So, I'm listening to the Cranky Geeks podcast in my search for interesting podcasts. (It's a reasonable show, by the way, if you are interested in what's up with tech.) This week's episode featured a discussion of today's release of Windows Vista and comments from Gerry McCartney, Interim Vice President for Information Technology and CIO,Purdue University.
The funny comment (around 5:30 in Episode 48)?
Dvorak: Does Purdue require incoming students to have computers?
McCartney: No, and we don't require pens and paper either.
The context for Purdue and most other universities is that they are on a forced upgrade path. All new Windows computers will have Vista on them. McCartney's perspective is that they have to be ready for whatever technologies their students bring to campus.
So my other comment - another one that has nothing to do with knowledge management: You know that Vista is just another Windows operating system release when you check your Sunday newspaper circulars and they are offering a a bunch of variations on the OS: basic, premium, ultimate, business - each at a different price point, of course ($190 - $430). Contrast that with Apple's offering of Mac OS X: one version for everyone ($129).