is his big bandwidth trouble? Movie traders or music traders? No, he does have trouble with that, but that isn't what got him. He hooked up a mail server for our county courthouse (a pre-exisiting domain) with several hundred e-mail addresses on it. The amount of Spam hammered his bandwidth like crazy.
He spent an entire day or two building filter lists to cut out a lot of the crap.
If spam to one domain with a couple of hundred addresses on it, can seriously degrade a 6-meg fiber connection, then imagine what huge ISPs are having to deal with.
(And then combine that with all of the traffic on the Net from owned Windows boxes searching around for other system to take over. There must be a real shit storm of useless crap constantly hammering the Net).
Transporter_ii
All very good points. But way back in the day, when I paid a crap load of money to a college, the word processor of the day was Word Perfect. Of course, we were trained on Word Perfect...since that is what *everybody* used.
My mindset has changed a little since then, but I can say that if, back then, I had spent a crap load of money and got to learn a word processor that nobody was using, I would have been highly pissed.
As it turned out, as everyone went to Word, I just happened to get on with probably one of the last companies that used all WP, so everything worked out pretty good (and as someone else pointed out, with Window's based word processors, it isn't that hard to move between them, especially for me).
As I said right at first, I want everyone to switch to Open Office. My point is, it isn't fair to say that a head IT person is a complete moron or doesn't know about alternatives, when tons of businesses use Word...and just about everyone knows it. I'm not a big fan of public schools, but one of the things most people want, is for their kids to be taught something useful in the "real world." It could be, and maybe it is a stretch, but it could be that the head IT person thinks he is teaching what all the businesses are using. Or do you think that makes that person a moron?
(And yes, I do realize people don't spend a ton of money to go to high school (at least directly out of pocket)).
And yes, by 2015 people will still use something that looks like Word or even open office. Word processors have gotten pretty polished and there is only so many ways to arrange words on a screen. As far as word, what the heck else could anyone want it to do? That is why MS is desperately trying to swap to a subscription model. If a word processor does everything you need it to do, who needs to upgrade?
Transporter_ii
That's a familiar story - schools waste a lot of money on MS products around here because the one making the decisions either hasn't a clue there are alternatives, or because they don't WANT to look for them.
I will say I'm just as in favor of getting rid of Microsoft as just about everyone around here...but considering that most businesses currently use MS Office, as well as a host of other MS products, that maybe the people in charge want to train the kids on what businesses actually use?
Myself, I think businesses will start using Open Office. And when it gets to the point that a large number of businesses use Open Office on Linux...then I'm sure more people in charge will start to look at deploying it in schools (and taxpayers will save a ton of money).
And when that happens, Linux has won! But until that happens, I can at least see why schools would want to be using Microsoft, even if I don't agree with it.
Again, for the record, I think Bill Gates should be taken apart with a blow torch and a pair of pliers
Transporter_ii