Winemaker Drinks To Linux 158
An anonymous reader writes "Australian winemaker De Bortoli is a firm believer in Linux. CIO Bill Robertson says he's 'bemused by any notion that Linux is poorly supported in the enterprise since he has never had any trouble finding support for De Bortoli's open-source systems', and says that those IT managers having trouble simply 'aren't looking hard enough.' There are also some other good case studies here -- telecommuncations provider TransACT, online hotel booking service Wotif, engineering contractor Coates and investment and funds management group Aviva."
I'll take wine drinkers (Score:1, Offtopic)
I think you mean .. (Score:1)
Re:I'll take wine drinkers (Score:1)
Re:I'll take wine drinkers (Score:2)
Re:I'll take wine drinkers (Score:2)
A fine choice. Don't forget Paulaner Salvator!
Re:I'll take wine drinkers (Score:2)
Re:I'll take wine drinkers (Score:2)
Indeed, you did (Score:2)
Try not to get into too much trouble with that stuff.... :-)
Re:Indeed, you did (Score:2)
Re:I'll take wine drinkers (Score:2)
Yeah, but... (Score:3, Funny)
A lot of people in this country pooh-pooh Australian table wines. This is a pity, as many fine Australian wines appeal not only to the Australian palette, but also to the cognoscenti of Great Britain.
"Black Stump Bordeaux" is rightly praised as a peppermint flavoured Burgundy, whilst a good "Sydney Syrup" can rank with any of the world's best sugary wines.
"Chateau Bleu", too, has won many prizes; not least for its taste, and its lingering afterburn.
"Old Smokey, 1968" has been compared favourably to a Welsh claret, whilst the Australian wino society thouroughly recommends a 1970 "Coq du Rod Laver", which, believe me, has a kick on it like a mule: 8 bottles of this, and you're really finished -- at the opening of the Sydney Bridge Club, they were fishing them out of the main sewers every half an hour.
Of the sparkling wines, the most famous is "Perth Pink". This is a bottle with a message in, and the message is BEWARE!. This is not a wine for drinking -- this is a wine for laying down and avoiding.
Another good fighting wine is "Melbourne Old-and-Yellow", which is particularly heavy, and should be used only for hand-to-hand combat.
Quite the reverse is true of "Chateau Chunder", which is an Appelachian controle, specially grown for those keen on regurgitation -- a fine wine which really opens up the sluices at both ends.
Real emetic fans will also go for a "Hobart Muddy", and a prize winning "Cuiver Reserve Chateau Bottled Nuit San Wogga Wogga", which has a bouquet like an aborigine's armpit.
Re:Yeah, but... (Score:2)
Wasn't this a skit on Saturday Night Live about 25 years ago?
No, it's Monty! (Score:2)
Re:No, it's Monty! (Score:2)
You'll excuse my bit-dropping memory after all these years. The delivery was everything. I remember crying and literally rolling on the floor it was so funny. The good old days.
Re:Yeah, but... (Score:2)
Just so you can Monty Python Troll properly next time.
Here it goes... (Score:5, Funny)
Does his wine run linux? Imagine a beowulf cluster of linux wine bottles.
Does he offer wine packages for many distributions?
Will his wine run Internet Explorer in Linux?
Re:Here it goes... (Score:2)
http://bau2.uibk.ac.at/sg/python/Scripts/Previous
Re:Here it goes... (Score:2)
I'd be more interested to know if his Linux runs on wine.
Re:Here it goes... (Score:2)
Ambiguous Headlines (Score:5, Funny)
But not this WINE (Score:2)
Who'da Thunk (Score:1)
Wine? (Score:4, Funny)
"Looking hard enough" for support (Score:5, Insightful)
But support is one of those things that ought not be something that ought to be sought "hard". Support should be easily purchased from service companies dedicated to the task. Support should be available from any number of certified engineers who have made it a priority to understand the system. Support should not be intricately tied to Google (though it certainly has its place there), but rather it should be supported by professionals.
And really, in all but the most remote locations, it is. Linux isn't difficult to put into place because support is difficult to find. On the contrary, it is easy to find companies willing to provide support. The drawback is that typically these services come at a price higher than similar service contracts with Microsoft support professionals.
Then again, you get what you pay for.
Re:"Looking hard enough" for support (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:"Looking hard enough" for support (Score:3)
His statement that those people that Linux isn't "for" aren't looking hard enough is very short sighted.
