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Date:      Thu, 9 Oct 1997 21:21:10 -0600 (MDT)
From:      Wes Peters <softweyr@xmission.com>
To:        Marco Molteni <molter@logic.it>
Cc:        chat@freebsd.org
Subject:   Re: Digital, Intel, Silicon Graphics (fwd) 
Message-ID:  <199710100321.VAA02907@obie.softweyr.ml.org>
In-Reply-To: <Pine.BSF.3.96.971009151438.918A-100000@dumbwinter.logic.it>
References:  <199710090523.XAA01838@obie.softweyr.ml.org> <Pine.BSF.3.96.971009151438.918A-100000@dumbwinter.logic.it>

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Marco Molteni writes:
 > I'm a student at the Computer Science Department of the Milan
 > University, Italy (This is also the CERT Italy center). Our lab is
 > ruled by HP-UX xterminals :-)
 > 
 > You know what are they used for? Surfing the net with netscape, with
 > hard core images in the root window. My collegues say: "hey dude,
 > this (surfing the web + sex images) is cool. I just miss my home
 > win95".
 > 
 > No, I'm not joking :-(. I'm the only I know of to do my exams
 > programs with Unix (guess which? I started with Linux, then switched
 > to FreeBSD :-). All my friends carry to the examination room their
 > home pc with their win95 or nt, and use visual C++. What a _SAD_
 > world, if I think that we students are *supposed* to be computer
 > science experts, not marketing droids.

As I suspected.  This is pretty much true at my Alma Mater as well.
When talking about a full university, you have to convert the graduate
teaching assistants, with colleges where the professors actually teach,
you have to convert the professors.  The average students aren't going
to do anything they aren't required to do; it's just not in their
nature.

If we can get the people who teach the classes to teach classes using
FreeBSD, or even Linux, everyone wins.  Be careful not to ride Linux
down in these situations, it is far better than having a student use
Win95 and VC++ and *think* he actually understands something.  Explain
patiently to questioners that FreeBSD:Linux == WinNT:Win95, where
FreeBSD > Linux > WinNT > Win95.  ;^)

And, most importantly, tell them that with a little cleverness, they can
write a program that will rotate the sex pictures on the root window
every few seconds (or minutes).  Then you'll have them hooked.

This laziness found in students is true in the industry as well --
prepare to be very disappointed with a majority of your co-workers upon
graduation.  If you manage to fall into a group where most of the people
actually care about what they do, as I have several times, consider
yourself lucky and ride it as long as you can.  Sooner or later the
company will hire some moron to manage the group and he will utterly
destroy it.

-- 
          "Where am I, and what am I doing in this handbasket?"

Wes Peters                                                       Softweyr LLC
http://www.xmission.com/~softweyr                       softweyr@xmission.com



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