“The agency that governs educational technology in the UK has advised schools in the country to keep Microsoft’s Windows Vista operating system and its Office 2007 software out of the classroom and administrative offices,” Paul McDougall reports for InformationWeek.
“‘Upgrading existing ICT systems to Microsoft Vista or Office 2007 is not recommended,’ said the British Educational Communications and Technology Agency (also known as Becta), in a report issued this week,” McDougall reports.
“The agency said UK schools can consider using Vista or Office 2007 software only when they are buying new batches of PCs. Even then, however, they’re advised to take a long looked at alternatives based on Linux and other open source products, such as the OpenOffice.org desktop package,” McDougall reports.
“Becta’s advisory mirrors similar moves taken by public agencies in the U.S. Last year, the Department of Transportation placed a ban on the use of Windows Vista, Office 2007 and Internet Explorer 7 due to cost and compatibility concerns,” McDougall reports
Full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: If they had any brains at all, they’d be using Macs already. Still, it’s a start.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Rockin’ Rod” for the heads up.]
@LorD1776:
“Rule Britannia!
Britannia rules not much
Less than the Spanish, Belgians,
Or the Dutch!”
see – change is in the air.
More and more backlash these days where MacroSloth is involved.
OSX is the wave of change.
Scot Murphy,
Harrumph! Balderdash! The hell you say!
yummy,
OK, I’ve tried, but I just can’t stop myself.
“Windows has to be the biggest US-caused scourge since Spam.”
You do mean right after George W. Bush, don’t you?
Microsoft support.. Yea you need support since their garbage is not much better than beta.
<h1>Finally, somebody with some balls!</h1>
I think the problem of crossing between platforms and programs for most people is the fact that most have lost the ability to think for themselves. They don’t see the similarities between programs and OS’s all they say is “oh I’ve never used it so it is all different, with no similarities, so I’ll be completely lost; I’ll just stick with what I know.” And what they know is basically nothing cause they haven’t learned to explore and learn on their own. Things don’t change drastically on word processing programs they all call a paragraph, a paragraph, not something completely different like calling it a torch. When will people stop losing 80% of their brain-cells voluntarily and start using them. Thats just my 2¢.
smyhre,
“Thats just my 2¢.”
You know, that is a very old saying. It seems like after all these years, what with inflation and all, that 2¢ should be a heck of a lot higher by now. Just a thought.
@Idont
as for microsh*t -> you honestly believe that you are the first to think of that? I’m sure twenty minutes after they opened for business back in the late seventies somebody thought of it. So, no, don’t try to latch on to ownership of that…I’ve never met you, heard you say, so you know…
@PT
“but linux leaves you out there on your own”
I was with you til you said that. That’s the only way Linux companies make money, selling support.
@ Dougless
“see – change is in the air.
More and more backlash these days where MacroSloth is involved.
OSX is the wave of change.”
There was nothing in the article about OSX. Show me a story about the British (or any other) government recommending switching to OSX and I’ll be more inclined to agree with you.
@smyhre
While I agree with what you’re saying about people being irrationally afraid to change OSs the other side of the argument is that you don’t want to waste time learning a new OS unless you’re really sure you have to.