On Thu, 13 Jan 2005 15:44:02 -0600, Baudouin, Andrew <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > Yes. Linux was created on Linus's spare time. If it weren't for the PAID > contributions of SuSE, IBM, Novell, and Redhat Linux wouldn't be anywhere > near where it is today.
So are you saying linux can or "can't have the best features and the most stability because the people who write it are doing it in their spare time."? I code best at 4am(or 9pm) when the coffee is fresh, the kids are still asleep, the boss is no where near and the users aren't calling. My spare time very well may produce better code than the time I get paid for(shh don't tell my boss). > Joe I.T. guy in Podunk,USA (or Andrew Baudouin in > Baton Rouge, LA) with a wife and kids has no time to go home from his VB.Net > job and start hacking away on Linux. Then by definition you sir are not a Linux developer. > I had a short-term open source job once locally, and it paid a measly $8.00 > per hour. Can you buy a house and support a family on that? I would have to ask your secret if you could. > I applied for a Linux networking admin job once locally, never even got an > interview. > I also saw a PHP job in the paper advertised for $8 an hour. Those THREE JOBS > are the only ones even remotely related to open-source technologies that I > have seen advertised in the Baton Rouge paper (disclaimer, only was looking > between 8/2001 and 8/2003, have been employed since then) That has nothing to do with the stability or features of open-sourced programs. Nor do I think your seeing my point. Company's look for IT people to create technology solutions for their business. Its usually 1 head honcho who sets the direction. If your lucky or really good your employer or their head honcho will ask you for a solution instead of imposing one for you to implement. Other major factors(read:requirements) will influence what solutions can and can't be considered. > Companies don't usually pay for custom software to be created and then allow > it to be released into the public domain. Software company's don't usually. Because thats their business. I'm working on one project now and I don't get paid until I'm done. They do not care what happens to the code when I'm done. In fact they want to see the same solution sold to their competitors, they want to see me profit from a solution they need and pioneered. I guess some people will always be capitalists. > In my experience, people are deathly afraid of computers and have no idea > what to do when problem X occurs with their favorite software program (that > has nothing to do with Windows' bugs, spyware or instability). Oh come on now. Computers are a major part of alot of peoples daily life. The POS system at the register, the credit card machine on the counter, the windows 2k workstation in front of them each day. I am not interested in suggesting Linux , windows, keyboards or mice to anyone who is deathly afraid of a computer. Some people still ride the train. Me I get too many tickets. > They have > no interest in learning how to fix it, they just want it fixed ASAP. Any > technical explanation you might give goes in one ear and out the other. You don't have to give a technical explanation. It broke I fixed it. Your welcome. Have a nice day. Computers ONLY do what YOU tell them to. An IT guy should know how to tell it what to do. It should do it. If it doesn't there is a problem that needs to be looked into. Users happen to cause most of these problems. That is something that needs to be a factor when teaching the computer what to do in situations. > They don't want to learn, they just want it fixed! They are not going to > switch to Linux because of some elitist's free software ideal. They might switch to linux when they learn it or because it was a solution to a problem they wanted fixed and they learned it. Or because thats what came with the computer and they learned it. Or because the IT guy they called to fix their spyware said they have to use that or quit calling him and they learned it. If they are not willing to learn they are not going to use a computer. I very well maybe wrong Apples stock shot up yesterday so mabe linux gets blind sided by OSX. But saying that opensource softwares development model will cause its software to have less desireable features and stability is a faux pas.
