And as soon as the contents of your hard disk are examined under subpoena, you're screwed. As is the project you worked on. And it's not exactly great for the wider PR for Open Source in general.
I would consider doing this foolish at best, downright dangerous at worst.
I think I can beat that. Spin back to 1999, I was having trouble uploading a website to the hosting provider.
Me: "I'm trying to connect to your FTP server but it says 'Connection Refused'." Tech: "What FTP client are you using?" Me: "FTP. Command line FTP." Tech: "Er... hold the line a moment..."
Tech: "Does your computer have a VGA card running in at least 256 colours?" Customer: "WTF? How on Earth should I know?" Tech: "Sorry, unless you can confirm it does, we cannot support you. Goodbye."
Same thing happens in the UK. There's articles every other week saying "Big shortage in these skills! People with these skills in great demand!"
The last few weeks, these skills in "shortage" have been "Linux/OSS skills".
I would dearly like to meet some of these people who are surveyed and say there's a shortage, because I was laid off from supporting and administering a boatload of Linux servers in September and I've had all of 2 interviews.
I'm not quite sure if that's a genuine anecdote or a troll.
Just because a person happens to originate from a particular land does not make them a con artist. It doesn't make them honest, either.
However, comments like "now you mention it, I knew a chap from that country and he tried to screw me over as well" don't help because they invent a link which didn't previously exist.
Every year I try it out to see how it has advanced, and every year I find myself going back to PhotoShop because some feature I require is not present yet. Maybe next year.
I keep on hearing comments like this, on Slashdot and on various mailing lists. I cannot help but wonder how many people who would like to see Gimp become a true Photoshop killer, try it, find a feature that's missing and DON'T submit an enhancement request.
This isn't commercial software! New features do not automagically appear! Even if you don't have the expertise to write it yourself, submitting an enhancement suggestion shows what features are in demand.
More likely it means "we have no idea about the remaining 25-33%". But the chances are the record companies won't mention any percentage terms - they'll turn it into cash and spin it that way:
"$500 million lost due to the Internet!" (they won't mention that this is in a $multi-billion industry).
the "do not shop there" excuse does not quite cut it when I'm unable to return damaged goods to the store, because I've been flagged as an unwanted customer.
I'm in England and over here the law is very clear - if the item was faulty at point of sale, the retailer has to take it back (Unless, of course, it was sold as being faulty....). They must offer a replacement or a refund, and the customer has the right to refuse the replacement and demand a refund.
So you didn't do any work to prepare for the case? Didn't ask any questions to try to put together the evidence needed to make a case? Didn't review the facts of the case? Makes for very poor lawyering.
And exactly what evidence do you have that SCO have hired good lawyers?!
Seriously, I never said these were particularly good arguments. Just that if you squint hard enough in the right light they may just be adequate arguments. IANAL.
They MUST know that some of the arguments they (SCO) have made are outright lies and legal fiction. . .
If you squint hard enough in the right light, they can probably get away with what they're saying quite easily:
Our client told us to sue. And told us what they thought were the facts. We were acting in good faith.
No of course we didn't check on those facts. We are paid to put across the client's case, not to confirm whether or not there is a case to answer.
We didn't lie - we just repeated what we were told. It's hardly our fault we were fed a pack of lies.
Wait and see. If anyone gets into trouble over this, you can bet it won't be the lawyers. After all, a judge has to preside over a court case, and a judge is just a lawyer who's been promoted.
Most of the users there would have been unable to troubleshoot Windows anyhow. They'd have called on me. There are dozens of small companies that make their living providing IT services, including troubleshooting, to other small companies.
I don't think Linux would be a "magic bullet" solution for anyone, but neither do I think that it is unusable for a small company. Different, yes. Trickier for the member of staff who happens to have a computer at home and is thus landed with the job of handling the ones at work? Undoubtedly. But the original discussion that all this came from was the NHS - hardly a small company.
In large companies, I see Linux being considered as a desktop alternative for cost and management reasons. The server will run whatever it needs to run in order to service the business - this is the techies problem. Linux is already being taken seriously as a server OS there.
In smaller companies, chances are they're buying computers with a Windows license and OS installed in the first place, and may not be re-ghosting them. What on Earth is the point in them putting Linux on the desktop? OpenOffice, maybe. Firefox - in a stretch, possibly. Linux? Not for some years.
