Comments on: Rockin' on without Microsoft
Sterling Ball, whose company is the world's leading maker of premium guitar strings, explains why he made the move to open source and why he's never looked back since.
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your facts straight about MicroSoft owning a part of Apple.
Billy boy was sold $150 Mil of NON-VOTING shares in Apple
Computer as a sign of SUPPORT.
Get it right!
That is terrible what happened to your business. However, you seem to handle the situation pro-actively and that serves as a good example to the business world. I am currently working on my business degree and I hope to someday start my own business. I will keep this in mind when I start to build up the technology that is necessary. So where do you find Linux and the software to go on it? It is an OS right?
I've ran LANs and been responsible for all IT decisions for various companies and organisations.
The whole industry has mutated out of all recognition, since the days that I enjoyed working in it. Too many idiots with their nice new MCSE certificates trying to tell me stuff I'd almost, but not quite, forgotten. The cost of Windows based software deployments is ridiculous and from what I gather has gotten worse since I left it all behind.
I too have gone mainly open source, with 4 PCs at home including a LAMP based server. Support is not a problem, just via the community and search engines alone, before you even have to look at any formal channels. Obviously from a business' point of view, formal support is available, but if you have a fairly savvy IT support staff in house, then all the information that they need is at their disposal through one means or another.
I would see no reason for any forward thinking company to migrate to a linux based network. The hardware savings alone would probably justify it.
The stats for pass rates on the relevant qualifactions tells a lot. Believe me, it's not difficult to pass an MCSE&I certification. RHCE does have a far higher rate of first time failures. In my opinion, it's usually a higher standard of IT pro who goes for an RHCE cert. so I reckon this is a clear indicator. MCSE and similar, MCP et al, are mainly another money spinner for MS. RHCE is a real indicator of technical knowledge and ability. ie real talent
Since leaving the IT industry I have decided to retrain as a cabinet maker, but still maintain my IT hobbyist streak. Website and Web Application development on a LAMP platform. You know what? I'm REALLY enjoying my computing again. The last time I did, I think was on the Amiga! S'funny, I've not really ever enjoyed being a Windows user.
enterprise apps, enterprise system administration, *should* be consistent and controlled, but the truth is that in reality, there is no such thing as consistency or control. enterprise systems are built by lazy developers who rely on MS to cover up their pitiful coding, testing, and review practices. those systems are rolled into production to be supported by lazy system and network engineers who want grphical tools that are powered by wizards instead of using real engineering talent and skill to get things done.
why write standards compliant code when ie will display your miserably broken HTML/script just fine? why learn to use infinitely more flexible languages like perl or python or PHP (or *GASP* C/C++) when you can lean on .NET and ASP to conceal the fact that you only know how to code in javascript?
why would you learn about system administration, tuning, or maintenance when you can just let windows do your thinking for you? when it fails you can just re-install it and suffer all that downtime. i mean so what if you need to repair/reboot once a month, when it only took you an hour to build that server? thankfully it will only take another hour when you rebuild it in a year.
you want real centralization? NFS shares can be mounted *anywhere* in a unix file system tree and the OS won't know or care about the difference. the "profile" for every user on a unix system is in /home/$username, and all application data and settings are pulled form there (just like c:\documents and settings). /home could be a local mount or mounted from a file server, and the files are accessed and updated in real time, not on logon/logoff like active directory's roaming profiles, that eventaully stop working in most user cases.
you can also install an app anywhere you want to, like /usr/local/bin. that too can be a network share and the OS would never know/care (be that the OS for a server, for a workstation, or for a thin client). try mouning c:\program files or c:\windows\system32 from a remote server.
how is that cetralized? well, if you want to update open office, which is installed to and mounted from /usr/local/bin, all you have to do is update the bits on the server that it's all pulled from.
network too busy to mount everything from remote file shares? you can use rsync to update everything in the middle of the night at a designated time, rather than waiting for all of your users to log in in the morning and bring the network to it's knees with their mass of updates delivered via active directory login scripts.
you want group policy? user and group permissions can guarantee that only the right people get access to certian applications/files/devices.
and all of this functionality is free. yes it's free, you can download pretty much any version you want. if you need commercial support cuz you are too lazy to read an FAQ, a manual, message board, or book that doesn't say "exam cram" on it, then you can get it, and pay for it as you need it, and only when you need it.
too bad only small companies with little or no application needs can see that.
