"MS Office 2007 has a substantially different user interface, Openoffice 2 is closer to the current Word interface. Companies will have to retrain for the MS Office upgrade. The old MS formats become obsolescent and MS introduces its new and untested XAML formats. Companies will have to decide whether to go with XAML supported by MS or ODF supported by Sun, IBM, Oracle and Adobe.
Vista will again present large changes in the user interface. It will also require a full hardware upgrade from the hardware used by most current XP systems. Novell SLED 10 with XGL and Beagle does everything new, that Vista promises, and does it on typical current hardware."
I will never forget the first XP workstations that I installed on my LAN. I joined it to the domain, and the user was greeted with a familiar logon screen. Once it loaded up their desktop, I received a deluge of calls of where things were and weren't. It was almost like they booted up a Mac, where everything was upside-down. I walked downstairs and switched their look-feel to Classic, and the calls nearly stopped. Go figure...I'm sure Vista or Office will have a familiarity factor and allow users to still copy and paste, and make table joins in a similar fashion as it's predecessors.
The cost of training is WAY more then the hardware upgrades. And most companies will stick with what their users know, dissapointedly.
Now, if I came to them before this upgrade, and had an OS that doesn't get viruses, is secure and stable, and I can load Windows apps on it...and NOT upgrade the current hardware, that's when things will get interesting.
Microsoft will continue to push their proprietary file structures and won't go with ODF. I have yet to open a word document in OpenOffice and the formatting stay the way it was intended. I might as well be using Word Perfect. And I won't inflict that on my users. I have enough trouble giving support. And because of that fact, 90% of companies will use Microsoft software because they don't want the headaches of file conversion everytime you receive an office document.
Linux running Windows apps....that's the solution..period.
Most companies already have thousands of dollars worth of Microsoft productivity tools that their employees don't need to be retrained to use.
The nail in the coffin will be a distro that can run all those applications, plus their own. Until then, I can't sell it to management. They won't even look at it. And I'm sorry, but OpenOffice is NOT a replacement for M$ Office, if it looks slightly different then what people are used too, they won't touch it with a 10 foot pole.
The same goes for Mac.
Granted Codeweavers have the tools, but the licensing will kill a project like this. I've tried to use their setup, but it's just not stable enough for the Admin environment.
I'd like to speak on behalf of the incompetent IT department.
There are lots of factors that go into designing and maintaining a network.
While you sit there on the other side of the big oval table, pointing your fingers at me and my collegues demanding more performance, I point my finger back at you, pointing out the fact that my IT department is understaffed and underfunded for almost a decade. For the last 6 years I have managed to maintain operability of a medium sized network using software and hardware that is in some cases 8-10 years old.
When the IT department requests a new server, or NAS, or router, or switch, or suggests implementing something like VoIP and you give me the finger when it comes to my budget...Screw you.
But still you cry more speed, more disk space, more help desk, faster workstations, more disaster recovery. There are 2 of us(including IT managment which is I) and 450 of you spread out in 3 states.
I would venture to guess that there are THOUSAND of small companies out there like this. Time to stand up against upper management and CEO's that ask you to do your job better with less money and resources. Time to trust your IT staff with what they do best...Technology.
They have done these tests before...and found that any form of radiation causes changes in cell structure and function. Why should Cell Radiation be any different? They already have warnings out about excessive cell use and people should be using head sets.
Ugh...This project and article are a waste of government dollars, print media space, and Internet bandwidth.
Get in your plastic bubble with your tinfoil had. Fun and convenience are carcinogens.
Apple is struggling to hold on to their hardware stranglehold.
Their money isn't made on software, it's their slick hardware.
Granted, releasing OSX (ten) for the PC would cause an exodus of Windows users and windfall profits, but they don't have the support structure in place to support the masses coming to their doorstep. I'm not looking for the iPod software to run on my iRiver or Rio...I have to buy a $399 iPod for the experience.
Would I purchase a copy of OSX for my PC... You Betcha. But I won't hold my breath waiting for it.
