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Off-Topic Discussion => General Discussion => Topic started by: Sasquatch on September 11, 2007, 10:42:04 pm

Title: They wont let me learn
Post by: Sasquatch on September 11, 2007, 10:42:04 pm
Ok, I have this math class and all of the homework, quizzes, and tests are done online.  The only problem is that they require internet explorer to be able to do said work.  I thought all would be peachy if I could just use the internet explorer 5.2 that came on my Mac.  Well no, they want at least 6.0 for the homework site.  I go ahead and go to the internet explorer site to download the update but the explorer site wont let you download explorer for Mac anymore.  I've tried firefox and safari, but nothing works.  I am all out of ideas.  If you guys, in your expert knowledge of everything, would help me find some way to actually do my homework in a suitable fashion, I would be greatly appreciative.   :confused:
Title: Re: They wont let me learn
Post by: Dark RevenantX on September 11, 2007, 11:07:03 pm
Libraries.  Or school computers.  Either way, you're going to be using old ****.
Title: Re: They wont let me learn
Post by: redsniper on September 11, 2007, 11:49:20 pm
Yeah, sounds like you'll have to go the computer lab.

btw, nice sig.
Title: Re: They wont let me learn
Post by: Nuke on September 12, 2007, 02:20:09 am
will wine run on osx?
Title: Re: They wont let me learn
Post by: Kosh on September 12, 2007, 03:24:22 am
I think it would just be easier to use the school computers. You only need to do that once, then proceed to go complain to whomever wrote that site for IE6.
Title: Re: They wont let me learn
Post by: Nuke on September 12, 2007, 10:08:28 am
i tend to boycott services that force you to use one browser over another. technically i boycott anything other than my connection fees as far as using the internet goes. the tech is expensive enough without all the other means they use to steal our money.
Title: Re: They wont let me learn
Post by: Sasquatch on September 12, 2007, 10:56:30 am
Yeah, I know they offer the use of computer labs.  I just wanted to know if my complaining is reasonable in this case.  I wonder if I could form a complaint based on "operating system discrimination," or maybe "assisting in the building of a monopoly." Doubt it though.
Title: Re: They wont let me learn
Post by: jr2 on September 12, 2007, 11:48:23 am
@Sasquatch: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/1419 (IETab) <try that
Title: Re: They wont let me learn
Post by: Sasquatch on September 12, 2007, 12:00:35 pm
Well, it says on the site that the IE tab isn't available for MacOSX :(

Thanks anyway, though
Title: Re: They wont let me learn
Post by: jr2 on September 12, 2007, 12:46:52 pm
Sasquatch, try this one then: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/59 (User Agent Switcher)

This allows you to click Tools > User Agent Switcher in FireFox and change to different User Agents (such as Internet Explorer); this might make it work.
Title: Re: They wont let me learn
Post by: Mars on September 12, 2007, 04:57:37 pm
Konqueror (similar to Safari) has a UI changer, it works like a charm for everything except gmail.
Title: Re: They wont let me learn
Post by: Herra Tohtori on September 12, 2007, 05:16:57 pm
Tried Opera with the "Introduce as Internet Exploder" or "Camouflage as Internet Explorer" option selected? Dunno about the english terms  got Finnish version) but here's where you find them.

While running Opera, press F12 -> Select the lowest option -> Net [right-most tab] -> Browser recognition [lowest option] -> select appropriate setting from the list.


It may or may not work. Worth a try anyway, if it means you could avoid that gargantuan travesty that Microsoft keeps calling a browser.
Title: Re: They wont let me learn
Post by: Sasquatch on September 12, 2007, 09:17:31 pm
Well I've tried most of everything you guys have said, but it still goes back to the operating system not being compatible.  I think my only two options now are to either storm the school with pitchforks, torches, etc.  or to just suck it up and go to the computer lab.
Title: Re: They wont let me learn
Post by: Polpolion on September 12, 2007, 09:37:15 pm
Depending on where you go to school, you can use this as an excuse to not do tests. Or at the very least bug the teacher at every opportunity.
Title: Re: They wont let me learn
Post by: Kosh on September 12, 2007, 09:50:31 pm
Yeah, I know they offer the use of computer labs.  I just wanted to know if my complaining is reasonable in this case.  I wonder if I could form a complaint based on "operating system discrimination," or maybe "assisting in the building of a monopoly." Doubt it though.


It is a valid complaint, since not everyone in the world runs windows.


Online homework and quizes are one of the biggest jokes in education, IMO. In university statics class we had online homework that had a glitch that wouldn't round properly sometimes (in other words, totally defective) and on top of that if you didn't get the EXACT number it wanted (like down to the hendredths place) you would get it wrong.

