Until more than a century after its founding, America had no standing army. The closest we had were state and local militias. I believe the major changeover happened around the time of the civil war.
Actually the US did have a standing army, the Marines. As President, Thomas Jefferson, one of those against having a standing army, sent them on the US's first foreign adventure. He sent the Marines to fight the Barbary Pirates in the Mediterranean based in the ports of Morocco. This was the First Barbary War. A bit over 100 years later Teddy Roosevelt did the same.
Besides, the right to arm oneself is a defense against tyranny.
Well, if it works for you. We just vote every three or four years. Maybe you could try democracy rather than code duello?
There are four boxes used to defend democracy soap, ballot, jury, and ammo. Use in that order.
But I'm sure we owe you a lot. Our prime minister thinks we do, our troops are dying in Iraq and Afghanistan for you at this moment.
Not for me, I was against invading Iraq. I was also against Bush giving the Taliban more than $40,000,000 of taxpayer money before the invasion of Afghanistan. And what was the excuse for the invasion? Because the Taliban had the temerity to ask Bush for the evidence bin Laden had anything to do with 911 and refused the handover when Bush wouldn't provide it.
For guns to make a place safer, there'd have to be some mechanism to ensure that only `good` people get guns, and only do good with them. I have no idea what this mechanism is, and how it's supposed to work, but it's quite clear that whatever it is, it isn't working in the US.
Wrong, armed a person can not protect themself but they can also protect those around them. Criminals are less likely to rob or kill someone if they know people are armed. Only someone with a death wish would hold up someone if they knew others were armed.
This website, THE TRUTH ABOUT GUNS, CRIME AND VIOLENCE, has a graph of the crime rate of England and of the US between 1981 and 1996. It shows that per 1000 people crime went from 13 incidents to 20 in England whereas in the US it went from 12 to 9. Just Facts has some stats such as in the US "Americans use firearms to defend themselves from criminals at least 764,000 times a year." Further:
* Florida adopted a right-to-carry law in 1987. At the time the law was passed, critics predicted increases in violence. The founder of the National Organization of Women, Betty Friedan stated: "lethal violence, even in self defense, only engenders more violence."
When the law went into effect, the Dade County Police began a program to record all arrest and non arrest incidents involving concealed carry licensees. Between September of 1987 and August of 1992, Dade County recorded 4 crimes committed by licensees with firearms. None of these crimes resulted in an injury. The record keeping program was abandoned in 1992 because there were not enough incidents to justify tracking them
If you have an open mind it has more stats that show just how firearms have affected crime rates, with right to carry laws crime has dropped.
Is privacy in a public place considered an "essential liberty?" I don't think your quote applies here.
A Supreme Court in the early 1800s disagreed with you. I wish I had the link to it, I'd share it if I did. Basically the USSC Justices ruled that in a democracy anonymity was crucial for political speech. If a speaker couldn't remain anonymous thier freedom to speak was severely abridged. As witnessed by the number of published anonymous tracts supporting the colonies during the American Revolution, War of Independence, many fighting for independence also thought so.
What if a private satellite company photos me doing something suspicious like hunting on my property? What if a police helicopter takes an infrared photo of my house to see if I am using too much electricity for 'normal' people? Should I be expected to have some measure of privacy?
Within the past two months or so I read about how some law enforcemnet officals did something like this. In two different cases officers used equipment to take a "picture" of electrical usage in private homes to see if the owners were using growing lights to grow marijuana. They both ended up in court where one judged ruled it was an invasion of privacy but another judge ruled the opposite, that is wasn't an invasion.
These aren't meant to be secret "OH I GOT YOU ON HIDDEN CAMERA" they do two things: they operate as an excellent deterent to crime, and they help solve/prove a case when a crime does get committed.
Ooh yea, cameras really prevented that South American, Brazilians was he?, from being gunned down by the police in London. NOT!!!
And how does having cameras in public places sacrifice liberties? Which liberties, exactly?
Cameras in public don't violate civil liberties but what can be done with those cameras can, and eventually will, violate them. These cameras can be used to monitor free speech and free assembly which can later be made illegal.