No matter the media, there are going to be idiots out there trying to push the envelope on how far you can go. Including politicians.
I reserve the right to provide my fellow co-workers an environment at work, free from emails about political banter and offensive materials. Am I a censor? But nonetheless, It's a private business, and there is no place for mail like this in the workplace (per managment and federal and state laws).
You are right, SPAM is offensive electronic or non electronic, behavior and it takes many forms.
Where it becomes annoying is if people don't have the CHOICE to block it out. It's like someone putting loudspeakers on your front lawn (the strip between the street and the sidewalk is public property in my city) and playing Captain and Teneal records 24-7. The person playing them has the right too because it's free speech...but not if he is disrupting my right to peace and quiet on property I pay taxes on. There has to be some limitations. Like, he can only play his shitty music between the hours of 8am and 10pm. Captain and Teneal is not offensive to everyone, but it is to me. Just like some spam mail is offensive to others but not to me. If I don't want it...I shouldn't have to be forced to receive it on my servers or in my Inbox.
On a side note, if there is anyone who can kick ass in the PDA market, it's Apple.
I'm sure it will look slick, thin and wear like iron. (for a hefty price I'm sure)
I hope it won't require iCal or iLife to use it. Linux/Unix portability would be sweet. Maybe even throw in some features for Sys Admins, like the ability so store multiple bootable OS images for system recovery or maybe wifi accessiblity? Go Get em.
People need to get re-educated on their rights as Americans, even with these new-fangled wire tapping homeland security crap rules.
They have to follow procedure and rules, and 90% of what they do is speculative investigation anyway. Intimidation is their ally, and if people comply so easily, then when and where does is stop? Coming home to find your house ransacked because some script kiddie spoofs your IP? No Warrant required?
It's not ballsy to ask the officer that wants to look in your trunk or back seat for a warrant without probable cause.
We are still the United States, and the Bill of Rights (First 10 amendments for our foreign listeners) is still in effect, until otherwise changed or amended. I have a sneaking suspicion those ain't going anywhere.
Myself or anyone else asking for the warrant are not disrespecting law enforcement in any form, we are just asking for them to respect our rights, and when they do, we will comply.
We were in DC for Labor Day weekend this past year, not only was there a barrier setup in front of the White House at least 500 yards out from the doorstep, there were 5 snipers that I could count in my pictures standing on the roof of the White House.
Not just 2 years before that, the barrier was up by the front gate to the lawn.
How can he see my finger from that far out?
Mr. Lincoln didn't seem to complain about getting his picture taken with me.
There are 2 current calendar projects going on right now through Mozilla, Sunbird and Calandar.
For myself, I do OSS research and development on my own projects at freespamfilter.org, which I host, and support in the forums.
My statement was saying that, instead of developing something "new" from old stuff, why not work with a project that is totally successful like Firefox and Thunderbird. You could even install them together on the same system, just like your Suite you speak of. Only one thing missing from those, a calendar that is as funtional with current 'payfor' server applications.
How about a calendar plugin for Thunderbird that works?
No need to go off on a tangent here. Take what you got, and make it better.
I don't need another suite (Bad enough I'm forced to have IE and OE on my windows systems)thank you. Especially not a super version of the old Netscape package.
Ask people what they would like, they will tell you.
Nice effort, but not for me. Lasted 30 seconds on my machine.
There has been signifcation break through in the Desktop OS market for the Linux's but it's still infantile. (Not saying Windows is remarkable, it should be for the amount of money behind it)
So far, I think SuSe is on the right track, being they have had the best WLAN support I've seen (groan). I remember listening to a roomate bitch for hours as he tried to get his Centrino with bg2100 wifi going on his fresh install of Fedora. I chuckled happily as I effortlessly surfed on my Centrino bg2200 on SuSe 10.0.
