Dan Jenkins said:
>Ham wrote:
>
>> ----- Original Message -----
>> From: Bruce Dawson <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
>> To: Lowell Bruce McCulley <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
>> Cc: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>; Greater NH Linux Users' Group
<[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
>> Sent: Wednesday, July 25, 2001 10:16 AM
>> Subject: Re: Backing talk with action? (was: Re: News from the Mouth
front)
>>
>> > Lowell Bruce McCulley wrote:
>> > > Ok, we talk about the benefits of open source and want to get sites
in
>> > > the governmental sector, is anyone willing to back talk with action?
>>
>> Yes. I think this is an important function of a LUG. However, I also
>> believe we need to be realistic about what this means. If we help set
up a
>> system, then we must be prepared to support that system. That is the
way
>> the world works. At LinuxWorld this year, the education/school group
made a
>> point of saying if you help a school set up a Linux system, then you
must be
>> there for them when issues arise. If the system is low maintenance as
>> promised, the help needed will be low. But the main point being, you
simply
>> cannot set it up and walk away.
>
>This is a VERY important point. If no one is there to support it,
problems will
>arise. This will reflect badly on Linux - whether it is a Linux problem
or not.
>The ongoing support can be quite low for a well-configured Linux server,
but it
>is not non-existant. More to the point the workstations (of what ever
operating
>system) need more day-to-day maintenance because they are used by
end-users not
>system administrators. A workstation problem (even if a Windows
workstation)
>will reflect badly on "the network" and on Linux in general, if someone
is not
>there to address the problems. Perception is reality. Support is a
long-term
>commitment; not just a quick install.
This does bring up a point - assuming these folks are currently using Windows (or
planning to), how do they intend to do support on that?
My experience is that ALL systems need support. Much of the support is OS-Agnostic
(planning for backups, network layout, password policy, etc), some is OS specific, but
all is required. A big problem I have with the way Windows is sold (one of many, but
let's not get into that) is that "anyone can do it" which inevitably leads to "no one
doing it."
I suspect the first step in this project is User Education - why they need some
dedicated support (x hours per week/month/whatever), why they will need it REGARDLESS
of the OS used, etc. Then, why using Linux will minimize the support required.
Finally, doing the actual install & support work.
jeff
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Jeffry Smith Technical Sales Consultant Mission Critical Linux
[EMAIL PROTECTED] phone:603.930.9739 fax:978.446.9470
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Thought for today: shell out vi.
[Unix] To spawn an interactive
subshell from within a program (e.g., a mailer or editor). "Bang
foo runs foo in a subshell, while bang alone shells out."
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