Slashdot runs this kind of stunt from time to time. The whole point is just to boost ad hits. They don't care if people come there for something insightful or because it's utterly moronic; the page hits are the same after all. And it works too - as I write, they're probably high-fiving themselves as they see the hit counters spin.
...and now we know why it was re-posted on/. Those over at elReg responsible for this little jest are likley staggering home from the pub, still laughing "Hehehe, those Slashbots rose to the bait like a pirranah to a steak. Wankers!"
More likely what's happening is the IT department sees a need for X, draws up a budget for X with the company's current platform, and gets the budget rejected. So they just do it anyway with the open source solution, present it as a working solution and off you go.
Hey! This is/.! Where's the anti-Microsoft rhetoric? The bashing of proprietary software for being low quality? Sheesh, you give logical and reasonable arguments. What are you doing? On a Friday afternoon no less? Now my head hurts...
I think most of my OSS installations can be summed up in the above statement, and this one too: "The road to a failed project goes directly through accounting..."
You forget these people may need to send or receive documents from the well-to-do people that are using Microsoft Office already. Communication is supposed to be a two-way street, after all.
Choose your life. Choose blogging. Choose a hosting service. Choose TypePad or WordPress or some other piss you off blogware. Choose to alienate several friends, cow-orkers and other people you think you know. Choose to navel gaze. Choose to anal- yse yourself almost to death. Choose an inane topic and beat it to death with pedantry. Choose to spout off political commentary like someone will actually listen. Choose to sound like you're someone important, just like the other self- important 'me-too!' fuckwads wasting bandwith right along with you. Choose Google Ad Sense so we know you're in it "for love". Choose comment flamewars lasting long into the night Choose blogspam. Choose wasting your life chasing after that elusive posting that will make you a 'journalist', pissing your hopes and dreams down the drain in an on-line ego trip. Choose your future. Choose blogspotting.
I don't use a commercial distro, but what if you find a bug, make a patch and work with the vendor to get the patch in the main distribution? Better still, what if you work with the vendor to make the patch in the first place? Does this cost extra? I hope not.
That's what having the source does - it facilitates collabortion and partnership between you and the vendor.
Because emotions aren't something that one can always control with impunity? Besides, no whinging means you can't complain about the PHB or you cow-orker while on the job - you end up being a good little robot. IME emotions - both good and bad - spark thought, and thought leads to greater productivity. I can see a policy of dealing directly with someone who does _nothing_ but complain and then offers no creative solutions, but trying to program happiness? No thanks.
All of your concerns can be addressed very simply. If Microsoft would write an ODF import/export filter for Office (or commission such a thing), all of the wonderful features are available in the data format that the state desires. It's a win/win.
The only possible reason that Microsoft is withholding support is they can't dictate terms on what programs use ODF, and can't therefore lock out software with "IP imparing licenses" from using the same data format. This is the reason Microsoft is lobbying so hard to get OfficeML in as is - so they can retain control of who uses thier formats. This denies users of Open Source products legal use of OfficeML, unless those project change thier licenses. It's a game of chicken - but the OSS folks have a lot more to lose than Microsoft does.
Office is superior to OOo in most respects, but it comes at a price that is more than monetary. If MS would get of of thier high horse, swallow thier pride and compete solely on technical features (where there is little doubt they will win) all these issues go away.
"They can do lots of things, but still you can't talk to them, and that is one of the things we will get this decade," he predicted.
(Actually, technically, Mr. Gates is wrong here: you can talk to them. They won't do much, but you can still talk to them.)
I disagree. I talk to mine all the time.
"Look. You know the axe near the fire escape? Good. I don't care that it's in a locked cabinet, I'll get it if needed. Blue screen again, whydon'tcha?"
No multiple Next buttons for me. Start Synaptic, find package to install, highlight package to install, click apply and it installs the lastest available version. Run program.