I explained to him that he was trying to make an elephant move like a cat, and that Fedora is hands down a brilliant server OS, and that he needed to grab Ubuntu or SuSe if he wanted to dance. As some distros move to the desktop environment (praise God, I can get rid of Windows on my networks all together!), we shall see more support for WLAN projects.
When 95% of workstations and home PC's run Windows, why waste time writing a virus for an operating system that only holds 5% market and won't give you ultimate root or stores system files separate from the user files?
Obviously, Microsoft feels that they are losing a certain audience of admins that like to actually control an operating system under the hood, hiding certain features from end users and tailoring it to fit an organization (Like NT USED to be).
I think a certain number of professionals have abandoned Microsoft products for Linux to have more control over what happens behind the seens, simply because the Unix/Linux shells are so robust and easy to use.
Taking MS-DOS out of the picture really hurt Microsoft. The thing to do now is to make it conform in some senses to the standards that the Nix shells have set.
If they miss this point totally, not many admins will want to go out at learn a new syntax just because MS decides to all of a sudden give us the control back.
"I've got three AMDs running in my home lab alone along with scores in the field and haven't had an issue, and I've been running AMD chips since the 386-40. And for overall failure rates I've had NOTHING as bad as Intel based Dells in the last year.. they're a joke on both the server and workstation front."
I have had various AMD systems run well when build with customizable components with the VIA chipsets and the NFORCE boards are rock solid because of the way they handle resources.
But I guarantee Joe Blow Workstation builder "Home of the $299 cracker box" isn't using these reliable components.
AMD would go miles further by enforcing the chipsets that are available to use their processors in, and managing the quality.
I think that is what he's referring to. Would I buy a Compaq AMD64 system? NO. Would I buy an HP AMD64 system? Absolutely. Because it costs 100-200 dollars more and they use the Nforce boards and not the crap assed SiS chipsets.
If you walk into Circus City and buy the $499 laptop from Compaq, you deserve to get burned.
Can you make an AMD run like a champ, Conclusion: Sure, but watch the boards you buy.
I have built more Intel PC's in the last 5 years, simply because when Cousin Joe, or a referral comes along and asks me about buying a PC, I say that I build PC's Intel because when it leaves my doorstep, I don't want to talk to them until they want to upgrade or replace it in 3-5 years.
Then I proceed to tell them if they want a $299 peice of crap, go to Walmart and deal with their tech support in 3 months when the system fails.
Results? Repeat customers for years because they know if they pay a little extra, they get to have dependable systems with quality parts.
I don't want AMD troubles.
I may be a troll for being an Intel whore. But I make more money on repeat busines then cracker box AMD systems (plus my tech dignity is intact, and I can sleep at night)
You could just buy their cheapest desktop system which has all the hardware supported in Linux anyway, and keep your copy of XP home or give it to your grandma to put on her 4 year old Dell she got at a garage sale.:) Go F yourself Dell.
Ship the systems with SuSe or Ubuntu on them for 100 bucks cheaper then your current MS machines.
The cost associated with dishing out checks and charges every month to 1000 or more state and local governments is astronomical in relation to doing business on the web. If this type of shit goes through, I lose revenue for hiring new employees and paying benifits to my current workers.
These blood sucking politicians are going to suck the life right out of the "new" economy they have been promoting.
Hands off my revenues, an quit stealing money from my employees and my business.
I'm sure we'll just all shut our mouths and take it up the ass from our government again, all in the name of feeling good. When can we have another Tea Party??
I agree, KDE needs to be streamlined. I've used it for most of my *nix installs that I want a desktop, but it just got too damned packed full of stuff I never use.
Take a survey of the top 25 or 30 system apps that are used and put those into a nice slim package. Then add the extras
I've always liked the look and feel of KDE better then Gnome, but I have to say that the new RHEL and Fedora Gnome's are just laid out better.
What I like to do is give an new OS five minutes to work right, and if it doesn't, back in the box.
Any admin worth his salt knows that a kernel based OS that gives you memory dumps is more then likely a hardware issue.
