M1CR0$0FT
I just emailed the following to my MP and another copy to the Prime Minister. Hardly eloquent, but I hope I've made a point somewhere:
Dear Laura Moffatt,
I am writing to you with the concern of the use of Microsoft products for education. There are several reasons to be opposed to the purchase of such software.
- Financial
Microsoft is the biggest multi-national IT corporation in the world, and is sponsoring the IT side of our education system with greatly discounted operating systems, office and education software. It has recently come to light that millions of pounds can be saved if there is a switch from Microsoft-based products to open-source alternatives, particularly since Microsoft products require expensive upgrades to keep up.
- Education
Microsoft intentionally invest in education so that students are only used to their style of products and are incapable of utilising other operating systems or software packages. When I started secondary school we didn't have any PCs. Instead we had BBC Micros with various office suites and graphical software. We were taught how to take advantage of the programming language that was native to the machine which was extremely helpful in inspiring us to creating applications to solve our geometric and maths problems. There were also Acorn Archimedes machines too that had designing software on a different operating system.
In my third year the school bought PCs with Microsoft operating systems, office suites and education software. The other computers were abandoned and we all had to use Microsoft's software, which was later upgraded to their newer operating system and newer office suite.
I have found it difficult to adapt to other systems required for work and have lost my ability to get to know the workings of the system due to Microsoft's simple and intuitive graphical user interfaces that do all the work for you. This basically means the student can turn their brain off and get trapped into one single way of working.
I find this discourages all students around the UK from learning anything else, and Microsoft's sponsorship of Britain's education technology is an underhanded and immoral method of locking everyone into their software.
- Work
Many students that leave school will go on to be directors and managers. Without the knowledge of alternative software they will only be able to request investment in Microsoft-based software to further business purposes. Not only does this help reinforce Microsoft's monolopy on the IT industry, it also means that it will be too difficult to migrate away from Microsoft's systems at a later date, and UK companies will need to continually invest in Microsoft upgrades.
I have now finally pryed myself away from Microsoft's Windows operating system, Office suites and other software, and I find myself immersed in a much more diverse and stimulating world of IT where I understand how things work far better. Nearly everything is free, more secure than Microsoft's products, and I have much more choice in what I put on my PC. Viruses aren't a problem anymore since the hundreds of thousands of viruses for computers all target Microsoft products. Opearting systems such as the popular Linux is immune to such security risks.
I believe it is in the interest of society that we do not allow a huge corporation to dictate the way we learn about information technology, and to hold us in a monolopy of thought. Using free alternatives saves the education system millions of pounds that can be invested elsewhere, stimulates students ideas of what they can do with technology and doesn't pander to the interests of any corporation. I'm sure when Prime Minister Tony Blair said "Education, Education, Education", Microsoft would have been very pleased at the additional tax-payers money that would add to their shares.
Please consider fighting to equip our schools with the freely available alternatives that are at everyone's disposal.
Thank you for your attention.
Yours sincerely
Thom Brown
[address was included]
Dear Laura Moffatt,
I am writing to you with the concern of the use of Microsoft products for education. There are several reasons to be opposed to the purchase of such software.
- Financial
Microsoft is the biggest multi-national IT corporation in the world, and is sponsoring the IT side of our education system with greatly discounted operating systems, office and education software. It has recently come to light that millions of pounds can be saved if there is a switch from Microsoft-based products to open-source alternatives, particularly since Microsoft products require expensive upgrades to keep up.
- Education
Microsoft intentionally invest in education so that students are only used to their style of products and are incapable of utilising other operating systems or software packages. When I started secondary school we didn't have any PCs. Instead we had BBC Micros with various office suites and graphical software. We were taught how to take advantage of the programming language that was native to the machine which was extremely helpful in inspiring us to creating applications to solve our geometric and maths problems. There were also Acorn Archimedes machines too that had designing software on a different operating system.
In my third year the school bought PCs with Microsoft operating systems, office suites and education software. The other computers were abandoned and we all had to use Microsoft's software, which was later upgraded to their newer operating system and newer office suite.
I have found it difficult to adapt to other systems required for work and have lost my ability to get to know the workings of the system due to Microsoft's simple and intuitive graphical user interfaces that do all the work for you. This basically means the student can turn their brain off and get trapped into one single way of working.
I find this discourages all students around the UK from learning anything else, and Microsoft's sponsorship of Britain's education technology is an underhanded and immoral method of locking everyone into their software.
- Work
Many students that leave school will go on to be directors and managers. Without the knowledge of alternative software they will only be able to request investment in Microsoft-based software to further business purposes. Not only does this help reinforce Microsoft's monolopy on the IT industry, it also means that it will be too difficult to migrate away from Microsoft's systems at a later date, and UK companies will need to continually invest in Microsoft upgrades.
I have now finally pryed myself away from Microsoft's Windows operating system, Office suites and other software, and I find myself immersed in a much more diverse and stimulating world of IT where I understand how things work far better. Nearly everything is free, more secure than Microsoft's products, and I have much more choice in what I put on my PC. Viruses aren't a problem anymore since the hundreds of thousands of viruses for computers all target Microsoft products. Opearting systems such as the popular Linux is immune to such security risks.
I believe it is in the interest of society that we do not allow a huge corporation to dictate the way we learn about information technology, and to hold us in a monolopy of thought. Using free alternatives saves the education system millions of pounds that can be invested elsewhere, stimulates students ideas of what they can do with technology and doesn't pander to the interests of any corporation. I'm sure when Prime Minister Tony Blair said "Education, Education, Education", Microsoft would have been very pleased at the additional tax-payers money that would add to their shares.
Please consider fighting to equip our schools with the freely available alternatives that are at everyone's disposal.
Thank you for your attention.
Yours sincerely
Thom Brown
[address was included]