[ale] Awful story...

Mon Nov 16 10:09:23 EST 2009

Maybe I'm just a purist that way, but on my work machines it's a Linux desktop or it's nothing.  (I've used Macs in the past, but they were essentially iTerm sessions into my 2 Linux boxen.)

I make a point of asking that in the interview.  If it's a deal-breaker, then there's something inherently wrong with the way business is done (in my opinion, of course) and I should make the decision right then and there if I want to work there.

At my current position, the answer was:  "You have to have what we give you, but you get an extra machine, so as long as you can do your job, I don't care."

This is the sensible, well thought-out answer.  It's predicated on me getting my job done.

The company provided system is chained to the desk and never goes anywhere.  My primary and secondary machines are Linux Boxen, I manage mostly Linux Boxen with a few XServes and about 9 Solaris boxen. I use Macs at home.

From any workstation at any time I can do my work with any tool for those platforms.

Yes, if I'm hungry I'll use CP/M if I have to, but I prefer to make that decision, not be forced into it.  I ask in the interview, and if it's not to my liking I decline there.  I think that's a more professional approach and saves your potential employer's sanity (and your reputation)

I think the mistake the guy in the story made was not communicating well enough in the interview process. (IMHO Of course.)

I think the mistake the two acronym'ed companies made were:  Looking for a Linux guru to do a Linux deployment (or conversion to Linux) for a number of hosts and not expecting said guru to be a Linux user.  

The brain-dead part of this on the employer's side was they should want the person doing their Linux deployments to be so intimately familiar with Linux as to use it as a desktop.  

The brain-dead part of this on the employee's side was in not just taking the offered device and keeping his trap shut.  He should've done what he could in Linux and what he could in Windows.  Nothing good ever came out of confusing hiring managers and big companies with details of implementation.  He could've done this very well and very simply with no one above being any the wiser.

--j

On Nov 16, 2009, at 9:34 AM, Robert Heaven wrote:

> I have to concur with the replies on this... I work for a large bank (not the 4-letter one) that employs/contracts large numbers of contractors/outsources. And, I can assure you, this bank does NOT allow anyone to access the bank's network without a bank supplied laptop equipped with Windows/IE/CiscoVPN, etc. 
> 
> Do we have Linux? Yes. We have thousands of Linux machines running as back-end servers. I personally take care of over 1400 FreeBSD machines around the world. What do I use for a desktop? I use the bank supplied laptop running Windows/IE/... I do install Firefox and use it because the custom built application that runs on my FreeBSD machines doesn't support IE. But, for the other intranet web sites, I use IE because the IIS based web pages require it.
> 
> Also, PMs can get pretty sensitive... the PM in this story probably got her feeling hurt when she perceived this person doing an "end-run" on her when he contacted tech support.
> 
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Jim Popovitch <jimpop at gmail.com>
> To: Atlanta Linux Enthusiasts - Yes! We run Linux! <ale at ale.org>
> Sent: Mon, Nov 16, 2009 9:05 am
> Subject: Re: [ale] Awful story...
> 
> There probably are even more companies involved, but only 2 are
> 
> pertainent to the story.   Company A had a contract and subbed it out
> 
> to Company B.  Company B was hiring someone to fullfil the contract.
> 
> It doesn't matter who the orig contract was with.
> 
> 
> 
> -Jim P.
> 
> 
> 
> On 2009-11-16, scott <scott at sboss.net> wrote:
> 
> > Actually there were three companies.  IBM, Indian-company, and four-
> 
> > letter credit card company.
> 
> >
> 
> > And many companies that hire contractors/subcontractors restrict what
> 
> > hardware/software/operatingsystems they can use.
> 
> >
> 
> > A few years back i went to do a half day job for a contracting company
> 
> > for Dell. Now the customer knew I wasn't Dell.  But Dell required me
> 
> > to use a Dell laptop and leave my mac at home (well rental car).  Dell
> 
> > salesweenie handed me a Dell in the lobby of the customer to use.  I
> 
> > went in, used the Dell for the 3-4 hours then handed it back to the
> 
> > same person in the same lobby as I was leaving.
> 
> >
> 
> > Now was I happywith the Dell?  No not really.  It ran windows and IE.
> 
> > <shudder>. but it isn't worth the hassle of trying to force firefox
> 
> > (or even worse Linux) on companies.
> 
> >
> 
> > Here is a few words of advice (take them or leave them):
> 
> > * when your employer(direct or indirect) gives you tools, use them.
> 
> > Including the big evil windows.
> 
> > * don't make the salesweenies nor pms upset with you at all.
> 
> > Salesweenies are the ones signing the deals ($$$$) and the pms manage
> 
> > the people and money allocations.  Make either upset and you are gone.
> 
> > * when getting hired/contracted don't use the companies resouces
> 
> > including tech support without direct approval of you point-of-contact
> 
> > (the pm in the case above).  You could get yourself in big trouble if
> 
> > you do.
> 
> >
> 
> > Just my two cents from being in those shoes before...
> 
> >
> 
> > Sent from my mobile...
> 
> >
> 
> > On Nov 16, 2009, at 8:27, Jim Popovitch <jimpop at gmail.com> wrote:
> 
> >
> 
> >> Don't take this as a defensive statement for IBM....
> 
> >>
> 
> >> There are 2 different companies involved, according to the story.  The
> 
> >> 3 letter company, and the Indian company.  It was the latter that was
> 
> >> doing the hiring, according to what I read.  Now, imagine if big
> 
> >> companies, that used contractors, had (got?) to dictate what tools
> 
> >> those contractors or sub-partners had to utilize and support.  Now
> 
> >> imagine that Microsft is the big company, should they have the right
> 
> >> to force all their partners and contractors into using MS Office when
> 
> >> OpenOffice would do the job?
> 
> >>
> 
> >> -Jim P.
> 
> >>
> 
> >> On 2009-11-16, Jerald Sheets <questy at gmail.com> wrote:
> 
> >>> http://linuxlock.blogspot.com/2009/11/linux-contractor-fired-for-using.html
> 
> >>>
> 
> >>>
> 
> >>> Sorry to hear this, but I know it's true from the IBM side.
> 
> >>>
> 
> >>> You should've seen the blank stares among sales-droids trying to
> 
> >>> sell us
> 
> >>> hardware when we would demand both fully GUI and fully command-line
> 
> >>> manageable gear.  You'd swear you just told them you needed a flux-
> 
> >>> capacitor
> 
> >>> and an Infinite Improbability drive.
> 
> >>>
> 
> >>> If these big companies are going to tout their Linux compatibility
> 
> >>> and their
> 
> >>> Linux friendliness, they need to also make sure to understand that
> 
> >>> people
> 
> >>> that come a-calling from the Linux world will have a higher
> 
> >>> likelihood than
> 
> >>> ever before of not having Windows on the desktop.
> 
> >>>
> 
> >>> --j
> 
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> 
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> 
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