What I think really happened is that he doesn't know his head from his ass, and when he came across an issue he didn't have the competance to handle, he bails and blames it on the Linux to save what little bit of integrity as an admin that he has.
Slashdot Mirror
I'm still waiting for my 40 acres and a mule.
---How can you tell that a politician is lying?
--His/Her lips are moving.
"MS Office 2007 has a substantially different user interface, Openoffice 2 is closer to the current Word interface. Companies will have to retrain for the MS Office upgrade. The old MS formats become obsolescent and MS introduces its new and untested XAML formats. Companies will have to decide whether to go with XAML supported by MS or ODF supported by Sun, IBM, Oracle and Adobe.
Vista will again present large changes in the user interface. It will also require a full hardware upgrade from the hardware used by most current XP systems. Novell SLED 10 with XGL and Beagle does everything new, that Vista promises, and does it on typical current hardware."
I will never forget the first XP workstations that I installed on my LAN. I joined it to the domain, and the user was greeted with a familiar logon screen. Once it loaded up their desktop, I received a deluge of calls of where things were and weren't. It was almost like they booted up a Mac, where everything was upside-down. I walked downstairs and switched their look-feel to Classic, and the calls nearly stopped. Go figure...I'm sure Vista or Office will have a familiarity factor and allow users to still copy and paste, and make table joins in a similar fashion as it's predecessors.
The cost of training is WAY more then the hardware upgrades. And most companies will stick with what their users know, dissapointedly.
Now, if I came to them before this upgrade, and had an OS that doesn't get viruses, is secure and stable, and I can load Windows apps on it...and NOT upgrade the current hardware, that's when things will get interesting.
Microsoft will continue to push their proprietary file structures and won't go with ODF. I have yet to open a word document in OpenOffice and the formatting stay the way it was intended. I might as well be using Word Perfect. And I won't inflict that on my users. I have enough trouble giving support. And because of that fact, 90% of companies will use Microsoft software because they don't want the headaches of file conversion everytime you receive an office document.
Linux running Windows apps....that's the solution..period.
Most companies already have thousands of dollars worth of Microsoft productivity tools that their employees don't need to be retrained to use.
The nail in the coffin will be a distro that can run all those applications, plus their own. Until then, I can't sell it to management. They won't even look at it. And I'm sorry, but OpenOffice is NOT a replacement for M$ Office, if it looks slightly different then what people are used too, they won't touch it with a 10 foot pole.
The same goes for Mac.
Granted Codeweavers have the tools, but the licensing will kill a project like this. I've tried to use their setup, but it's just not stable enough for the Admin environment.
I'd like to speak on behalf of the incompetent IT department.
There are lots of factors that go into designing and maintaining a network.
While you sit there on the other side of the big oval table, pointing your fingers at me and my collegues demanding more performance, I point my finger back at you, pointing out the fact that my IT department is understaffed and underfunded for almost a decade. For the last 6 years I have managed to maintain operability of a medium sized network using software and hardware that is in some cases 8-10 years old.
When the IT department requests a new server, or NAS, or router, or switch, or suggests implementing something like VoIP and you give me the finger when it comes to my budget...Screw you.
But still you cry more speed, more disk space, more help desk, faster workstations, more disaster recovery. There are 2 of us(including IT managment which is I) and 450 of you spread out in 3 states.
I would venture to guess that there are THOUSAND of small companies out there like this. Time to stand up against upper management and CEO's that ask you to do your job better with less money and resources. Time to trust your IT staff with what they do best...Technology.
**Off Soap Box**
Your ideals are as extinct and warped as the Nazis.
If you fell face first on a straight pin, you'd poke both eyes out.
causes cancer...
Pick your poison... Sunlight, Cigarettes, Alcohol, Cell Phones, Diet Soda, Golf Course Fertilizer...
They have done these tests before...and found that any form of radiation causes changes in cell structure and function. Why should Cell Radiation be any different? They already have warnings out about excessive cell use and people should be using head sets.
Ugh...This project and article are a waste of government dollars, print media space, and Internet bandwidth.
