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Upgrade to Windows today! (lemmy.world)
submitted 9 months ago by to c/linuxmemes@lemmy.world
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[–] 35 points 9 months ago (4 children)

Ughgggh. Am I gonna need to get a device I can put propriety garbage on for school?

I should be fine right? A software dev program couldn't possible force you to use windows right?

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  • [–] 28 points 9 months ago (1 child)

    I used a Windows VM when I was in college. Even if you are pursuing a computer science degree, yes, some professors assume/expect that everyone will be using Windows. Using a VM also has the added benefit of you being easily able to get rid of all the programs they made you install as well once the semester is over.

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  • [–] 15 points 9 months ago (2 children)

    Computer science was all Linux at my college. Xubuntu, specifically.

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  • [–] 6 points 9 months ago (2 children)

    CS for me was on SunOS / Solaris.

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  • [–] 4 points 9 months ago

    Same.

    Then I went to work for the company whose code Solaris was derived from. Back in time almost!

    Comically, now, my C and Solaris experience is a marketable skill for reliable employment, albeit less fun.

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  • [–] 22 points 9 months ago (1 child)

    They can force you to use Windows.

    What you can do is ask if using a virtual machine is fine. or don't ask at all and have a virtual machine image of windows ready.

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  • [–] 28 points 9 months ago (4 children)

    As someone who's worked for several years in higher ed IT and used Linux during my studies, this'll only get you most of the way there. Unfortunately some proctoring software (Respondus Lockdown Browser comes to mind) can be incredibly invasive, and to my knowledge will refuses to run in a VM.

    Instructors also have a tendency of not disclosing during registration whether or not they use these proctoring softwares.

    I'm lucky enough that by the time I was all-in on Linux, I wasn't taking courses that used that exam model, but it's why I make sure that the helpdesk at my current institution offers loaner devices to students who either have computers incapable of running the proctoring software, or who simply don't want that kind of software on their own machine. It's a pain in the ass to work with, but apparently it's enshrined in our faculty's union contract.

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  • [–] 6 points 9 months ago (1 child)

    There are some fairly in depth setups to hide the fact that its a VM normally used for testing malware, I winder if those would fool it.

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  • [–] 5 points 9 months ago

    I've heard of some methods to bypass it, but unfortunately to test them I'd need to run a real proctored exam, or have our academic technology group set up a "pentesting" one that I can abuse for this software we pay for a license to. Assuming that didn't land us on Respondus' bad side and jeapordize our license, it would at best be a waste of time and resources since we couldn't guarantee students that it wouldn't get patched or flag them for cheating in the future. The obvious answer is for us as an institution to use better software (or adopt better assessment methods) but software this invasive by nature is generally not going to be open to running on platforms like Linux. And use of proctoring software is unfortunately enshrined in our faculty's contracts.

    And yeah, on the individual level, students themselves can't really toy with getting it to run in a VM without risking failing an exam. Shit sucks.

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  • [–] 3 points 9 months ago

    All my professors taught and programmed in linux, but when it comes to exams, you need windows for the lockdown browser to do your exams. If you only had a linux machine, you won't be passing your classes!

    At least for assignments, the professors requested pdfs and not docx or smth.

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