[ Thanks to Michael
S. Mimoso for these links. ]
Linux/OSS Support, Part 3: A Sys Admin’s Story
“As a senior system administrator, it is mission-critical that I
be able to obtain the support I need when I need it. With that
criteria in mind, I will take open-source software (OSS) support
over any other form of support that can be offered. You could not
pay me to go about business any other way.“What’s my reasoning behind this? Well, here’s an example. When
I have a problem with a proprietary piece of software that has a
support ‘contract,’ what do I have to do when I have a
problem…?”
First Stops on the Road to Free Support
“Forget calling an 800 number. Google is the first place to go
when your IT shop has a Linux and/or open source software (OSS)
technical question, according to a SearchEnterpriseLinux.com survey
of 20 IT professionals who use free support options regularly.“Every IT pro surveyed uses Google to find free support
resources. ‘Put your error message into Google, and you will be
surprised to see how well it goes in solving your exact problem,’
said Andrew Bartlett, network administrator for Hawker College,
Hawker, Australia, and Samba Team’s manager of authentication
subsystems…”