However on the server, Exchange is expensive overkill. The server, being business critical, is more likely to be left to the experts. And here, Linux is making inroads. I know of a couple of companies in this area providing specialist services to small businesses - they come in, set up and maintain a Linux server and the client systems are the customer's problem.
And by the way if you think only sysadmins troubleshoot windows desktops you're living in fairy land matie.
I think that if your organisation lets ordinary users (as opposed to tech staff) troubleshoot their own PC, or even gives them sufficient priveliges on the machines to do so, your troubles are far greater than mine.
You really expect garden variety end users to dump Windows, and learn to troubleshoot at the low level? Come on! Get a clue. So much for Linux as a desktop replacement. What a goddamn joke.
Garden variety end users don't administer, troubleshoot and configure their own boxes. They don't install Windows. They don't even know there is a low level.
Slashdot Mirror
And as soon as the contents of your hard disk are examined under subpoena, you're screwed. As is the project you worked on. And it's not exactly great for the wider PR for Open Source in general.
I would consider doing this foolish at best, downright dangerous at worst.
BT are lying theiving scum that have exploited the British public with their monopoly for years
Don't hold back, skinfitz. Tell us what you really think.
Does this mean twice as many pages with "Search for 'printer problem linux' on Kelkoo"?
I think I can beat that. Spin back to 1999, I was having trouble uploading a website to the hosting provider.
Me: "I'm trying to connect to your FTP server but it says 'Connection Refused'."
Tech: "What FTP client are you using?"
Me: "FTP. Command line FTP."
Tech: "Er... hold the line a moment..."
It gives them an easy get out, thus:
Tech: "Does your computer have a VGA card running in at least 256 colours?"
Customer: "WTF? How on Earth should I know?"
Tech: "Sorry, unless you can confirm it does, we cannot support you. Goodbye."
Same thing happens in the UK. There's articles every other week saying "Big shortage in these skills! People with these skills in great demand!"
The last few weeks, these skills in "shortage" have been "Linux/OSS skills".
I would dearly like to meet some of these people who are surveyed and say there's a shortage, because I was laid off from supporting and administering a boatload of Linux servers in September and I've had all of 2 interviews.
I was wondering the exact same thing. Epson claim "archival quality" for their recent photo printers, but don't state what this means.
I called them and they said "25 years". Ironically, the non-photo pigment ink printers (C84 etc.) are rated for 100 years.
http://www.whitepost.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/mirror/t 3d_2_big.jpg t 3d_psus_big.jpg t 90_2_big.jpg t 3d_wiring_big.jpg t 90_system_board_big.jpg
http://www.whitepost.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/mirror/
http://www.whitepost.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/mirror/
http://www.whitepost.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/mirror/
http://www.whitepost.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/mirror/
1. Windows Network Neighborhood visibility and UNIX/Linux visibility in the same panel.
. png
t er.png
Check. It's called Samba.
2. Active Directory password management which includes single sign-on and password expiration policies.
Check. It's called Samba with Winbind. Though it could do with being better integrated with most distributions.
3. Interoperability with Exchange 5.5 and Exchange 2000.
http://www.novell.com/products/connector/
4. Font compatibility with Microsoft Office and Openoffice.org and/or StarOffice.
TrueType fonts work fine for me. Though again, a well-designed installation program would be nice.
5. Windows Terminal Server clients using RDP out of the box for home grown applications and special Windows applications.
http://www.whitepost.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/rdp.png
6. Ability to click on a file in a Windows or Samba share and initiate the associated application.
Have they used Konqueror lately?
http://www.whitepost.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/useprog
7. Device management for hardware compatibility.
One already exists, it just doesn't (yet) integrate to the point whereby it can install drivers automatically.
http://www.whitepost.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/infocen
8. Compatible Windows Media player Codecs.
Which ones? Xine supports most:
http://xinehq.de/index.php/features
I'm not quite sure if that's a genuine anecdote or a troll.
Just because a person happens to originate from a particular land does not make them a con artist. It doesn't make them honest, either.
However, comments like "now you mention it, I knew a chap from that country and he tried to screw me over as well" don't help because they invent a link which didn't previously exist.
That looks remarkably like a Google results page, in terms of structure rather than content.
