Re: gEDA-user: geda cygwin package

[John Doty <jpd@xxxxxxxxx>]

On May 15, 2009, at 10:43 AM, Joerg wrote:

> Peter Baxendale wrote:
>> On Thu, 2009-05-14 at 13:25 -0400, al davis wrote:
>>
>>> Educators typically use simulators very poorly, as if they
>>> themselves don't understand.  In most cases, the total use is a
>>> few specified runs with a couple of graphs, that you do after
>>> everything else is done.  A more appropriate use of simulators
>>> is to explore things that you can't see with real measurements.
>>> There is a lot that you can find out about a circuit that you
>>> can't measure in a practical way.
>>>
>>> Students need to learn to be flexible, and they need to learn to
>>> use computers effectively, not just by kicking the GUI a few
>>> times.  EE's, even analog designers, need to learn some serious
>>> programming.
>>>
>>
>> You're right, of course. In mitigation let me say that the particular
>> course for which I use swcad (LTSpice) is 4 x 2hr sessions for a  
>> dozen
>> students who've never seen an electronic cad package before. I try to
>> give them an understanding of the process from design to schematic to
>> test by simulation to pcb. I use gschem/gattrib/gsch2pcb/pcb and  
>> swcad.
>> The choice of swcad was a compromise to give me a better chance of
>> fitting it all in. It just gives them a taster for what might be
>> possible using simulation.
>>
>
> IMHO that was a smart choice. Whether we like it or not, nearly all of
> those kids will be owning Windows-based laptops plus some maybe with
> Apple. It is best when they can simply use the simulator on their own
> laptops so they have a chance to keep working on a problem over  
> lunch or
> on weekends.
>

For a class, a better solution might be a live memory stick. You can  
fit a Linux (I'd probably choose Ubuntu) on a $10 stick. Install gEDA  
et al., make copies, distribute to students. Most likely there will  
be fewer problems this way than dealing with software imported into  
multiple versions and configurations of an alien environment. This  
should even work for an Intel Mac. Then everybody's running the same  
thing, same appearance, same facilities, few surprises (there are  
never *no* surprises). Maybe have 'em hand in their work on their  
stick, save trees...



John Doty              Noqsi Aerospace, Ltd.
http://www.noqsi.com/
jpd@xxxxxxxxx




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