Path: utzoo!attcan!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!iuvax!purdue!bu-cs!xylogics!world!bzs From: bzs@world.std.com (Barry Shein) Newsgroups: comp.arch Subject: Re: Fed up with MIPS Message-ID: <1989Oct23.170930.11308@world.std.com> Date: 23 Oct 89 17:09:30 GMT References: <76700077@p.cs.uiuc.edu> <2526@uceng.UC.EDU> <1989Oct22.001109.1008@world.std.com> <27840@amdcad.AMD.COM> Distribution: usa Organization: The World Lines: 61 > >When industry does show up with a supposed donation either they have > >ulterior motives (let's donate one of our XY1000's so they'll buy more > >of them!) or they're looking to get some cheap programming done under > >the guise of "research" (with a tax deduction to boot!) > >First you say that industry would get what they need from education if they >donated funds and then you say that getting what they need is an ulterior >motive. Were you just venting or did you have a point? > >mike ching Yes, the mere donation of something (anything) does not help the situation. This is particularly true when the donation is in the form of a few computers or a contract to do some specific programming the industrial concern happens to need right now. It might help, but that's usually a coincidence. If they want educational programs they have to consider donating funds to educational programs (eg. funds for staff/faculty salaries, unfettered funds for labs, or at least sit down and find out what will really help the educational programs rather than their own short-term marketing whims.) Companies are always running over to universities to dump whatever it is they're trying to create some noise about today. Sometimes this is helpful but it usually leaves the universities back where they started in regards to things like salaries for qualified staff and faculty and creating meaningful educational programs. In many cases it actually leaves the departments involved in a WORSE situation since no one (politically) can say no to a whiz-bang sounding donation but its arrival only strains staff and faculty more to adapt to the new equipment (no joke, very serious problem, it can be like giving a drunk a free bottle of whiskey, if you'll pardon the analogy.) Tails wagging dogs is the problem. There's a hell of a lot more to creating good educational programs than dumping a few PC's on a table and plugging them in. And companies are usually loathe to get much involved in anything much beyond making some equipment available. Yet they'll complain loudly when they discover universities aren't teaching skills they need. Something's got to give. Now do you get my point? Note: Of course there are admirable exceptions to the above and all that, but I think it's safe to say if the corporations are still complaining then the point must be valid. I don't mean to express any ungratefulness to those companies that do understand and do try to help. -- -Barry Shein Software Tool & Die, Purveyors to the Trade | bzs@world.std.com 1330 Beacon St, Brookline, MA 02146, (617) 739-0202 | {xylogics,uunet}world!bzs