It was about the most frustrating POS homework that I ever had to do. What is the professor's solution to the fact that his precious online software was buggy? Use Excel. :rolleyes:
Title: Re: They wont let me learn
Post by: Tyrian on September 13, 2007, 12:00:08 pm
We have a similar problem with our online homework website.  When we do exponential equations using 'e' the site actually counts 'e' as a variable instead of the numerical value 2.71...
Title: Re: They wont let me learn
Post by: Nuke on September 13, 2007, 12:25:34 pm
Online homework and quizes are one of the biggest jokes in education, IMO.

my opinion on the matter is that the whole of the education systems are a joke. ive learned more stuff by casueally brousing the internet and watching the history/discovery/pbs/ect channels in the past few years than i ever did in my 2 year associates program. now granted if i had the money to go to a traditional university, i probibly woulda learned more. but there are so many scams associated with education theese days its hard to learn anything. i hold a degree but yet look at my hidous spelling :D
Title: Re: They wont let me learn
Post by: Hippo on September 13, 2007, 01:07:28 pm
my last 2 universities have used a system that can allow you to attatch papers or assignments to the actual assignment description for each class you have, but when run on anything other than IE6 it absolutely insists on launching some java/flash 'browser check' that pops firefox's memory footprint into the 400mb range for no useful reason. online work submission is a bloody joke, because it's not only ****ing annoying for the students to sue, but its also stupidly exploitable
Title: Re: They wont let me learn
Post by: IceFire on September 13, 2007, 09:40:06 pm
All of you that are having problems...what systems are you running into?  I know the popular software in the US is Blackboard (in various iterations).  I didn't realize it was this bad or that restrictive if thats what you're running into.  Certainly an issue.
Title: Re: They wont let me learn
Post by: Hippo on September 13, 2007, 09:41:47 pm
webct, the older form of blackboard
Title: Re: They wont let me learn
Post by: IceFire on September 13, 2007, 09:43:29 pm
I'm familiar with WebCT...help run an installation of it at my job.  Its actually not related to Blackboard...they bought WebCT out last year.

What version of WebCT then...WebCT 4.1 does not require IE6...if it did I would have gone nuts.  Have tested Safari, Firefox, Netscape, Konqueror, and several other browsers with either no issue or very few.  No java check on uploaded files or anything like that in the version we have.  Its pretty old...maybe thats a good thing.
Title: Re: They wont let me learn
Post by: Polpolion on September 13, 2007, 09:45:16 pm
Hey sasqu, are you going to university or high school, or what?
Title: Re: They wont let me learn
Post by: Hippo on September 13, 2007, 09:47:18 pm
whatever WebCTVista is versionwise. The version my 2nd school is using doesnt get quite so annoying as the one my older one did, but i dont know what it was running. Wikipedia says its rater known for bad java use and browser issues... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Webct
Title: Re: They wont let me learn
Post by: IceFire on September 13, 2007, 09:58:15 pm
Yeah thats several versions ahead of us...fortunate :)

They must have amped up the Java use...most of the version we use is with Perl scripts and some other nasty stuff.  Management of these systems is an absolute nightmare.  If you think its bad as a student then just imagine the whole tip of the iceberg thing.
Title: Re: They wont let me learn
Post by: Kosh on September 13, 2007, 10:33:57 pm
All of you that are having problems...what systems are you running into?  I know the popular software in the US is Blackboard (in various iterations).  I didn't realize it was this bad or that restrictive if thats what you're running into.  Certainly an issue.


Blackboard was one of the few online systems that actually worked. The homework sites were something seperate, made by some company somewhere. I just felt the whole thing was copout.
Title: Re: They wont let me learn
Post by: Sasquatch on September 14, 2007, 03:17:44 am
Hey sasqu, are you going to university or high school, or what?

I go to the University of North Texas, the 4th largest University in Texas, I can't believe that there is software that is OS based here.  I even talked to a server tech. and he said that I was ****ed. 
Title: Re: They wont let me learn
Post by: CP5670 on September 14, 2007, 09:20:11 am
I only ever did one course (a basic Java class) with an internet grading system, some proprietary thing developed by the department. I initially ran into some problems submitting my work but otherwise found it okay. I doubt I'll run into such a thing again as those setups are hardly ever used beyond the intro level classes.
Title: Re: They wont let me learn
Post by: Polpolion on September 14, 2007, 11:36:36 am
Hey sasqu, are you going to university or high school, or what?

I go to the University of North Texas, the 4th largest University in Texas, I can't believe that there is software that is OS based here.  I even talked to a server tech. and he said that I was ****ed. 

Oh. If you were going to high school, you might be able to get away with it, but yeah; you're ****ed.
Title: Re: They wont let me learn
Post by: jr2 on September 15, 2007, 03:03:08 am
...You have an Intel Mac?  If so, get boot camp + Win XP.