A comparable high end notebook from Sony, for instance, is not much different in price when you match feature by feature. And then if we compare the TCO of administering a Windows machine, OSX wins hand down.
The problem "is not IT guys refusing to support Linux/whatever on desktops". I actually already worked in places where there was a standard Linux desktop environment and it was run and supported by the local IT department. The problem is not a whim of IT guys, but prioritising work.
If we are automating all our servers, to make them all uniform, and have a more sane time at work, and have a little time to organize things, it does not make any sense at all to then be swamped with the Linux notebooks of several users, administering often what we are not used to use anymore. [for instance X.org].
The thing is, why should be IT obliged to maintain your notebook with whatever distro someone decided to install? What next, they will call us to change the oil of their car? Their notebook, their choice of OS, their problem.
Even if I want to be nice, I often hold that tough, and only take care of very superficial problems, or if I understand it is a bigger one, I tell them in writing they are on their own. It is not only the time, there is a bigger hurdle which is called ownership of the problem. Once you fix something, they will came after you if it breaks again.
The point his, people want to streamline and be more effective at work, and IT guys have that right too.
Maybe scientific users where a larger portion of Mac users. That before 10-15 years ago. Nowadays, must of us use OS/X because it is a real alternative to the insanity of Windows. Today it is a strong brand, and the numbers are still increasing.
I can not get how people would refuse a shitty car or a bad hamburger, but still put up with a product defective by design [Windows] where they keep their keys to all the significant data of their lives.
No, Mac allows me to be more productive than investing time in administering and dancing around all the problems of Windows, and also keeps me from having to administer yet another Linux machine.
Have a look at the numbers of [users], and then tell me it is only the scientific community. Heck, even Cisco is allowing employees to have Macs as their workstation.
I had Mac laptop that lasted maybe 5 years in very rough conditions in Africa, and I sold it 2nd hand to a local. When it finally died was because of a power surge. And it was not the best, was a black one. My father still uses my powerbook G4 from 2005... 1.5 years is a very short time. Either a bad batch, or you handle them rough, or some accident. Heck, the warranty time in Europe is 2 years.
In the education field Macs beat any other architecture by a large degree. Linux sysadmins also love Macs because they have the best of several worlds, are more productive, and dont have to deal with the world of pain Windows brings. The hardware for the kind of price you pay is also a very good investment. And then lastly comes the style fashion. Nonetheless, Apple must be doing something better than the others.
Amen to that. I switched the desktop from Windows to Linux in 1995 and to OS/X in 2005. Best decision I ever made. No lack of tools for working, I even have the luxury of not having to install Windows Office. The only complaint I have is Mac Ports being so flaky, there is always some binary that does not compile.
Actually IMO it was the other way around, it was a world without standard like today, and the mantra of compatibility was the enabler of their dominance. Look, how nice, what would happen to your data at work if you buy a different brand...you wont be able to work at home.;) Kinda like a protection racket from the mafia. Fortunately, or unfortunately for them, the world has moved on, and despite their efforts to sabotage different technologies and standards, the shift of compatibility was changed to data, and we manage to interoperate very well with each other. Actually, and with the exception of very costly/specialised software the fact is that the software lost value, and nobody cares about leaving yesterdays office suite and moving to an OSX/Android/cloud work model.
> What I was also saying though is that using laptops without external monitors and mice is the norm.
Is it? Most of us may use a laptop without a monitor on the go, but I at work we connect it to a monitor, either directly or via a a docking station. That way, you have best of both worlds.
You are in an excellent position to learn, you are forced to as you are alone. Stay away from politics, learn a lot, prioritize your work, study a lot on your free time. In 1.5 or 2 years, leave this job for a better place.
If teachers are able to interfere in your job through politics, even more when it is in bad faith, then your manager is not doing his job. But then, nobody likes censorship. The best way to win this game is not to play it. I would not block games.
So true. The places where I have dismissed trivial things, things others were there to do it, (i.e sales guys), or things that possibly should not be done (instead of fixing malfunctions, being at the phone hearing complaints about the malfunction), I managed to do the work that needed to be done, and that my predecessors had not the time to do. Nevertheless, I was not really viewed as a team player. Or rather, they knew I was effective and practical, but did not enjoy I did do their work as my predecessors.
My first was a ZX-Spectrum 48K. Amazing machine, I knew it from the inside out, and programmed it into machine code almost like talking my mother tongue. I went out later on, and my final project was the first ZX Spectrum emulator for Windows.
ZX- and Commodore where *very* relevant, introduced generations to code, where architectures that you could fully grasp, and totally control. They had graphics far earlier than PCs. The concepts still live with many of us, professionals in they industry, and the processors are still used nowadays in the micro controlling industry. And many of us where cutting out teeth in unix and graphical interfaces before that piece of shit you talk from microsoft came along.
I often have this problem with suppliers and in the past even had it with subordinates. Nowadays no suppliers at all get root, and I have configurations in place where all their commands are logged to the system logs.
If you say so. I worked 6 years of my life in a backwards country, but I managed to earn and save enough to have today a slightly more comfortable life.
I dont need to hide about anything, and I am not british. And it was not me that invented sharia law or honor killings, last time I looked... fuck off you too mate. Is it a new greeting on the other side of the channel now? I am not that modern;)
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A comparable high end notebook from Sony, for instance, is not much different in price when you match feature by feature. And then if we compare the TCO of administering a Windows machine, OSX wins hand down.