Guess what? Speeding is a real crime. Speeders kill more people every year than serial killers do. I'm glad the cops are cracking down on your selfish, speeding ass.
Speed doesn't kill, it's careless drivers many of whom speed that kills. A person driving too slow can kill as well, and so can people who instead of paying attention to the roads talk on thier cellphones or eat.
An intrusive technology is one that violates the privacy of an individual without his or her consent. Having security cameras in public areas means that individuals are now being filmed in an area which should be considered safe from intrusion. I am not opposing surveillance on private property; however, in this case, the property is the domain of the citizenry.
While I oppose surveillence techonologies as well, cameras in public are not an intrusion of privacy. Nobody has the right to expect privacy in public. As a photographer I've taken a bunch of shots of people in public, most of my photography takes place outdoors, and the only tyme I need permission from the people who's in my photos is if the person or people are clearly identifiable and it is used commercially, ie I use it in an ad for instance. But I can legally use these photos personally or for news without needing permission.
A case on this came up a several years ago when a photographer took some photos of bare breasted women during Marti Gras in New Orleans. He published them on the web, and some of the women found out. So they sued and the judge ruled that since the photos weren't used commercially, the photographer didn't charge to see the photos, it was legal and not a liable issue.
Of course it does, you do realise it's the first time ever they caught a serial killer. Or a criminal for that matter. It's a major progress !
They'd caught a number of serial murderers without any cameras like this. Ted Bundy, who murdered more than 30 people was caught using foot work detective investigations.
Don't get me wrong... there are a lot of Linux consultants, but most of them tend to do long-term contract-type consulting, rather than "Geek Patrol"-type small business work.
That sounds like an opportunity then, get a small group of Linux experts that can work on small and or short term jobs. The contracts would be shorter but there'd be more of them.
You can find good deals in education though. I came from a lower middle class family. My parents made just enough to not qualify for any free college money (and I'm not a woman or a minority), but not enough to actually pay for it. So what I did was live at home and go to a local school [cofc.edu]. Now, we were fortunate enough to have a good local college nearby, but my example shows that education doesn't have to cost 100k+
I came from a lower income not lower middle class, my dad retired from the Air Force and was enlisted not an officer and my mom worked her way through a two year technical school to become a lab tech in a hospital when I was little. However in spite of, or perhaps because of, this my two sisters of mine and I went to college. My older sister first into the army then when she was discharged she started college. Because of when she was in she was covered by the old GI bill which paid most if not all of her educatioanl costs. She studied nursing and is now an RN working in an oncologist' office with cancer patients. Next, I went into the army in part to save money so I could go to college under the VEAP program wherein the military deducts money from your pay and puts in into an education fund. Though I started college and got my AA or two year degree, I didn't finish a degree in my major, which was Computer Engineering. Instead, years ago I had an accident that sidetracked me. Because of my injury even if I wanted to continue I would basically have to start all over again. The injury damaged my memory amoung other things and most of what I learned I no longer know, such as calculus and physics. I did go back to college but I didn't know what I wanted to do, so I started a 2 year degree on web programming. Unfortunately though I only have one or two classes left I have not taken a class in almost two years. What I wanted to do was to transfer to a university near me after I got the two year degree then take an interdisiplinary program to get my bach.
Now my younger sister, I'm the middle child, went straight from high school to college while working. She eventually got her Masters and is now a CPA, Certified Public Accountant, and with friends runs her own accounting firm.
So yes, I know a person can get an education however without help it's difficult.
Falcon
Re:I always love the "small government" arguement.
on
2006's Bill of Wrongs
·
· Score: 1
I'm for smaller govt all around... I would probably suggest cutting the military budget in half as a start... from there, I would target everyone else.. then reduce the military a bit farther. The fact is, however, the military is one of the *few* things that the federal government *should* be paying for.
Yes the military is a responsibility of the government as in defense of the country. However it doesn't require the military to be as big and expensive as it is. As you say the military budget can be drastically cut. A citizen's army like Switzerland's would go a long way towards that.
