Stupid thing to do, but maybe that was her premise?

@TakingItSeriously: Alarmingly ignorant as the teacher's reaction was, at least the teacher was willing to research the matter before involving the authorities.

People make mistakes, and I hope the teacher in question had enough integrity to admit their error.

but that would mean the 'teacher' would have to put her hands on - and USE - the "devils machine"

...can't have that, now, can we?

Next thing ya know...she'd be wanting breast implants, french-tipped nails, a day at the spa and a charge-account!

You do know what happen you you "assume"?

However, everyone seems to have kissed and made up. So looks like teacher learns the meaning of "flamewar", and with luck she'll tone down her rhetoric until AFTER she does her research next time.

If she had done her research beforehand, and it turned out that the student was being scammed into distributing pirated or infected software, we would have been cheering her. The order of steps in a process is so important. You have to mix the cake ingredients BEFORE you cook them.

It does seem that linux is a smarter choice for schools

However, the teacher here does strike me as a socially conservative type (ie. afraid of change) who doesn't want to introduce new ideas to her students. Very typical of those types of people.

(I'm sure there a lot of versions of this expression, just an observation, not trying to offend anyone.)

(I have a pal modding for several different games. Legally and for free. For fun. And for other player's fun. I'm sure this teacher would arrest him.)

Having been one of the few kids that actually got into computers, software, design and art in the area I was forced into classes where we were learning from outdated software on unstable aging windows based computers. The teachers themselves were a joke, basically reading out of books with no real knowledge of what they were teaching. Questions would be met with "um...look in the back of the book".

Now I understand schools do not have a ton of money at their disposal but let me also explain that during my 4 years of high school the school built: A huge new gym to go along with the 2-3 they already had, a new wing that looked nice but only contained 4 classrooms, an updated cafeteria, and pumped money into the play fields of the football, track and other sports. Meanwhile NONE of my classes saw new schoolbooks, computers, or really anything else. My psychology book was from circa 1975!

Again, I know schools have limited funds but still...how many kids really do you think went on to become professional sports players instead of a field that utilized computers, the internet, and anything of that nature? Yea puts things into perspective :/

@Git Em SteveDave loves this guy->★: The same Opie and Anthony who had a guy on talking about how he wanted to rape Condelezza Rice? I thought it was their job to offend everyone...

Not only do the students become a bunch of mindless drones, but so is the second generation of the teachers as well.

If teachers were held responsible for their competence/incompetence, then things like this wouldn't happen. Nope, tenure forces us to keep idiots like this. It's the NEA in action. Unions suck.

That is such an unfortunate name, especially when you're dealing with kids. You KNOW they're going to make fun of it.

I realize that the vast majority of teachers and cops have good heads on their shoulders, but all it takes is to run into a shitty one to cause a ton of problems.

@proskills: "You are not allowed to be both conservative and support the Open source movement." (?)

That has got to be the dumbest statement I've read in years.

Who's bias is showing now?

Not mine - I use a lot of linux stuff everyday and even use open office on my own personal PC.

First comes Linux, then comes teaching evolution in biology class and contraceptive use in sex education. And then Jeebus comes down and kills everyone.

There's a bully in the park and a hero in my baseball bat.

@serreca: Simultaneously insulting and using a real-world, well-known example of "takes one to know one." I love it.

I was IT for a very short time, and, yes, that is typically how we are. I was not, and I believe it is because I only worked for a very short time in the field. What happens is very similar to what I expect happens in the teaching profession. We start out loving the profession and doing a great job, but the constant wear of both regulations and people who never learn breaks our spirit until we are "arrogant, nerdy, [and] look down on others who don't know everything about IT like [we] do..." or, in a teacher's case, until they are "[arrogant], always think[ing] they're right..."

Needless to say, I try my best to solve my IT problems without their help, so as to save them time for those people who never learn.

I plan to homeschool my children. I went to a high school with some of the best teachers in the profession. It was a Blue Ribbon school (top 250 nationally), and in Alabama, no less. But the administration at that school was full of some of the stupidest dictatorial politicians. And the other students were a combination of some of the brightest kids and some of the worst sexually-active druggies I'd ever met.

I just don't want to take the chance that those stupid politicians will arbitrarily choose to push *my* kids toward being druggie prostitutes like they did to so many of my friends.

@SteverMan:
Exactly! Though I would say ignorant more so than stupid. People are born stupid, ignorance takes effort.

Simultaneously insulting and using a real-world, well-known example of "takes one to know one." I love it.

I was IT for a very short time, and, yes, that is typically how we are. I was not, and I believe it is because I only worked for a very short time in the field. What happens is very similar to what I expect happens in the teaching profession. We start out loving the profession and doing a great job, but the constant wear of both regulations and people who never learn breaks our spirit until we are "arrogant, nerdy, [and] look down on others who don't know everything about IT like [we] do..." or, in a teacher's case, until they are "[arrogant], always think[ing] they're right..."

Needless to say, I try my best to solve my IT problems without their help, so as to save them time for those people who never learn.