It might have been, were that his statement. It wasn't though. He said people who can't find Linux support aren't looking hard enough. That is a really polite and nice way to say that they are the most incompetent computer person you could possibly have hired or they are intentionally not finding it because they want to create a non-existant problem either so they don't have to learn, so they can kee
Re:"Looking hard enough" for support (Score:5, Insightful)
They don't do that. Windows service providers magically appear in front of their desk. And all an IT manager has to do that that point is buy something. What could be easier than that? Linux obviously can't compete with that kind of boot-licking service.
Re:"Looking hard enough" for support (Score:5, Insightful)
Sometimes, people NEED to be able to have support if something is broken. Waiting for a reply on a mailing list or hoping you don't piss off an op on IRC just isn't good enough.
This reason is why Redhat is so successful with their paid support.
Re:"Looking hard enough" for support (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:"Looking hard enough" for support (Score:3, Insightful)
ergah (Score:1, Troll)
Exactly which Unix are you using there?
Unix is the antithesis of Usable. Just because something is capable of doing a LOT for you ( read has lots of features and abilities), doesn't mean it's Usable/easy to use. This is the big difference between Command Line Interfaces and Gui ones.
A cml may have lots of features but they can be difficult to use and if undocumented inmpossible to use. A Gui, usually, makes doing a specific action easy, b
Re:ergah (Score:1)
I will be the first to admit that I run Windows almost exclu
Re:ergah (Score:3, Interesting)
A particular GUI may be harder to use than a particular cml.
Is windows harder to admin servers than Unix? perhaps. does it have to be? no. It's just how 'they' are.
Imagine two scenarios. You are told to lock down two server networks. One is windows one is unix. You got to the windows machine, see an icon on the desktop or in the start menu called 'Manage My Network' and click it to run
Re:ergah (Score:1)
Ease of use means NOTHING unless you specify who you want to use it. If a credit card processor made a system that would process one payment with a simple click of a mouse, I would not call that easy to use. You could probably train a 5 year old to click the mouse and use the interface, but he's going to have trouble doing that for all the billions of payments in a day's worth of transactions. Suddenly your GUI is
Re:ergah (Score:2)
From an HCI standpoint which is the only scientific view that exists for such things, you have just made my point. Amazon isn't usable because it's built on X, Y or Z, it's usable because someone sat down and though about the interface and how a user goes about deciding on what they want to buy and then actually buying it, and then did a user study and retuned the interface based on that. It's called User Centered Design [wikipedia.org], not OS cente
Re:"Looking hard enough" for support (Score:2)
One problem is that "linux" is pretty fragmented, knowing the ins and outs of several distributions isn't necessarily an easy task.
I think Linux is great for large organizations that can employ several admins that can weather the occasional loss of an individual administrator and leave plenty of time to train new admins to the way the servers are maintained.
Smaller organizations would be screwed if one of their admins quit and outside support couldn't come in and keep things up.
On
Re:"Looking hard enough" for support (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:"Looking hard enough" for support (Score:1)
Re:"Looking hard enough" for support (Score:3, Insightful)
Fluf (Score:5, Insightful)
If this is supposedly marketing then show me a case study for a company using X and I can find one for a company using it's competition Y.
Re:Fluf (Score:2)
word! (Score:4, Insightful)
word!
Yes, it's a pain in the ass to go on IRC or users groups or read, post and interact with people, learning sucks,.. and it's hard too.
just someone, make it work for me.
Isn't this EXACTLY the point?!? (Score:4, Insightful)
Isn't that EXACTLY the point of buying from a vendor? So that I can EASILY and QUICKLY get the support I need WITHOUT HAVING TO LOOK FOR IT?!?
I can see the MS and Sun and IBM ad campaigns next week..
"Choose XXXX because our support staff is a phonecall away, 24/7x365... Or make sure you have a good newsgroup feed and bookmark all the good OSS sites because that's your other option!"
Ugh. With friends like this wino, who needs enemeis?
Re:Isn't this EXACTLY the point?!? (Score:2)
Re:Isn't this EXACTLY the point?!? (Score:5, Interesting)
For the money, just as easy to go OSS.
-WS
Re:Isn't this EXACTLY the point?!? (Score:3, Interesting)
You have a valid argument. However, I must point out that once you've started to gain experience, you really don't have to look too far. In fact, I have better luck receiving help from the open source community for free than I do some companies that I've bought software from (e.g. Veritas). Perhaps surprising is that I actually prefer to use the Microsoft
Re:Isn't this EXACTLY the point?!? (Score:2)
I figured out a lot of my symptoms and such completely on my own. (Most oddly, despite having my firewall blocking ping requests, I was getting a pong from my IP) When I finally called tech support (because the problem was not something that I had done,) I ended up getting a guy who was at least some what competent, and we changed my IP, and we were still getting pings from my old IP.