Read my other comment in this thread concerning Padilla, or should I use the name he choses, Abdullah al-Muhajir.
Ok, I found where you say "Abdullah al-Muhajir does not qualify as innocent" but in the US it's innocent until proven guilty. He may very well actually be guilty but in order to keep him in gaol he needs to be convicted of charges. He hasn't been therefore as long as he's kept a prisoner he's an innocent prisoner. Charges need to be filed against him and he needs to have his day in court.
Of course this is not to say that there aren't serious issues with practices for both farmed and caught fish that may have adverse nutritional impacts as well.
Both caught and farmed fish tend to have higher levels of mercury. Depending on where they're farmed farmed fish may have lower or higher levels of mercury than wild caught fish. The thing with farmed fish is that many think they keep the oceans from being emptied by commercial fishing, but in actuality farmed fish threaten to empty the oceans of fish faster. This is because many farming operations rely on wild caught fish to feed those farmed and it takes more fish to feed farmed fish than if the caught fish were eaten themself. Also farming requires a lot of antibiotics and the feces from them cause asphyxation, lack of oxygen, in the water around the pens which either causes the wild fish there to die or it becomes the equivalent to a water desert. This doesn't apply to all fish farms, there are ways of farming that are much better but typically they are more labor intensive and or more expensive.
How do you survive in all those places that don't normally like you to have food and drink? Cabs? Theaters? And so on and so forth?
When I go out I always take my Camelbak with me. I only rarely have someone ask me what it is, none have been employees yet though, and when I explain what it is they usually ask where they can get one.
However: Homeland Security is completely ridiculous. I can't bring water on an airplane thanks to the insane regulations. I NEED to be drinking water constantly. It's not an option.
Dehydrate easily do you? Same here so I always make sure I have a drink with me, when I go out I carry my Camelbak. I have twice collapsed and passed out because I dehydrated and both tymes I ran out of water while we were out in the field when I was in the army. From those experiences I learned to make sure I could quickly get a drink so the Camelbak.
Europe dealt with her terrorist problem trying to avoid instituting terror herself.
Except Spain didn't want to negotiate with the Basque. And now it's Catalonia that wants self determination, along with Andalusia and other regions of Spain. All of these regions weren't even part of "Spain" until after Queen Isabela started to unite them all.
If we were to become entirely dependent on outside food sources, you'd see the same problems with food that we see with oil today. You want Mexico or Brazil to have that kind of control over us?
This is exactly what is happening in Mexico, and why we have so many "illegal immigrants" trying to get into the US. Because of farm subsidies to big agrobusinesses in the US and NAFTA, they are able to ship and sale food to Mexico cheaper than Mexican farmers can grow it. This drives Mexican farmers off their farms and into Mexican cites as well as north to the US. Then those who go into Mexican cites drive others north as well.
Doesn't quite work that way, not in New York. In New York, the AkwesasneMohawks have treaty rights to freely travel between Canada and the US yet many are harassed when they try to cross into the US. On the southern border, the Tohono O'odham Nation, which also has rights to cross the border, is harazzed by border agents who break into their homes and when they aren't doing that they're aiming flashlights into their windows at night. However if you really want to fly into Canada then travel to the US, you want to do it somewhere between Minneasota and Washington, between the Great Lakes and Puget Sound. There you can drive on a bunch of roads from Canada to the US without having to go through any border crossings, many don't even have border guards or agents.
I'm talking specifically about companies too small to have dedicated IT support. In most cases, yes, they are too computer illiterate.
But there's a big difference between "less maintenance" and "no maintenance". Even if they are able to use something like webmin to add new user accounts and such when needed, at some point they'll need additional support: a disk may fail, they may exceed the capacity of the system in some way, they may relocate... In any of these cases they'll need someone with more than a cursory knowledge of Linux to help out.
I'm a little confused here but doesn't windows require an admin or other expert to properly setup, configure, and administer when something breaks? I know I've had troubles doing these on my Windows PCs. I know next to nothing about administering Windows yet I've had people ask me for help with thier PCs.