B &q=best%20search%20engine q =best+search+engine&btnG=Google+Search
Example:
http://www.search.msn.com/results.aspx?FORM=SRCHW
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&ie=ISO-8859-1&
Surely Microsoft haven't chosen to rip-off their design based on the market leader?
This week I discovered someone in my office who knew nothing about google.
What's google?
Speaking of "getting vendors to preinstall", do Microsoft still demand contracts banning the vendor from installing third-party software?
I was under the impression that these had been deemed illegal - but Microsoft still do it.
Every year I try it out to see how it has advanced, and every year I find myself going back to PhotoShop because some feature I require is not present yet. Maybe next year.
I keep on hearing comments like this, on Slashdot and on various mailing lists. I cannot help but wonder how many people who would like to see Gimp become a true Photoshop killer, try it, find a feature that's missing and DON'T submit an enhancement request.
This isn't commercial software! New features do not automagically appear! Even if you don't have the expertise to write it yourself, submitting an enhancement suggestion shows what features are in demand.
Make them work for dell customer support for the rest of there lives.
Make them try calling Dell for customer support for the rest of their lives.
Twice as nasty and you don't have to relocate him at taxpayers expense to India as part of the punishment.
How many credit cards do you reckon they have with a $2.5 million credit limit?
More likely it means "we have no idea about the remaining 25-33%". But the chances are the record companies won't mention any percentage terms - they'll turn it into cash and spin it that way:
"$500 million lost due to the Internet!" (they won't mention that this is in a $multi-billion industry).
the "do not shop there" excuse does not quite cut it when I'm unable to return damaged goods to the store, because I've been flagged as an unwanted customer.
I'm in England and over here the law is very clear - if the item was faulty at point of sale, the retailer has to take it back (Unless, of course, it was sold as being faulty....). They must offer a replacement or a refund, and the customer has the right to refuse the replacement and demand a refund.
What's the law regarding such things in the US?
So you didn't do any work to prepare for the case? Didn't ask any questions to try to put together the evidence needed to make a case? Didn't review the facts of the case? Makes for very poor lawyering.
And exactly what evidence do you have that SCO have hired good lawyers?!
Seriously, I never said these were particularly good arguments. Just that if you squint hard enough in the right light they may just be adequate arguments. IANAL.
Why would he want to buy a company which has no products, no services, has alienated an entire industry and has several nice big fines outstanding?
If you squint hard enough in the right light, they can probably get away with what they're saying quite easily:
Wait and see. If anyone gets into trouble over this, you can bet it won't be the lawyers. After all, a judge has to preside over a court case, and a judge is just a lawyer who's been promoted.
that get 40+ mioles [sic] to the gallon
My car already gets 40 miles to the gallon, thanks.
Yes.
Most of the users there would have been unable to troubleshoot Windows anyhow. They'd have called on me. There are dozens of small companies that make their living providing IT services, including troubleshooting, to other small companies.
I don't think Linux would be a "magic bullet" solution for anyone, but neither do I think that it is unusable for a small company. Different, yes. Trickier for the member of staff who happens to have a computer at home and is thus landed with the job of handling the ones at work? Undoubtedly. But the original discussion that all this came from was the NHS - hardly a small company.
In large companies, I see Linux being considered as a desktop alternative for cost and management reasons. The server will run whatever it needs to run in order to service the business - this is the techies problem. Linux is already being taken seriously as a server OS there.
In smaller companies, chances are they're buying computers with a Windows license and OS installed in the first place, and may not be re-ghosting them. What on Earth is the point in them putting Linux on the desktop? OpenOffice, maybe. Firefox - in a stretch, possibly. Linux? Not for some years.
However on the server, Exchange is expensive overkill. The server, being business critical, is more likely to be left to the experts. And here, Linux is making inroads. I know of a couple of companies in this area providing specialist services to small businesses - they come in, set up and maintain a Linux server and the client systems are the customer's problem.
And by the way if you think only sysadmins troubleshoot windows desktops you're living in fairy land matie.
I think that if your organisation lets ordinary users (as opposed to tech staff) troubleshoot their own PC, or even gives them sufficient priveliges on the machines to do so, your troubles are far greater than mine.
You really expect garden variety end users to dump Windows, and learn to troubleshoot at the low level? Come on! Get a clue. So much for Linux as a desktop replacement. What a goddamn joke.
Garden variety end users don't administer, troubleshoot and configure their own boxes. They don't install Windows. They don't even know there is a low level.