One of my favorite quotes, who I am unable to attribute to an exact source, is this:

'Those who Can, Do. Those who Cannot, Teach.'

@quagmire0: Wow, what a terrible response. I guess I discounted the asshole effect as well.

We all knew about Linux and the teachers were part of the evangelism.

I am a staunch political conservative, but I am also an open source evangelist. Austin is the most liberal city in Texas and voted over 70% for Obama.

Next time keep your misconceptions to yourself.

Peace.

can't blame her.... a bunch of middleschool kids gathered around a boy with a laptop = suspicious... kid handing out CDs of something he says an adult gave him = scary...

I don't expect a middle school teacher to be skilled in technology - as it is the IT departments are some of the most underpaid IT teams there are.

@johnva: But when you think about software piracy these days, and you see someone passing out burned copies of software, I think you would probably assume they're doing it illegally. Plus, CD burners have been basically associated with illegal software copying and making copies of CDs. Anytime I see someone burning a CD or handing a burned CD to someone, I assume it's probably a program or a bunch of MP3s.

@serreca: amen to that! This is the dumbest argument I've seen in a while.

Next, we'll hear that he/she was homeschooled because teachers can't provide a good education.

@HIV 2 Elway Resurrected: Yes leave americas toilet aka texas out of it.

@Absent minded or just absent: Read Murph1908's response. That's what I was talking about. It's painfully obvious you didn't read what I wrote correctly.

@HIV 2 Elway Resurrected: Every thing is bigger in Texas; even the idiots.

And kudos to the response, it was well though out and unlike the vicious and ignorant original letter it was actually backed by truth.

While it may be true that slashdot already covered the story and there was a backlash then. You may want to step back and realize that not everyone reads slashdot and this may be the first time they've seen this story. Thus, there will be a 'Consumerist effect', despite your best effort to discredit it.

But what's funny is that she wouldn't have been able to "pursue charges" anyways... That'd be like me trying to sue another kid from school for having a pirated copy of some CD on his harddrive. I mean, sure, I could alert the company that owns the music, but I couldn't personally sue him!

But beyond that she was forcing her own opinions on her students. MS products are "obviously" the best out there? That is a quite the unsubstantiated statement.

And regarding Ken's response, I don't think HE was out of line either...because what he said is true and accurate. Most of the world still relies on Microsoft Windows - an inferior operating system by any comparison...once again...I'm saying that as someone who uses Windows both at work and at home.

It IS painfully obvious, but in the opposite direction than which you claim.

This is my favorite line. I never really thought about how much schools must waste on Microsoft software, especially since students would be happy with whatever they're given...

Living in Texas does not mean I'm from Texas either. Some of their laws and policies really grate on my nerves.

...Then he and some other kids went under the bleachers and smoked pot.

I've worked several jobs dealing with end users and found that most people who sit in front of a computer all day don't know the first thing about them. They just type what they've been told to type into the blanks on the screen and that's it. If you go to their house and look at their personal machine, you'll find the default Windows background and an unused AOL Internet icon on their desktop that was there the first time they turned on the machine. Couple that with a slight misinterpretation of those radio commercials for the anti-piracy foundation (or whatever it is) and this is the result.

And yes, I think complacency is part of the problem. But I have to stand by my statement that I think there are more stupid people in education than in many other professional fields. I've never encountered so many idiots concentrated in one place anywhere else. Maybe the toxic institutional environment/culture of the schools attracts a mix of people who either a) really are passionate about teaching, and thus are willing to overlook the problems, and b) people who are too stupid to steer clear. At least that's my theory.

[www.google.com] <-- a search for 'helios'

A search for 'helois linux' is much more relevant of course. Apparently she doesn't seem too technically minded so perhaps advanced two word searching might be foreign to her.

As the original blogger points out, this woman has no clue about the tidal wave of Nerd Rage that is about to fall on her empty head. This story is everywhere and spreading fast. There is enough information in the original blog post tofigure out which school she works at. I would guess they are getting phone calls already.

The blogger has the opinion that the teacher is towing the line fed to her by her union. I think there is a god chance this is true. She has been taught that any music or software that is on unlabeled CD's or DVD's must be pirated.

Ass.

But wasn't she supposed to be teaching a class on computers/technology/programming in the first place??

Then again, I went to high school in Detroit, where the city required all students to take a class on computer proficiency so you'd know a little about word processors, database, etc. However most schools didn't have computers, much less a computer literate teacher. Many of my friends attended the class taught by a bored Phys. Ed. teacher who would draw a rectangle on the board and say "This is your monitor..."

/g'hyuk.

Or the outrage when they're informed they can't bring their laptops in from home and have them connected to our network.

Or the disbelief that you won't crack their personal box open and poke around inside during work hours.

Wait, that last one sounded a little odd for some reason...

God I hate my state. I wish I could move.

If my mother was a teacher I could see this happening, she barely knows how to check her email and surf the web.

I think this woman was probably well intentioned and just in this case, was wrong.

If this had been some pirated software or porn that had been confiscated, you would probably all be applauding her.

