just put FreeDOS on every machine. Everybody wins!
Well actually that is exactly what is happening here in India.
Out here the market is dominated majorly by freelancers who assemble and sell computers (needless to say, with a pirated copy of Windoze). To compete with them manufacturers like HP, Dell, Lenovo, etc. have come out with lower end systems with FreeDOS/Fedora installed. These systems are much cheaper at about Rs. 30,000 ($500 approx.) compared to the fully loaded system (XP starter/home ed. and a namesake h/w upgrade) which will come for upwards of Rs. 45,000 ($800 approx.)
I tested an install and then a subsequent uninstall of IE7. Strangely that broke my IE6 install. All my links are caught by Firefox. Even if I type the url in the IE6 address bar a new firefox window opens up to take that link.
Inspite of this Windows Explorer's working fine. Am I missing something?
Just imagine if your company buys Oracle licenses in bulk.:O
Time to demand for a pay raise then;-)
But I guess about 10-15 server licenses must not be very uncommon.
I've seen upper management (with obviously little understanding of IT and related expenses) break little sweat over a few thousand dollars (Why settle for ASP when the.net is available. Wait... is there anything newer?.net 2.0? we can go for that also. Better safe than worry later about having to upgrade).
I guess some of these IT managers (is it just my firm?) simply seem to think that upgrading is compulsary to get rid of shortcomings they don't understand. Kinda like the "better safe than worry" rule.
Hehe.. believe it or not, a couple of hundred licenses is a norm for a company that houses about 25,000 employees. And yes, its publicly listed. AFAIR I remember, my h/w guy had told me that he has a couple of hundred licenses of Win2003 standard lying around. enterprise edition licenses are much fewer in number though, at about 15-20.
My impression is that anything that is to be used on desktops is ordered in bulk (couple of hundred).
How exactly can Microsoft make Vista a compelling upgrade other than releasing new game titles that will not run on Windows XP?
The thing about *corporations* is that they often prefer to err on the higher side when it comes to IT infrastructure. The company I work in has thousands of licenses of windows XP, 2003 standard and 2003 enterprise just for keeps. And the policy is that if one is requested, they buy a few hundred because its "cheaper" that way.
So if one guy sends in a request for Vista with new hardware for "testing purposes", the IT dept will simply order a few hundred licenses.
That's what gets notched up in Microsoft's sales book, not the fact that there's probably only one or two copies actually running.
And the hype driven developers/project managers will most definitely ask for one -- I've been asked to ensure that a web application I develop works on IE7.
Windows Starter version will never be seen by 99% of people outside its intended market (developing nations).
Actually most people in developing nations will simply pirate the pro/enterprise edition. The only drawback for them would be the fact that they'll have to wait till the pirated edition comes out. Doesn't hurt does it;)
Disclaimer: I'm an Indian so please don't flame me about being ignorant of the conditions.
Is it possible to have a Decentralized Internet service of sorts with no Government controlling it? Something like Bittorrent where there is no need for 'root' servers or super nodes of any sort.
Probably just a speculation but something worth looking into. If it is possible then it could very well be the next phase in technological innovation, especially at a time when governemnts of all countries are publicly or secretly wanting control over how their people live their life.
An example of how companies are not always very much educated about licenses.
My firm plans on using MySQL database without knowing its license details, saying that "it's open source, so no sweat". The nitty gritty details are rarely concentrated upon unless its absolutely necessary -- for example when the customer wants to know about it.
Whereas many businesses consider license details before adoption, many just don't know anything ahead of "open source, hence free" and "uhh... shitloadsa money".
How many people actually READ license agreements before going ahead and installing a product?
I have no certifications. I'm just a Comp Science graduate, completing my PG next year. I install debian woody in 15 minutes flat. There are guys with certifications out there who, inspite of the exposure to the certifications, think that Redhat is the only linux based system out there. Infact when they hear of Debian it's "huh.. what?? damian linux?? what the hell is that??"
The point is that just a plain certification won't give you the whole deal. You'll always miss out on some very basic knowledge.
But on the flip side, a certified guy will probably have *learnt* how to set up a firewall and do so in a matter of minutes while a guy like me will fumble for an hour with the Howtos first.
I guess its just a *certificate of authenticity* that we seek when we look for certifications. However experienced employers (like the parent poster) will agree that inspite of the certification, some basic test is necessary to ensure that the guy is not just a *rote and ride* kinda guy.
Exactly what my managers said - "Then I couldn't manage you". Last I checked managing involves more then what time I came in and what time I left. That argument doesn't hold any way. After I got this answer to my suggestion they sent a few projects to India - how the hell are you going to "manage" people on the other side of the planet who work in a time zone with a 12 hour differntial....
Alright, lets say I let you work for me, from home, just like we have employees away from the office in India. And to make conditions even more similar, I'll pay you as much as they're paid. Will you agree to it? Will you agree to $7500 per annum? $7500 is, by the way, for a senior developer, a beginner will usually get just about $4000 per annum.
