Acceptance of OpenOffice.org (was Re: Gov't , economics and technology (was Re: METROCAST BLOCKS RESIDENTIAL E-MAIL))

[Dan Jenkins]

Tom Buskey wrote:

> When I was in college for my CAD course I had to use:
>
> Calma  - VMS
> IDEAS  - VMC
> AutoCAD - PC
> VersaCAD - PC
> CADkey - PC
> CADC - Zenith Z100
>
> Late 80s when there were multiple choices.  Now I'd imagine seeing 
> AutoCAD, Cadence, Mentor Graphics, Pro/E, (are those just EDA?)

A client of ours recently had a couple of interns. One of them had only 
used AutoCAD and some exposure to what appeared to be a school-developed 
system. The other had experienced some more, because he had sought out 
more on his own. Apparently, training was provided on only a single CAD 
environment in both their schools.

> It was an interesting introduction.  I think it would be very useful 
> for students to see at least 3 or the following MS-Office 97, Office 
> 2003, Corel, OpenOffice, Apple iWork(?) and maybe a works type suite.
>
> A programming ciriculum would generally have more then 1 language.

Everything should be taught with multiple perspectives. The broader a 
base to draw on, the more universal the insights to be gained. Basic 
principles can be learned if you have more than a single data point to 
learn from. A single data point just doesn't provide enough information.

My experience with most schools now is that training (I hesitate to call 
it education) is provided in a single version of a single program doing 
specific tasks.

-- 
Dan Jenkins (dan at rastech.com)
Rastech Inc., Bedford, NH, USA --- 1-603-206-9951
*** Technical Support for over a Quarter Century