debate about Free software for the ACT Government
Jeremy
jepri at webone.com.au
Wed Apr 24 17:36:23 EST 2002
On 2002.04.24 23:03 Alex Satrapa wrote:
> At 09:43 23/04/02 +1000, Doug Palmer wrote:
>> Benefit of being able to make proficiency in something part of the
>> job criteria.
>
> Compaq produced the A+ certification, which is a level below a MCSA
> (I'm not sure I'm usign the right words here).
That's odd. I heard the the A+ was actually useful. Is this not true?
> Red Hat have produced the RHCE, but I'm not sure that this would be
> suitable for someone you want to stick on level 1 helpdesk. The
> Linux (Open Unix-Like) world needs something similar to the A+, so
> that people can be confident that the staff they are hiring for level
> 1 helpdesk will actually be useful. Mind you, level 1 helpdesk is
> more about copping flak from irate users, than about actually being
> of any practical use, but it always helps to be able to know what
> you're talking about ;)
>
>> Cost of Outlook viruses. :-)
>
> Easiest and cheapest way for a Microsoft shop to avoid virus
> infection is to stop using Outlook.
>
>> Cost of installation.
>
> 1 windows box = 8 hours. 2 windows boxen = 16 hours. It's a linear
> scale, since you have to sit in front of the box, shuffling CDs and
> clicking dialog buttons all day. God forbid you install one of the
> service packs out of order, 'cos then you have to start all over
> again.
Sorry, but not true. Ghost takes care of all the work. Total keyboard
time needed to install a ghosted windows machine: <45 secs
>
> 1 Debian box = 30mins. 2 Debian boxen = 45 minutes. It's linear
> after that, since you still have to manually enter in stuff like disk
> partitions. Package installation could be scripted.
Again, not quite true. Total time to install using FAI: How long does
it take you to plug in the network and press the on switch?
> My own personal experience has been that Unix-like systems report
> more detail about problems than Windows systems. Windows will say
> "something went wrong", a Unix system will provide detail such as,
> "Could not open file blah.tmp for writing, disk full at my_cgi.pl
> line 832".
I wish. The number of times daemons haven't started because the drive
is full and they haven't written errors. On both systems, it is the
fault of the applications programmers.
>> Programmer's wage rates for vertical application software.
>
> MCSE's are cheaper than Unix equivalents - Microsoft and Unisys have
> said so! (http://www.wehavethewayout.com/).
This is pretty much true. MSCEs breed like vermin, but aren't quite as
useful. And you can become a MCSE for only $800, compared to a bit
more for say, Solaris.
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