I guess now you get the *business side of it*.
Ofcourse, its not that simple. There are costs involved when outsourcing, like communication, infrastructure, language barriers, low quality which contributes to the overhead. But its so low compared to the savings that companies are always willing to take it in their stride.
I do believe that companies like IBM, HP, Motorola, Oracle, etc. are much smarter than the average slashdotter and they actually think and plan their step rather than *follow the hype* as you seem to suggest. They didn't make their billions by merely following trends and hypes.
I wonder if they are planning on partnering with some of the mobile telephone companies to allow mobile 'phones to work as endpoints for Google Talk conversations
This could probably be the headline for the next Google article on RumourDot er.. Slashdot.
First, a technical manager without technical experience is worthless
A guy with zero technical knowledge, yes, its not worth it. he should have to know what his subordinates are talking about. But its not necessary that he should be an uber hacker. I think Techno-Functional is the right word for it.
Personally, I have found uber hackers to be clumsy managers as they indulge themselves too much into "getting that piece of code right". Thats not a managers job. And if he really has time for it then either he's missing out on something or someone else is sharing part of the job he really ought to be doing. Here's some of the jobs that an IT firm manager would have:
Manage project/team Resources
Meeting up with clients
Building business relationships
Get right people on right jobs
Monitor team workflows and try to tweak them
Address grievances of his subordinates
Long story short, its about making life easier for the developers/techies so that they concentrate only on the tech stuff. If there's some technical detail related to a niche problem that he really needs to know to take a certain decision then it is the techie's duty to get his boss up to speed about it atleast in terms of "action and consequences".
I believe these should keep a man busy enough. If you have time out of this then there's one of these things then you either might not be doing at your best or you're one heck of a rare breed manager.
Slashdot Mirror
just put FreeDOS on every machine. Everybody wins!
Well actually that is exactly what is happening here in India.
Out here the market is dominated majorly by freelancers who assemble and sell computers (needless to say, with a pirated copy of Windoze). To compete with them manufacturers like HP, Dell, Lenovo, etc. have come out with lower end systems with FreeDOS/Fedora installed. These systems are much cheaper at about Rs. 30,000 ($500 approx.) compared to the fully loaded system (XP starter/home ed. and a namesake h/w upgrade) which will come for upwards of Rs. 45,000 ($800 approx.)
And my best managers have usually been women.
Ok ok.. We got the point. You know and speak to women... I will too... some day...
hough we are getting a couple to try out
;-)
I wanna see this... really
PS: Please don't break my fantasy bubble by telling me its not what I think it is... dual core systems and couples....
I tested an install and then a subsequent uninstall of IE7. Strangely that broke my IE6 install. All my links are caught by Firefox. Even if I type the url in the IE6 address bar a new firefox window opens up to take that link.
Inspite of this Windows Explorer's working fine. Am I missing something?
Wow... how's that for a grammar dilemma. Already we have rediculously lose language skills inside the Slashdot peoples.
;-)
For a moment it reminded me of my Math professor who used to say "Open the doors of the windows and let the atmosphere come in"
Just imagine if your company buys Oracle licenses in bulk. :O
;-)
.net is available. Wait... is there anything newer? .net 2.0? we can go for that also. Better safe than worry later about having to upgrade).
Time to demand for a pay raise then
But I guess about 10-15 server licenses must not be very uncommon.
I've seen upper management (with obviously little understanding of IT and related expenses) break little sweat over a few thousand dollars (Why settle for ASP when the
I guess some of these IT managers (is it just my firm?) simply seem to think that upgrading is compulsary to get rid of shortcomings they don't understand. Kinda like the "better safe than worry" rule.
Hehe.. believe it or not, a couple of hundred licenses is a norm for a company that houses about 25,000 employees. And yes, its publicly listed. AFAIR I remember, my h/w guy had told me that he has a couple of hundred licenses of Win2003 standard lying around. enterprise edition licenses are much fewer in number though, at about 15-20.
My impression is that anything that is to be used on desktops is ordered in bulk (couple of hundred).
How exactly can Microsoft make Vista a compelling upgrade other than releasing new game titles that will not run on Windows XP?
The thing about *corporations* is that they often prefer to err on the higher side when it comes to IT infrastructure. The company I work in has thousands of licenses of windows XP, 2003 standard and 2003 enterprise just for keeps. And the policy is that if one is requested, they buy a few hundred because its "cheaper" that way. So if one guy sends in a request for Vista with new hardware for "testing purposes", the IT dept will simply order a few hundred licenses.
That's what gets notched up in Microsoft's sales book, not the fact that there's probably only one or two copies actually running.
And the hype driven developers/project managers will most definitely ask for one -- I've been asked to ensure that a web application I develop works on IE7.
So, like, is there an official dictionary of rarely words to consult for naming Gnome applications?
Expect a future gnome app to get a name from Here.
Now, I wonder what is that small icon in the upper left corner of my screen?
;-)
If your screen is the same as my screen then its a pizza stain
Don't worry... even I JUST found out its not an icon...
