Quote: "I forgot my /sarcasm at the end of the comment"
Oh
Quote: "I'm sure you CAN do work with a tablet, but a laptop is undeniably more suited to the task. If you had money to burn then having a tablet beside you to read from while you work on your laptop would be even better. I'm just saying, prioritise the laptop."
My point was just that it is capable of more than people usually give it credit for. In Muzzles' case, a laptop probably would make more sense if he could get a decent one in his budget, especially since he is taking programming courses. But for many other people I have recommended a tablet because for 90% of their usage it is a more convenient form factor (with a much longer lasting battery - unless perhaps you get one of the newer top-of-the-line ultrabooks or the new MacBook Air). I'm just tired of it being disregarded as a "toy."
A tablet could still be a good option for him if he doesn't plan on programming on the go or doing much more than reading/note-taking, and sticks to his desktop for heavy lifting.
Quote: "Couldn't program on it as it wasn't windows"
So my MacBook, which also isn't running Windows, clearly can't program either
Don't forget things like
this. Yea, it is a simplified, limited environment, but it is there. There was a time when you had to cross-compile applications for Mac OS on a much more powerful Apple Lisa, so someday iOS may grow enough to have its own suite of development tools.
Quote: "Schools, and all other publicly funded organisations, should be removed from that arena. Schools exist to educate the population, not to be commercially viable enterprises. South America and India are leading the way in this respect, developing their own free-software operating systems and software to be used in schools and government."
In a lot of ways I agree with the principle, but practically there is more to it. When I was young, all of the computers at my elementary school were iMacs (the early, colorful ones that I sort of miss). The parents and teachers decided that, since most students had PCs at home, it would make more sense for them to learn how to use a computer system they were familiar with and could practice at home - so they bought Dells (which were much more expensive for the school!).
Students tend to have Windows (or Macintosh) laptops, or Windows desktops at home. Linux represents a very, very, very tiny fraction of the school's population. People just don't go out and buy a pre-built Linux computer, they buy a pre-built Windows PC or a Mac. To the school, it doesn't make sense to have an open-source solution that nobody is familiar with and that nobody is likely to have outside of school.
I'm not saying I
like it that way - I have a Windows, Mac, and Linux computer all within arm's distance. But I also know people who have looked at a Mac and freaked out because things
looking different caused them to mentally dump all knowledge of how to use a computer. It's stupid and frustrating but it is a problem.
Quote: "Physical products are different because once you own them, you own them, and can do what you like with them; not so with proprietary software."
I may own a physical copy of a book, but I don't own the right to copy it. I can't scan it and then give it out to anyone I choose. You can't do absolutely anything you want with a physical object, and the restrictions on most proprietary software are
usually not outlandish.
