Re: January meeting

[Robert Speed <nospam [at] viclabs.co.uk>]

On 7 Jan 00, at 22:38, Craig Andrews wrote:

> 1) Availability of software. Recently I was required to look for some
sort of accounting package for my Linux box. I only found one of any use, but
which I run in X-Term. Sure, you may pay a fortune for Windows stuff, but the
company I work for paid £15.95 to buy me a ruler?!?
I'd argue that for each Windows package genre, it is quite possible
to find a Linux version. Heck, Sage and Pegasus were DOS
programs for so long, we were well into '96-'97 before doze versions
were released.

> 2) Ease of use. Many people who I work with still only know as much as is
absolutely necessary to run their PC's. To do something other than use a
pre-configured spreadsheet or database, or type up anything other than the
simplest document, they're stuck. Let's face it, EVERYONE who uses IT
knows how to use Word, at least as far as to type a memo.
Ahem, there are a few people here (some quite senior which is
rather alarming) who still struggle with the basics.
One manager in the Quality department spent an entire morning
trying to print a cover sheet for a folder that only she'd use.
She was using WordArt in Word to try and get the letters 'Quality'
in a wiggly line in different colours.

As part of IIP (Investors In People), Everyone in the company has
to complete CLAIT. (Yep that really basic WP, Sheet, DB type
thing).
It's amazing to see people fail...
Even I (4 A levels (inc Maths Computing), a degree in Software
Engineering) added an extra Return character and failed the WP
section !).
Piss funny...and yes others in I.T. did take the ....

>
> 3) Ease of maintenance. A great many people I know in the IT industry see
PC's as one thing, and one thing only. An Intel Pentium based system (486,
whats that?) running Windows 95 or 98. Anything else is alien. If a whole
factory of people had to learn a new operating system's methods, my
job would be absolute murder (not least due to only two other people in the
company, to my knowledge, even having a working knowledge of Un*x.)
Agreed, but do these people hold any kind of responsibility ?
Do they work in I.T. ? If not, isn't that what passwords, groups, etc
were invented for ?

>
> 4) Speed of deployment. Put simply, build a PC, install Win95, and be on
the network with Office97 and full network printer support in 3 hours. However,
teaching a co-worker the most basic of commands (ls,cd,mkdir and the like) took
more time than I'd like. Although this is not that far
removed from MS-DOS commands, the fear factor prevents many people seeing how
elegantly simply the whole thing fits together.
Agreed re the fear factor (see above - the lady in charge of CLAIT is
pulling her hair out over some people...But nothing can really be
said, as they're hierarcically above her)

One quick way for rolling out a Linux is to create a tarball for
remote deployment. It contains a base distro, X (and any wm), and
anything time consuming to load (or would be over an unswitched
network (i.e. Netscape)).
Use NIS and NFS to map (U/G)IDs and dirs.
Add a pinch of salt (machine dependant config changes (Graphics
card, serial port, etc)). Et voila - 15 mins per (built) machine.
It also means you get the (in)eviable privilege of spending Sundays
'working' ;-) when you could be strapped in a rally car bouncing off
the trees of the Yorkshire forests.......

>
> I don't know if anyone read the article about the airlines, (I can't
remember where I saw it), it certainly applies in the office!!! (If you would
like to read it, I could send you a paraphrase).
Yes please.
>
> Just a thought, anyway, to get the old ball rolling!

And now it's back in your court ! ;-))

Rob S.
Vickers (Laboratories) Ltd.
Grangefield Industrial Estate, Pudsey, Leeds LS28 6QW
Switchboard: +44 (0)113 236 2811 Fax: +44 (0)113 236 2703

All opinions are my own and ! Vickers.
The nice thing about Windows is that it doesn't just crash.
It displays a dialogue box and lets you click OK first.

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