Linux Flame (was Re: HP puts Linux on the desktop)

[Gregory K. Ruiz-Ade]

On Wednesday 24 March 2004 10:45 pm, Stewart Stremler wrote:
> $40,000? Where did they go, Harvard?

Or any university _not_ in California's relatively near free-ride university 
and state college systems.  Back when I was looking at UIUC, total costs 
would have run ~$8k/semester, and that's just the costs listed in their 
paperwork.  Really not much cheaper than a lot of private universities.  
Illinois State wasn't much cheaper than that, either.  4-5 years of $8k a 
semester adds up in a hustle.

> But your point is valid, to a point.

But isn't that the point of a point?

> Personally, I don't mind youth, as that typically brings energy. But I
> primarily want the attitude that the corporate users are under his care,
> and his job is to make them productive and  protect them from nefarious
> influences (including themselves).  Downtime of machines in his care
> should be a personal affront.  Likewise, intrusions, viruses, trojans,
> data-loss, and not noticing a problem before someone notices.

This is _very_ important, perhaps more important than an overall skill set 
that someone might bring in to a position.

> (Of course, this requires a particular attitude on the part of the users
> as well -- the sysadmin is part of the team, not some sort of menial
> drone, fit only to be assigned tasks that nobody else wants to mess with.
> If the sysadmin does his job well, the users should support recognition
> and raises; good people are valuable, and that needs to be taken into
> consideration.)

The perennial problem with a lot of IT is that the rest of the company looks 
at them as the keeper (or creator) of problems, and a money drain on the 
company.  It's very hard not to, as in most cases, IT has nothing to do, 
directly, with bringing profit into the company.  There's often a single or 
double layer of indirection between IT's work and value, and bottom line of 
the company.

> I don't think most people have what it takes to be a great (by my
> yardstick) system administrator.  (I think more have the potential, but
> need a trial by fire to learn the lessons.  Or more than one.)

This is definitely cliché, but I learned my most valuable lessons by fucking 
up on the job.  The best people only mess up in an area once.  The good 
ones maybe two times.  The poor ones 3-4, and then you need to wonder if 
it's just cheaper to go through another recruitment process to replace 'em.

> > Second, I would rather have the techs who are currently babysitting
> > Windows working on babysitting Linux.
>
> Yup.

More agreement from me; nothing makes a person happier than being told their 
skill set and responsibilities are going to be expanded, especially if you 
expand their pay to match as well.  Allowing any employee of any department 
to simple sit and stagnate is a sin.

Gregory

-- 
Gregory K. Ruiz-Ade <gkade at bigbrother.net>
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