On Sun, 2003-02-23 at 13:41, Enrique A Suarez wrote: > Hello: > > I merely forwarded this post. > As the entry level remarks by the author indicate, not too many still know about > Linux. > What it implies is that Linux evangelists must work harder
i refuse to believe that evangelists SHOULD work harder. i refuse to be called an evangelist neither because what evangelists do is make others believe in something. i would prefer to be called an advocate however, because i would push for the use of linux in situations that would be necessary. and as of now, it seems to me that linux has proven itself to me to the point that i would recommend it to anybody. the burden of proof is on the advocate. of course it always it, whether or not you are for or against anything. an advocate would carry with him/her the conviction that he/she would bring the news/information to the most people he/she could possibly reach. > to reach the ordinary users of PCs. In other words, non-techies. when you automatically use a PC, you should in some way become a 'techie' in one way or another, because that's the best way to grasp technology. like to learn how to use your car better, you must learn to drive, and eventually understand how it works to some extent. the same should be true for anything for that matter. > And BTW: Microsoft is now investing heavily in cultivating college students. i do not get this. you actually 'cultivate' college students? > At the same time, student radicals in UP appear to be the shrillest voices opposed > to the university president's decision to migrate completly to Linux, which UP unit are you talking about? in UPLB, there seems to be a geniune interest in Linux, especially in the institute of computer science. you'd tell me sure, we are computer science students -- true, but if it is being recognized by people in the position to understand the technology, what would that say? would you trust a poilitician who knew nothing of rocket science who would you tell you that it would be impossible and impractical to put a space station up in space? or would you rather listen to a rocket scientist who knew what he was talking about? well you did mention radicals. but still they only become radicals because they are either misinformed or inherently shrewed. of course you would have to be relative in defining radicals, because you need a point of reference. and IMHO, UP students are so diverse you can't really define what a radical person is. > excepting applications which have no non-propietary equivalents. please name some to comfort my grief. and please don't give me games, because are games really necessary in the budget of government offices? and in the academe perhaps, of all places? > And never forget: where UP goes socially and politically, so does the rest of the > nation eventually. this is a rash generalization. i believe this comment is meant to be humorous, but it fails to stimulate my humour faculty (pertaining to my mental faculties). > A successful Linux implementation there could very well signal the fact that this > tropical archipelago could yet be the computing islands of the Penguin in the near > future. > you sound pessimistic, and at some part of it sarcastic. IMHO this is the last thing a linux advocate should say. but i'm taking it that you are not an advocate. and it's like saying that if it can't be done in UP, then it can't be done in any other part of the Philippines. as we always hear from everybody else and also from ourselves, change starts from yourself. if you rely on other people to change first, then let's assume that everybody else thinks the same -- would change occur given that situation? i believe that we should be able to take linux everywhere, and we ourselves should be true to ourselves whether or not we want to take it to wherever we may go. I love the University of the Philippines, and I have high regards for the institution that it is. but linux in UP should not "very well signal the fact that" ... (paraphrasing) penguins could compute here in the Philippines. of course, the last statement was deliberately mangled to reflect that UP is not the only pioneer, nor should it be the only one to show that the Philippines would very well be the nest of penguins. -- -=[mikhail]=- aka Dean Michael C. Berris mobile +63 917 8901959 work +63 49 5680024 http://free.net.ph/Members/mikhailberis _ Philippine Linux Users Group. Web site and archives at http://plug.linux.org.ph To leave: send "unsubscribe" in the body to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Fully Searchable Archives With Friendly Web Interface at http://marc.free.net.ph To subscribe to the Linux Newbies' List: send "subscribe" in the body to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
