Mallette Posted March 20, 2015 Share Posted March 20, 2015 You are kidding me. What business are you in? Every enterprise is moving away from Windows. Other than servers, I've yet to see one that is non-Windows. Nor have I seen anyone running a Linux LMS system, simulations, and such. What Fortune 500 companies do you know that use Open Office, etc? Certainly curious. In my inter-company work like with the International Association of Drilling Contractors and such I am exposed to my peers in a lot of companies. All Windows. Drilling control systems across the board, Windows. I'm certainly interested as I do get out a lot and have NEVER seen large enterprise running anything but Windows except for servers...and even those using significant Linux or other servers still run a few for specific purposes. I also am unaware of any well regarded 3D solids modeling, CAD, video edit, print, photo edit, paint, etc programs for Linux. A lot of small vendors complain, but are stuck with Windows or Mac due to no serious applications available that are cross platform. Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Matthews Posted March 20, 2015 Author Share Posted March 20, 2015 What Fortune 500 companies do you know that use Open Office, etc? And there you go! There's a reason for that, and it's not because they are too stupid to realize what a great deal "free" is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mallette Posted March 20, 2015 Share Posted March 20, 2015 it's not because they are too stupid to realize what a great deal "free" is. I beg to differ there, Jeff. Our IT people are downright frightfully ignorant. They outsource EVERYTHING at ridiculous cost. Paid 2 million for an employee access HRIS that's nothing but an SQL front end that my database guy could have written in a couple of months. I am not overstating it. IT groups as a whole have become more of a priesthood than skill aggregation. If I had my way we'd outsource the entire enterprise backbone and put computer and database specialists in the business unit who have both computer skills as well as those of the business unit. Things would be a lot more efficient and a lot less expensive. My group actually commissioned the first Linux server in the company (there you go anarchist, anarchy boy, autarchist, ostriecher or whatever you are today) to host Ilias, a really nice, stable, and free LMS system. Much better than anything on the market...but IT went out and spent half a million for one that we can't use at all. So we built our own for about 30k. Had to have a bit of consulting help from the compiler OEM. Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Matthews Posted March 20, 2015 Author Share Posted March 20, 2015 it's not because they are too stupid to realize what a great deal "free" is. I beg to differ there, Jeff. Our IT people are downright frightfully ignorant. They outsource EVERYTHING at ridiculous cost. Paid 2 million for an employee access HRIS that's nothing but an SQL front end that my database guy could have written in a couple of months. I am not overstating it. IT groups as a whole have become more of a priesthood than skill aggregation. If I had my way we'd outsource the entire enterprise backbone and put computer and database specialists in the business unit who have both computer skills as well as those of the business unit. Things would be a lot more efficient and a lot less expensive. My group actually commissioned the first Linux server in the company (there you go anarchist, anarchy boy, autarchist, ostriecher or whatever you are today) to host Ilias, a really nice, stable, and free LMS system. Much better than anything on the market...but IT went out and spent half a million for one that we can't use at all. So we built our own for about 30k. Had to have a bit of consulting help from the compiler OEM. Dave I wasn't talking about niche requirements and databases. I was speaking directly to your observation that F500's are not using OpenOffice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mallette Posted March 20, 2015 Share Posted March 20, 2015 The reason is the same, and databases aren't a niche requirement they are foundation of large enterprise. Without a real understanding of the machines themselves they look at what others are doing and follow them around. Originally, IT departments had programmers and real expertise to solve problems in house. Long gone. If our engineering department worked like IT we'd have been out of business decades ago. SQL is the most used database in large enterprise, and the hooks are wide open to any programmer in Linux or anything else. But SQL frontends for a wide variety of purposes are one of the biggest biz to biz operations there are because most IT departments have few skills and are much more comfortable following everybody else. BTW, MS Azure is already in use by over half Fortune 500 companies...and 20% of them run it from Linux servers. MS has learned to keep it's friend close, and it's enemies closer... Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mallette Posted March 20, 2015 Share Posted March 20, 2015 Agree except for the "Serious Home User." That includes many (like my son) into gaming and gaming mod programs like Unity. Other things as well. Many also need to be work compatible. We get Windows Enterprise Office (includes Visio) for 40.00 and can get another copy every year. Also Norton Enterprise AV...though I don't use it as it's too much of a hog. I run Windows on 4 machines at home and the only one that has gotten infected over the past two years or so is my son's who hasn't quite learned where the bad people hang out. I just keep a cloned sys drive handy and swap, reformat, and copy back for the next time. Easy... Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mallette Posted March 20, 2015 Share Posted March 20, 2015 Not sure why, but that isn't my experience, Mark. Maybe since I've been doing this before most ever heard of the internet I've just learned how to avoid issues. All I run is the basic Windows defenses. I used all the major defense programs over the years and they just all grew into hogs. If I have a little some that is pesky, I use Malwarebytes or one of the other handy progs that handle most these things. If it looks serious or I fear it may get into the rest of my machines I just pull the sys drive and slap in a clone. But I haven't had to do that in a long time. Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Matthews Posted March 20, 2015 Author Share Posted March 20, 2015 (edited) Putting a Windows computer on the Internet would be like sending a fully loaded Chevy Silverado pickup truck to a war zone in place of an up-armored Humvee or armored personnel carrier. Yes, it might work for a few minutes, and it might deliver the payload once, but it will quickly fall prey to the warriors with weapons that can kill it dead. You have insufficient appreciation for what is involved. They call them "viruses" for a reason. If you are going to go into the mainstream and mingling with the rest of the human race and sharing their data and applications, you will have to be prepared to get sick every now and then. Your alternative is to stay a recluse or go with an inferior platform that is not as open and is far more limited. Hackers aren't too interested in spoiling kids' toys. Edited March 20, 2015 by Jeff Matthews Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Matthews Posted March 20, 2015 Author Share Posted March 20, 2015 Want to have a FABULOUS one person business? Here it is. Go to every mobile home park in your state and post this in the clubhouse: I CAN FIX YOUR HIJACKED COMPUTER!! Virus? Hijacked? Crashed? Pirated? NO WORRY! Call Joe. I will fix your Windows computers and remove all malicious viruses! I will save your previous photos and data, and prevent it from happening again. Call Joe: 555-1234 You will have so much business you won't know what to do with it. $2k a week isn't bad when it's all cash. Give it a try. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mallette Posted March 20, 2015 Share Posted March 20, 2015 I guest I live in magic zone... Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mallette Posted March 20, 2015 Share Posted March 20, 2015 Hackers aren't too interested in spoiling kids' toys. It isn't the toys, it's the computers they want and these guys are ALL over the gaming world as kids...and adults...are constantly looking for hacks, add-ons, levels, etc from anywhere. If it says "Free" they don't think. And those places are rotten with browser hijacks and worse. Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marvel Posted March 20, 2015 Share Posted March 20, 2015 Not sure why, but that isn't my experience Not my experience either. The last time I got a virus or piece of malware on my computer at home was probably 15 years ago. My wife still has XP on her desktop because I have been too busy and lazy to switch her to a newer OS. I also know people who get malware on their computers every week. I refuse to help them for money, because they will blame me for anything that happens on their machine for the next year. Where my wife works (a non-profit working with people with disabilities and lots of ties to government agencies), they are all Linux Mint based, with Open Office. I'm hoping they move to Libre Office... Was reading this on the Wiki page for LO: LibreOffice has seen various mass deployments since its inception: In 2003-2004, the Brazilian corporation Serpro started migrating its software to BrOffice (the local version of LibreOffice at the time), with estimated value of BRL 3.5 billion (approximately US$1.2 billion at the time), and became a case study for similar initiatives in Brazil, particularly in e-government.[121] In 2005, the French Military Police announced its migration to OpenOffice.org.[122] It is currently migrating to a customised version of Ubuntu with LibreOffice (target for 2015: 72,000 desktop machines).[123] In 2010, the Irish city of Limerick gradually started migrating to open-source solutions to free itself from vendor lock-in and improve its purchase negotiation power. One of the key aspects of this move has been the use of LibreOffice.[124] In 2011, the administrative authority of the Île-de-France region (which includes the city of Paris) included LibreOffice in a USB flash drive given to students which contains free open source software. The USB flash drive is given to approximately 800,000 students.[35][125] In 2011, it was announced that thirteen hospitals of the Copenhagen region would gradually switch to LibreOffice, affecting "almost all of the 25,000 workers".[126] In 2012, the Greek city of Pylaia-Chortiatis migrated its PCs to use LibreOffice. The local Linux User Group estimated cost savings to be at least 70,000 euros.[127] In July 2012, the Spanish city of Las Palmas switched its 1200 PCs to using LibreOffice, citing cost savings of €400,000.[128] In 2012, the administration of Umbria, Italy, started a project to migrate an initial group of 5000 civil workers to LibreOffice.[129] The city of Largo, Florida, US has been a long-time user[130] of open-source software using Linux thin clients. Originally using OpenOffice.org, the city of Largo switched to LibreOffice in 2013.