[Gllug] Cost of RedHat vs Ubuntu desktop support

[JLMS]

On Thu, Jul 9, 2009 at 11:13 AM, Peter Childs<peterachilds at gmail.com> wrote:
> 2009/7/9 Bruce Richardson <itsbruce at workshy.org>:
>> On Wed, Jul 08, 2009 at 09:45:17AM +0100, Ryan wrote:
>>> manage the IT infrastructure. Otherwise you get an anarchic situation
>>> of users (even tech-savvy ones) installing a range of software as they
>>> see fit which can prove nigh-impossible to support and maintain
>>> efficiently.
>>
>> In a small, geek-heavy company like the average web start-up, that's not
>> anarchy.  In those conditions, it's a good thing, enhancing productivity
>> and getting the most out of the talented people you hired (you did hire
>> talented people for your start-up, right?)  The flip side is that geeks
>> are expected to fix their own workstations when they break them.
>>
>> In anything larger with a higher proportion of non-tech staff, yes, you
>> do get anarchy without some enforcement of restrictions and security
>> policy.
>>
>
> Some Places give a choice, that seams to work well,
>
> 1. Leave the computer alone and only use and have cleared and
> supported software.
> 2. Sign a disclaimer install what you like, But if anything goes wrong
> the IT Department will only clear and reinstall to default desktop for
> you. They will not support any packages that are not touched and it
> something they do support does not work on your machine, but works
> find on a Default machine, they will only clear and reinstall.
>
> Strangely quite a lot of even the IT Savvy staff went with option 1.
>


I have seen apparently innocuous applications bring to its knees name
services due to how they were using them (basically reinventing the
wheel and arriving to an square model of it, thank goodness for OSS).

Allowing people to do whatever they want is death by 1000 cuts, I
don't understand why there are Sys Admin out there willing to deal
with such a mess...
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