dougc - Slashdot User

Submission + - Why Buy Microsoft Milk When The Google Cow Is Free?

Submitted by theodp on Wednesday March 19, 2014 @08:09PM

theodp writes: Touring a high school with Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, Google Chairman Eric Schmidt informed students they're eating Google "dog food" because Microsoft's costs money. "Why would we use Google Docs over like Microsoft Word?" a teacher asked the class. “Because it’s free!" exclaimed a grinning Schmidt. "Schmidt’s comment," writes GeekWire's Blair Hanley Frank, "highlights one of the risks Microsoft faces in the academic world. While Microsoft has started offering schools incentives to use Office 365, including free licenses for their pupils, the company is under greater pressure from its competitors. As more schools like Chicago’s face budget shortfalls, free and discounted products from companies like Google and Apple, especially when attached to financial assistance, start looking better and better." Chicago Teachers Union president Karen Lewis said she’d rather see companies pay more in taxes and fund schools that way, rather than relying on their charity or free software.

Submission + - How Ya Gonna Get 'Em Down on the UNIX Farm? 2

Submitted by theodp on Thursday December 26, 2013 @02:15PM

theodp writes: In 1919, Nora Bayes sang, "How ya gonna keep 'em down on the farm after they've seen Paree?" In 2013, discussing User Culture Versus Programmer Culture, CS Prof Philip Guo poses a similar question, "How ya gonna get 'em down on UNIX after they've seen Spotify?" Convincing students from user culture to toss aside decades of advances in graphical user interfaces for a UNIX command line is a tough sell, Guo notes, and one that's made even more difficult when the instructors feel the advantages are self-evident. "Just waving their arms and shouting 'because, because UNIX!!!' isn't going to cut it," he advises. Guo's tips for success? "You need to gently introduce students to why these tools will eventually make them more productive in the long run," Guo suggests, "even though there is a steep learning curve at the outset. Start slow, be supportive along the way, and don't disparage the GUI-based tools that they are accustomed to using, no matter how limited you think those tools are. Bridge the two cultures."

Submission + - More Than 25% Of Android Apps Know Too Much About You (darkreading.com) 1

Submitted by

CowboyRobot

on Friday November 02, 2012 @05:38AM

CowboyRobot writes: "A pair of reports by Juniper and Bit9 confirm the suspicion that many apps are spying on users. "26 percent of Android apps in Google Play can access personal data, such as contacts and email, and 42 percent, GPS location data... 31 percent of the apps access phone calls or phone numbers, and 9 percent employ permissions that could cost the user money, such as incurring premium SMS text message charges... nearly 7 percent of free apps can access address books, 2.6 percent, can send text messages without the user knowing, 6.4 percent can make calls, and 5.5 percent have access to the device's camera." The main issue seems to be with poor development practices. Only in a minority of cases is there malicious intent. The Juniper report
and the Bit9 report"

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