Re:Then help with the testing process.
on
The CVS Cop-Out
·
· Score: 1
I didn't talk about OSS Software exclusively.. But iam willing to discuss this with you.
See, we usually use open source products when we have to solve problems where wo don't get any money to spend on said problem. Now, if i need a bugfix fast, than i would have to pay those 200 bucks from my own money, and probably won't get the money refunded from my company. Now, this isn't the software developers fault in any way, but other people that work for other companys also have the same problem.
OSS devs don't to their job for money, so in my opinion they can fix bugs whenever they want, and at whatever speed they want.
I didn't pay them anything, and so i don't ask anything in return.
The whole thing gets different though when it's about commercial software, were i expect a fast, clean and swift fix of the bug. And that doesn't work either. Sometimes it's even worse than OSS.
Even our internal software developers have that attitude "but it's in cvs!".
Over time, i've come to the conclusion that most software developers lack an understanding of the job of an admin (and iam quite sure that admins lack an understanding of the job of a software developers). That's the missing link.
Re:The diplomatic response
on
The CVS Cop-Out
·
· Score: 2, Insightful
I'm not suggesting anything.
> a single release takes us weeks to generate and test,
Maybe you should start working at that...
QA is always an expensive process, but if it takes you weeks to do it, perhaps you need more manpower, or another concept.
Re:The diplomatic response
on
The CVS Cop-Out
·
· Score: 5, Interesting
It depends on a lot of circumstances.
Fixed in CVS may also mean the following:
We fixed this problem in our unstable development tree, which you can't deploy at a customer, or anywhere else. Also, we won't backport this patch to the current stable release, because we don't have time for this. So we basically leave you with your problem, until our unstable development tree at some time maybe gets released.
And this problem isn't restricted to OpenSource at all.
Exchange 2007, which should get released later this year, will require a 64bit Operating System.
And with good reasons. Exchange 2003 ran into the 4GB / process limit pretty soon.
You can use any Windows XP OEM CD with this machine. Get one with bittorrent, and use the license provided with the sticker on the back of the laptop.
You will have lot's of fun hunting drivers for you machine on the IBM homepage, but it will work in the end.
McAfee also offers an SMB Edition with a Perpetual License and 2 years of support for around 1000CHF.
This does include a downsized version of ePO-Server called "ProtectionPilot". It's a lot more flashy graphics than ePO, but works equally well (or not).
Not a huge fan of McAfee, but their product seem to suck less than the others.
VXA-2 ist biggest piece of shit technology i've ever encountered.
We normally use LTO Tapes (mostly 1 and 2), but some customers wanted a "budget" solution. So they got VXA-2 Tapedrives from IBM.
Some points:
* They are slow, and i mean real slow. 250-300mb/min slow * The tapes look like they are gonna break if i look at them, no comparison to LTO Tapes which look sturdy * The loading mechanism sucks, and also look liks it's going to break * Two of those VXA-2 Tapedrives actually broke after 2-3 Months in use. Yeah, got replaced in 4 hours, but it sucks nonetheless * The tapes are EXPENSIVE. Cost more than an LTO2 Tape without even half the capacity
Or, in short:
Never buy VXA-2. Buy LTO1 or LTO2. If you can afford it, LTO3.
Which is completely understandable.
Machines which appear flaky first get a reinstall from our RIS server (takes 4 hours with about 5 Minutes of User Interaction, 1 at the start, 4 at the end of the process).
If this doesn't solve the problem, the machine gets replaced, and the flaky machine sent back to the manufacturer. The latter usually finds the problem, or doesn't. If the latter, the machine gets sent to the next scrapyard.
There's no need for any access control on school networks.
If you detect kids looking at porn, filesharing, myspace etc. at school, you'll already know that your education system completely and utterly failed.
It is usually much easier to debug a problem if you at least have direction in which you can search.
I usually work for smaller shops with a Windows SBS Server and 10-20 Computers.
Users usually feel intimitated if you ask them what they did, before it stopped working. You need to tell them that you're not blaming them in any way, and just want to find out what might have caused the problem, and that nobody will ever hear what they tell you. You need to sound calm and professional when you talk to a customer.
But for me, this usually works.
"Well, i want to a pornographic website, and there was this dialogue i didn't understand" "I tried to install this wireless network at my home, and.."
Etc. pp. This usually works very well. Never get mad at someone who made a mistake, suppress your emotions, always stay calm, and tell them that you're there to help them (and get 200 bucks per hour).
We have relativly modern drives (Ultrium 2) with a relativly good backup software (Veritas BackupExec).
Just a few days ago, i restored about 100mbyte, located in the middle of the tape. Time needed? About a minute of seeking to the right positions, a few seconds to restore the date, and another minute to rewind.
That's acceptable for me.
It requires the user not typing a password into the password field (when installing).
However, most Windows XP installs are preinstalled by the OEM.
ost of them let the user create a seperate user account (which also has administrator rights, and CANT be assigned a password during install due to limitations of the microsoft oem installer, but the OEM could fix this on his own).
Most of the "Administrator" users in these OEM installs also have a blank password (which isn't exactly microsofts fault)
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I didn't talk about OSS Software exclusively.. But iam willing to discuss this with you.
See, we usually use open source products when we have to solve problems where wo don't get any money to spend on said problem. Now, if i need a bugfix fast, than i would have to pay those 200 bucks from my own money, and probably won't get the money refunded from my company. Now, this isn't the software developers fault in any way, but other people that work for other companys also have the same problem.
