CED 581, Class Two

The world of alternative operating systems was foreign to me before this class. I had heard of Linux but had never really looked at an alternative operating system or known anyone who uses one. As we were shown examples throughout class, I could see why you would want to use one. The idea of free software is quite compelling! In an age when we are continually asked to cut more and more from school budgets and further constrain our spending at home, it only seems to make sense that if viable options exist for alternative operating systems, why not pursue them? That said, I understand the comfort and familiarity that comes with using something that you've always used. I consider myself pretty open to trying new things but had a little bit of a set back with an alternative operating system this week. I downloaded the Slax Operating System this week and had every intention of using it for 3 days for the assignment. Ten minutes into using it, I became frustrated with my inability to access the Internet from the OS. (I checked my network connections and all that good stuff). I have enough experience to know that this is probably just a fluke and either my disc didn't burn correctly or there is a glitch with running Slax on a Mac. However, most people I know would give up after this one experience. (If anyone has a solution for me, I'm all ears!) In typical human fashion, I pretty much have given up on Slax after that experience, and am typing on my Mac with the MacOS configuration. There definitely is comfort with something familiar! That said, I'm interested in trying another system and will do so in the next week. Time seems to have gotten away from me this week!

The Triumph of the Nerds video is compelling to me for one main reason . . . I can't believe that anyone could be so committed to "an idea" that hasn't been done before! And not just one person, a whole group of likeminded people who networked really well! As I watched the video, I kept questioning whether ideas prosper now like they did in the late 70s and 80s. Since I'm fairly young, my perspective on whether this has changed is somewhat naive. With that in mind, I feel like corporate America today does not allow for this fairly free sharing of ideas and collaboration. Although, the Open Source community seems to be the exception to this. I'm assuming we're watching the conclusion of this video for next week. I look forward to seeing how it ends and keep pondering what it would look like 10 years later.

CED 581, Class One

This blog entry should probably be titled "Using My Resources." I'm not really a hardware person. I like the software side much better. That said, I know lots of people who know the hardware side, well enough to do it for a living. To these people, I am very grateful! There's other areas where I have expertise, and I'm happy to share in these areas. I guess that's what makes the world such an interesting place.

While watching "Triumph of the Nerds," my background in special ed kept coming to the forefront of my mind. I admire anyone who can be so devoted to a task to allow it to become their life, much as the early computer developers did. Part of me sees the lack of social skills these people had. 40 years later these people may have been labeled as being "on the spectrum." It was a good reminder that even though these individuals may have social differences, they do have an incredible wealth of knowledge and an ability to make more money than I ever will!