Great Books for CS Principles

The applications to pilot the new CS Principles class are due today. As folks were working on their submissions I have had several questions about books I used as a part of developing curriculum for the course.

I want by starting with a caution. Relying too much on one book runs the risk of locking in your curriculum. The course is most powerful when you have the flexibility to adapt what you are doing to where the students interest point. Relying on only one book you run the risk of robbing them of this experience.

Also, you as the teacher need to be driving your course. Obviously we need materials to fill in gaps in our own knowledge, but you ultimately need to develop these materials to meet your students where they are and pull them into the course.

So, now that I have warned you, here is my partial  list of books I used over the past two years.

• CS Principles Bookshelf
• Blown to Bits
• also Tubes

I am curious, what books have you all been using? Anything unexpected?

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Posters for Computer Science Careers that use Computer Science

These posters are from the Otronicon Science Center in Orlando, FL. Forget Harry Potter World, we are definitely putting that on the list for our next Florida trip. I am sure this kids wont mind.

Anyhoo, I am fascinated that a science museum has done such a thorough job of including computational thinking and computer science topics in their materials.

Anyway, the posters are free to print and use. They include writing, architecture, linguistics - some fields we dont traditionally associate with computer science.

Some of the other pages have some good resources too. The Medical Sim City page (tagged: See how simulation technology is being used to create better doctors, nurses and other medical professionals) looks like it has some interesting things to help cover the modeling and simulation info in the APCS Principles course, for example.

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AP Computer Science Report Virginia is for some Coders

The AP data is out for 2013. Some great increased nationwide. AP Computer Science went from 26,103 to 31,117 total exams given, a 19% increase. This was the highest increase out of all of the subject areas. But keep in mind AP Calculus had 282,814 exams last year, so we have a ways to go.

Virginia had 1655 AP Computer Science  exams with a mean score of 3.12. Last year we had 1430 tests with an average of 2.98. Over the past 5 years there has been an 81% increase in the number of APCS exams given. This year was also the highest mean score for the past five years, so some great progress has been made.

According to the state report card 67,805 students took AP exams in 2013 (data here). So teh APCS exam accounted for about 2.5% of the overall number of AP exams given.

Which all sounds great, until you start to look a little deeper.

When you look, in 2013 the number of black students taking the exam was 3. Our max in the past 5 years was 6. Six. That year my personal AP class was 1/3 of those African American students.

Demographically Virginia is about 20% black. With roughly 375,502 students enrolled in Virginia public high schools last year (2013 enrollment data) that means we have roughly 75,000 African American students at the high school level, and 3 took the AP Computer Science exam.

If we randomly assigned students electives we would have fared better.

And you can look at any of the subgroups and see the same trend. For instance for the 2013 exam 25% of the 8 Hispanic students to take the exam sat in my classroom.

Now Im a big believer at starting with data and getting to the stories underneath. The bottom line in Virginia is access.

For instance, Richmond city schools, a predominantly African American school district has no computer science classes. None, zippo, zilch.

This is not about diversity for diversitys sake. This means these kids do not have access to jobs. According to the Bureau of Labor and Statistics Virginia is 4th in the nation for jobs in this area, but 12th population wise. This means we have the highest concentration of jobs nationwide in computer science. Washington DC and Virginia rank #1 and 2 for salary nationwide - so these great jobs cannot be filled by huge numbers of our children. A child sitting in Kindergarten in Richmond City Schools today may never even know this field exists, literally blocks from the front door of their school

And at a deeper level, computer science is the tool we use to solve human problems. Being the person holding the tool means you get to decide what is a problem and what gets a solution. These numbers mean these communities do not get to participate.

So to change the data, we have to change the stories. Every high school in the state needs computer science classes that are rigorous and relevant for its students. That means trained teachers and a working curriculum. Kids and parents need to know that this is an option for them, that they can create using this tool. They need to be able to tell their stories as we build the future.

A few things to put Virginia in Context:

• Virginia has not adopted common core
• Our K-12 end of course tests are called the SOLs (Standards of Learning). Yes, really
• AP Computer Science counts as a 4th math credit here, but only if you are going for an advanced diploma, and you have passed Alg II. were working on it
• We are a Commonwealth, which means our school systems are driven at the local level, not by top down policy and curriculum from the state.
• Out legislature meets either 4 or 6 weeks a year, thats it. 