Windows Starter version will never be seen by 99% of people outside its intended market (developing nations).
;)
Actually most people in developing nations will simply pirate the pro/enterprise edition. The only drawback for them would be the fact that they'll have to wait till the pirated edition comes out. Doesn't hurt does it
Disclaimer: I'm an Indian so please don't flame me about being ignorant of the conditions.
Is it possible to have a Decentralized Internet service of sorts with no Government controlling it? Something like Bittorrent where there is no need for 'root' servers or super nodes of any sort.
Probably just a speculation but something worth looking into. If it is possible then it could very well be the next phase in technological innovation, especially at a time when governemnts of all countries are publicly or secretly wanting control over how their people live their life.
oh nevermind... ;)
Wouldn't mosquitoes get trapped *inside* the net if its covering an entire city??
there goes another freeware product into the dark alleys of ad/spyware....
oh wait... you're supposed to BUY windows??? so the bittorrent versions don't count??
actually, according to heisenberg's principle you'll never be certain who did it... there's equal probability of both cats doing it...
An example of how companies are not always very much educated about licenses. My firm plans on using MySQL database without knowing its license details, saying that "it's open source, so no sweat". The nitty gritty details are rarely concentrated upon unless its absolutely necessary -- for example when the customer wants to know about it.
Whereas many businesses consider license details before adoption, many just don't know anything ahead of "open source, hence free" and "uhh... shitloadsa money".
How many people actually READ license agreements before going ahead and installing a product?
Sprint...
MUAHAHAHAHA...
Am I the only one that uses the middle button?
YES!!
(reads other replies)
uhhh... am I the only one who DOESN'T use the middle button...
the Windows OS always catched up by using...
I hope language skills on slashdot will someday catched up with the rest of the world.
1) Install a "face reader" authentication device.
2) Put a "Acne Trouble? click here" link and force to buy lots of acne cream
3) ???
4) Profit!!!
I have no certifications. I'm just a Comp Science graduate, completing my PG next year. I install debian woody in 15 minutes flat. There are guys with certifications out there who, inspite of the exposure to the certifications, think that Redhat is the only linux based system out there. Infact when they hear of Debian it's "huh.. what?? damian linux?? what the hell is that??"
The point is that just a plain certification won't give you the whole deal. You'll always miss out on some very basic knowledge.
But on the flip side, a certified guy will probably have *learnt* how to set up a firewall and do so in a matter of minutes while a guy like me will fumble for an hour with the Howtos first.
I guess its just a *certificate of authenticity* that we seek when we look for certifications. However experienced employers (like the parent poster) will agree that inspite of the certification, some basic test is necessary to ensure that the guy is not just a *rote and ride* kinda guy.
Exactly what my managers said - "Then I couldn't manage you". Last I checked managing involves more then what time I came in and what time I left. That argument doesn't hold any way. After I got this answer to my suggestion they sent a few projects to India - how the hell are you going to "manage" people on the other side of the planet who work in a time zone with a 12 hour differntial....
Alright, lets say I let you work for me, from home, just like we have employees away from the office in India. And to make conditions even more similar, I'll pay you as much as they're paid. Will you agree to it? Will you agree to $7500 per annum? $7500 is, by the way, for a senior developer, a beginner will usually get just about $4000 per annum.
I guess now you get the *business side of it*.
Ofcourse, its not that simple. There are costs involved when outsourcing, like communication, infrastructure, language barriers, low quality which contributes to the overhead. But its so low compared to the savings that companies are always willing to take it in their stride.
I do believe that companies like IBM, HP, Motorola, Oracle, etc. are much smarter than the average slashdotter and they actually think and plan their step rather than *follow the hype* as you seem to suggest. They didn't make their billions by merely following trends and hypes.
I wonder if they are planning on partnering with some of the mobile telephone companies to allow mobile 'phones to work as endpoints for Google Talk conversations
This could probably be the headline for the next Google article on RumourDot er.. Slashdot.
A guy with zero technical knowledge, yes, its not worth it. he should have to know what his subordinates are talking about. But its not necessary that he should be an uber hacker. I think Techno-Functional is the right word for it.
Personally, I have found uber hackers to be clumsy managers as they indulge themselves too much into "getting that piece of code right". Thats not a managers job. And if he really has time for it then either he's missing out on something or someone else is sharing part of the job he really ought to be doing. Here's some of the jobs that an IT firm manager would have:
- Manage project/team Resources
- Meeting up with clients
- Building business relationships
- Get right people on right jobs
- Monitor team workflows and try to tweak them
- Address grievances of his subordinates
Long story short, its about making life easier for the developers/techies so that they concentrate only on the tech stuff. If there's some technical detail related to a niche problem that he really needs to know to take a certain decision then it is the techie's duty to get his boss up to speed about it atleast in terms of "action and consequences".I believe these should keep a man busy enough. If you have time out of this then there's one of these things then you either might not be doing at your best or you're one heck of a rare breed manager.