Re: Free software companies and stock options

[Sudhakar Chandra <thaths@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Kiran Jonnalagadda proclaimed:
> Then one day, a few months later, I found an update to fetchmail on
> freshmeat (a site I had recently discovered). It turned out that there
> had been numerous updates since 5.0 and the bug that my fetchmail had,
> had been fixed before I even setup the server (via the "forcecr"
> option). But updates.redhat.com had never bothered to carry it. You can
> imagine how furious I was then.

This is the primary reason I am a Debian fan.  In the case of Debian,
keeping your system updated with the latest packaged version of the
software is usually as easy as 'apt-get update; apt-get upgrade'.

I'm curious as to how any non-Linux system would have helped you.  How is
upgrading NT any easier?  Especially remotely.

> But the point of all this is: Do not expect a smooth ride if you're
> planning to move to Linux. 

This, I agree with.

> No distro I've used so far has worked without
> extensive customisation, and I've *never* gotten things running the
> first time I tried. 

The difference between NT and Unix, IMO, is that Unix has few GUI tools to
allow you to change the configuration and make the customizations while NT
gives you some nice eye candy.  The problem with GUI tools is that they
restrict you to doing only what the author of the GUI tool envisioned
people wanted to do.

> Do not try to be smart ass and get Linux running in your company. Make
> sure that you either have a qualified team that will be available *all*
> the time, or out source the job to a company like FreeOS.com 

Unix is powerful stuff.  Just like you would not expect a child to run a
nuclear power plant, you should not expect some GUI freak to run a unix
system.  The power of unix can work against you if you entrust the power to
a moron.

[By 'you', I don't mean you literally.  I mean a generic 'you'.]

Thaths
-- 
"[muttering] Ow, ow, stupid trash, rotten, stinky, hate world, revenge
       soon, take out on everyone..." -- Homer J. Simpson
Sudhakar C13n    http://www.aunet.org/thaths/    Lead Indentured Slave