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Alternative To Windows Desktops
Eric_Z writes "Ace's Hardware has got a article called "The Mad Hatter meets the MSCE" by Paul Murphy, about the TCO benefits of using UNIX(Lintel) instead of Wintel. According to the piece: 'The subject of this article looks at alternatives to the Windows desktop, which is a hot topic these days with IBM/SuSe scoring a highly public win in Munich with desktop Linux, and Sun aiming to build on StarOffice being the leading alternative to Microsoft Office with a software stack code-named Mad Hatter which Sun also plans to use extensively in-house. But companies depending on Microsoft Certified Engineers to adapt to Linux will carry over a number of problems, significantly increasing the chance of project failure. Paul considers the alternatives, the migration problems, and in seeking a more reliable alternative takes the opportunity to look at the business desktop from an entirely different angle, and propose a more radical solution.'"
Well, you know Unix. If you're not using the most obscure, difficult to implement, kludgey possible solution to a problem, you've obviously been brainwashed by M$ into accepting corporate bloatware over "elegant solutions."
"Corporate directory services?? Unix has been around for 30 years and we've never needed any of that bull-shite before! Everything is a file!! Who needs databases! Just use perl scripts and symlinks!!"
If anyone thinks that articles like this are going to prompt enterprises to adopt Linux, I think they are sorely mistaken. If anything, they will cause corporations to fear heterogenius computing environments to the detriment of Linux.
When an article says without actually using the words that all those companies, and the people who maintain them are idiots, you dont win converts to your side of the fence. People are more likely to retrench in an effort to back up their previous decisions.
Look, as a former Career Microsoftie, I can verify that the MCSE community is about 50% losers who I would not trust to tie their own shoe, and about 50% who know what they are doing on SOME if not MOST computing environments. Those are the ones who DONT just do Windows, but are versed in UNIX, Mac and other systems, and are prepared to deal with differences. I would suggest that any company that hires an MCSE who knows no other platform, is a very dumb company.
The fact is that a great many companies are up and running sucessfully on Microsoft software both on the client and the server, and will be for years to come. Articles promoting Linux need to take that fact into account, and become a lot less arrogant and condesending, and more effective at extolling the platform's benefits.
Frankly, a lot of the Linux marketing seems to be much like the democratic presidential candidates. A lot of criticism of their opponent, but short on solutions of their own. That is not how you win. Linux needs to shed the image of zealotry and do more to make the platform attractive on it's own, and not just as an alternative to the current flavor of the month.
I know Linux growth has taken off, but so did a lot of great products that got caught up in rhetorical arguments, instead of improvements, and ended up on the scrap heap of former Microsoft competition.
More honey, less vinegar.
...to call yourself an Engineer then the local homeless crazy bum has of calling himself 'The Emperor of All Known Space'.
You are a glorified Technician. You took a test that people that go through a 6-day Boot Camp can pass. You are really a Microsoft Certified Systems TECHNICIAN. Nothing more, nothing less.
Of course, if you spent 4 to 6 years at an institution of higher learning going over nothing but Microsoft Products and the Engineering principles of those products, as well as how to implement, change and build those products and then spent 5 years in the field prior to taking a professional organization's Engineering test... Then you could call yourself an Engineer.
Real Engineers work themselves to the bone and sweat blood to be called Engineers. At best, you are a qualified and skilled Network Technician. Nothing more and nothing less.
If you ignore the other uses of a tool, does that make the tool less useful, or you less useful?
95% of the work I do is Win32 administration. That's how I know it is the most stupidly designed environment I deal with. My desktops (9X) and servers are stable and secure, but if they were running platforms that account for the others 5% of the work I do, I would have 90% less to do. That would give me 80% more time to... well, play golf, if nothing else. Two days disabling services and undesirable components? You must work at a near comatose pace even if it is Windows you have to deal with. You simply don't get the point that you shouldn't have to do most of that in the first place. Give me an IP address of a Windows box you have directly attached to the internet and an indemnification contract and I'll be at the command line of your machine in less than three hours as Administrator, and it will appear to be from a machine located in Lower Sebobia.