Then they get bitten by the near utter lack of UNIX skills among small business consultants.
Because of all the problems I've had with Windows PCs, and MS policies of Activation and WGA I'm being driven to Linux and Macs. Now I'm thinking of finding and joining a LUG and MUG, Linux and Mac Users groups in my area.
Unless he somehow wrangled a refund out of HP for the copy of XP he didn't use, then Microsoft still got paid, thus their "braindead policy" isn't costing them a nickel. They're just making money on a copy of Windows they don't need to support.
Two problems with this, the first is that even if they were to get a refund it is HP that would pay for it not MS I'd imagine as I wouldn't be supprised if OEMs that have volume discounts for Windows has to pay for each PC sold. The second issue is once a client finds another supplier it's difficult to bring them back. So while MS still got paid for Windows, they lost future sales.
*Microsoft has a policy where the vendors can't ship you a Windows CD so instead they have to send you a series of restore CDs.
-Never heard of this happening. I think he means HP restore CDs
HP uses restore cds but so do other OEMs, they do this because in an effort to fight piracy MS asks OEMs to create the restore or recovery cds.
*That is when I learned half of the problems with Promise, the CD it provides is not bootable and contains nothing resembling a tool.
-Nothing to do with FOSS/MS. I don't think he does this once a week. If so, this is new hardware and it's new to him. Not MS's problem.
He doesn't blame MS for this.
So this tech can't get Windows to work, installs Ubuntu, and tells the customer "Tada".
He doesn't say "Tada" to the client. He explains what he did, why, "and what the ramifications, mainly stability and security, were." He then says the owner "is a smart man" and Linux will be the OS of choice on all his servers. That's not even close to telling the client "Tada".
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Until more than a century after its founding, America had no standing army. The closest we had were state and local militias. I believe the major changeover happened around the time of the civil war.
Actually the US did have a standing army, the Marines. As President, Thomas Jefferson, one of those against having a standing army, sent them on the US's first foreign adventure. He sent the Marines to fight the Barbary Pirates in the Mediterranean based in the ports of Morocco. This was the First Barbary War. A bit over 100 years later Teddy Roosevelt did the same.
FalconBesides, the right to arm oneself is a defense against tyranny.
Well, if it works for you. We just vote every three or four years. Maybe you could try democracy rather than code duello?
There are four boxes used to defend democracy soap, ballot, jury, and ammo. Use in that order.
But I'm sure we owe you a lot. Our prime minister thinks we do, our troops are dying in Iraq and Afghanistan for you at this moment.
Not for me, I was against invading Iraq. I was also against Bush giving the Taliban more than $40,000,000 of taxpayer money before the invasion of Afghanistan. And what was the excuse for the invasion? Because the Taliban had the temerity to ask Bush for the evidence bin Laden had anything to do with 911 and refused the handover when Bush wouldn't provide it.
FalconFor guns to make a place safer, there'd have to be some mechanism to ensure that only `good` people get guns, and only do good with them. I have no idea what this mechanism is, and how it's supposed to work, but it's quite clear that whatever it is, it isn't working in the US.
Wrong, armed a person can not protect themself but they can also protect those around them. Criminals are less likely to rob or kill someone if they know people are armed. Only someone with a death wish would hold up someone if they knew others were armed.
This website, THE TRUTH ABOUT GUNS, CRIME AND VIOLENCE, has a graph of the crime rate of England and of the US between 1981 and 1996. It shows that per 1000 people crime went from 13 incidents to 20 in England whereas in the US it went from 12 to 9. Just Facts has some stats such as in the US "Americans use firearms to defend themselves from criminals at least 764,000 times a year." Further:
* Florida adopted a right-to-carry law in 1987. At the time the law was passed, critics predicted increases in violence. The founder of the National Organization of Women, Betty Friedan stated:
"lethal violence, even in self defense, only engenders more violence."
