Computer Geeks in Movies.

[Puckstop31]

The dumbing down of users, I hear what you and Puck are preaching.

Not at all.

Time is money. What will make the user the most efficient at their job with the least amount of capital/training investment?

Like I said in my first responce... OS is not anywhere near as important as productivity software and the process it supports.

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ETA: In the spirit of the original intent of this thread, add "Law Abiding Citizen" to movies where the "Good Guys" use Macs.

It's not dumbing down users, it's tailoring the applications to the users.

Not at all.

Yeah that was an unfair statement on my part. However I do work with network engineers who would love to dumb down users to make their jobs easier. I also see how its easier and more cost effective to sell clients and end users ready made MS/Windows solutions, its even more profitable in the long run.

I can teach a geek to use Photoshop in a heartbeat, but I can't teach a geek to be an artist. Hence, Photoshop has a GUI which is intuitive and makes it easier for an artist to be an artist.

Im to cheap to buy Photoshop and Im to lazy to pirate it, well lazy and I dont need PS. Now GIMP is free and I dont find it easy or intuitive. If the PS interface is similar to GIMP, which application do you think Im going to recommend? If you said the free one give yourself a gold star.

Time is money. What will make the user the most efficient at their job with the least amount of capital/training investment?

If it is all about capital and training, IE (or is it EG?) the user has no experience with any OS, why would Unix based work stations be a negative to productivity? Unix based machines would be cheaper the Windowz machines, or am I wrong on that too?

I also get that it is easier for you to hire employees that are already MS certified, rather then trying to find certified Linux techs.

Like I said in my first responce... OS is not anywhere near as important as productivity software and the process it supports.

I disagree and I think you know why. OS is important when it comes to making tech support companies money.

[Lady's Human]

If it is all about capital and training, IE (or is it EG?) the user has no experience with any OS, why would Unix based work stations be a negative to productivity? Unix based machines would be cheaper the Windowz machines, or am I wrong on that too?

There are almost no users entering the workforce with no OS experience. The Windows and Mac GUIs have been in place long enough to where the bulk of the users entering any workplace are going to have experience in some way shape or form with one of those OS packages.

Im to cheap to buy Photoshop and Im to lazy to pirate it, well lazy and I dont need PS. Now GIMP is free and I dont find it easy or intuitive. If the PS interface is similar to GIMP, which application do you think Im going to recommend? If you said the free one give yourself a gold star.

Does Gimp have 24/7 tech support available?

Has GIMP been vetted for use on intranets?

Is GIMP going to be updated with security patches, and can I trust those patches?

The cost of the user license is minimal compared to the total cost of NOT using a product which is industry standard. I remember bringing a file on a PC formatted disc into a print house and getting charged extra because it wasn't a Mac file. Industry standardization drives the car, not the initial cost of the product.

OS and a vetted tech support base are important when it comes to the user being able to run reliably 24/7/365.

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There are almost no users entering the workforce with no OS experience.

The Amish. Rimshot. Im going to agree with Puck and go him one better, End Users dont know an OS from a web browser. In the end most end users will fight to keep what they know, that might be Winblowz and IE or OSX and Safari.

Does Gimp have 24/7 tech support available?

Do I care? No. Do I care that Photoshop has 24/7 tech support? Again, No I do not. If I sold or pimped Photoshop I would care. If the client needed 24/7 support I would recommend PS, otherwise I would recommend GIMP.

Has GIMP been vetted for use on intranets?

Good question, I dont know. GIMP is an open source alternative to PS. Im guessing by your question that PS has been vetted on intranets?

Is GIMP going to be updated with security patches, and can I trust those patches?

I dont pimp GIMP so I dont know, ask the open source community that supports GIMP. If a company wanted what PS can do without the price and was willing to take the risk I would suggest GIMP and leave the decision up to them. If it was my choice on a clients network with Winblows workstations I admit I would recommend Photoshop.

Myself, Ild trust GIMP over PS because PS needs regular security patches

The cost of the user license is minimal compared to the total cost of NOT using a product which is industry standard. I remember bringing a file on a PC formatted disc into a print house and getting charged extra because it wasn't a Mac file. Industry standardization drives the car, not the initial cost of the product.

You should have asked what formats were supported by the printer, and formatted your file to accommodate the printer, dont blame the printer for costing you extra.

OS and a vetted tech support base are important when it comes to the user being able to run reliably 24/7/365.

Thats the bottom line isnt it? Windoze isnt reliable 24/7/365, no OS is. Winblowz just costs more upfront and for long term support.

Puck, I hope you arent ducking my question.

My question is what would it cost to switch to Unix based workstations with Windows based servers?

[Lady's Human]

Thats the bottom line isnt it? Windoze isnt reliable 24/7/365, no OS is. Winblowz just costs more upfront and for long term support.

Windows has a much larger support base than most OS packages. Chances are that SOMEONE in the support community is going to know what's going on with your box or your LAN.

Linux/Unix/Qnx or whatever flavor of Unix you're running, especially if it's been tailored to your situation? Not so much.

You should have asked what formats were supported by the printer, and formatted your file to accommodate the printer, dont blame the printer for costing you extra.

That's not the point. The point is that the printer used Mac based systems because they could more easily get skilled workers to use that platform. Cross platform compatability used to be a PITA. Mac systems were easily 3x more expensive at that point in time, but it was cheaper for them to use Macs due to ...........training and app availability. It wasn't a complaint about them charging more, it was a statement about what drives the bus when it comes to platform choices.

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Windows has a much larger support base than most OS packages. Chances are that SOMEONE in the support community is going to know what's going on with your box or your LAN.

Linux/Unix/Qnx or whatever flavor of Unix you're running, especially if it's been tailored to your situation? Not so much.

For what Windows costs, upfront and for long term support, it had better have a HUGE on call support base. Same goes for Mac OS. Tailored Unix OS will have a much smaller on call support base, the users would likely know that up front.

That's not the point. The point is that the printer used Mac based systems because they could more easily get skilled workers to use that platform. Cross platform compatibility used to be a PITA. Mac systems were easily 3x more expensive at that point in time, but it was cheaper for them to use Macs due to ...........training and app availability. It wasn't a complaint about them charging more, it was a statement about what drives the bus when it comes to platform choices.

So you brought the printer an unsupported format and that cost your company more money but that isnt the point?

Please dont complain to the Mayor that I used Opera, a free web browser, to correct the spelling in your post I quoted.

[Lady's Human]

For what Windows costs, upfront and for long term support, it had better have a HUGE on call support base. Same goes for Mac OS. Tailored Unix OS will have a much smaller on call support base, the users would likely know that up front.

When I have a LAN handling data which is going to cost the company $50-60K/hour when it's down due to the changes in workflow it would create (for instance the image handling network in a plant in the USPS), I can't afford to have a small support base. I need to be able to get it up and running NOW, not when the three geeks who wrote the code are available.

So you brought the printer an unsupported format and that cost your company more money but that isnt the point?

Please dont complain to the Mayor that I used Opera, a free web browser, to correct the spelling in the your post I quoted.

The amount of money wasn't the point for me, I passed the cost on to the end customer who was annoyed, but when it was explained he understood. He wasn't paying attention to the total costs when he chose his office system, and wound up paying more in the end.

As to the spelling corrections, why would I give a damn?