[ubuntu-us-mn] [tclug-list] Open standards for government documents

[Mike Miller]

On Wed, 6 Feb 2008, Brian D. Ropers-Huilman wrote:

> Very much agreed. I've had issues with this for many years. Quite 
> frankly, I am of the belief that a "computer literate" person should be 
> able to walk up to any modern desktop system (Linux, OS X, or Windows 
> [pick your flavor]) and be productive. We need to teach philosophies, 
> not applications. Whether it's Word Perfect, OpenOffice Writer, Abiword, 
> Microsoft Word, or whatever, people should know what's capable. There 
> will always be some specifics to learn, but we need to teach concepts 
> and approaches, capabilities and philosophies, rather than specific 
> applications.

Good ideas, but when we first begin to teach about software, I think we 
should teach students how to use something, and that something should be 
an open-source program.  We don't want to be a Microsoft training ground.

Regarding the idea that more training is required for Word than for 
OO-Write:  I'm sure that is true *now* but as Open Office becomes more 
widely used in coming years (because it is taught to every child in 
school?), the opposite will eventually become true and Word will be the 
program that requires extra training.


I'm ccing this to the Ubuntu list because everyone else was doing that, 
but I'm not on the Ubuntu list -- do you have any info about that list? 
Maybe I'll want to sign up.

Mike