OSS devs don't to their job for money, so in my opinion they can fix bugs whenever they want, and at whatever speed they want.
I didn't pay them anything, and so i don't ask anything in return.
The whole thing gets different though when it's about commercial software, were i expect a fast, clean and swift fix of the bug. And that doesn't work either. Sometimes it's even worse than OSS.
Even our internal software developers have that attitude "but it's in cvs!".
Over time, i've come to the conclusion that most software developers lack an understanding of the job of an admin (and iam quite sure that admins lack an understanding of the job of a software developers). That's the missing link.
I'm not suggesting anything. > a single release takes us weeks to generate and test, Maybe you should start working at that... QA is always an expensive process, but if it takes you weeks to do it, perhaps you need more manpower, or another concept.
It depends on a lot of circumstances.
Fixed in CVS may also mean the following:
We fixed this problem in our unstable development tree, which you can't deploy at a customer, or anywhere else. Also, we won't backport this patch to the current stable release, because we don't have time for this. So we basically leave you with your problem, until our unstable development tree at some time maybe gets released.
And this problem isn't restricted to OpenSource at all.
Oh, they are quite familiar with listening.
Exchange 2007, which should get released later this year, will require a 64bit Operating System. And with good reasons. Exchange 2003 ran into the 4GB / process limit pretty soon.
You can use any Windows XP OEM CD with this machine. Get one with bittorrent, and use the license provided with the sticker on the back of the laptop. You will have lot's of fun hunting drivers for you machine on the IBM homepage, but it will work in the end.
McAfee also offers an SMB Edition with a Perpetual License and 2 years of support for around 1000CHF. This does include a downsized version of ePO-Server called "ProtectionPilot". It's a lot more flashy graphics than ePO, but works equally well (or not). Not a huge fan of McAfee, but their product seem to suck less than the others.
1GB Memory is "insane"? I have 1GB in my laptop right now, and it's barely keeping up to what iam using.
Heck, most of our servers already ran into the 4GB Limit some years ago. Thank god for AMD, their 64bit Line solved most of our memory problems.
VXA-2 ist biggest piece of shit technology i've ever encountered.
We normally use LTO Tapes (mostly 1 and 2), but some customers wanted a "budget" solution. So they got VXA-2 Tapedrives from IBM.
Some points:
* They are slow, and i mean real slow. 250-300mb/min slow
* The tapes look like they are gonna break if i look at them, no comparison to LTO Tapes which look sturdy
* The loading mechanism sucks, and also look liks it's going to break
* Two of those VXA-2 Tapedrives actually broke after 2-3 Months in use. Yeah, got replaced in 4 hours, but it sucks nonetheless
* The tapes are EXPENSIVE. Cost more than an LTO2 Tape without even half the capacity
Or, in short:
Never buy VXA-2. Buy LTO1 or LTO2. If you can afford it, LTO3.
Which is completely understandable. Machines which appear flaky first get a reinstall from our RIS server (takes 4 hours with about 5 Minutes of User Interaction, 1 at the start, 4 at the end of the process). If this doesn't solve the problem, the machine gets replaced, and the flaky machine sent back to the manufacturer. The latter usually finds the problem, or doesn't. If the latter, the machine gets sent to the next scrapyard.
You send out 1000$ worth of gear without receipt signature? That's pretty carefree.
There's no need for any access control on school networks. If you detect kids looking at porn, filesharing, myspace etc. at school, you'll already know that your education system completely and utterly failed.
EFS is your Friend and can be configured by group policies.
It is usually much easier to debug a problem if you at least have direction in which you can search.
I usually work for smaller shops with a Windows SBS Server and 10-20 Computers.
Users usually feel intimitated if you ask them what they did, before it stopped working. You need to tell them that you're not blaming them in any way, and just want to find out what might have caused the problem, and that nobody will ever hear what they tell you. You need to sound calm and professional when you talk to a customer.
But for me, this usually works.
"Well, i want to a pornographic website, and there was this dialogue i didn't understand"
"I tried to install this wireless network at my home, and.."
Etc. pp. This usually works very well. Never get mad at someone who made a mistake, suppress your emotions, always stay calm, and tell them that you're there to help them (and get 200 bucks per hour).
That's why you have bought an IP KVM Switch.
We have relativly modern drives (Ultrium 2) with a relativly good backup software (Veritas BackupExec). Just a few days ago, i restored about 100mbyte, located in the middle of the tape. Time needed? About a minute of seeking to the right positions, a few seconds to restore the date, and another minute to rewind. That's acceptable for me.
Catch22, isn't it.
You're aware what's happening in Iran, are you?
We do have nuclear power. That might be reason enough for some of the listed countries.
Switzerland wouldn't survive an all out war against the US, or even Italy or France.
It requires the user not typing a password into the password field (when installing).
However, most Windows XP installs are preinstalled by the OEM.
ost of them let the user create a seperate user account (which also has administrator rights, and CANT be assigned a password during install due to limitations of the microsoft oem installer, but the OEM could fix this on his own).
Most of the "Administrator" users in these OEM installs also have a blank password (which isn't exactly microsofts fault)
Don't have kids if you can't afford them. Simple concept.
Problem is, you can get kids for free. It's the recurring cost that will kill you.
This is also part which you can see from the whole mortgage/credit business.
I don't have one single swiss franc of debt. All of my friends currently living in the US however, do.