"A key problem area was interacting with the corporate Windows network. When will this stuff finally be ironed out?"
This problem cannot be solved in any permanent way by programmers, it has to be solved by customers volutarily educating themselves, which geeks can at best subtly influence. Ramming info down throats from soapboxes is far less effective.
Programmers can make a temporary fix, like Samba (much respect), but Microsoft will just do their best break that "threat" in the next version of the respective software (or in current versions by piggybacking these "fixes" in "security updates").
Only when people stop equating universality in the computer world with Microsoft, and start equating said universality with Open Standards, only then will people opt to stop buying MS. Sadly this collective ignorance seems to be growing, not shrinking.
It might help to start conversationally asking the people you know if they are a "sharecropper" or not: http://www.tbray.org/ongoing/When/200x/2003/ 07/12/ WebsThePlace
BTW, I think the "sharecropper" concept applies to all regular computer users, not just programmers.
Why not think of how the world can be made a better place using computers. Then if you sell support for it, people will notice and appreciate that you have morals to go along with your ideas. Then good karma will eventually come your way and you'll be able to make a decent living on it.
Yes, It's a leap of faith, I know. But the geek world is quickly becoming the toothless bitch of the business world, and all this intrinsically useless bloatware is the result. I've thought long and hard on this topic, and this is the only way I can think of to try to reverse the trend. Small, moral, computing businesses.
Time to take a business course, people! Know your enemy!
Servers do not exist in a vacuum. Clients connect to them. Does this study factor in the TCO of clients as well, which accompany the server? What good is a slightly cheaper TCO of a server when the TCO of Windows workstations are astrononically higher than Linux (preferably Debian) workstations?
How can maturity be used to further Linux and like projects? Not by desperate grabs for mass attention, but rather by calm, relaxed expanations of the issues to the (non-slashdot reading) people in your life. You already have some level of credibility with these people.
1) If people ask you what interests you, mention (in a non-zealous way) the computer-related projects and freedoms you find cool and why to your semi- and non-technical friends. By using the "soft sell", you won't turn people off. You might even interest them. If you see hints of their interest waning in your explanations, respect this for what it is and end your explanation quickly, changing the subject to something else.
2) Always keep your friends and family up to date on what MS's current evil scheme to take over the world is. A one paragraph email per major evil plot (.Net, Passport, Palladium, etc.) in layman's terms with an informational URL should do. Do not spam people, this turns them off! Phrase things like you're concerned for their well being, and you thought you might mention it.
3) if you can afford the time and energy, make your favorite project(s) (like Linux) better and especially easier to use. Personally, I'd like to see Debian "replicator" (http://replicator.sourceforge.net) greatly improved, it opens many possibilities.
>Considering Microsoft has called the GPL a "Cancer" >and attacks linux publicly whenever possible by >telling outright lies, how can we ever look bad?
Despite the truth that only the informed few know, the ignorant masses will much sooner believe Microsoft because **money talks** (trough PR).
Anyone throwing eggs will be branded an anarchist, terrorist, you name it, just like most protesters protesting anything these days. The excellent points about MS trying every dirty trick imaginable to defeat Linux will very likely not make it to mainstream news sources. Throwing eggs will give Slashdotters a chuckle, but will do little to forward the cause of Linux and like-minded projects. It will just give the rest of the world more ammunition to ignore our legitimate concerns.
A little maturity goes a long way towards credibility, people!
I am a BOFH at Analog Design Automation, a software company of 47 people. We have 48 Linux desktops (some people have two), and 12 Win2k desktops for our business types. ie. 80% of our desktops are Linux. We also have a Debian GNU/Linux compute farm with 32 nodes, and about a dozen "specialty" Debian GNU/Linux boxen (servers, tinderboxes, dedicated db boxen, auditors, a firewall, a dumb terminal for a sun server).
I especially enjoy busting off one-liners that upgrade/patch all the Debian boxen.;)
Slashdot Mirror
"A key problem area was interacting with the corporate Windows network. When will this stuff finally be ironed out?"