For Windows it's Find CD (If you've already purchased it), insert into machine, read EULA, type in CD key, click next a few times, and then it installs. Then you reboot. Then it updates. Then you reboot again. Then you may have another reboot.
I'd say at this point Linux is easier than Windows.
This is not true. In fact, the distros are each trying to beat the others silly by making package management such a breeze.
All Debian derived systems (like ubuntu) use apt/dpkg, Fedora/RedHat uses yum (or apt4rpm), Suse uses YaST and Gentoo uses portage. All of these will find dependancies for you and generally do the right thing - if the package is available, it will be installed and configured properly.
The only place where this is not true is when there are legal roadblocks (like DVD playback) to using the software in a free OS. Most commercial distros are able to bypass this however, since they pay a fee to the IP rights holder for the use of that IP.
In any event, you can't have checked software installation very recently. Today it's easier on linux than it's ever been on Windows.
Lookie here. Mr. Schmidt is Microsoft's Securtiy Officer, besides being the ex-cyber security advisor to The White House. 'So?', you ask?
If devs were personally liable for bugs, open source development would be hurt big time (If you volunteer code with bugs you get a financial hit), and closed source companies would have another ax over thier developers heads.
This is all very 'interesting', coming from a closed source executive. No conflict of interst there, nope, no way...
Tip #3: If it's the CFO mumbling "I would cheerfully shoot any one of you fuckers in the face to get my last job back", it's time to get the hell to the brokers and cash the stock options.
Where does this idea come from that eveything the RIAA produces is crap, and everything independent is good? No one cares that you don't like popular music, and prefer obscure music.
I never said mainstream music was all crap, or all indy music was good, I said that there is some real trash being made popular by promotion, not artistry. I also happen to like a lot of the main stream music produced today, but shit like "St. Anger" to me means the RIAA is about profits, not music.
What matters is what the majority of people buy, and the majority of people buy music from the record labels. The VAST majority of music on your favorite music sharing site is mainstream music. That's what sells, and that's what people want (and personally, I think mainstream artists are mainstream for a reason, but that's off the topic).
Those artists are mainstream only because an RIAA member company said they'd be mainstream - the marketing dept. has little care for anything that doesn't sell. If an artist makes music that's even better than a mainstream artist, but refuses to do business the way the RIAA wants, they'll never be mainstream.
The RIAA is right about one thing: iTunes is puny to the overall music market. There is no way most artists would "sign" with iTunes rather than sign with the big boys, assuming they actually want good sizes sales.
Perhaps - but 2 or 3 million iTunes users is a really nice audience to have. My point was that the RIAA should be careful, or they could create thier worst nightmare by exluding iTunes.
Musicians with big label contracts have puppet strings firmly attached. Sure, they might like to make more money via direct sales through Apple but the sales side of the music biz is 98% promotion, not fan devotion.
I agree with your statement, but consider this:
If the RIAA takes its ball and goes home, Apple will be able to only promote artists who aren't currently under RIAA control. Crap coming from the teen-idol production machine and manufactured "counter-culture" crap that the RIAA promotes (think "St. Anger" *PUKE*) wouldn't be on iTunes. The artist would then have a sizeable captive audience without the RIAA controlling who's popular and who's not. IOW, Apple just might have the needed intertia to compete with the RIAA itself, and give the artists more control over thier destiny.
In a correctly managed facility, the IT guy's phone should almost never ring.
Mine never rings. It's not because the lusers don't have problems, I've just instilled the correct level of fear in them - turned my fair share into "high protien animal feed slurry".
Let me re-write your conclusion a bit:
In a correctly managed facility, with correctly managed lusers, the BOFH's phone will never ring.
Slashdot Mirror
Slashdot runs this kind of stunt from time to time. The whole point is just to boost ad hits. They don't care if people come there for something insightful or because it's utterly moronic; the page hits are the same after all. And it works too - as I write, they're probably high-fiving themselves as they see the hit counters spin.