We determined that I was sharing my IP with someone else, and they
RTFA (Score:5, Informative)
From TFA:
"In the early days we bought a support contract from HP, and they've provided us with gold-plated support all along," Robertson says. "All in all, five external organisations have provided support to De Bortoli's open-source software -- we've had no trouble finding help, and no trouble implementing on-site training."
It sounds like he is saying those that are having trouble aren't looking at all.
Re:RTFA (Score:2)
Re:Isn't this EXACTLY the point?!? (Score:3, Insightful)
Computers are complex tools. Without knowledgable staff its impossible to get a custom form-fit solution to your business. Other businesses care more about the support contract and the money than your overall working efficiency, security, upgrade path, etc. They're not going to do the research for you, they'll just pass on the baton to the next guy while getting ju
I think it's obvious (Score:3, Funny)
MOD PARENT UP (Score:1)
Oblig. Simpsons Quote (Score:5, Funny)
Marge: Homer, you were drunk!
Homer: And how!
Support is overrated (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:Support is overrated (Score:5, Interesting)
Unfortunately, perception is and always has been reality to a certain extent. Remember the old adage, "Nobody ever got fired for buying IBM."? It's getting better, but to a certain extent it's true of Microsoft now.
Going Linux might be considered a radical idea with big risks. If the slightest thing goes wrong, you might be looking for another job.
If you go Microsoft which is perceived as "the natural choice" by some, if something goes wrong, not many bosses would blame you.
This doesn't make it right, but it is reality for many.
Re:Support is overrated (Score:2, Interesting)
Well, I'm old enough now (42) to remember a certain site in London, which had what was then a significant investment in Burroughs kit.
A certain newly recruited IT manager did indeed get the chop for recommending switching to IBM. I was contracting there at the time, and I remember thinking it served him right.
Re:Support is overrated (Score:3, Insightful)
Meanwhile, we have several applications that we (by requirement) bought from the lowest bidder. I've spent many a day and night trying to get ahold of a competent support person (even when we've paid big bucks for onsite service wit
Re:Support is overrated (Score:3, Interesting)
The support was mediocre at best. I can tell the support guy was swamped beyond belief. I truely felt bad for him. If I had no urgency to call, I wouldn't even bother.
At the same time, Redhat support is supposedly one of the more established services out there. So I wonder... quantity over quality...
Re:Support is overrated (Score:3, Insightful)
All the posts here about how newsgroups, IRC, and
Re:Support is overrated (Score:2)
Quality support people can be difficult to find. Of course, I hate always hearing that I might get hit by a Mack truck...
I used to hate that saying, too ... until I got hit by a truck on my walk to work.
Seriously, I was crossing the street with a walk signal and this pickup truck comes up to the red stop light, driver glances left, sees no oncoming traffic, and proceeds to pull forward. Never mind that I was in the middle of the street. I wasn't seriously injured, fortunately. He knocked me down, b
Just another argument for windows (Score:4, Funny)
Re:Just another argument for windows (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Just another argument for windows (Score:2)
lol
It's that easy (Score:1, Flamebait)
Credibility at last.
This article with it's 4 or 5 case studies reads like any number of the Microsoft Propoganda articles I've read before, I half expect that within an hour some slashdotter will post details about the people in the articles that demonstrate that they are really working for Linus's favorite Public relations fir
Re:It's that easy (Score:2)
obvious? (Score:2)
Coders drink to Linux.
Not looking hard enough? (Score:5, Interesting)
I would argue that they're not looking at all. Not only are they not looking, they're not taking sales calls from companies that do support and customize OSS apps. They're making an effort not to know.
Re:Not looking hard enough? (Score:2)
The real problem to Linux migration are corprate policies. After being burned in the past of being to open and running to many platforms that they couldn't maintain their IT. They decided to go we will just choose a platform and stick with it. And they did and they still do.
Re:Not looking hard enough? (Score:2)
Makes me wonder why they don't just outsource the whole IT/helpdesk department..
Someone somewhere must be making too much money to think about how central computer systems are to their business and how much stability, security and performance problems affect their bottom line.
Of course (Score:3, Funny)
The truth rarely matters (Score:2)
In today's world, it isn't the truth that matters. What people perceive as the truth is what matters. I will give a few examples.