When the law went into effect, the Dade County Police began a program to record all arrest and non arrest incidents involving concealed carry licensees. Between September of 1987 and August of 1992, Dade County recorded 4 crimes committed by licensees with firearms. None of these crimes resulted in an injury. The record keeping program was abandoned in 1992 because there were not enough incidents to justify tracking them
If you have an open mind it has more stats that show just how firearms have affected crime rates, with right to carry laws crime has dropped.
FalconIs privacy in a public place considered an "essential liberty?" I don't think your quote applies here.
A Supreme Court in the early 1800s disagreed with you. I wish I had the link to it, I'd share it if I did. Basically the USSC Justices ruled that in a democracy anonymity was crucial for political speech. If a speaker couldn't remain anonymous thier freedom to speak was severely abridged. As witnessed by the number of published anonymous tracts supporting the colonies during the American Revolution, War of Independence, many fighting for independence also thought so.
FalconWhat if a private satellite company photos me doing something suspicious like hunting on my property? What if a police helicopter takes an infrared photo of my house to see if I am using too much electricity for 'normal' people? Should I be expected to have some measure of privacy?
Within the past two months or so I read about how some law enforcemnet officals did something like this. In two different cases officers used equipment to take a "picture" of electrical usage in private homes to see if the owners were using growing lights to grow marijuana. They both ended up in court where one judged ruled it was an invasion of privacy but another judge ruled the opposite, that is wasn't an invasion.
FalconSure, go ahead and ruin a perfectly good rant with your logic and common sense. You don't drive a Mustang, by chance?
Unfortunately no, I don't have a Mustang though I'd like one, preferably a '69. Or maybe an early '70s GTO or Challenger.
FalconThese aren't meant to be secret "OH I GOT YOU ON HIDDEN CAMERA" they do two things: they operate as an excellent deterent to crime, and they help solve/prove a case when a crime does get committed.
Ooh yea, cameras really prevented that South American, Brazilians was he?, from being gunned down by the police in London. NOT!!!
FalconAnd how does having cameras in public places sacrifice liberties? Which liberties, exactly?
Cameras in public don't violate civil liberties but what can be done with those cameras can, and eventually will, violate them. These cameras can be used to monitor free speech and free assembly which can later be made illegal.
Power corrupts.
FalconGuess what? Speeding is a real crime. Speeders kill more people every year than serial killers do. I'm glad the cops are cracking down on your selfish, speeding ass.
Speed doesn't kill, it's careless drivers many of whom speed that kills. A person driving too slow can kill as well, and so can people who instead of paying attention to the roads talk on thier cellphones or eat.
FalconAn intrusive technology is one that violates the privacy of an individual without his or her consent. Having security cameras in public areas means that individuals are now being filmed in an area which should be considered safe from intrusion. I am not opposing surveillance on private property; however, in this case, the property is the domain of the citizenry.
While I oppose surveillence techonologies as well, cameras in public are not an intrusion of privacy. Nobody has the right to expect privacy in public. As a photographer I've taken a bunch of shots of people in public, most of my photography takes place outdoors, and the only tyme I need permission from the people who's in my photos is if the person or people are clearly identifiable and it is used commercially, ie I use it in an ad for instance. But I can legally use these photos personally or for news without needing permission.
A case on this came up a several years ago when a photographer took some photos of bare breasted women during Marti Gras in New Orleans. He published them on the web, and some of the women found out. So they sued and the judge ruled that since the photos weren't used commercially, the photographer didn't charge to see the photos, it was legal and not a liable issue.
FalconOf course it does, you do realise it's the first time ever they caught a serial killer. Or a criminal for that matter. It's a major progress !
They'd caught a number of serial murderers without any cameras like this. Ted Bundy, who murdered more than 30 people was caught using foot work detective investigations.
FalconDon't get me wrong... there are a lot of Linux consultants, but most of them tend to do long-term contract-type consulting, rather than "Geek Patrol"-type small business work.
That sounds like an opportunity then, get a small group of Linux experts that can work on small and or short term jobs. The contracts would be shorter but there'd be more of them.
