[wplug] The Open Pitt, Issue 8

[Vance Kochenderfer]

cdemarco at fastmail.fm wrote:
> 
> important data  before  installing hotfixen?  Doesn't  Sony  ship with
> some  sort of backup  utility (IIANM most  boxpushers, viz. Dell, IBM,
> et. al. do)

Not that either of us could find (I was trying to do this over the
phone, which made things more difficult).  That was my first instinct
once he got the desktop back the first time.

> Interesting story, but IMHO the moral isn't simply "most big companies
> don't  care  a whit  for  anything  other than  'enhancing shareholder
> value'" . . . you're preaching to the choir on that point.

Perhaps this wasn't the ideal forum for this article.  It might have
more impact on the people subjected to the "OSS has no support" FUD on a
frequent basis.  What really surprised me was that Sony, which sells
pretty high-end PCs, offered support that was so lousy.  It nailed home
the point for me that proprietary support is about getting the best
result for the vendor, not necessarily for the user.  Funny, at least
the Microsoft guy *tried* to help restore his system.

> How about showing us how you used partimage, AMANDA, a SAMBA box or
> some other OSS technology to keep him safe from further FUBARs?  

Simple, I haven't touched his PC since, so I haven't had the chance.
My first priority in any case would be to get him doing backups -
should be trivial as he has a DVD burner.

But you're right, maybe I need to finally write that article about how
my parents have been running Linux exclusively for the past couple of
years...

Vance Kochenderfer        |  "Get me out of these ropes and into a
vkochend at nyx.net          |   good belt of Scotch"    -Nick Danger