> From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]]On Behalf Of > Joseph Carter > Sent: Monday, December 16, 2002 00:03 > To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Cc: EUGLUG; [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Subject: Re: [Eug-lug]Dan's text based computer system > > > On Sun, Dec 15, 2002 at 09:03:47AM -0800, Dexter Graphic wrote: > > Here are the facts: > > > > Dan does not want to use a graphical user interface (GUI) to > > relate to his computer (that means no windows, icons, mice, > > or pointers). He has a philosophical/political preference for > > free (as in speech) software and would rather not continue > > using Windows 95 and its lame Internet Mail program with no > > spell checking. > > With the exception of the spell-checking, this is old hat for me, all of > it. I can figure this much out though, relatively simply. > > > > It has been demonstrated at recent EUGLUG meetings that a > > text-based mail system is possible with GNU/Linux. Dan > > actually has the software on his computer (Debian 3.0). The > > problem which remains is figuring out how to configure and > > use it. (Dan's computer, by the way, is a desktop Pentium > > 133, with 32MB of ram, a Matrox SVGA card, a CD ROM that is > > not bootable from the BIOS, and a hard disk that's at least > > 2GB in capacity.) > > Indeed; I use one exclusively. > > > > For some reason Dan is unwilling to spend the necessary time > > and effort to read the instructions and figure it out for > > himself. For some reason no on else from EUGLUG is willing > > to do this for him for free (as in beer). > > Setting it all up for him is something I am able to do, but it would take > me a couple of hours at least to produce something which any idiot could > use.
This is a poor choice of words because Dan is not an idiot. > I assume he'd be wise to use a menu system of some sort. I can help > there as well, though I have not actually used any program that might be > useful except for pdmenu, which is likely not what he would want. Why would he want/need a menu system? If he prefers text-based interaction with his computer I would expect him to be able to issue console commands. > > So here is my proposal: > > > > If Dan pays me at a rate of $10 an hour, I will figure it > > out and get a text-based mail system working on his system. > > That includes setting up PPP, fetchmail, sendmail, procmail, > > mutt, emacs, and aspell. Since I know very little about any > > of these programs, I figure it will take me at least 25 > > hours and possibly as many as 50 to get Dan's mail system > > working. This means it would cost Dan $250 to $500 to solve > > his problem. > > I can do the mail setup however he needs it in just a few hours at the > same rate. ;) We're talking about a completely functional mail system here with all of the above-mentioned programs configured and usable. Did you figure in training and tech support? Do you think that he is going to be able to do all the things you can without your walking him through it and explaining ever step of the way? > I would offer my time freely, but experience shows me that: > > 1. If I do what I would normally expect to be paid for freely, then nobody > will expect to pay me for it. > 2. My cost of living is higher than my income. > 3. A small exchange of money for services tends to leave everyone feeling > that nothing is owed to anyone. I do not like to owe or feel like I > owe anybody personally, and I do not like to feel as if I am owed > something. Good thinking; although, if you are as experienced at all this as you say you are then you should be charging more than the $10 I would have charged. In the areas where I am an expert, like designing MS Access databases for small businesses, I charge $48 per hour. > > If anyone else with more expertise than me is willing to do > > it for less, then please submit your own proposals. > > More information is required really. What exactly does he need? More > detail means better ability to do what is needed quickly, efficiently, and > cheaply. ;) I don't know how to be any more specific about this than I already have: Dan needs to get a text-based mail system working on his system. He already has Debian 3.0 installed and working fine. PPP and vwdial is already setup and working. He needs fetchmail, sendmail, procmail, mutt, emacs, and aspell configured so that he ends up with a fully functional GNU/Linux mail system. _And_ he will need to be shown how to use it. Perhaps you can print out the proper documentation so he has something to refer to while he's learning. Of course you should also include some time for phone support when he runs into problems down the road. You should be able to present Dan with a package price to get the job done. That way he won't have to worried about costs escalating out of control. My experience is that whatever amount of time you think it will take double it. I am forwarding this correspondence to Dan so if you need any further clarification just talk to him directly. CC me if you want my input. Dexter > -- > Joseph Carter <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Don't feed the sigs > > I did it just to piss you off. :-P > -- Branden Robinson in a message to debian-devel > _______________________________________________ Eug-LUG mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://mailman.efn.org/cgi-bin/listinfo/eug-lug