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Using In built Modem for Huawei Dongles in Windows 8

Using In-Built Modem Dialer for Huawei Dongles in Windows 8

As you all are aware that by using Huawei or any other companys 3G dongle, we can surf the web at high speeds on-the-go.  There are lots and lots of 3G dongle models are available in market that will suit your need.  Previously, we used to buy a carrier-locked 3G dongle that will not accept any other Operators SIM card for use.

But now, Huawei itself has launched its own range of dongles that are factory unlocked and ready to be used with every Operators network.  Just insert the SIM, and start enjoying High-Speed 3G Internet on-the-go depending on the availability of Network in your locale.

But what if you dont want to mess up with your Operating system by installing extra software eating up your system resources.

In this post, you will see how we can use in-built modem dialer of Windows 8 to get connectivity with Huawei Dongles.

You need only to download and install latest Huawei Dongle drivers and you are ready to surf the web without any headache.  If you have already installed Mobile Partner, then you dont need to download anything else.

Windows 8 offers in-built Modem Dialer for Mobile Broadband so that you can surf the web in seconds without having trouble.

After installing Drivers, just restart the system and you are ready to surf the Internet via Dongle.

 
 
Steps to use In-built modem:

• Plug-in your Huawei Dongle on your Windows 8 Machine.
• Click on Network Icon on your Windows 8 taskbar.
• Find your Dongle under Mobile Broadband and click Connect.
• Enter APN (Access Point Name) and you are ready to surf the Internet.

By this method, you can only connect to Internet.  Unfortunately, You CANNOT check Balance or make calls from this method.  You need to install Mobile Partner Dashboard to accomplish those services.  You can get latest version of Mobile Partner here.

Steps to install:


Extract ZIP and open DriverSetup.  Open as Admin by right clicking.  After Install restart machine. 

Download Details:
File Name:  Huawei Drivers.zip
Version: 4.25.06.00
Size:  6 MB

Download link:
http://www.mediafire.com/?fht0ofdbf7o5e3f

Pass:  computerworldblog


Enjoy...
Comments welcome...

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Get email alerts in your mobile for free

Guys now you can get free email alerts in your mobile.....
which will block unnecssary alerts such as Facebook.com
- Orkut.com
- Horoscopefree.com
- Bagittoday.com
- Linkedin.com
- Firstnaukri.com
- Chingoracle.com
- Snapdeal.com
- biorhythmfree.com
- ibibopromotion.com
- bmsrv3.amubm.com

To activate this alerts,visit this website.

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Preparing for pitch day

Preparing for Pitch Day. Im am preparing for Pitch Day, Pitch Day is when I go and pitch my idea to a school board and they ask questions and think my idea is good or not. For Pitch Day I need to have a video to show to them that shows my idea. I need to make the video about computers and Im going to talk about my way Im going to build computers. In order to be ready I still need to make a video and figure out how Im going to explain my idea. I also need to probably post a little bit more on my blog so look out for that. I may or may not need to but still look out for more posts in the future I might try to put a calendar for when they come out to so. Thats a little bit about pitch day.

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Recruiting for Computer Science the AP Potential Report

For many high schools it is recruiting season. If you school has an AP program there is a little kown report, called the AP Readiness Potential, that can help you in attracting kids to your classes. This is an especially helpful way of identifying girls and other groups that may not already be taking your Computer Science classes.

Basically this report takes students PSAT scores and predicts the AP tests they are statistically likely to score well on. It is based on a past correlation between past PSATs and AP exams.

While we do not yet have this for APCS Principles, since no AP tests have been given yet, we do have it for the current APCS class.

A new feature is teachers can now log in to see the reports. To access the report you will need an access code. You can get this code from the person in your building that coordinates the AP exams. I find that person often doesnt know about the report, or have any idea of how to find the code.

You can call to get your schools code. The number is 866-630-9305. You just have to identify yourself and your school.

The login for the site is here. Youll need an account for AP Central. Once you pull the report the site even has sample letters to send home to parents. I have found letters directly to parents to be a powerful way to attract kids to computer science.