To Wit - Red Hat's DS, or RedHat Directory Server as it's called, _is_ the clear winner, authenticating more users world wide than all other methods...combined. Period.
Further, this POSIX compatible LDAP implementation includes application configuration, user profiles, policies and access control information (ACLs) storage in a network based registry with really innovative replication architecture and security.
Microsoft does not invent much of anything. They either buy it or attempt to crush it (fairly successfully) if it's a competitor. That's it.
That's all they know how to do well.
Unix based operating systems including Mac OS X, Linux, BSD, HP/UX, IBM AIX and Sun OS all are derived from the core methods introduced in AT&T Unix developed from 1970 onward, along with the "C" programming language. For the most part these and their derivatives are now open source, and developed with strict industry standards and checks.
These are multi-tasking, multi-user OSes with very smooth task scheduling and NSA certified security which is both earned (as opposed to being bought) and field proven over time. FreeBSD for example, Apple's choice for Mac OS X, has not had a root-level exploit in over three years [as of 12/2007]. Zero. Nada. A true success.
That's why it doesn't need anti-virus, and why it's so difficult to hack in comparison to Microsoft's naive Windows.
Unlike all Unix OSes, Microsoft's Windows is a tightly held proprietary product without peer review, and is IMHO, a very poorly written pile of bloat, unable to keep from crashing.
There are Unix and Linux systems running out there that have not been rebooted in years. Try that with Windows.
Today, there is little issue as to what can business critical applications that be run on ?nix except for a few hold-outs who've pretty much tied their wagons tightly to Microsoft's vision. But those too are slowing coming around to the realization that just possibly, they've made a serious mistake. (Autodesk, Adobe and Intuit come to mind.) But don't you fear, what goes around comes around and these ISVs already have ports to ?nix past the beta stage and nearly ready for full release-to-manufacturing trials and when the CEOs of these firms feel the cold water coming up over their socks, you'll see they won't hold out too long. When their bottom lines take too much of a hit, they'll bail out pretty quickly.
I see Ernie Ball was being polite about it.
For my money, MS is getting too greedy, too fat and too stupid to do anything but replay the Rise and Fall of the Roman Empire scenario.
And that's ok by me.
There are other ways to go now. And I for one, am glad.
dave...
Andrew
Your problem may be how you treated your guitar or what you expected [http://eg, free repair of a non mfg. defect|http://eg, free repair of a non mfg. defect] so I have to say you sound like a disgruntled child.
********. Microsoft shouldn't have tried to win him back, he's in the wrong.
Read the rest of what Mr. Ball had to say--he thought he was in compliance. When raided, he found out that about 8% of his computers had some kind of violation.
No, he's right on the money. Honest mistakes happen, and a company run by decent human beings would try to determine if there is a pattern of willful disregard or if it was just a mistake, and then proceed as appropriate. This was a heavy handed approach driven by greed.
I always liked the products Ernie Ball makes--I exclusively use their strings on my bass and on both of my Strats. Now I have a reason to like the company that makes the strings, as well.
find it very interesting that I would ever hear his name again, much
less in this context. I am glad a bully beat him up. Good for you
Sterling.
And I never thought about thin clients reducing the time it takes to resolve support issues, due to not having to physically travel across a building to fix problems.
Now, I have to say that I agree with Mr. Ball's points regarding the way Microsoft treats its customers with respect to the way it changes its technology around and effectively requires business users to discard perfectly good hardware and software - wasting its customers' money.
In fact, Linux and other open source solutions have matured to the point that staying with Microsoft is no longer a defensible business move.
How can you claim higher ground here, give me a break.
And most if not all firms (really) have been at some time out of compliance with their licensing.
Surely though, Microsoft should've made a call first, and suggested his firm buy up or remove apps as needed.
There was no need for MS to treat him the way they did.
I wonder how many people who've complained here about his firm's compliance could withstand a software audit with a perfect score?
