Re: Back to Windows??
> Hello Craig,
>
> Sorry about not greeting you in the previous message, but that whas not my
> intention.
[much snipaage]
> > > The money issue is relative, Japanese companies are now kicking Linux out
> >
> > yes the money issue is relative: for myself who was a grad student at the
> > start of using linux, money was hard to come by (but time was plentiful
> > *cough*). so $100 should go to RAM (or beer), not MS.
>
> I do understand that, I've been a student just like you. But I'm sure you
> will understand that now I am conducting an experiment in a commercial
> company and every hour spend, by me or my colleagues, will make my boss
> wonder more if the "shop in Seattle" would not be cheaper.
> That is embarassing for me, it slows down the acceptance of Linux in my
> company.
What should be embarrassing is not that you disappointed them somehow with
Debian, but that you set their expectations in the realm of Sun's professional
services devision when you didn't buy a professional contract from VA and
demand your rights from them (that you pay for) instead of yell at us (that
we pay for, or delete).
Or, another distro entirely is what they need, but you didn't search for
any distros except what the major press is talking about. See www.lwn.net
for a weekly news site which keeps a fairly complete list of distros,
including some tuned to special purposes.
I can point you to a book on requirements analysis, or quote you my
consulting rates. Ideally, one of your managers with the applicable
monetary authority should send me private email and describe how much of
my time you want to pay for.
> > > > (4) Free. As in speech. The source code is open, which means no one
> > > > has
> > >
> > > Hans:
> > > I don't follow this argumentation. The fact that the source is open is
> > > in ...
> > > therefore yes: Any software controls my computer.
> >
> > true, but my point is who controls the software and what input do you
> > have. with MS (or Sun, Apple, HP, ...) the only tool you have is the
> > marketplace (don't buy it if you don't like it). with open source, you
> > can fix it yourself or (more likely) there will a group of people who have
> > a similar problem and work on a solution.
>
> This is the same argument that I hear over and over again. In most cases I
> don't want to fix it, I don't have the time, money or skills available to
> fix it. And concerning groups of people ..., for the two relatively simple
> problems I have (probable not simple solutions) I could not found a hint
> anywhere and all alternatives made the problem just worse.
> I'm just scared as hell to take the next implementation steps in the project.
Asking for hints of various flavors gets you better results here than yelling
at us that we didn't meet your (not telepathically transmitted) expectations.
If you tell us what area you're in there may be a user group around.
> > > > (5) Unixisms: True multitasking, multiuser capabilities. You don't
> > > > have ...
> > >
> > > Hans:
> > > Misargumentation, the file protection system of let's say NT or W2000 is
> > > ...
> >
> > i can't argue that NT or W2k are stable and have good file security. i
> > did have Win9x in mind. One major Unixism i forgot to mention is the "do
> > a single task well and interact with other tools" philosophy. again this
> > is a matter of personal taste on how to get things done. along these
> > lines a major issue for myself is the ability to store my data in ASCII
> > files and easily manipulate them. It helps to know that i will always be
> > able to read them. do-able in windows? absolutely.
>
> I'm not a fan of Bill, but I must say that the file security is excellent.
> Data issue, are you referring to the registry or what ?
I don't consider "supposed to eat the filesystem if compromised" to be "secure"
ACLs are available in linux but need seperate setup.
Windows style shares are very easy though, install samba, have your pick
of too many gui configurators, or edit the text file describing the shares.
> > > Hans:
> > > Right on !
> > > Linux should not be a cult, but I think it is by now .....
> >
> > only to some people
>
> How many is some ?
If you want to be religious about your software it's *your* problem.
If Debian is a religion then some of our tenets are:
software should be free, in the "I can give it to my kids
and know their grandkids will be able to use it
and change it long after I and its authors are gone."
if you see bugs put 'em in the bug base, and we'll try to fix them.
Now I've seen commercial "free" software with time bombs, they almost never
come with code so they can't be fixed, and if I'm *lucky* they will honor my
bug with a "sorry wait for the next release". Here you may get "sorry", but
if it gets fixed you can pick it up anytime, and sorry now may be "oo look I
fixed bug N" by someone else later.
> > > > My testimonial: I got my laptop in Jan,1999 (an ARM TS759. ARM is
> > > > very ...
> > >
> > > Hans:
> > > Mine: I got an all Linux compatible hardware set, because I checked all
> > > ...
> >
> > sorry to hear about your troubles. i hope W2k works for you.
>
> Well, that is what I finally hear from a lot of people. I talked to a lot
> calling themselves Linux professionals and nobody said: "Where is that
> computer of yours and let's fix the damn thing."
Well, I can tell which ones you didn't speak to. We have installfests here
in the silicon valley.
My consulting rates are available via private email. My free efforts are
here and in the monthly Linux Gazette. piss and moaning that MS "does it
better" without describing what you actually want do not get answered in
the gazette, so I recommend that you adjust your 'tude and either ask some
real questions, or shut up.
. | . Heather Stern | star@starshine.org
--->*<--- Starshine Technical Services - * - consulting@starshine.org
' | ` Sysadmin Support and Training | (800) 938-4078
Reply to: