Bill Belew from the recommendable TheBizOfKnowledge-blog asks: “So, which PC is best for new students?” (meaning mac- or windows-PCs). there are obvious arguments of course, like lower price-point and greater choice of hardware for the windows-PC, while an Apple-computer shines regarding the ease-of-use and the ability to run both windows- & mac-software. I guess it’s this versatility why I’ld recommend a Mac to the average student.
however, I think it’s important that students also learn about alternative, opensource operating-systems and -applications like linux and open office. parents (and schools!!) will be happy to save the money on that Microsoft Offce-license, and students will benefit from the ability to adapt to different software-environments (of course this applies especially to students in technical subjects - luckily opensource is common sense at Austria’s Technical Universitiy). coming a long way, I think that mainstream linux-distributions like SuSe and Ubuntu have almost reached the level of user-friendliness necessary for general adoption in education.
from wednesday (may, 31st) to friday (jun, 1st), the linuxwochen 2006 (”linuxweeks”) are taking place in vienna. the schedule offers a plethora of panels and talks on linux, security and opensource-software in general. if you are in the area, be sure to drop by!
