Absence of open source at IUPUI

Indiana University-Purdue University at Indianapolis is an urban campus shared by Indiana University and Purdue University, two large, well-funded public education institutions. There are Schools of Computer Science, Computer Information Technology, and Informatics. IU’s University Information Technology Services does an excellent job of supporting students on all of IU’s campuses. (I am not just saying that because I work for UITS.)

However, despite all the up-to-date computer labs with dozens of computers, free software deals from Microsoft and Adobe, and 24/7 technical support, IU seems to be lacking one thing: open source. There is some Linux/UNIX software available through IU’s software site, IUWare. However, the amount of Linux software there is far outmatched by the software available for Mac and Windows.

Indiana University has deals with several software vendors, in particular Microsoft and Adobe. These corporations provide free software to faculty and students in the hopes that they will continue to use their respective software after graduation. A copy of Adobe CS5 Design Premium can cost as much $1,900. A Microsoft Office 2008 license can cost at least $150. OpenOffice may not be as feature-rich as Microsoft Office, but it would certainly get the job done for 99% of users and it’s free.

Unless it is detailed in IU’s agreement with Microsoft and Adobe that it not push open-source options too hard, I do not see why it should not become a bit more open about open source. At the very least, it is free software that the University will not have to haggle over every few years.

There. That was my first rant over open source. I will get hate mail.

No more back scratches!

I had to write about this. This may piss off some iPhone case makers. Apple’s newly-announced iPhone 4 is using the same scratch-resistant tempered glass on the back as it is on the front.

Any iPod or iPhone owner could tell you that the polished backs of all of these devices have had a difficult time with tiny scratches. These devices always look so shiny and beautiful when they come out of the box for the first time, but then they are tarnished by life in the real world, (just like people).

I do not think this blog post exists for any reason beyond my excitement that I may own an iPhone 4 (or possibly iPhone 5) and that it will not need a case the way my 3GS does now.