debate about Free software for the ACT Government

[Jeremy]

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.