[BNM] [OT]Eclipse and a typing tutor recommendation and an RSS reader and CD copier

[Jason Bailey]

 >>You now have the choice between MSO & Lotus? Groovy! Or it might  
be if
 >>their was course ware support with platform traversal. Maybe it's  
time
 >>for ECDL 2.0 that uses ajaxwrite or writely with gmail and phpmysql?
Oops! I may have been a little tipsy the other night. I was sure my  
email made complete sense. I'm usually very good and re-read my posts  
to ensure they don't start any holy wars. I generally try to avoid  
mixing email and wine.

Some of it was based on something.

ECDL doesn't require MS Office or Lotus; that was just an example; my  
reply was a bit sarcastic so fair enough. You can gain an ECDL using  
any packages on any OS providing you can find the test centre to test  
you. I would almost be willing to say that ECDL has never required MS  
Office. I can't prove that as it started in 1994/1996 and I didn't  
really look at it until 1998/1999. That's the misconception that  
because most test centres provide Office/Windows based tests. If you  
can't find a test using your choice of OS/Software then you can write  
your own or have someone write it for you.  It's not ECDL preventing  
people from gaining qualifications on alternative OSs it's the lack  
of courseware.  Companies that write the courseware are doing so to  
make money. I can't say why they don't provide alternative OS/ 
software; maybe it's lack of interest. Perhaps people who choose  
Linux over Windows are already well beyond the skills in ECDL; it's a  
basic level.

I take your point the report is old but nothing has been written to  
replace it; so I guess it stands; that's not particularly unusual in  
academic institutions. Research is right until some disproves it.  
It's quite possible that once one large organisation (UK HE) switches  
to another OS, others may follow.  That kind of change where I work  
would require support at senior management level and may even require  
approval from Senate (possibly); I don't know; it's not my decision  
to make the change. More likely there would be a slow transition from  
one to another and quite possibly a mix for a long time. We offer  
various OSs but Windows (2000/XP) has the largest number of users on  
campus. I could imagine a linux-ECDL qualification becoming a useful  
way of training staff in the use of a new OS.

ECDL is a good qualification for those applying for jobs which aren't  
particularly IT related. As an example the degree in Social Work now  
requires an ECDL or equivalent qualification. It's the recognition  
that jobs while not particularly IT related do require some level of  
computing skills. Social Workers need to write reports and analyse  
data but probably don't need to do PHP/Flash/sexy stuff/etc.

 >>I still can't believe you are serious about Vista though. It will be
 >>interesting to see how things pan out in the next year.
No that's not the case now and it wouldn't be my decision. That was  
the reason not to go for XP a few years ago; you could call it  
stalling. We're moving to XP over the summer. After that who knows,  
It may well be the time to look at alternatives; we're a bit slow.


 >>6th form? Is that how dumb these kids are now? I assumed they would
 >>all be proficient in primary school now microsoft is indoctrinated at
 >>such an early age with a zeal that would make Jesuits look like
 >>kittens.

Yes sixth form- too much wine.

Just in case my employer is reading. I don't assume that people who  
aren't IT literate are stupid; that would be bigoted. I think what I  
was trying to say was that as a person working in IT, it's part of my  
job to know versions of software. Students on non-IT based degrees  
possibly don't have that much interest (I'm generalising) in  
computing and just see the familiar Windows look. Blame the primary  
school teachers- actually don't.

I'd also suggest that new students aren't necessarily IT (or Windows  
to be specific) proficient even though it's taught in school. They  
tend to know stuff that interests them (I'm not so different) and the  
rest isn't so much fun. I joined BEBO (for research) and was  
surprised at the amount of information students were supplying;  
address and phone number; surely that's at best a misunderstanding of  
what this stuff is for. Students (non IT related degrees) generally  
turn-up at University with Windows computers and so it would be fair  
for them to expect to see a similar set-up. The Educational Discount  
that Apple (as well as Dell etc) offer makes Apple computers look  
more appealing. There's a small number of Macs around too. Unix is  
available but this is generally used by engineering/science students.

  I've gone on a bit there.

Jason (sober)

Any opinions expressed here are my own etc....