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Perception of Linux Among IT Undergrads
iconian writes: "The Linux Journal has a story on IT students and their perception of Linux. One of the funnier myths perceived to be true is that 'Microsoft's technical support is the best in the industry and is superior to that offered by the Linux community.' It just goes to show how little real world experience students have. It's a bit disturbing considering they will be the next generation of technology workers."
Was this in Computer Science, or Information Systems Management? There is a world off difference starting with IQ, personallity, ..
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MSCE
Microsoft
System
Certified
Engineer
Took me a bit to figure this. I guess this training is primarily on how to set your alarm clock so that you wake up early enough daily to reboot your employerrs NT servers. I understand that NT servers need this daily.
Ross Youngblood
"Basically, in the past when Ive had a NT/2000 or MSSQL issues I've paid my $200 bucks and got it worked out... everytime."
Ok, but consider this: It's a pretty commonly known fact that commercial software vendors release products with known, but usually obscure, bugs in place so they can make you pay support costs later as your encunter these bugs.
Now, let's look at the other side of the coin:
"Anytime I've had a Linux issue I have basically been told to RTFM."
That's because the answer can (usually) acually be found in the "FM". There are no secret agendas to hide the answers from the end user in the hopes of screwing them for support money later.
This is one more reason people turn to Windows instead of Linux: The uber-geek egotistical superiority complex of the loudest Linux users. And unfortunately, the loudest are the ones who get heard.
Do you even realize what you just wrote? You completely discounted about about 7 years worth of students (assuming "late 90s" includes 1995 forward). Well guess what? I graduated in the "late 90s" and I was in love with UNIX. And it was taught to me by others who would also graduate in the "late 90s". They taught me about all kinds of flavors (FreeBSD, Solaris, Irix, HP-UX, and Ultrix to name a few). And yes, even Linux (I popped my cherry on Slackware).
I think we can all agree, each class has those who exceed, those who do just enough to pass, and those who suck. Those who suck are probably too lazy to learn Visual Basic, so screw them. Those who do just enough to pass might not be "Uber-Geeks", but they'll get jobs doing the easier work, and get paid handsomely for it. Good for them. They probably don't want to work in your on-campus lab anyway, since you sound about as friendly and willing to teach as the BOFH.
As for those who exceed... let's just hope they can work their magic without being as jaded and biased as you seem to be.
-FF
SQUEAK, the Death of Rats explained.
Their support is a joke if you're asking a question where something actually went wrong, instead of it being a problem between the keyboard and the chair.
(Just a note, they have always refunded the money a month or two after deducing that they had no fucking clue what was wrong though)
It's a pretty commonly known fact that commercial software vendors release products with known, but usually obscure, bugs in place so they can make you pay support costs later as your encunter [sic] these bugs.
It's a commonly known fact that GWB and OBL were drinking buddies in college, and that yer mom really isn't as much a screamer as they say... You can't just throw out complete bullshit and preface it by saying "everybody knows" and not expect to get called on it.
They release products with bugs because they won't trip for most people, can patch them later, and the alternative is shipping the product 10 years late at 10 times the price tag.
I've finally had it: until slashdot gets article moderation, I am not coming back.
Only people who have never dealt with microsoft support would ever call it "the best in the industry".
;) their support is also excellent.
I've had experience with several vendors support, and here's how I would rate them:
1) HP - outstanding, even their most obscure legacy hardware and software has well documented support databases miles deep, and knowledgeable people are always available. No matter how arcane the problem was, I always got an answer, and it was always the correct one.
2) IBM - if you can stomach AIX
3) Sun - reasonably knowledgeable, even though they are incredibly arrogant at times.
...