The problem "is not IT guys refusing to support Linux/whatever on desktops". I actually already worked in places where there was a standard Linux desktop environment and it was run and supported by the local IT department. The problem is not a whim of IT guys, but prioritising work. If we are automating all our servers, to make them all uniform, and have a more sane time at work, and have a little time to organize things, it does not make any sense at all to then be swamped with the Linux notebooks of several users, administering often what we are not used to use anymore. [for instance X.org]. The thing is, why should be IT obliged to maintain your notebook with whatever distro someone decided to install? What next, they will call us to change the oil of their car? Their notebook, their choice of OS, their problem. Even if I want to be nice, I often hold that tough, and only take care of very superficial problems, or if I understand it is a bigger one, I tell them in writing they are on their own. It is not only the time, there is a bigger hurdle which is called ownership of the problem. Once you fix something, they will came after you if it breaks again. The point his, people want to streamline and be more effective at work, and IT guys have that right too.
Maybe scientific users where a larger portion of Mac users. That before 10-15 years ago. Nowadays, must of us use OS/X because it is a real alternative to the insanity of Windows. Today it is a strong brand, and the numbers are still increasing. I can not get how people would refuse a shitty car or a bad hamburger, but still put up with a product defective by design [Windows] where they keep their keys to all the significant data of their lives. No, Mac allows me to be more productive than investing time in administering and dancing around all the problems of Windows, and also keeps me from having to administer yet another Linux machine. Have a look at the numbers of [users], and then tell me it is only the scientific community. Heck, even Cisco is allowing employees to have Macs as their workstation.
I had Mac laptop that lasted maybe 5 years in very rough conditions in Africa, and I sold it 2nd hand to a local. When it finally died was because of a power surge. And it was not the best, was a black one. My father still uses my powerbook G4 from 2005... 1.5 years is a very short time. Either a bad batch, or you handle them rough, or some accident. Heck, the warranty time in Europe is 2 years.
In the education field Macs beat any other architecture by a large degree. Linux sysadmins also love Macs because they have the best of several worlds, are more productive, and dont have to deal with the world of pain Windows brings. The hardware for the kind of price you pay is also a very good investment. And then lastly comes the style fashion. Nonetheless, Apple must be doing something better than the others.
Amen to that. I switched the desktop from Windows to Linux in 1995 and to OS/X in 2005. Best decision I ever made. No lack of tools for working, I even have the luxury of not having to install Windows Office. The only complaint I have is Mac Ports being so flaky, there is always some binary that does not compile.
Actually IMO it was the other way around, it was a world without standard like today, and the mantra of compatibility was the enabler of their dominance. Look, how nice, what would happen to your data at work if you buy a different brand...you wont be able to work at home. ;) Kinda like a protection racket from the mafia. Fortunately, or unfortunately for them, the world has moved on, and despite their efforts to sabotage different technologies and standards, the shift of compatibility was changed to data, and we manage to interoperate very well with each other. Actually, and with the exception of very costly/specialised software the fact is that the software lost value, and nobody cares about leaving yesterdays office suite and moving to an OSX/Android/cloud work model.
> What I was also saying though is that using laptops without external monitors and mice is the norm. Is it? Most of us may use a laptop without a monitor on the go, but I at work we connect it to a monitor, either directly or via a a docking station. That way, you have best of both worlds.
You got it wrong, we hear Windows and run away
Thats exactly what I do.
Your forgot the failure of mobile and tablets too.
Lots of shills, it is noticeable and it is rather boring.
You are in an excellent position to learn, you are forced to as you are alone. Stay away from politics, learn a lot, prioritize your work, study a lot on your free time. In 1.5 or 2 years, leave this job for a better place.
I dont have them time to read their emails, I dont want to, and frankly, I dont give a shit about their emails.
I have seen that movie too. Always a bad move to hire a son of someone with a ittle power.
If teachers are able to interfere in your job through politics, even more when it is in bad faith, then your manager is not doing his job. But then, nobody likes censorship. The best way to win this game is not to play it. I would not block games.
So true. The places where I have dismissed trivial things, things others were there to do it, (i.e sales guys), or things that possibly should not be done (instead of fixing malfunctions, being at the phone hearing complaints about the malfunction), I managed to do the work that needed to be done, and that my predecessors had not the time to do. Nevertheless, I was not really viewed as a team player. Or rather, they knew I was effective and practical, but did not enjoy I did do their work as my predecessors.
Hey... I have found out my colleagues are American and I make Scandinavian complaints ;)
My first was a ZX-Spectrum 48K. Amazing machine, I knew it from the inside out, and programmed it into machine code almost like talking my mother tongue. I went out later on, and my final project was the first ZX Spectrum emulator for Windows.
ZX- and Commodore where *very* relevant, introduced generations to code, where architectures that you could fully grasp, and totally control. They had graphics far earlier than PCs. The concepts still live with many of us, professionals in they industry, and the processors are still used nowadays in the micro controlling industry. And many of us where cutting out teeth in unix and graphical interfaces before that piece of shit you talk from microsoft came along.
I often have this problem with suppliers and in the past even had it with subordinates. Nowadays no suppliers at all get root, and I have configurations in place where all their commands are logged to the system logs.
If you say so. I worked 6 years of my life in a backwards country, but I managed to earn and save enough to have today a slightly more comfortable life.
Are you the asshat of the jour today? I am not american btw, and I was giving a tongue on cheek answer to the idiocy of the anon coward.
Well, the feelings are pretty much irrelevant on both sides. Business is business, cognac is cognac.
I dont need to hide about anything, and I am not british. And it was not me that invented sharia law or honor killings, last time I looked... fuck off you too mate. Is it a new greeting on the other side of the channel now? I am not that modern ;)