What do they have in common? Well, it turns out that a middle school in Austin, Texas is having a bit of a tussle over the topic of Linux. Apparently, HeliOS sent some Linux CDs to a student in a computer class. The student then proceeded to pass out some Linux CDs, when the teacher saw this whole thing going on. What did she do? She took the CDs, and then wrote HeliOS a wonderfully written email, which you can see in the link I created above. The best line of the email has to be this:
At this point, I am not sure what you are doing is legal. No software is free and spreading that misconception is harmful. These children look up to adults for guidance and discipline. I will research this as time allows and I want to assure you, if you are doing anything illegal, I will pursue charges as the law allows.
And goes on to say:
This is a world where Windows runs on virtually every computer and putting on a carnival show for an operating system is not helping these children at all. I am sure if you contacted Microsoft, they would be more than happy to supply you with copies of an older verison of Windows and that way, your computers would actually be of service to those receiving them…
Wow. That’s a mouthful. This anger, of course, can be attributed to the teacher’s union, which has “recommendations.” One of those may very well be “you must support Microsoft.” (glad I’m homeschooled!)
So, looking through the email, it looks as if the teacher really has some beef against Linux. The second part that I quoted above has to be my favorite. “If you contact Microsoft…” Oh please, if they would do that, I would already have as many of the old versions as I can get installed in VirtualBox. Another favorite? “…your computers would actually be of service to those receiving them.” Unbelievable.
I wonder just how connected this particular teacher is with technology if these are her beliefs. If she noticed the trend, use of Microsoft sofware is on the decline, and Apple is quickly snapping up market share. If things continue to go well for Apple, we could very well be looking towards an Apple future. Linux has also been increasing in market share. Just to make a point, Ubuntu and Fedora combined have over 17 million users.
Just goes to show what a tough world it is out there to promote Linux. Luckily, there are enough people angry with Windows to make the job so much easier. Keep up the good fight HeliOS!
UPDATE:
On the helios site, twitter updates have shown up showing that the teacher has contacted Helios, and things are looking like they will be resolved soon. 
Filed under: FUD, Linux, Microsoft | Tagged: FUD, Linux, Microsoft
