THE OTHER MONOPOLY

THE OTHER MONOPOLY

Article from Issue 60/2005
Author(s):

Dear Linux Magazine Reader,

A fifteen-year-old I know came home from school recently with the announcement

that he is taking a class in computers. I asked what he will be learning – maybe some beginning networking or programming? It seems that the course will instead cover how to do things in office suite applications – like word processors, spreadsheets, and slide show editors. I won’t deny that it makes sense for schools to teach students these tools, although it is perhaps an overstatement to say they are learning about computers when they are learning to type. My real alarm came when I asked him what office suite they were using and he said: Microsoft Office. Perhaps I am engaging in a bit of my own overstatement. I wasn’t really alarmed; I could have guessed the class would be centered around Microsoft products. Still, this episode brought an important problem to light. How much are all those schools, everywhere in the world, paying for the privilege of indoctrinating students into a software merchandising model that will continue to exact tribute for years after graduation? I have no doubt that Microsoft offers a big “educational discount” to enchant buyers. They may even donate software to some schools. But the only effect of their generosity is to allow the school to offload the cost of computer literacy back to the student. A graduate who wants to use this new knowledge will have to either buy their own Office license or work for someone else who has purchased an Office license.

Buy this article as PDF

Express-Checkout as PDF
Price $2.95
(incl. VAT)

Buy Linux Magazine

SINGLE ISSUES
Print Issues
Digital Issues
 
SUBSCRIPTIONS
Print Subs
Digisubs
 
TABLET & SMARTPHONE APPS
Get it on Google Play

US / Canada

Get it on Google Play

UK / Australia

Related content

  • British schools agency says no to Windows Vista

    The British Education Communications and Technology Agency (Becta), the agency in charge of promoting the use of technology in Britain’s schools, has advised its partners in schools against migration to Windows Vista or Microsoft Office 2007.

    more »
  • Apache Releases OpenOffice 4.0

    The great open source productivity suite settles into its new home with a new look and a little help from IBM. 

    more »
  • Office Suites

    In the office, the interoperability and cooperation of a few programs play an important role. We take the four big Linux office suites to task and see how well they cope with non-native formats.

    more »
  • Fresh Wind at Work: OpenOffice 3.1

    Cute but astute: the new minor version of OpenOffice can do more than ever, such as cast shadows, position chart axes and provide structured conversations through comments.

    more »
  • OpenOffice 2.0 Preview

    At first glance,OpenOffice 2.0 might scare current users with a GUI that closely resembles Microsoft’s competitor product. But on closer inspection, the beast turns out to be a beauty.

    more »
comments powered by Disqus

Visit Our Shop

Trial Subscription

Digital Subscription

Subscribe

Direct Download

Read full article as PDF:

Comment.pdf (51.72 kB)
Subscribe to our Linux Newsletters
Find Linux and Open Source Jobs
Subscribe to our ADMIN Newsletters
Find SysAdmin Jobs

News

Tag Cloud

Administration Community Desktop Events Hardware Linux Linux Pro Magazine Mobile Programming Software Ubuntu Web Development Windows free software open source