[Linux-aus] Young Aussies say pirated software is OK

[harry at woodward-clarke.com]

Hey there,
>
> what do they think linux is one OS, not the 100's+ of OS?
>

no idea what they think - or even if they do.

>
> why do we get these people to write the Training Packages, when they  
>  clear have no clue?
>

often with these things, it's not "what you know" but "who you know".

I have observed that often, trying to get this changed is like tilting  
at windmills. A number of us have made enquiries about how we become  
part of the Board that works on this, and we have been stonewalled  
(thus far).

Which leaves us taking their Training Package, and the Curriculum  
Centre's work, putting something together that meets the red-tape  
requirements, and then teaching what we _know_ needs to be done.

And, unfortunately, as was stated earlier, what "needs to be done"  
often involves teaching commercial proprietary software, not FOSS. No  
because there is a philosophical bias against FOSS in TAFE, it's just  
that the "give me the skills to get me a job" dictate non-FOSS in the  
majority of cases.

Just between you, me and the door post - Politicians couldn't give a  
hoot. Only when votes are involved will they care, and at the moment,  
there are no 'real' votes in FOSS.

But there are those of us, on the inside, spreading the FOSS world.  
The profile is being raised, ever-so-slowly, but it is being raised.

One of the other teacher's here uses Code::Blocks IDE for C++ in the  
Games Programming course. I use NetBeans in the Java and JSP subjects  
I teach, as well as all the other bits and pieces I mentioned earlier.  
Others are using MOGRE, and other FOSS tools. It's happening... slowly.

One day...

.h