995,109) Microsoft - utterly worthless. If you can't find the answer on their search engine, it's virtually guaranteed their support won't be able to help you either. Forget MSDN for developer support. The only thing it's good for is getting regular M$ software distributions. The developer tech support it gets you is utterly worthless. Case in point -- in NT3.1 days I wrote an win32 OCX which easily repeatably bluescreened the whole OS. Something which M$ said couldn't happen. M$ able to reproduce the crash on their end, but were unable to find a solution. In the end they dropped the issue without any resolution and refused to pursue the bug any further. For all I know, my win32 OCX probably still bluescreens NT. So much for MSDN developer support. You are better off with usenet newsgroups and web message boards, than microsoft's so-called developer support. Hell, you are better off getting calling miss cleo's psychic hotline -- you're more likely to get a usable answer from them than you will from M$.
I realize this is an open scource site, but Jesus Christ, could you at least try to have a little bit of credibility, There is a big difference between RTFM and paid support. Go squeeze your pimples you little cretins.
I done read about 4 linear feet of books, took about 3 months' worth of classes, and as of Thursday, I'll have my MCSE. Does that make me the be-all, end-all, uber-hacker? No. But it qualifies me to design and implement Windows 2000 in a corporate environment, lock it down, and make sure it's available 24/7. And it qualifies me to detect your linux box screwing around on my firewall and alert your ISP. I'm not stupid, and your stipulation that MCSE candidates are stupid, not to mention the fact that you're too afraid to back it up with your nick, upsets me more than you know. I love Slashdot, but if I see more tripe like this modded up, I'm going to have to love something else. Like *shudder* activewin.com. Don't make me do it!
Synergy is your friend
So everyone who wants to use a computer for their job needs to become an IT expert also? That sounds real efficient...
...wearing a skin-tight topless leather jumpsuit, with cutaway buttocks and transparent crotch panel.
I have had many long, terribly unsatisfactory phone calls to M$ tech support. Their latest version of Access (2002) which comes with Office XP is one of the causes. It crashes like a fucking bitch every time you scratch yourself.
..."
...
Anyway, the point...
Each call starts out the same. I get someone who can just barely speak English (this is in Australia, by the way) and who has ABSOLUTELY NO EXPERIENCE. They openly admit this. For example:
Me: "Access crashes all the time. When I open a form based on a SQL Server table, and
Them: "Hang on sir. I think you need to talk to our developer support team. I am merely handling incoming phone calls. If you want to speak to someone how has a clue, you will need to pay us $290. Do you have a credit card?"
Me: "But... But... Access keeps FUCKING CRASHING!!! Fix it. Don't charge me $290. Just FIX THE FUCKING THING. Please."
Them: "I will put you through to office developer support and they will explain to you the different methods of payment."
... call transferred
Me: "OK. Screw this paying $290 per cause-of-a-crash bullshit. If it was so fucking crashy, you shouldn't have released it and charged like a wounded bull for it."
Them: "You can view our web site for free if you have the latest version of Internet Explorer. Also, if you pay us $290 and we find that the fault is already listed on our web site, we will refund your money" (!!!)
Me: Slams phone down in disgust.
This has happened probably 30 times now.
In contrast to this, there has not been one Linux / Open-Source software problem that I haven't been able to solve by searching on the net and asking questions in newsgroups.
Linux tech support wins hands down.
Just go to your local elementary school and ask any fifth grader what the Civil War was about.
"It's when the North saved the country and freed the slaves from the evil South." - and that's the mild version that you might hear somewhere in Mississippi.
When the truth of the matter is, when Lincoln said "United we stand, divided we fall" the "we" was referring strictly to those states which were on the North's side, as their federal government definitely would have fallen if they lost all of the revenue (something like 75%) from the Southern agriculture (89% of which was from poor white tenant farmers.)
Ok, I could talk about that all day, but the point is that kids get brainwashed in school at all levels to learn the particular ways of thinking that each education system wants them to learn. If you're in a class where the prof says something you don't beleive, but you want to get a good grade, then you don't stick your neck out because rarely do they encourage debate amongst what they profess to be facts. This is even more scary with younger kids though because when they're in school they want to do what's "right," and for them making the teacher happy is right, so if she says that Clinton ended the cold war and Reagan created the National Debt, the kids beleive her, and it trickles down into later life...
~ now you know