Just sayin.

And both times, he got lots of attention and probably lots of donations for his project. At this rate, expect our brave hero to confront his next astounding idiot by March.

That said, I'm glad she wasn't personally identified, nobody deserves that.

@quagmire0: Actually, if you read both links (which takes about ten minutes if you want to pay attention) it seems that it was originally shared over at Slashdot and all hell broke loose after that.

Ha, LOL, and we have cars and cities and everything too! Imagine that!

/sarcasm

Cheers!

@SynMonger: Priceless.

Your comment almost destroyed my 24" display and keyboard.

Note to self: do not read possibly humorous material while being a nerd on friday with a mouthful of beer.

"Then again, being a good NEA member, you would spout the Union line. Microsoft has pumped tens of millions of dollars into your union. Of course you are going to 'recommend" Microsoft Windows'. To do otherwise would probably get you reprimanded at the least and fired at the worst. You are only doing what you've been instructed to do."

HeliOS should have their lawyer write her a nice little letter, and make her apologize for her lack of common computer knowledge.

@tc4b: Me too. Looks like both parties are better off because of this incident.

"Try to teach a teacher something, then get back to me."

BTW, if you follow the second link, the teacher in question does admit to being wrong to having learned a lot about technology as a result.

@crashedpc: I read them all, but it's still appalling the conclusions she came to without a simple phone call, and the letter she was all too eager to type without verifying facts. I'm glad they understand eachother now but the fact remains, none of this would of happened if she picked up a PHONE to call this man in the first place.

PEOPLE are ignorant, and some people are teachers. No matter what your profession, there are ignorant people practicing it.

As part of my position here, I have, in fact, taught things to many teachers.

"This concept makes people's heads explode, and then they go on to teach our kids."

"I am sure if you contacted Microsoft, they would be more than happy to supply you with copies of an older verison of Windows and that way, your computers would actually be of service to those receiving them..."

Yes, because Microsoft is all about giving away Windows.

More than a few times we'd get cease and desists from the COPYRIGHT OWNERS who didn't like it.

I became ostracized at one point when I refused to pirate MS Office on all the computers in the building- a direct order from the principal. Ironically, Open Office is free so it really applies here.

/worked in public schools for 6 years, higher ed for 3

HOW DO YOU PLEAD?

She overreacted to something that needed a reaction. I'm guilty of that for sure and, if I was ignorant of what I was reacting to, overreact ignorantly.

Anyways, be sure to read the second link. It really helps bring issue to being settled.

The guys and gals working on Linux may be nice enough to donate their time, but that time has value.

He's talked with her, and is installing linux for her on Saturday :)

Try to teach a teacher something, then get back to me.

That's so cute!

This reminds me of a lady who called in to complain about Opie and Anthony the other day because they were talking about "Call in Gay Day" or "A Day w/o Gays". She took the time to call and complain as well as fire off letters, and chastised O&A for doing something which "offends everyone". They called her back, and even after it only taking ten seconds to look it up on Google and realize it was a campaign by Gay Rights Activists, she refused to apologize.

@TakingItSeriously: "Gee imagine that. The teacher will pursue charges rather than actually try to teach the students why this is wrong "

What's that supposed to mean? This is one teacher out of hundreds of thousands. Sounds like you are lumping all of them in the same intelligence group as her. A little unfair, don't you think?

I'm sorry you made it through however much schooling you had without a teacher you admired, and I'm not being sarcastic.

But that line is so lame, you can use a few bad examples to slime any profession you want.

1) Find an idiot (easy enough to do)

2) Find what he/she does for a living

3) Insult entire profession

Like so:

1) George W. Bush

2) President

3) Presidents is stoopid! Hyuh hyuh!

But not everyone knows this. This is made evident by the fact that Ben felt it necessary to inform us, the reader, "Linux is a free and open-source operating system, it's meant to be passed around without cost"

Going of half-cocked? Sure. She could have done some research before sending off the email.

But how many of us have posted a quick comment to a post before even RTFA? It happens so often, we created an acronym for it.

This is humorous post about a teacher who got caught up in the anti-piracy movement, and leaped before she looked. It's nothing to get our panties in a bunch over.

Boy, if I was that kids MOTHER... no one calls my kid a liar and steals whats rightfully theirs. Woman must of fallen from the highest branch of the stupid tree and got hit with stupid all the way down. I hate when people do things without THINKING first. "Gee, on the off chance this child was telling the truth..."

I will still be fuming about this at 2:00pm this afternoon when I have parent-teacher conferences about my own kids.

I wish they would fire teachers like this, it only makes our kids grow up to be more stupid than they already are.

I hope she spends years digging through every resource she can, trying in vain to bring these marauders to justice. Seems like a pretty good use of her valuable time.

@friendlynerd:

Wow... I would LOVE to see the reaction when the teacher finds out she is wrong.

Gee imagine that. The teacher will pursue charges rather than actually try to teach the students why this is wrong ... I think that statement is what sickens me, and I think this teacher should be fired for having the wrong attitude.

Don't mess with Texas.