Losing work because I use Linux

I am starting graduate school this fall. New school, new town and this means I am looking for a new job. My girlfriend saw a mention of the website Tutor.com. They offer a web based tutoring service for high school students. I have a fair bit of tutoring experience (and I am a certified high school teacher for mathematics in Illinois) so I figured I was more than qualified for their online tutoring position.

While I was filling out their online application I met all of the requirements except for one:


Their online application was three pages long. Even though I saw the above block on the first page I had a small hope it wasn't a strict requirement because after I checked "no" to having Windows I was able to select that I used "Linux" from a drop down menu. Tutor.com then proceeded to waste another ten minutes of my time while I filled out the next two pages. Immediately after hitting the "submit" button I was informed that my application had failed.

I understand they have certain system requirements, but why they felt it was necessary to waste my time filling out the last two pages after I already marked that I did not use Windows is beyond me. What is also beyond me is why they choose to develop their browser based software for the Windows only Internet Explorer instead of any of the cross platform browsers that exist. Oh and did I mention that they opted to support iOS before they added support for non-Windows desktop operating systems?

I guess I should be used to this by now. I mean it is far from the first time educational software has rejected my operating system of choice. I thought about simply dual booting so I could apply successfully, but then I realized that sticking to my software values is more important than some crummy part time job. If you are a free software supporter I would recommend strongly against using Tutor.com and spreading that same advice to others that you know.

~Jeff Hoogland