public opinion soapBox(frustration){
return opinion =
Below you will find an e-mail exchange between me and my boss. I have
been pounding on the table and yelling abut easy of use in GNU/Linux for
two years. Some people have agreed with me, and others have insisted
that the problem is not with Linux, but the person using it. They argue
that people who can't configure and deploy Linux in a timely manner
don't deserve to be using Linux.
Perhaps I'm just one of those stupid bone-heads who should be waiting
for Microsoft to add the icon to the desktop for what ever functionality
I desire. SuSE has made an effort to improve their installation and
integration features. I believe SuSE remains very true to the spirit of
GNU/Linux in the Stallman sense. Yes, Yast is proprietary, but it's not
"essential" to running SuSE. There are many places where configuration
needs to be improved. The three big ones that I am concerned with are
hardware integration (pnp in particular), network integration, and
security configuration. I have both my primary home system, and my
primary work system running SuSE. The sound card doesn't work in either
one of them. I'm sure with an hour or two worth of effort on each, I
could have them working. SaX has not proven reliable in configuring my
video cards. The integration of nfs, nis, and samba are lacking in good
graphical configuration and implementation tools. The security aspects
such as tcpd, xdmcp, PAM, etc passwd, apache, and etc, are scattered all
over the place, and there are usually ten different ways to lock down
each.
Everybody is welcome to flame me for complaining about this. Call me
stupid, call me lazy, I don't care. If the pure GNU/Linux community
doesn't solve these problems, the proprietary vendors will solve these
problems in non-interoperable ways. Two years ago this was just a
speculative warning. Today it is a statement of fact.
}//soapBox
Steve
####################################################################
Steve,
I can believe your spate of bad luck, what I can't believe is your
first paragraph.
I wish we had found the time to talk over the past couple of days, as
we certainly need to.
As I said, I can not believe your first paragraph. Why are staying
late at work to explore the capabilities of [Other] Linux? What does
that
have to do with GCSS and/or GSALT?
Here are the rules you are going to play by:
1. Work in this building for 8 hours per day, and only 8 hours
per
day unless I preapprove EWW.
2. While you are working here 8 hours per day, you will work
only
on GCSS and GSALT work.
3. Use only the operating systems provided by DISA and/or GCSS.
They are Solaris and Windows NT. Remove Linux from any government owned
computer that you are using in this building. If you want to work with
Linux, do it on your personal computers at home. I understand that DOD
is
looking at Linux, and we may want to get into it one day, but we have no
authoriziation to work on it now.
4. Get a DISANet email account. Your cpkwebser5 email address
will
be deactivated on May 5th.
If you can not live with these rules, please let Grey and I
know.
[The Boss]
From: "Steven T. Hatton"