Long term I am very curious to see how this test correlates for the new APCS Principles class. Since much of the assessment for this course will be written it will be interesting to see if a correlation with the writing section of the PSAT.

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Breaking News! Computer Science for Graduation Credit

In case you missed it Washington state now allows computer science to count as a math or science credit towards graduation.

For the IB diploma cs has recently moved from an elective to a science credit.

Here in VA there has been a lot of conversation around where cs should sit at the high school level. For us it currently sits as either a CTE credit or as a math elective after Algebra II.

The issue comes in for kids planning on pursuing more education in technical fields. The reality is they need more than Algebra II.

Does anyone know of any other states moving this direction?

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Top 10 Computer Science Tweets for APCS Principles

APCS Principles has a lot of great places to include articles and news about computer science for student readings. Here is a summary of some of the more interesting ones I have posted on Twitter recently:

• Computer chemists win Nobel Prize - great read for #APCSP, and every guidance department in us high schools
• Breaking Brick Stereotypes: LEGO Unveils a Female Scientist
• Data Unit - Ten Simple Rules for Reproducible Computational Research 
• Data  - Future of Statistics  
• Rage Against the Algorithms 
• Potential for #apcsp? Open auto essay scoring engine from CMU looking for pilot schools 
• First 2 3D printers in Haiti - printing umbilical cord clamps & other medical devices. 
• Simple testing can boost CS education 29% overnight!
• Whats the coders responsibility? Facebook-alpha testing program not for the faint of heart
• Advertisers could track your smartphone through accelerometer, researchers find 
• Every Second on the Internet 
• 
  

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Getting Things Done for Teachers

Teaching can be like a field trip back to 1982. Phone access is limited and the web is filtered (if it is working at all that day).

So trying to stay productive in a web 2.0 world can be a challenge.

1982 called - they want their technology back

One of the best tools I have developed over the past few years is adapting the principles of David Allens GTD to the classroom.

The system is pretty inclusive, and you can read about it in lots of details in his books. For me there are two parts that have worked especially well in the classroom.

The first is changing how you tag your to do list. I used to keep it by noun- or topic. So it was sorted by APCS, Intro class, or Website. In other words I listed things by what part of my job they were related to.

Which had nothing to do with WHAT I actually had to do.

So now I keep the list by verb. By what I actually need to do. So I have a phone call category and a errand school category. And grade and email categories, you get the idea.

As you all know just getting to the phone or to the office to check your mailbox can be a real challenge. I want to make sure when I get to use the phone I have a full list of ALL the parents I need to call. If I am going to make the 5 minute trek to the front office (my lab is in the absolute back corner of the school) I want to make sure I have everything I need with me.

To support this I built a binder specifically for my planning period where I stick all the paperwork that fits these categories, so everything is in one place when I actually get planning time. That typically is about 30 - 45 minutes a day, so that time is pretty valuable.

I use Remember the Milk for my list. It makes filtering by activity super simple and I can add things on my phone. There is a free version of the app.

The second part I really use is the weekly review. The idea is you regularly go through all of your inboxes - email, mailbox, papers to grade, all of it, and you build and capture what is there and what needs doing. This year I am managing these reviews about every other week due to my limited planning time.

Again, there are tons of web resources out there describing different takes on this. I keep it pretty basic. The idea is everything you touch (or open in the case of email) gets planted somewhere. For me it is either a to do, something to store and reference later, or trash/recycle.

Included in this is a review of the calendar. I look over the past few weeks to see if there is anything unfinished still hanging out there, and look ahead and cross check my lesson plans so I am not tying to do a class discussion on the day of the senior picnic.

Anyhoo, I keep getting asked this year how I get everything done. Frankly I dont, but having this system in place lets me really concentrate when I need to without worrying that I am forgetting something. And sometimes the appearance of efficiency is almost the same thing.

