[NTLUG:Discuss] Re: Strange Request, Maybe?

[WILLIAM PEARSON]

Hello,

You see though, since Microsoft has had a tight grip on the PC market for
so many years, well into the MS-DOS days. They could dictate with some
authority what people would use and how they could use it. Which is why so
many companies are so complacent using MS products, even though they may
actually know it isn't as reliable as other products out there. They get a
warm fuzzy feeling knowing that when they dial tech support when their
server crashes that they will immediately get a person or at least a
machine telling them to wait 'n' amount of minutes for a free
representative.

MS has the authority to dictate what people see on a computer the first
time it is booted up. In fact, MS even dictates where you can put MCSE on a
resume, as well as how much space there should be before any other wording
or imagery.

Having such a tight grip on the desktop they naturally pressure many OEM's
to make Windows their dominant OS. In fact, with Gateway computers you
cannot even buy a computer without Windows, getting a blank hard drive with
a computer is very difficult from Gateway. Other OEM's are the same way.
With such pressure to buy a workstation with a preinstalled OS as well as
servers with preinstalled MS software, which they must pay for. Companies
are hesitant to move away from that platform because they already shelled
out the money for the OS.

When the company starts from a *nix based system, such as Linux. Things are
a little different. Because they didn't really pay for the OS, they are
more flexible to other ideas, including an MS solution. The upfront price
of training users isn't really that noticable. As long as you already have
a trained workforce to take up the slack while he is being trained.
Re-Training an entire workforce to another platform takes an enormous
amount of resources, which is why MS is so prevalent among companies.

Just my .02$

Will




Date: Tue, 8 May 2001 23:08:16 -0500 (CDT)
From: Bobby Sanders <ssanders at vzinet.com>
To: discuss at ntlug.org
Subject: RE: [NTLUG:Discuss] Re: Strange Request, Maybe?
Reply-To: discuss at ntlug.org

--On Mon, 7 May 2001 11:34:19 -0500, "Steve Jackson"
<sjackson at stratmarkcorp.com> said:

....

  SJ> When the consultant says, "All the users should be on
  SJ> Win98/Win2K Pro," say "yeah, that's probably right (end users
  SJ> need the easiest solution possible)."

Surely you jest.  If that is true at all it is only because they
started there and not on a *nix.  I started on dos, was lucky enough
to find com?? and then Xenix.  Because of the cost of the *nix OSs, I
tried to migrate to Win3.11.  Worst time I ever had in my life.
Whatever it was that they did was totally incomprehensible to me -
full of luck and black magic.  Fortunately Linux came along and saved
my sanity.  Clearly I'm not a computer consultant and never could be.
I can't compare Linux to MS products because I have carefully managed
to almost totally avoid them since before personal computers first hit
the scene.  Just my nickels worth here.  Reasonable (I hope) arguments
follow.

  SJ> If the consultant insists that a Win2K server is the only answer
  SJ> for network file storage, inform him about how great Samba is
  SJ> for allowing Win users access to Linux machine files/printers.

  SJ> Please don't flame me.  I'm for finding the best solution for
  SJ> the problem at hand, whether it's Linux, Windows, Tru64,
  SJ> Etcha-Sketch or pen and paper.

This is not a flame.  I understand, appreciate and partially agree
with you.  IMHO, the one point you are missing is that if the company
would spend the money that they will have to spend on an MS downgrade
(opps - sorry 'bought that - too lazy to change it though) to train
employees to use Linux and some of the excellent software available
for same they would probably save tons of money on software in the
future and end up with happier, more productive employees.  Again,
IMHO, the statement that MS products are easier to use than *inx is
nothing more than a "buy in" to MS propaganda.  It is aided by the
fact that once people learn to hit "this" key and see the monster do
"that" they think that they are some kind of genius and they complain
about any system in which they have to hit the "other" key to do
"that."  A patently obvious scheme to avoid having to exercise their
lazy minds - heaven forbid that they should ever be expected to
actually understand something.  :>)

  SJ> Seek the balance.

Balance is very good.  So is progress.

Bobby Sanders