/ 07/12/ WebsThePlace
This problem cannot be solved in any permanent way by programmers, it has to be solved by customers volutarily educating themselves, which geeks can at best subtly influence. Ramming info down throats from soapboxes is far less effective.
Programmers can make a temporary fix, like Samba (much respect), but Microsoft will just do their best break that "threat" in the next version of the respective software (or in current versions by piggybacking these "fixes" in "security updates").
Only when people stop equating universality in the computer world with Microsoft, and start equating said universality with Open Standards, only then will people opt to stop buying MS. Sadly this collective ignorance seems to be growing, not shrinking.
It might help to start conversationally asking the people you know if they are a "sharecropper" or not:
http://www.tbray.org/ongoing/When/200x/2003
BTW, I think the "sharecropper" concept applies to all regular computer users, not just programmers.
No sig.
Here's a revelation:
Why not think of how the world can be made a better place using computers. Then if you sell support for it, people will notice and appreciate that you have morals to go along with your ideas. Then good karma will eventually come your way and you'll be able to make a decent living on it.
Yes, It's a leap of faith, I know. But the geek world is quickly becoming the toothless bitch of the business world, and all this intrinsically useless bloatware is the result. I've thought long and hard on this topic, and this is the only way I can think of to try to reverse the trend. Small, moral, computing businesses.
Time to take a business course, people! Know your enemy!
BTW, I say this after 3 years experience administering Windows 2000 server and about 12 clients, plus about 100 Redhat and Debian machines.
Servers do not exist in a vacuum. Clients connect to them. Does this study factor in the TCO of clients as well, which accompany the server? What good is a slightly cheaper TCO of a server when the TCO of Windows workstations are astrononically higher than Linux (preferably Debian) workstations?
How can maturity be used to further Linux and like projects? Not by desperate grabs for mass attention, but rather by calm, relaxed expanations of the issues to the (non-slashdot reading) people in your life. You already have some level of credibility with these people.
1) If people ask you what interests you, mention (in a non-zealous way) the computer-related projects and freedoms you find cool and why to your semi- and non-technical friends. By using the "soft sell", you won't turn people off. You might even interest them. If you see hints of their interest waning in your explanations, respect this for what it is and end your explanation quickly, changing the subject to something else.
2) Always keep your friends and family up to date on what MS's current evil scheme to take over the world is. A one paragraph email per major evil plot (.Net, Passport, Palladium, etc.) in layman's terms with an informational URL should do. Do not spam people, this turns them off! Phrase things like you're concerned for their well being, and you thought you might mention it.
3) if you can afford the time and energy, make your favorite project(s) (like Linux) better and especially easier to use. Personally, I'd like to see Debian "replicator" (http://replicator.sourceforge.net) greatly improved, it opens many possibilities.
My 2 cents.
>Considering Microsoft has called the GPL a "Cancer"
>and attacks linux publicly whenever possible by
>telling outright lies, how can we ever look bad?
Despite the truth that only the informed few know, the ignorant masses will much sooner believe Microsoft because **money talks** (trough PR).
Anyone throwing eggs will be branded an anarchist, terrorist, you name it, just like most protesters protesting anything these days. The excellent points about MS trying every dirty trick imaginable to defeat Linux will very likely not make it to mainstream news sources. Throwing eggs will give Slashdotters a chuckle, but will do little to forward the cause of Linux and like-minded projects. It will just give the rest of the world more ammunition to ignore our legitimate concerns.
A little maturity goes a long way towards credibility, people!
Why don't the astronauts just drink the "nutrient-rich liquid" and save some effort?
I am a BOFH at Analog Design Automation, a software company of 47 people. We have 48 Linux desktops (some people have two), and 12 Win2k desktops for our business types. ie. 80% of our desktops are Linux. We also have a Debian GNU/Linux compute farm with 32 nodes, and about a dozen "specialty" Debian GNU/Linux boxen (servers, tinderboxes, dedicated db boxen, auditors, a firewall, a dumb terminal for a sun server).
;)
I especially enjoy busting off one-liners that upgrade/patch all the Debian boxen.