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Data for Dates

My latest post is over on the CSTA site - Enjoy!

http://blog.acm.org/csta/

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Apply for the next phase of the CS Principles Pilot

Apply Here

From CSPrinciples.org:

The College Board’s AP Program and the CS Principles (CSP) project team invite you to complete an institutional survey as part of recruitment efforts for the next phase of course and exam development. The information you provide will be reviewed by a search committee to help with the final selection of 50 institutions (roughly 40 high schools; 10 colleges/universities). This cohort of pilot schools will continue piloting the course under the auspices of the College Board for the next three years. That is, we expect selected pilot schools to begin piloting the course next academic school year (2013-14) and continue piloting the course until the end of academic school year 2015-16. The AP CS Principles course is scheduled to launch in the fall of 2016, with the first AP exam administration in May 2017.
 
To complete the survey go to: Complete the AP CS Principles Pilot Institutional Survey, you must also upload a syllabus as part of your application.

The deadline to complete the survey and upload the syllabus is Wednesday, April 17.

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Mobile Partner Dashboard for Windows 8

Huawei Mobile Partner Dashboard

Mobile Partner by Huawei

FULLY SUPPORTED WITH WINDOWS 8

Mobile Partner is a dashboard software available for Huawei Internet Dongles created by Huawei Technologies.  Here you will find latest version of Mobile Partner with almost every operators Internet setting built in.

Almost everywhere on Internet, there are lots of Mobile Partner Dashboards available for download, but unfortunately none of them will work with Microsofts latest Operating System Windows 8 because of their driver incompatibility.

In this post you will find Mobile Partner latest version, which is fully supported and compatible with Windows 8, 100% tested working.

This is a 100% clean download and company-provided Dashboard and it is not modified in any state.

Screens:

Images and Logos are copyrighted to their respective owners.  Do not copy/reuse without permission.

With its Easy-To-Use One Click CONNECT button, you can get yourself connected within few seconds.  Enjoy High-Speed Internet On-The-Go with this new Dashboard.  Almost all network profiles are integrated by default from Huawei in this dashboard.

Download Details:

File Name:  Mobile Partner.zip

Supported OS:  XP/Windows 7/Windows 8

File Size:  25.5 MB

Version:  23.009.09.02.910
Date Updated:  20 July 2013

Download Link:

Click To Download

Enjoy...

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Save 35 on Official Books and Training Videos for Autodesk 2013 Software Products

Whether youre just starting out, or a seasoned professional, it can be tough to keep up with the software innovations from Autodesk. Let Sybexs team of expert authors help you get up to speed with the 2013 versions of Autodesks most popular software packages. 

New Video Training Products for AutoCAD®, Revit®, and Maya®

In addition to our full line of books, we can now offer you more than eight hours of video training for AutoCAD, Revit Architecture, and Maya from the Sybex authors youve come to rely on.

Order Now! Offer expires November 30, 2012

To save 35%, enter code ADK13 in the Promotion Code field as youre checking out.

Please read our Discount Terms and Conditions for more information.

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Computer or laptop !! Shop for Hewlett Packard E1Z84UTABA 800ed Sff I7 3 4 4GB 500GB W7p w8p64 Sby

Pay for Hewlett Packard E1Z84UTABA 800ed Sff I7/3.4 4GB 500GB W7p-w8p64 Sby Alternative proportions

Rankings:

Hewlett Packard E1Z84UTABA 800ed Sff I7/3.4 4GB 500GB W7p-w8p64 Sby Economic capacity

UPC: 887758591017 Weight: 20.200 lbs

Read more »

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Computer or laptop Ideal for Lenovo Commercial Systems Lenovo ThinkCentre M72e Tower Pentium G850

Good for Lenovo Commercial Systems Lenovo ThinkCentre M72e Tower Pentium G850 most desirable value

Scores:

Lenovo Commercial Systems Lenovo ThinkCentre M72e Tower Pentium G850 preferred total price