Get in your plastic bubble with your tinfoil had. Fun and convenience are carcinogens.
Apple is struggling to hold on to their hardware stranglehold.
Their money isn't made on software, it's their slick hardware.
Granted, releasing OSX (ten) for the PC would cause an exodus of Windows users and windfall profits, but they don't have the support structure in place to support the masses coming to their doorstep. I'm not looking for the iPod software to run on my iRiver or Rio...I have to buy a $399 iPod for the experience.
Would I purchase a copy of OSX for my PC... You Betcha. But I won't hold my breath waiting for it.
No matter the media, there are going to be idiots out there trying to push the envelope on how far you can go. Including politicians.
I reserve the right to provide my fellow co-workers an environment at work, free from emails about political banter and offensive materials. Am I a censor? But nonetheless, It's a private business, and there is no place for mail like this in the workplace (per managment and federal and state laws).
You are right, SPAM is offensive electronic or non electronic, behavior and it takes many forms.
Where it becomes annoying is if people don't have the CHOICE to block it out. It's like someone putting loudspeakers on your front lawn (the strip between the street and the sidewalk is public property in my city) and playing Captain and Teneal records 24-7. The person playing them has the right too because it's free speech...but not if he is disrupting my right to peace and quiet on property I pay taxes on. There has to be some limitations. Like, he can only play his shitty music between the hours of 8am and 10pm. Captain and Teneal is not offensive to everyone, but it is to me. Just like some spam mail is offensive to others but not to me. If I don't want it...I shouldn't have to be forced to receive it on my servers or in my Inbox.
On a side note, if there is anyone who can kick ass in the PDA market, it's Apple.
I'm sure it will look slick, thin and wear like iron. (for a hefty price I'm sure)
I hope it won't require iCal or iLife to use it. Linux/Unix portability would be sweet. Maybe even throw in some features for Sys Admins, like the ability so store multiple bootable OS images for system recovery or maybe wifi accessiblity?
Go Get em.
--No matter what I post, it's crap...Thank you.
Yeah!!!
A stupid iPod jogger wheel for my Palm.
They should have made the iPod more of a PDA, then they wouldn't have to buy a PDA company.
--King O' The shitty Karma
People need to get re-educated on their rights as Americans, even with these new-fangled wire tapping homeland security crap rules.
They have to follow procedure and rules, and 90% of what they do is speculative investigation anyway. Intimidation is their ally, and if people comply so easily, then when and where does is stop? Coming home to find your house ransacked because some script kiddie spoofs your IP? No Warrant required?
It's not ballsy to ask the officer that wants to look in your trunk or back seat for a warrant without probable cause.
We are still the United States, and the Bill of Rights (First 10 amendments for our foreign listeners) is still in effect, until otherwise changed or amended. I have a sneaking suspicion those ain't going anywhere.
Myself or anyone else asking for the warrant are not disrespecting law enforcement in any form, we are just asking for them to respect our rights, and when they do, we will comply.
But watch for the snipers.
We were in DC for Labor Day weekend this past year, not only was there a barrier setup in front of the White House at least 500 yards out from the doorstep, there were 5 snipers that I could count in my pictures standing on the roof of the White House.
Not just 2 years before that, the barrier was up by the front gate to the lawn.
How can he see my finger from that far out?
Mr. Lincoln didn't seem to complain about getting his picture taken with me.
There are 2 current calendar projects going on right now through Mozilla,
Sunbird and Calandar.
For myself, I do OSS research and development on my own projects at freespamfilter.org, which I host, and support in the forums.
My statement was saying that, instead of developing something "new" from old stuff, why not work with a project that is totally successful like Firefox and Thunderbird. You could even install them together on the same system, just like your Suite you speak of. Only one thing missing from those, a calendar that is as funtional with current 'payfor' server applications.
How about a calendar plugin for Thunderbird that works?
No need to go off on a tangent here. Take what you got, and make it better.
