On Thu, 2 May 2002, Paul M Foster wrote:
> On Thu, May 02, 2002 at 09:58:02PM -0400, steve wrote:
>
> <snip>
>
> > My first business in the US was out of my garage. I computerized companies.
> > (Actually I tried to get out of computers into Real Estate. But I needed a
> > computer so I did some research to find a good source. Then someone came by
> > and asked if I could get them a computer too. Then another, and another...
> > I ended up in the computer business again anyway.)
> >
>
> No kidding. As soon as anyone finds out you know something about
> computers, you're done for. ;-}
>
> Paul
>
As for myself, I was almost an accountant, but I hit the F1 key one too
many times, folks started calling me "F1", and I found myself in a new
line of work. It was a close call, but I was saved. :) Now I'm proud
when people call me a geek or a weenie. (Geek and Weenie are rarely used
in reference to bean counters any more, if ever. Mind you "bean counter"
is not a term of derision either, especially when one has a very real
need to know how many beans one has.)
Selling PC hardware is a rough way to make a living these days. It's a
commodity; rational people generally seek the lowest price. (That funky
Lian-Li case with the optional neon lights we were recently discussing
might be the exception that proves the rule.) (The new ticker symbol HPQ
for HP+Compaq might prove to be another proof.) There really ARE folks
earning a living on Linux. Most of them sell support. It looks kind of
like a lesson IBM took to heart, but I'm not convinced they really
convinced themselves yet. The NKS guys, whose employer hosts this list,
seem to be an example of how a real Linux business really does support.
The roaringpenguin.com guys who often constructively contribute here seem
to have a similar business model. (Will the potential employer I forgot
please forgive me. :) ) I'm not convinced VALinux, for example, ever
really intended to butter their bread with hardware mark-ups.
Considering that support is generally how one makes money with Linux I
wanted to point out a recent article in a trade rag I read pretty
regularly:
http://www.nwc.com/1309/1309f3.html
Four company's Linux support, get this, DISTRIBUTION NEUTRAL Linux
support, is tested. Not surprisingly to me, the very big companies didn't
fare so well. (hmmmm.... I mentioned them above. :) ). One interesting
aspect of the article is how much these support plans cost. The pricing
is crazy, per call, per server, per user, flat rate, flat rate with extra
for escalation, all sorts of nonsense. They couldn't make any more sense
of it than you are likely to make of the various cell phone and long
distance calling plans, but it is serious bucks. Enough for a person to
feed a family, for sure. Still, considering the cost of very good support
for Linux plus licensing costs, stacked up against the cost of very good
support for Microsoft products plus licensing costs, a bean counter and a
geek might find themselves speaking the same language.
Sorry to be so long-winded, but someone wanted to talk business. :)
One other interesting thing about that article was the questions they
asked to test the vendors. If I had run into those problems, I don't
think it would have generated a support call. I immediately thought of at
least a couple ways to attack the problem. Maybe that was why one of the
vendors figured out it was a test, but it was encouraging to me. Perhaps
I'm not as ignorant as I suppose.
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