Ah the ups and downs of UK government. Thought these two links might be of interest.


http://www.guardian.co.uk/microsoft/Story/...1101387,00.html

I know one NHS manager that suggested linux to his IT staff, basically they didn't know what he was on about. How can you call yourself an IT professional and not be aware in developments in your own industry?

http://www.guardian.co.uk/microsoft/Story/...1101446,00.html

Actually The schools are so geared to meeting targets teachers can't afford to be innovative. They're judged on results irrespective of what type of pupil they might have to deal with. They might know more about computers but if he doesn't get them through the exams they're heavily criticised.

Thanks for the link.
So a possible 800,000 Gov't computers in the UK switching over to Linux?? Great news
Like you, i know of simular stories of so called IT people. There are several software and IT companies near me, and whenever i mention to these so called "IT experts" the word Linux, they look completely baffled. Most have never heard of it, and the few that have know next to nothing about it. In their world, "IT" means windoze.

I hear a lot of people going on that Sun is nuts, ..., dying even.

They probably did not read or hear the stories about Sun shipping loads of Java desktops to countries and big companies/organizations!

It's the secret to "success". Get schools and the like to push a product (like a dealer pushing heroin) and make a student who might be intelligent to die on the vine, burried in the myth of microsoft. The myth? Microsoft is somehow innovative and good because it is a monopoly!!

The IT guys that my agency hired (That's right, they had to hire a firm to replace me!!) were just ms junkies. (I shouldn't be too harsh, these guys are ok) I have been expounding the joys of linux for the past two years. Guess what. The other day, one of them told me that they installed a server with linux, and the owner is now moving to offer linux as an alternative to their ms stuff. The reason? Like I told them, they could improver their own margins, offer better service, and still be less expensive than their competition. A new day dawns!!

"It's the secret to "success". Get schools and the like to push a product (like a dealer pushing heroin) and make a student who might be intelligent to die on the vine, burried in the myth of microsoft. The myth? Microsoft is somehow innovative and good because it is a monopoly!!"

Couldn't agree more Ixthusdan

The thing that always strikes me is that they could get the kids interested in programming so they know what is happening underneath.

I have a nephew recently completed an IT course supposedly to programme games. At the employer days basically the course directors got ripped to shreds because what they were teaching was obsolete and the students would need to be trained by any employer taking them on. At school and college they are trained to use computers not work with them.

He is now a trainee supermarket manager where he had better be able to understand the stock control programme and understand what it is telling him. It goes beyond being able to use a spreadsheet - Having information is no use if you are unable to interpret it.

I met a first year IT student-son of a family friend- I sked what he thought if Linux and he had bever heard of it. The thing is playing about with linux would probably teach him a lot more about computers than just windows ever will. On the other hand I am hardly an expert in these matters.

I suspect there are a lot of IT graduates who can pass the exams but have no real grasp or liking of what they are doing. I know lots of accountants like that

I finished my "IT-education" in the year 2000 having bearly heard the work Linux... I had seen and learned a little bit about UNIX though.

Then I started working for a company that was a Microsoft Partner. For three years I lived in a total-Microsoft world. Got laid off in May this year, still never tried or seen Linux, only heard about it.

In my new job I most be able to understand(not use, but understand) simple UNIX maintenense, so I decided to install Linux at home. That was tree months ago. I have learned so much in theese last three months about not only Linux and Unix, but computing in general, it amazes me

I talked with a neighbour, who's also using linux (wanted something different than SuSE, got him Mandrake, he likes it sofar) and who's an IT specialist, and his story is that loads of people in IT today came in 2 years ago with the .com boom, just for their capability of spelling "PC" correctly in their CVs...