Re: [O] General advice beyond Org

[S. Champailler]

This is a super wise advice :

>> Be a scout in the proprietary camp. Learn the tools your instructors are
>> willing to teach. Learn what it takes to achieve the same results with free
>> software. Learn the difference in workflows and user experience.

Comparing stuff in scenarios you don't invent yourself is super enlightening. 
Once you don't define the scenario, all sorts of edge/unexpected situations 
arise.

For example, if you work with math stuff, I'm sure you'll find interesting 
differences between computations results (e.g. matlab equations solving versus 
say Octave).

stF







> Le 18 mai 2018 à 12:54, Yuri Khan <address@hidden> a écrit :
> 
> 
> On Fri, May 18, 2018 at 7:29 AM <address@hidden> wrote:
> 
> > _I_ need help. I am in graduate school, and I keep having issues with my
> > advisor for my strong inclination to use free software. I am obviously
> > not in position to refuse, but she dislikes to have discussions about
> > it. She pays a stipend to me every month, and my tuition is wa[i]ved.
> 
> > Is anyone here aware of a place where they do computational human
> > biomechanics, mechanics, materials or finite elements where I could
> > interact with free software? (having github, LaTeX, Python, etc.; avoid
> > Micro$oft products, Matlab, Mathematica, etc.). Is there no place where
> > one can simply use free software on a daily basis?
> 
> Are you required to pay for licenses for proprietary software you are asked
> to use? Chances are, your school is getting academic discounts, and you get
> to use it for no charge.
> 
> Your instructors and professors probably have a lot of experience with
> those tools. They are understandably reluctant to switch, because the tools
> work well enough for them.
> 
> Also, as a student, you do not have sufficient influence to convert
> everybody at your school to free software.
> 
> > As a student or junior faculty, how do you go about this? Do you just
> > nod and wave your freedom good bye?
> 
> The point of education is to get exposed to many tools, techniques and
> workflows. By limiting yourself to free software only, you will miss out.
> 
> Be a scout in the proprietary camp. Learn the tools your instructors are
> willing to teach. Learn what it takes to achieve the same results with free
> software. Learn the difference in workflows and user experience.
> 
> You will find something you can do with free software that you don’t know
> how to do with proprietary tools. Ask your teachers. They will either point
> you at something you missed (and then you can study it); or they will admit
> that feature is nice but their tool doesn’t have it (and then you have
> demonstrated the merits of free software); or they will say it’s not
> important.
> 
> You will also likely find more than a few points where non-free software
> delivers better UX. Use that knowledge to improve free software so that it
> can compete with proprietary software on UX terms, not only on the issue of
> freedom.
>