I don't need another suite (Bad enough I'm forced to have IE and OE on my windows systems)thank you. Especially not a super version of the old Netscape package.
Ask people what they would like, they will tell you.
Nice effort, but not for me. Lasted 30 seconds on my machine.
What relationship does Open Source software have with getting free long distance calls by hacking Telcom Switches?
Check the fruit of the tree.
So far, I think SuSe is on the right track, being they have had the best WLAN support I've seen (groan). I remember listening to a roomate bitch for hours as he tried to get his Centrino with bg2100 wifi going on his fresh install of Fedora. I chuckled happily as I effortlessly surfed on my Centrino bg2200 on SuSe 10.0.
I explained to him that he was trying to make an elephant move like a cat, and that Fedora is hands down a brilliant server OS, and that he needed to grab Ubuntu or SuSe if he wanted to dance. As some distros move to the desktop environment (praise God, I can get rid of Windows on my networks all together!), we shall see more support for WLAN projects.
Windows is such and easy target./p?
You have to account for the adjusted new wage of the outsourced employee, not $100 an hour in Bangledesh or India for restitution, but $100 a year.
Now wait a minute, the MCSE over there probably made $200 a year.
I think a certain number of professionals have abandoned Microsoft products for Linux to have more control over what happens behind the seens, simply because the Unix/Linux shells are so robust and easy to use.
Taking MS-DOS out of the picture really hurt Microsoft. The thing to do now is to make it conform in some senses to the standards that the Nix shells have set.
If they miss this point totally, not many admins will want to go out at learn a new syntax just because MS decides to all of a sudden give us the control back.
I have had various AMD systems run well when build with customizable components with the VIA chipsets and the NFORCE boards are rock solid because of the way they handle resources.
But I guarantee Joe Blow Workstation builder "Home of the $299 cracker box" isn't using these reliable components.
AMD would go miles further by enforcing the chipsets that are available to use their processors in, and managing the quality.
I think that is what he's referring to. Would I buy a Compaq AMD64 system? NO. Would I buy an HP AMD64 system? Absolutely. Because it costs 100-200 dollars more and they use the Nforce boards and not the crap assed SiS chipsets.
If you walk into Circus City and buy the $499 laptop from Compaq, you deserve to get burned.
Can you make an AMD run like a champ, Conclusion: Sure, but watch the boards you buy.
Repent, the age of the disposable PC is here!!
I have built more Intel PC's in the last 5 years, simply because when Cousin Joe, or a referral comes along and asks me about buying a PC, I say that I build PC's Intel because when it leaves my doorstep, I don't want to talk to them until they want to upgrade or replace it in 3-5 years.
Then I proceed to tell them if they want a $299 peice of crap, go to Walmart and deal with their tech support in 3 months when the system fails.
Results? Repeat customers for years because they know if they pay a little extra, they get to have dependable systems with quality parts.
I don't want AMD troubles.
I may be a troll for being an Intel whore. But I make more money on repeat busines then cracker box AMD systems (plus my tech dignity is intact, and I can sleep at night)
Ship the systems with SuSe or Ubuntu on them for 100 bucks cheaper then your current MS machines.
Or are you afraid that Billy will beat you up?
These blood sucking politicians are going to suck the life right out of the "new" economy they have been promoting.
Hands off my revenues, an quit stealing money from my employees and my business.
I'm sure we'll just all shut our mouths and take it up the ass from our government again, all in the name of feeling good. When can we have another Tea Party??
Take a survey of the top 25 or 30 system apps that are used and put those into a nice slim package. Then add the extras
I've always liked the look and feel of KDE better then Gnome, but I have to say that the new RHEL and Fedora Gnome's are just laid out better.
Any admin worth his salt knows that a kernel based OS that gives you memory dumps is more then likely a hardware issue.
What I think really happened is that he doesn't know his head from his ass, and when he came across an issue he didn't have the competance to handle, he bails and blames it on the Linux to save what little bit of integrity as an admin that he has.
Go back to Windows you pussy.