I have recently been using open source software and I am thoroughly impressed. I started using Mozilla Firefox, a free, downloadable, web browser, probably a year and a half ago and am enjoying it much more than Internet Explorer. There are no pop-ups and I haven’t gotten any viruses and I don’t use a virus protection program. Aside from Mozilla, I’ve also started using the Open Office suite which is basically a free version of Microsoft Office. It saves to the same file type as all of the Office programs and is just as easy to use. Instead of paying for the whole Microsoft Office suite, you can basically get it for free. My favorite program though is definitely GIMP. GIMP stands for GNU Image Manipulation Program. it is basically a free version of Adobe Photoshop, a $600 program. It has all of the capabilities of Photoshop except its better because I don’t have to pay for it. I’ve done some incredible thing with it and I can now make my pictures look absolutely amazing.
June 16, 2008
May 16, 2008
Education
What is wrong with the education system in this country? Not only is the public school system screwed up but the college system is even worse. The the whole thing is just replete with blatant examples of wasted money and time. Seriously, yesterday I saw the janitors moving snow from one place to another. I could understand if they were moving it a few feet but they were moving it across the parking lot with a tractor. Not only is that a waste of time but its also a waste of gas. In college the wasted money is even worse. They have these all-you-can-eat dining halls where food just sits around all day and the stuff that isn’t eaten is just thrown away. That’s part of the reason why college costs so much, your room and board alone can cost up to $10000. That is absolutely ridiculous. Most people don’t pay that much for real apartments and actual food. I guess it all comes down to the fact that education has become a business in this country. College tuition should never average 40 grand. Recently, RPI put in a 100 million dollar performing arts center. They are a technical school, why in the world do they need that? I guess when your tuition is $52,000 you don’t have to worry about these things. Education should be about kids learning, no about how big the endowment is.
