[ale] Georgia Computing Standards Explicitly Disallow Linux

Jeffrey B. Layton laytonjb at comcast.net
Wed Nov 26 17:26:25 EST 2003


tfreeman at intel.digichem.net wrote:

>On Tue, 25 Nov 2003, Jeffrey B. Layton wrote:
>
>  
>
>>Jonathan Glass wrote:
>>    
>>
><<big snip>> 
>  
>
>>it's people like secretaries, or general clerks use them
>>then there is absolutely no reason they need Windows
>>or Office. Of course, they probably didn't do any testing
>>or profiling of required tasks. Sigh... How come IT
>>seems to have a disproportionate share of idiots?
>>(don't be too fast with those comments by the way) :)
>>    
>>
>
>Well, I'm not in IT, but I do mean this to try and help. I'm quite likely 
>to be off the mark, however.
>
>IT (like a number of other service functions like research) is generally 
>under the overriding control of one or more individuals who don't 
>have a real feel for the discipline and techniques of information 
>technology. However, those individuals are the real decision makers, 
>deciding who gets promoted, what tools are used for implementations, and 
>so forth. The basis of these decisions is _not_ broad compentecies in the 
>technology, but "what are the other fools doing?" style de jure.
>
>IT isn't the only field that suffers in this way. Just the field related 
>to this list...
>

   I agree totally with your comments. I've seen plenty of managers
in my chosen field (aeronautical and astronautical engineering)
that have no business being managers. Their only requirement for
promotion was that their lips looked like someone's rear-end.
   This same thing is true of any filed I suppose. I've also worked
in the IT field (still do to some degree) and to me I see a
disproportionate number of pure and simple knuckleheads. I am
totally shocked at the extreme low-level of cognitive skills these
people have. When we put in a request for a new system or software
package, we have to spend lots of time putting together a justification
to accompany it. This usually entails hard numbers, tables, charts,
and sometimes live demos. The IT managers look at the information
and then make some snap decision that little or nothing to do with
what we've presented (whether the decision does in our favor or not).
   Now, for the PHB types who read this list, I have known a bare
few IT managers who were actually good. My favorite story is
about my old boss when I was a sys-admin. Nice person who was
over all of the Unix servers and desktops where I work (some large
place in Marietta and deals in aeronautics and astronautics).
Eventually this person also was over the Windows servers. However,
I found out this person did not have a college degree, had never
taken a college course, who's prior job was an IT "buyer" who
never touched or understood technology, and who's only claim to
anything IT was that "they kind of admined a Windows _server_
in high school." This person was one of the best CYA people I've
ever met (kind of a "Teflon Don" of IT) and who had absolutely
_the_ lowest ability to make heads or tails of anything technical
including their VCR remote. This person was very nice and pleasant
to be around, but had no reason to be in IT management at all.
   I guess this has turned into a rant hasn't it? :) I should stop and
relieve everyone's inbox. Sorry about the long email, just wanted
to get that off my chest (politics has been bugging me lately).

Jeff





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