Hi Tom,
The trouble is, a lot of companies have legacy applications built using Visual Basic or Foxpro, or some software that *only* runs on Linux. These applications cannot be ported to Linux because :
1. The source code is lost
2. The required expertise is no longer in the company
3. The data in these programs is still being used
I worked for a lot of companies that have this problem, delaying migration to Linux. Some of these programs were written years ago, and contain a LOT of data in flat files or defunct databases like Foxpro or dBase IV. Extracting the data may be easy (for some), but re-constructing the program logic will be very difficult and time-consuming, condemning the company to forever using Windows. It's sad, but it happens.
I know the feeling. I work for a telecom company that has boarded and is currently sailing that boat right now.
A lot of executives in a lot of companies now want to extend their existing resources, if they can.
They are loath to spend the money to do it right, because it makes their bottom line look bad.
Most software built under MS OS for telecom is copyright, and is lost forever to the coding gods of the 1980-2000's, and that is the real tragedy.
I work in the telco industry now too, and I have to say that if your application does not have some brand name behind it, like Microsoft or Oracle, you can forget about clinching the deal -- even when the level of support is non-existent no matter how much you decide to pay for it.
I don't believe this to be true anymore. Ignorance is the big killer for Linux, but people are starting to become curious, even
trying it if it can save them the $50 USD for a anti-virus yearly
update.
I do not think Linux/BSD is to learn at all, but that it merely requires time and a little guidance to learn. Learning about Linux apps goes a long way, instead of piecemeal technical support via phone.
Incidentally, is there a prejudice against countries in the Pacific ? I find that any support calls made to USA for tech support is met with excuses, while calls made from, say, Atlanta, are almost immediately responded to.
I wouldn't know, I've never spoken to MS support. I guess when dealing with MS, I can only recommend;
You must know when to be nice, and then know when not to be nice.
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