1 15.3" 16GB 16.6" 2 2.90 GHz 20.72 lb 280 W 3 3MB 3 Year 3597C5U 4GB 5 GT/s 500GB 6 6.3" 64-bit 7200 A new era of performance and manageability ThinkCentre M Series continues to expand cost- and management-control capabilities, providing enterprise users and IT managers with smarter ways to be more productive. Our latest models offer improved overall system performance, optimized for the most demanding applications, from video editing to 2D/3D image design and more. Expanded power management compatibilities help you achieve new levels of energy efficiency, while Dual Independent Display (DID) support enables you to view up to four screens simultaneously. Lower costs while improving productivity across your enterprise. ThinkCentre M72e 3597C5U Desktop Computer Keyboard Mouse ThinkVantage Product Recovery ThinkVantage System Update ThinkVantage Power Manager ThinkVantage Communication Utility View Management Utility Lenovo Solution Center Lenovo Message Center Plus Lenovo SimpleTap Norton Internet Security (30 days of virus definitions) Adobe Reader Skype for Windows Windows Live Essentials Microsoft Office 2010 preloaded; purchase product key to activate Corel Burn. Now (DVD RW) Corel DVD MovieFactory (DVD RW) Business Black DDR3 SDRAM DDR3-1600/PC3-12800 DVD-Writer DVD R/ RW Desktop Computer Dual-core (2 Core) G850 Genuine Windows 7 Professional Gigabit Ethernet H61 Express HD Graphics Intel Lenovo Lenovo Group Limited M72e Mouse No Pentium RoHS Serial ATA/300 Shared ThinkCentre ThinkCentre M72e ThinkCentre M72e 3597C5U Desktop Computer Tower Yes www. lenovo.com/us/en/

Read more »

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AutoCAD 2014 Available For Download

AutoCAD 2014 is now available for download from Autodesk.com

Go to

http://www.autodesk.com/products/autodesk-autocad/free-trial

Choose your language and 32 or 64 bit operating system and download.

AutoCAD for Mac 2014 is not yet available, only the Windows version.

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AutoCAD for MAC now available!

It’s finally here.  AutoCAD for MAC is now available for download.  Go to http://www.autodesk.com/autocadformac. 

Autodesk is expecting a high demand for this download so if you have issues just wait a try later on.  The Student community should also be available.

Well, fanboys (and fangals) you got your wish.  Download the trial and see if it was worth Autodesk’s resources.  Remember, AutoCAD MAC doesn’t have every function that “regular” AutoCAD has, but most of what you need is there.  What do you think of it?

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HOWTO Build a Fortress for Your Home SOHO Network

**** Content is updated for SmoothSec 3.4-1 on January 30, 2014 ****

Hardware



(A) Unified Threat Management System (UTM)

Minix Mini HD PC (J&W) :

CPU - Intel ATOM D2550 (dual-core and 4 Hyper-Threading)

Chipset - Intel NM10

GPU - Intel GMA 3600 Series

RAM - 2 x 2GB (DDR3-1066 SO-DIMM) 4GB

Hard Drive - 1 x 2.5-inch Hard Drive (80GB or above)

Networking - Dual Broadcom 57788 Gigabit Ethernet



(B) Intrusion Detection/Prevention System (IDS/IPS)

Minix Mini HD PC (J&W) :

CPU - Intel ATOM D2550 (dual-core and 4 Hyper-Threading)

Chipset - Intel NM10

GPU - Intel GMA 3600 Series

RAM - 2 x 4GB (DDR3-1066 SO-DIMM) 8GB

Hard Drive - 1 x 2.5-inch Hard Drive (120GB or above)

Networking - Dual Broadcom 57788 Gigabit Ethernet

USB Networking - PCi USB 3.0 Gigabit LAN Adapter UE-1000T-G3 or Level One USB Gigabit Ethernet USB-0401



* A switch is also required for this setup if you have more than one computer.



I prefer the setup is as the following :



Internet - SmoothSec (Suricata) - Router (Untangle UTM) - Switch (any switch) - Computers



Software



(A) Untangle 10.0 (64-bit) as UTM

Make sure you install the Lite Package which is free of charge. If you want to purchase their services, such as Standard, you can install Standard Package. For home/SOHO, Lite Package is enough.



After the basic installation, you need to create an account to the untangle.com in order to install Lite Package (or Standard Package).



(B) SmoothSec 3.4-1 (64-bit) as IDS/IPS with Suricata

Before setting up your SmoothSec, you need to upgrade the SmoothSec scripts to 3.6 and follow the instruction at the link just provided.



To set up IDS/IPS with Suricata, you can follow this section. Make sure you select “suricata” as AF_ENGINE in the configure file. Meanwhile, you should follow this section to set up.



For rules handling, you can refer to this link.



