[olug] great article about open source vs windows

[David Walker]

I'm of 2 minds on this issue.  On the one side I feel that the corporate 
environments I've worked in have generally benefited from a more relaxed 
structure where minimally trained users could do the necessary steps to alter 
their environment to fix their own little problems without having to call the 
helpdesk for every little thing.  I actually found my users calling me less 
after I showed them how to handle some of those little things.

On the other side it can be a nightmare when users choose to install trojans, 
viruses, non-malware programs that interfere with the corporate environment, 
or unlicensed programs that the company could be on the hook for.

I think the environment should be as open as possible while still addressing 
the negatives.  Combine properly trained users and proper security policies 
to achieve the goal of a productive environment with low downtime and low 
support costs.

On Saturday 07 May 2005 10:44 am, Jay Hannah wrote:
> "No one needs to control my desktop interface for fear I could screw up
> something so badly it costs the overall organization."
>
> True, because the author knows what he's doing and won't need a help
> desk to help him fix it when he screws something up. 95% of corporate
> users are not capable of such self help.
>
> We need both paradigms: Users that know what they're doing can do
> whatever they want, because the consequences are their problem that
> they are expected to correct themselves, without help. Most users,
> however, need their desktops locked down so they can continue to work
> regardless of their attempts to get creative that could easily stop
> them cold for hours.
>
> The guy that couldn't adjust his font size right away was a small and
> temporary price to pay so that the other thousands of users can get
> their work done every day.
>
> This has nothing to do with "open source vs windows". Windows, Linux,
> Mac, whatever -- most corporate users environments need to be
> controlled so they don't get lost/confused/unproductive. The authors
> extrapolation from desktop control to