[geeks] Sun-HOWTO

[geeks at sunhelp.org]

Just found this unanswered, so...


Ken Hansen wrote:

> What business allows workers to choose their
> software/platforms?


We host web hosting companies. A massive server farm at the juncture of
three big fat netfeeds (fibre directly from 3 backbone providers
straight up from the basement). As long as you can get your work done,
no-one cares what you use. Basically, all you need is a web browser, an
e-mail client and a shell with ssh and ftp.


 
> Sounds interesting/I don't see how this could work in
> a "typical" environment 


And I don't see why it would have to be be anything other than the
standard in a relatively clued environment. I can understand if you have
600 non-technical people to support. You'd *need* to keep those folks
from screwing things up. But here, we run a big chunk of the Internet
(see old post about being the new top-ranked holder of IP addresses),
and the billing and execs are here to run a business around the techies
instead of the other way 'round. The VP of Network Ops (no longer that,
he's now CTO) carried a bigger stick than the Financial dudes.

My first day on the job I was handed a pile of peecee parts and a piece
of paper with network settings. Someone lent me a Red Hat cd, and I was
working productively a short time later.


> (i.e. the *must* have some
> standard document interchange formats, etc...)


E-mail. That's our standard document interchange format. The Windows
crowd have access to licensed copies of Office and such, and I'm welcome
to install Star- or OpenOffice should I so desire, but I don't and don't
miss much as a result, except the occasional PowerPoint porn crap people
periodically circulate.


> Regarding the Mac - well, there's one in every
> crowd...


Heh. It's the CEO.


---sambo