When I was young, I thought Africans are black because of the "intense heat" on their continent. As such, I'd think twice before visiting. How wrong I was! There are places on the continent that are cooler than my
Re:The truth rarely matters (Score:1)
Australia eh? (Score:3, Funny)
Intern: We've detected a trademark disturbance.
Linus: Who is this time?
Intern: It's De Bortoli winemakers of Australia.
Linus: Tell Maddog to unleash the enraged pengiuns on their grape fields.
Intern: Right away Sir.
I'm sorry, is this news? (Score:1)
I don't see why it's a surprise to anyone that "gasp" Linux is usable in an industry.
Maybe I'm missing something... (Score:2, Funny)
Gotta start keeping score and start ignoring my customers so I'll know what to buy.
After a few... (Score:2, Funny)
After the first glass, you'll start believing that Linux on the Desktop is a good idea.
After the second glass, you start to think Laura DiDio is hot, at least when she's not talking.
After the third glass, you find the Linus Torvalds blurb on how he pronounces "Linux" once again mildly amusing.
After the fourth glass, all your interfaces look like Windows- and you like it!
After the ffith galss, you wlil wsih you had a bettar spllchekr for Linux.
A
Seems like we'll have to... (Score:2)
free as in beer
to
free as in wine
won't we?
Never heard of Linux? (Score:1)
Free (Score:3, Funny)
Re: (Score:2)
Re:firm believer? (Score:2, Insightful)
Imitation is the best kind of praise you can get. If there's applications for Windows that are being ported to or being given some form of compatibility with Linux, it speaks for both the application and the OS as being worthy of each other.
To each his own.
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
A more natural choice (Score:2)
Australian Holy Linux?!? (Score:1)
The support issue (Score:5, Insightful)
The thing about support of Open Source Software is that quality support demands above all else a stable product. No, not one that doesn't crash very often, one that doesn't change very often. Every change a programmer makes to a program introduces a risk of retraining for the support staff. The last thing a customer wants to hear from Technical Support is "your programmers changed the source and that's why it doesn't work any more.".
That's why it's important for enterprises to keep programmers away from the programs unless the company is prepared to support itself. This is not a problem for proprietary software because the programmers don't have the source code. For open source, though, the temptation to "change that routine so it works better in our environment" is pretty overwhelming and absolutely toxic to the support scenario.
Re:The support issue (Score:2)
"The thing about support of Open Source Software is that quality support demands above all else a stable product. No, not one that doesn't crash very often, one that doesn't change very often."
Erm, not to burst your bubble or anything, but isn't this exactly what Debian and CentOS are all about?
I agree with your point about stability; I'm almost pathological about it myself. But to imply that FOSS can't be stable is patently wrong.
Is that a pun...? (Score:1)
Anyone who uses Windows knows that if you want to find something about a problem, you often have to go through several loops to get there and spend plenty of time weeding through the confusion and plethora of data. [never thought I'd use 'plethora' naturally in conversation, but whatever] If finding solutions to Linux problems requires more work than finding solutions for Windows problems (ie - not "looking hard enough") then forget it. It's not worth the extra labotomies.
Finding people vs. finding the solution (Score:2)
Correction (Score:2)
Aren't Looking .. Where? (Score:2)
I say "He's not looking hard enough!"
People still think Linux isn't Enterprise class? (Score:2, Interesting)
The Linux issue is business desktops and client applications. If we manage to finally make a good desktop Linux distro with good standardization of interface and ease of use, Linux will finally knock that joke of a server OS (Windows) out of the wat
Linus says (Score:2, Funny)
My new favorite wine (Score:2)
GJC
Lacking Some Serious Details (Score:2)
The article doesn't even mention HOW he's using Linux. Is that just his website host? Is it his file shares? Billing and CRM? Are all of his employees' workstation 100% OSS?
I would love to know how much such an organization as his spends annually on IT. What are his payroll costs? Hardware? Software? Training? Consulting? How does that compare to a company of similar size using
Re:Lacking Some Serious Details (Score:2)
Here are some quotes from the article that should answer your question.
Having implemented Linux across the company's servers half a decade ago, ...
I think it is clear that all the servers run Linux and so do a lot of the desktops.
Re:Lacking Some Serious Details (Score:2)
For all we know, that could mean he's got FireFox running on his IT desktops, and that's it.
Re:Lacking Some Serious Details (Score:2)
Re:Linux is the Messiah (Score:2)
Re:Biased (Score:2)
Winemaker != One who makes WINE
Winemaker as in one who grows grapes, crushes them, and ferments them into a tasty alcholic beverage.
So, less biased than you think. Drunk, perhaps, but less biased.