To fully understand the setup, you can read this article even it is written for 3.6 (not yet released at the moment) and the concept is the same.



Conclusion



Due to the high performance of AF_PACKET of Suricata, Broadcom 57788 Gigabit Ethernet and the Intel ATOM D2550 CPU, the network can play 1440p Youtube video without problem. The QoS is set to Medium in the Untangle 10.0 is recommended.



Meanwhile, Minix Mini HD PC is around $120-US (barebone without RAM and Hard drive) and the hardware cost is not too expensive to setup a fortress to your home/SOHO network. The running cost of this setup is very low as the software are free of charge. The footprint of the Minix Mini HD PC is very small. Smaller than a standard ITX computer case.



If you do not know how to manage SmoothSec (Suricata), you can install Untangle only.

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What Nils Brauckmann didnt say for SUSE to grow openSUSE must shrink

In a recent press announcement (see here) the new President and General Manager of SUSE, Nils Brauckmann stated,

"By operating SUSE as a separate business unit focused on the Linux marketplace, we can accelerate our delivery of high-value Linux solutions that help organizations enhance growth, reduce costs, tame complexity and spur innovation,"

and

"Now we are sharpening our focus on making SUSE Linux Enterprise the preeminent Linux distribution across physical, virtual and cloud environments."

Makes sense, but keep reading.

"I am thrilled to lead this business and team in our pursuit of providing comprehensive Linux solutions that solve real problems for IT and the line of business. With a laser focus on making SUSE successful, we are committed to the products and services that our customers and partners rely on to run their businesses.

Moreover, we recognize and celebrate the value of the openSUSE Project and will remain a strong supporter of the openSUSE community," said Brauckmann.

"We reiterate our long-term commitment to the open source communities at the heart of our ecosystem. Our presence in these communities will help our customers benefit from the rich value of Linux, while encouraging the collaboration that has made Linux the foundation of so many computing environments today."

I have broken the last statement into 3 paragraphs to make things easier to understand.

The action taken by Attachmate so far implies they want to make SUSE a strong and successful competitor, splitting it from Novell, dropping Mono, as Nils stated they want to sharpen their focus on SUSE.

But how can SUSE be successful or maximize its revenue when its strongest competing product is openSUSE?

openSUSE is more than a community project, it is a strong and free alternative to SUSE Enterprise and for that reason those who are interpreting the last statement (I have broken into three) as saying SUSE will continue to support the openSUSE project with the same commitment as Novell could be in for a shock.

A strong supporter but not strong contributor??

Even bearing in mind the last paragraph,

"We reiterate our long-term commitment to the open source communities at the heart of our ecosystem. Our presence in these communities will help our customers benefit from the rich value of Linux, while encouraging the collaboration that has made Linux the foundation of so many computing environments today."

This does not necessarily mean or imply openSUSE, submitting code or patches related to SUSE products upstream is capable of achieving Nils community commitment. In fact when Nils was referring to the open source communities at the heart of our ecosystem, you would be foolish to think that he was referring to openSUSE.

Looking back at Novell/SUSE and their commitment to the openSUSE project, it was a bad business mistake. They effectively provided potential customers with a free alternative. How stupid is that.

They should have adopted a similar approach to RedHat / Fedora. Fedora as a product is not even capable of competing with RedHats commercial offerings. Not only was this a wise business decision but an intelligent one.

If Nils really is committed to making SUSE a success, openSUSE must be crippled or changed into a non competing product.

Despite Novells poor attempts to play down openSUSE many continue to deploy openSUSE in a business/corporate environment.

Even openSUSE Ambassador Carl Fletcher, who is also a Novell Knowledge Partner and has written articles for Linux Format Magazine is of the view that

"If it works with SLED, You can expect openSUSE to work reasonably well if not perfectly."

http://forums.opensuse.org/english/other-forums/community-fun/general-chit-chat/458515-suse-linux-enterprise-desktop-opensuse.html#post2327839

It is common knowledge within the Linux community and IT Professionals that openSUSE is a more than capable product, therefore if Nils wants the SUSE business to grow and succeed, he has to shrink openSUSE.

In its current state openSUSE is too close to SUSE Enterprise and as a result bad for revenue.

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