[mdlug] mdlug Digest, Vol 30, Issue 29

[Aaron Kulkis]

Robert Jim Fulner wrote:
> When it comes to mail, we have a completely different can of worms to fight
> with the powers that be. A year ago or so we switched away from a POP system
> to the Microsoft Exchange server. They give me some kind of mumbo jumbo
> about how secure and all it is.

As the IT guy, aren't YOU supposed to be the subject matter expert?

 My understanding is that Exhcnage can be set
> up to use IMAP, but they have no desire to do so. It seems like software is
> all over the map in this company. We make bleutooth stuff, the firmware our
> our old picture frames is Open Source and the code can be downloaded
> straight from the website. The updater we use to update the firmware on a
> lot of our new products is an old open source  P5_updater which according to
> Sourceforge development on has stopped back in 2004. It works, most of the
> time, (pain in the arse) unless you are running Vista 64, than your SOL.
> 
> As far as some documentation showing how easy and cost effect setting up a
> Linux server environment, that may be something useful that I can show the
> "powers that be."

You're at a company which, in the middle of an economic crisis,
insists on throwing away money needlessly.... think about that.
I don't think they're going to consider ANY arguments until,
financially, their backs are against the wall.  And even then,
they'll have to be dragged kicking and screaming.

The punishment for their failure to get the new paradigm will
be bankruptcy of the business (or at least SIGNIFICANTLY
reduced profits)

I would point to perl, java, and other robust programming
langauges and tools, such as the gcc (GNU Compiler Collection)
which are both robust, and used in industry around the world.

If "free" = not worth much, then why does every business under
the sun advertise for Java programmers?

And if the "liability" argument comes up -- ask them, "when was
the last time a company won a lawsuit for the costs associated
with a bug in the software Microsoft sold them?" along with
"how many times has Microsoft denied that a bug existed for months?
a year? two years? before finally admitting that yes, indeed, that
bug was there all along -- meanwhile leaving YOU vulnerable all
that time and doing nothing about it.  With open source, if the
urgency is great enough, even WE can hire someone to fix the
programmnig error which is causing us problems."