FalconYou can find good deals in education though. I came from a lower middle class family. My parents made just enough to not qualify for any free college money (and I'm not a woman or a minority), but not enough to actually pay for it. So what I did was live at home and go to a local school [cofc.edu]. Now, we were fortunate enough to have a good local college nearby, but my example shows that education doesn't have to cost 100k+
I came from a lower income not lower middle class, my dad retired from the Air Force and was enlisted not an officer and my mom worked her way through a two year technical school to become a lab tech in a hospital when I was little. However in spite of, or perhaps because of, this my two sisters of mine and I went to college. My older sister first into the army then when she was discharged she started college. Because of when she was in she was covered by the old GI bill which paid most if not all of her educatioanl costs. She studied nursing and is now an RN working in an oncologist' office with cancer patients. Next, I went into the army in part to save money so I could go to college under the VEAP program wherein the military deducts money from your pay and puts in into an education fund. Though I started college and got my AA or two year degree, I didn't finish a degree in my major, which was Computer Engineering. Instead, years ago I had an accident that sidetracked me. Because of my injury even if I wanted to continue I would basically have to start all over again. The injury damaged my memory amoung other things and most of what I learned I no longer know, such as calculus and physics. I did go back to college but I didn't know what I wanted to do, so I started a 2 year degree on web programming. Unfortunately though I only have one or two classes left I have not taken a class in almost two years. What I wanted to do was to transfer to a university near me after I got the two year degree then take an interdisiplinary program to get my bach.
Now my younger sister, I'm the middle child, went straight from high school to college while working. She eventually got her Masters and is now a CPA, Certified Public Accountant, and with friends runs her own accounting firm.
So yes, I know a person can get an education however without help it's difficult.
FalconI'm for smaller govt all around... I would probably suggest cutting the military budget in half as a start... from there, I would target everyone else.. then reduce the military a bit farther. The fact is, however, the military is one of the *few* things that the federal government *should* be paying for.
Yes the military is a responsibility of the government as in defense of the country. However it doesn't require the military to be as big and expensive as it is. As you say the military budget can be drastically cut. A citizen's army like Switzerland's would go a long way towards that.
FalconRead my other comment in this thread concerning Padilla, or should I use the name he choses, Abdullah al-Muhajir.
Ok, I found where you say "Abdullah al-Muhajir does not qualify as innocent" but in the US it's innocent until proven guilty. He may very well actually be guilty but in order to keep him in gaol he needs to be convicted of charges. He hasn't been therefore as long as he's kept a prisoner he's an innocent prisoner. Charges need to be filed against him and he needs to have his day in court.
FalconOf course this is not to say that there aren't serious issues with practices for both farmed and caught fish that may have adverse nutritional impacts as well.
Both caught and farmed fish tend to have higher levels of mercury. Depending on where they're farmed farmed fish may have lower or higher levels of mercury than wild caught fish. The thing with farmed fish is that many think they keep the oceans from being emptied by commercial fishing, but in actuality farmed fish threaten to empty the oceans of fish faster. This is because many farming operations rely on wild caught fish to feed those farmed and it takes more fish to feed farmed fish than if the caught fish were eaten themself. Also farming requires a lot of antibiotics and the feces from them cause asphyxation, lack of oxygen, in the water around the pens which either causes the wild fish there to die or it becomes the equivalent to a water desert. This doesn't apply to all fish farms, there are ways of farming that are much better but typically they are more labor intensive and or more expensive.
FalconHow do you survive in all those places that don't normally like you to have food and drink? Cabs? Theaters? And so on and so forth?
When I go out I always take my Camelbak with me. I only rarely have someone ask me what it is, none have been employees yet though, and when I explain what it is they usually ask where they can get one.
FalconHowever: Homeland Security is completely ridiculous. I can't bring water on an airplane thanks to the insane regulations. I NEED to be drinking water constantly. It's not an option.
Dehydrate easily do you? Same here so I always make sure I have a drink with me, when I go out I carry my Camelbak. I have twice collapsed and passed out because I dehydrated and both tymes I ran out of water while we were out in the field when I was in the army. From those experiences I learned to make sure I could quickly get a drink so the Camelbak.