...and now we know why it was re-posted on /. Those over at elReg responsible for this little jest are likley staggering home from the pub, still laughing "Hehehe, those Slashbots rose to the bait like a pirranah to a steak. Wankers!"
Soko
More likely what's happening is the IT department sees a need for X, draws up a budget for X with the company's current platform, and gets the budget rejected. So they just do it anyway with the open source solution, present it as a working solution and off you go.
/.! Where's the anti-Microsoft rhetoric? The bashing of proprietary software for being low quality? Sheesh, you give logical and reasonable arguments. What are you doing? On a Friday afternoon no less? Now my head hurts...
Hey! This is
I think most of my OSS installations can be summed up in the above statement, and this one too: "The road to a failed project goes directly through accounting..."
Soko
ATIs support of linux has been a Myth.
"No 3D for j00, Mythter!", Hit and Myth, bad in mythical proportions... whatever.
I personally haven't used an ATI card in years, but anyone who I talk to says linux support is still bad. YMMV.
Soko
Zonk was at least up front about the origin of the article. Take that as you will.
Soko
Maybe it was that RMS was hiding his RFID tag in 'tin foil', and so they just couldn't find him...
Soko
You forget these people may need to send or receive documents from the well-to-do people that are using Microsoft Office already. Communication is supposed to be a two-way street, after all.
Soko
Read the words, but believe in the message.
IOW, think about what it is you're being taught, not the words landing on your retina.
Soko
I don't use a commercial distro, but what if you find a bug, make a patch and work with the vendor to get the patch in the main distribution? Better still, what if you work with the vendor to make the patch in the first place? Does this cost extra? I hope not.
That's what having the source does - it facilitates collabortion and partnership between you and the vendor.
Soko
Taco: GRaaaaaaviton waves off the forehead!!!
ScuttleMonkey: OWOWWOOWWWW
Virginia Ham as a LART. I love it.
Soko
Because emotions aren't something that one can always control with impunity? Besides, no whinging means you can't complain about the PHB or you cow-orker while on the job - you end up being a good little robot. IME emotions - both good and bad - spark thought, and thought leads to greater productivity. I can see a policy of dealing directly with someone who does _nothing_ but complain and then offers no creative solutions, but trying to program happiness? No thanks.
Soko
Besides, does this guy get to vote in New York State elections now? If not, it's taxation without representation.
Soko
All of your concerns can be addressed very simply. If Microsoft would write an ODF import/export filter for Office (or commission such a thing), all of the wonderful features are available in the data format that the state desires. It's a win/win.
The only possible reason that Microsoft is withholding support is they can't dictate terms on what programs use ODF, and can't therefore lock out software with "IP imparing licenses" from using the same data format. This is the reason Microsoft is lobbying so hard to get OfficeML in as is - so they can retain control of who uses thier formats. This denies users of Open Source products legal use of OfficeML, unless those project change thier licenses. It's a game of chicken - but the OSS folks have a lot more to lose than Microsoft does.
Office is superior to OOo in most respects, but it comes at a price that is more than monetary. If MS would get of of thier high horse, swallow thier pride and compete solely on technical features (where there is little doubt they will win) all these issues go away.
Soko
"They can do lots of things, but still you can't talk to them, and that is one of the things we will get this decade," he predicted.
(Actually, technically, Mr. Gates is wrong here: you can talk to them. They won't do much, but you can still talk to them.)
I disagree. I talk to mine all the time.
"Look. You know the axe near the fire escape? Good. I don't care that it's in a locked cabinet, I'll get it if needed. Blue screen again, whydon'tcha?"
Seems to work, too.
Soko
I once worked under a very intelligent person. One of his pearls of wisdom was this:
"A companies IT infrastructure is like a highway. No one really notices it when everything is smooth. However, just add one pothole..."
As I said, he was a very intelligent man.
Soko
No multiple Next buttons for me. Start Synaptic, find package to install, highlight package to install, click apply and it installs the lastest available version. Run program.
