[geeks] geeks Digest, Vol 86, Issue 11

[Fred]

From:	IN%"geeks at sunhelp.org" 17-JAN-2010 08:59:28.78
To:	IN%"geeks at sunhelp.org"
CC:	
Subj:	geeks Digest, Vol 86, Issue 11

   1. Re: Q: Regarding Linux in K-12 education (der Mouse)

[lots of discussion regarding Linux in K-12 education chopped]

Not a direct reply to der Mouse, although s/he makes a good point which I'll
address later in this message.

I have personally seen and supported Linux as back end web, mail, 
(and webmail), and CIFS/SMB/samba servers - not no much on the desktop.

I personally use Ubuntu on my main desktop and laptops - I only use Windows XP
in a VirtualBox VM at home to run software that doesn't exist for Linux and
also to keep a copy handy since I support it professionally.

Personally, after reading some of this discussion (I think I have one more
digest sitting in NEWMAIL) I'm reminded of a quote from Star Trek II: The
Wrath of Khan - Khan has just fired upon the Enterprise and Kirk and Spock are
preparing to get the Reliant's prefix code to remotely control the ship in
order to lower it's shields.   Saavik does not understand what they are doing,
and Kirk simply replies:

"You have to know WHY things work on a starship."

I'm of the opinion that to a degree you *should* know the how and why
technology works, and not just treat it as an appliance or black box.  Sure, I
get upset when stuff on my home network breaks, because I use most of the
production boxes for real work - but to fix them, since that is what I do for
a living, I have to know why they work.

I am also not a mechanic, but I have a basic understanding of of how my car
works, and know what kind of information to give my mechanic to be able to
troubleshoot and fix the problem, other than telling him "It's broke and makes
a funny noise."

I think Mouse put it best: You *should* have a basic understanding of DHCP,
NAT, port forwarding, etc.   I'll take this one step further.  One of my pet
peeves is people that have perhaps a basic understanding of Microsoft Office
Excel for example, and if you set them down in front of any other software 
maker's spreadsheet, they have no idea how to navigate.  This is because they
do not understand the *concepts* of a spreadsheet, just what M$ buttons to
push.  You could of course use this example for any software, not just
Microsoft.   If you understand the concepts, you can be put in front of Lotus,
OpenOffice Spreadsheet, Ami Pro, Excel, you name it - a formula is a formula,
you just need to know how the particular app implements it. (perhaps a visit
to the online Help facility).

Apologies if I went off on too much of a tangent, but the discussion as I read
it just begged me to put my two cents in.  (plus, this is the geeks list ...)

Fred