FalconEurope dealt with her terrorist problem trying to avoid instituting terror herself.
Except Spain didn't want to negotiate with the Basque. And now it's Catalonia that wants self determination, along with Andalusia and other regions of Spain. All of these regions weren't even part of "Spain" until after Queen Isabela started to unite them all.
FalconIf we were to become entirely dependent on outside food sources, you'd see the same problems with food that we see with oil today. You want Mexico or Brazil to have that kind of control over us?
This is exactly what is happening in Mexico, and why we have so many "illegal immigrants" trying to get into the US. Because of farm subsidies to big agrobusinesses in the US and NAFTA, they are able to ship and sale food to Mexico cheaper than Mexican farmers can grow it. This drives Mexican farmers off their farms and into Mexican cites as well as north to the US. Then those who go into Mexican cites drive others north as well.
FalconDoesn't quite work that way, not in New York. In New York, the Akwesasne Mohawks have treaty rights to freely travel between Canada and the US yet many are harassed when they try to cross into the US. On the southern border, the Tohono O'odham Nation, which also has rights to cross the border, is harazzed by border agents who break into their homes and when they aren't doing that they're aiming flashlights into their windows at night. However if you really want to fly into Canada then travel to the US, you want to do it somewhere between Minneasota and Washington, between the Great Lakes and Puget Sound. There you can drive on a bunch of roads from Canada to the US without having to go through any border crossings, many don't even have border guards or agents.
FalconI'm just commenting on imprisoned citizens here, but the US has done that. One name comes to mind, Jose Padilla, the supposed "dirty bomber".
FalconI'm talking specifically about companies too small to have dedicated IT support. In most cases, yes, they are too computer illiterate.
But there's a big difference between "less maintenance" and "no maintenance". Even if they are able to use something like webmin to add new user accounts and such when needed, at some point they'll need additional support: a disk may fail, they may exceed the capacity of the system in some way, they may relocate... In any of these cases they'll need someone with more than a cursory knowledge of Linux to help out.
I'm a little confused here but doesn't windows require an admin or other expert to properly setup, configure, and administer when something breaks? I know I've had troubles doing these on my Windows PCs. I know next to nothing about administering Windows yet I've had people ask me for help with thier PCs.
Then they get bitten by the near utter lack of UNIX skills among small business consultants.
Because of all the problems I've had with Windows PCs, and MS policies of Activation and WGA I'm being driven to Linux and Macs. Now I'm thinking of finding and joining a LUG and MUG, Linux and Mac Users groups in my area.
FalconUnless he somehow wrangled a refund out of HP for the copy of XP he didn't use, then Microsoft still got paid, thus their "braindead policy" isn't costing them a nickel. They're just making money on a copy of Windows they don't need to support.
Two problems with this, the first is that even if they were to get a refund it is HP that would pay for it not MS I'd imagine as I wouldn't be supprised if OEMs that have volume discounts for Windows has to pay for each PC sold. The second issue is once a client finds another supplier it's difficult to bring them back. So while MS still got paid for Windows, they lost future sales.
Falcon*Microsoft has a policy where the vendors can't ship you a Windows CD so instead they have to send you a series of restore CDs.
-Never heard of this happening. I think he means HP restore CDs
HP uses restore cds but so do other OEMs, they do this because in an effort to fight piracy MS asks OEMs to create the restore or recovery cds.
*That is when I learned half of the problems with Promise, the CD it provides is not bootable and contains nothing resembling a tool.
-Nothing to do with FOSS/MS. I don't think he does this once a week. If so, this is new hardware and it's new to him. Not MS's problem.
He doesn't blame MS for this.
So this tech can't get Windows to work, installs Ubuntu, and tells the customer "Tada".
He doesn't say "Tada" to the client. He explains what he did, why, "and what the ramifications, mainly stability and security, were." He then says the owner "is a smart man" and Linux will be the OS of choice on all his servers. That's not even close to telling the client "Tada".
Falcon