[131] In June 2013 the government of the Italian province of South Tyrol will be switching 7000 PCs in administration and "many more thousands" of PCs in health services using LibreOffice and ODF.[132] In August 2013, the administration of the Spanish autonomous region of Valencia has completed the migration of all 120,000 PCs of the administration, including schools and courts, to LibreOffice.[133] In 2013, the German city of Munich announced that it would transition from OpenOffice to LibreOffice in the near future. This is in line with Munich's long term commitment to using open source software. Munich uses LiMux, an Ubuntu Linux derivative, on nearly all of the city's 15,000 computers.[134][135] In 2014, the French city of Toulouse announced it saved 1 million euro by migrating thousands of workstations to LibreOffice.[136][137] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mallette Posted March 20, 2015 Share Posted March 20, 2015 I also know people who get malware on their computers every week. I refuse to help them for money, because they will blame me for anything that happens on their machine for the next year. That's all you need on your resume for me to know you are a serious pro. The "wannabe" computer guys are the ones always jumping in to the fire to help and impress. I quit touching anybody's computer over 20 years ago. Got tired of hearing a few weeks, or even months later after showing somebody the keycode to enter an acute or something dumb like that "What did you do to my computer? Now it won't print!" I'll try to talk them through on occasion, but no touch! Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mallette Posted March 20, 2015 Share Posted March 20, 2015 They didn't choose Windows, it came on their computer they bought. They had no idea is was such a piece of crap. They thought they were buying an appliance. I understand ignorance. It's really dumb to buy a highly specialized complex tool and use it to pick your teeth. As you know, I don't have a high degree of respect for MS as an operating system, but it is a highly complex and capable piece of crap in the RIGHT HANDS. Android and Apple are, as you say, designed as toys. They are counter intuitive to pro users and take WAY to long to do the simplest things. And, of course, that is all they can do. Don't try designing a simulator on one. Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mallette Posted March 20, 2015 Share Posted March 20, 2015 I guess you missed the computer marketing blitz that created the need for "home computers?" Pretty much. Don't think there has been much in the past 15 years or so. Before that there were real home PCs like the C64, Amiga, Atari, Adam, and a lot more that were useful and pretty bullet proof. As you say, if you only want to FB, Tweet, or whatever you sure as heck have no use for a PC. Chrome is the right concept for the masses...though I've not heard much good about it and never had reason to try one. Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mallette Posted March 20, 2015 Share Posted March 20, 2015 I guess call it a "toy" is some form of denigration, until you realize maybe that nearly all remote (outside) workers in the workforce are now using them for everything under the sun to make money for their companies. My audio system is a toy. Don't ready into words what isn't there. We have deployed some 300 Windows tablets to the roughnecks in the field who aren't exactly PC nerds. Very little failure and they do a great job. Android or Linux wouldn't work. Not sure why you are all worked up about this. Horses for courses, say I. Use the right tool for the job. I can steer my workstation into the murky internet because I know how to avoid the rocks. I don't want a one tune Android or Ipad tablet because what they do is simply a subset of what I need. Others mileage will vary and they should pay attention to what they are purchasing and what they intend to use it for. Caveat emptor. Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Matthews Posted March 20, 2015 Author Share Posted March 20, 2015 it's INSANE that Mom and Pop should have to solve what 8,000 programmers at Microsoft have been unable to solve in 18 years of trying! If you can figure out how to fix what 8,000 programmers at Microsoft can't fix, send in your resume, show them how, and make a lot of money and become famous! There are reasons for these situations. You guys are just whining and thinking shallowly. I am not saying it can't be done. I am saying you need to be far more understanding of the situation than you are. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mallette Posted March 20, 2015 Share Posted March 20, 2015 I spend most of my time trying to get Windows out of my dam way so I can use the application. Along the line, Microsoft forgot that it's the applications people want, and decided it was Windows they wanted Amen to that. Most applications I use would run great in DOS with the Windows crud stripped away and do so many times faster and more reliably. But it's no longer an option... Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mallette Posted March 20, 2015 Share Posted March 20, 2015 Nothing shallow about it, Jeff. I have pretty much proven to you that Windows is the WRONG TOOL for Internet communications. Duh. At least for most people. Much like using a back hoe to plant a rose bush. Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mallette Posted March 20, 2015 Share Posted March 20, 2015 They hire Google to find the vulnerabilities Sounds like they are using the best available to me. I am impressed. Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.