> -----Original Message----- > From: Chuck Allison [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] > Sent: Wednesday, October 26, 2005 2:05 AM > To: Arthur > Cc: edu-sig@python.org > Subject: Re[2]: [Edu-sig] Python as Application > > Hello Arthur, > > Tuesday, October 25, 2005, 4:26:21 PM, you wrote: > > A> We understand that all the functionality he will ever need from Excel > is > A> available for free in other spreadsheet software. > > A> He apparently never will - unless I intercede. > > Does it really matter where the software came from, especially if the > open-source version is made to be a virtual copy of Excel (as Open > Office is)? He's learning Good Stuff. Why muddy the waters with > orthogonal political and business issues? What difference will this > make to your son's software/programming experience? Especially at his > age (I assume he's not in college by your description), why not let > him explore with the tools he has. > > (And please don't swear at me.)
Chuck, I am trying to be a good boy. In replying to David's question about how important the interactive prompt was to my learning experience, I edited out my blast at the educator who got himself granted to maintain VPython. For distributing it bundled in such a way that - at least on Windows - there is a conscious decision to override the expressed will of the author of IDLE (a Mr. Guido somethingorother), and fuck with its configuration files (I cursed) in a way that good etiquette dictates one does not fuck with someone else's configuration files (I cursed again) - so as to obscure the existence of the silly interactive prompt. I guess you provoked me enough to un-edit it out, and at least to get some curses out of my system. And what was Excel a virtual copy of? I honestly don't feel our society survives a moratorium on matters of principle - even in the interests of the advancement of technology. Though there is good enough evidence that there is little appetite for discussion of these things here, and I will try to accept the judgment that one man's apples and apples may be other folks apples and oranges. Art _______________________________________________ Edu-sig mailing list Edu-sig@python.org http://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/edu-sig