Although I'll admit, since I'm a consultant, when I got my warning letter from the BSA, I went around to all my PCs and wiped everything from them which were duplicates, and purchased up-to-date copies of MS Office 2000 Pro.
But that wasn't the problem. After installing Small Business Server, it installed Outlook 2003, which refused to launch Word and Excel from forms or the Contacts - unless I upgraded to Office 2003.
So I too got caught up in the forced upgrade cyclone.
No more though.
I am moving all my clients to Linux based servers, shedding Outlook and as soon as possible, moving the workstations over to Linux and other alternative OSes including Mac OS X (which is BSD Unix based).
- by kidknapp April 6, 2009 9:03 AM PDT
- I know its been almost a year since anyone has left a comment to this post, but the point is as relevant as ever... But , first, Ernie Ball strings are great, been using them since I was 12 years old (am 27 now). Only other ones I tolerate are d'addario(sorry, sterling). And I must admit, *Andyguitar*, Within a year a guitar's neck could easily get twisted if you didn't store or rest the guitar properly between use. Just a guess bet you probably thought it was cool to lean it on the headstock frequently instead of the body which can severely warp the neck very quickly. Manufacturer defects show up A LOT sooner than 'within a year.' And most warranties don't cover being an idiot about maintenance;)
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Showing 1 of 2 pages (31 Comments)At any rate I would also like to note those who have posted claiming that Sterling Ball was committing an act of theft or piracy has no clue! How could they? Clearly they sell the software and haven't ever experienced the embarrassment that comes with such a debacle - 8% of 72 computers is fairly minimal. But to be put on the news about it is OUT OF LINE. He'd already been paid up and clear on the other 92% of the 72 computers, He just didn't realize their was an issue and was heavily punished for it in terms of monetary damage and reputation. If I treated the customers at my grocery store like that for eating a few grapes on the way to checkout, no one would shop my store - not because everyone steals the grapes, but because you just don't treat your customer's that way. Their money on the products they DO pay for easily covers any potential loss from a few measly grapes. If I stopped them all out of principle, I would lose the rest of their money. Sterling Ball has demonstrated this. Microsoft wasn't really losing money, they just like to get all they feel entitled for. But now they ARE losing money because they've treated their customers like thieves. The same is been going on for a long time with DRM and copyrighted music and movies. Treat us like thieves and we will make sure you get even less money. Screw us and we will pirate even harder.
And especially with computers and the internet - there is becoming less tolerance. People shouldn't have to pay and pay, and pay for something that won't benefit them when there is no electricity or heat in their homes, or no food on their table. Companies have been allowed the luxury of uncontrolled profits for too long. I wouldn't be pissed if the actual developers of a software got the profits, but instead they are generally hourly and the company paying them gets to retain everything they do as intellectual property, I know this is standard practice, but why should I feel sympathy for software companies like this when open-source community driven development is quality and free.
Corporations are running out of wool to pull over our eyes. Sue me, Fine me, lock me up, It won't get you another dime out of my broke ass. So at what point can these companies actually claim a loss? If I have to pay too much for something then I wouldn't use it anyway. So using something pirated doesn't create a loss because I would never have the money anyway. And thus would never use the software unless a free alternative presented itself - such as Linux or OpenOffice.
This all comes from Congress being ignorant about computers from the beginning. If years ago we said No to DMCA and companies leeching royalty for code. We the people and consumer would have the control, and not Operating System companies that have to patch a new remote-exploit vulnerability every week. My point being that the result computers produce isn't worth the cost. As a luxury versus necessity, consumers must recognize this and quit letting Microsoft convince us to buy a new machine and license every time they crap out a new edition of Windows. But that is the consequence we live with as Americans in a Capitalist, Free-Enterprise, psuedo-Democracy where Corporations can entice politicians with lobbying and under the table perks. Anytime someone has something NEW, they fabricate demand for it and triple the price of its predecessor. And Our unwillingness to accept that WE DON"T NEED COMPUTERS OR TECHNOLOGY TO LIVE SUCCESSFUL HAPPY AND ENRICHED LIVES.