For Windows it's Find CD (If you've already purchased it), insert into machine, read EULA, type in CD key, click next a few times, and then it installs. Then you reboot. Then it updates. Then you reboot again. Then you may have another reboot.
I'd say at this point Linux is easier than Windows.
Soko
This is not true. In fact, the distros are each trying to beat the others silly by making package management such a breeze.
All Debian derived systems (like ubuntu) use apt/dpkg, Fedora/RedHat uses yum (or apt4rpm), Suse uses YaST and Gentoo uses portage. All of these will find dependancies for you and generally do the right thing - if the package is available, it will be installed and configured properly.
The only place where this is not true is when there are legal roadblocks (like DVD playback) to using the software in a free OS. Most commercial distros are able to bypass this however, since they pay a fee to the IP rights holder for the use of that IP.
In any event, you can't have checked software installation very recently. Today it's easier on linux than it's ever been on Windows.
Soko
Lookie here. Mr. Schmidt is Microsoft's Securtiy Officer, besides being the ex-cyber security advisor to The White House. 'So?', you ask?
If devs were personally liable for bugs, open source development would be hurt big time (If you volunteer code with bugs you get a financial hit), and closed source companies would have another ax over thier developers heads.
This is all very 'interesting', coming from a closed source executive. No conflict of interst there, nope, no way...
Soko
Tip #3: If it's the CFO mumbling "I would cheerfully shoot any one of you fuckers in the face to get my last job back", it's time to get the hell to the brokers and cash the stock options.
Soko
Well, so much for my inner child. :'-{
Soko
Where does this idea come from that eveything the RIAA produces is crap, and everything independent is good? No one cares that you don't like popular music, and prefer obscure music.
I never said mainstream music was all crap, or all indy music was good, I said that there is some real trash being made popular by promotion, not artistry. I also happen to like a lot of the main stream music produced today, but shit like "St. Anger" to me means the RIAA is about profits, not music.
What matters is what the majority of people buy, and the majority of people buy music from the record labels. The VAST majority of music on your favorite music sharing site is mainstream music. That's what sells, and that's what people want (and personally, I think mainstream artists are mainstream for a reason, but that's off the topic).
Those artists are mainstream only because an RIAA member company said they'd be mainstream - the marketing dept. has little care for anything that doesn't sell. If an artist makes music that's even better than a mainstream artist, but refuses to do business the way the RIAA wants, they'll never be mainstream.
The RIAA is right about one thing: iTunes is puny to the overall music market. There is no way most artists would "sign" with iTunes rather than sign with the big boys, assuming they actually want good sizes sales.
Perhaps - but 2 or 3 million iTunes users is a really nice audience to have. My point was that the RIAA should be careful, or they could create thier worst nightmare by exluding iTunes.
Soko
Musicians with big label contracts have puppet strings firmly attached. Sure, they might like to make more money via direct sales through Apple but the sales side of the music biz is 98% promotion, not fan devotion.
I agree with your statement, but consider this:
If the RIAA takes its ball and goes home, Apple will be able to only promote artists who aren't currently under RIAA control. Crap coming from the teen-idol production machine and manufactured "counter-culture" crap that the RIAA promotes (think "St. Anger" *PUKE*) wouldn't be on iTunes. The artist would then have a sizeable captive audience without the RIAA controlling who's popular and who's not. IOW, Apple just might have the needed intertia to compete with the RIAA itself, and give the artists more control over thier destiny.
I say that's a good thing.
Soko
To be on your pwn... With no direction $HOME...
Soko
I keep it as a trophy, is all.
In a correctly managed facility, the IT guy's phone should almost never ring.
Mine never rings. It's not because the lusers don't have problems, I've just instilled the correct level of fear in them - turned my fair share into "high protien animal feed slurry".
Let me re-write your conclusion a bit:
In a correctly managed facility, with correctly managed lusers, the BOFH's phone will never ring.
Soko