yes, it is. still, there is a need to know this knowledge. I do know one thing, some of the sysadmins at eBay are required to know this. They use linux in fully a 3rd of their server infrastructure. Sure, they use a lot of standard data center server blades, but someone still needs to be able to tweak the OS for peak performance (and sometimes that requires compiling a custom kernel or driver).

-eric

On Oct 25, 2015, at 4:58 PM, Keith Smith wrote:

> Most of what you talk about is outside the scope of a data center.
> 
> On 2015-10-25 15:42, Eric Oyen wrote:
>> time may be money, but sometimes its worth it to have alternatives.
> 
> I like alternatives.  I run Mint on my desktop.  I've been fortunate enough that it just worked so it was cost effective.  I like buying discounted hardware and putting Linux on it.  I would have difficulty leaving home with a Mac that might cost $2k or more.... yikes.
> 
> Still time is money.  All things being equal, a top end programmer might make $40 - $60 plus per hour W2 plus benefits.  Is it cost effective to have that person or someone else compile a driver for their hardware?  Probably not unless they have a very specific need. They need something that gets them to work as fast as possible.  I think that was the one of the points of the article.
> 
> I used Windows for years, even though I have never been a fan of M$.  Why because it did the job.  Until several years ago I did not like Linux on my desktop, even though I tried to go M$ free on two prior occasions dating back to 2000.
> 
> I think what you are describing is a business niche or someone with Linux admin skills messing with their own hardware.
> 
> 
>> Sure, on a mac everything "just works" (well, mostly). The issue here
>> is that all IT personnel need to know how to deal with any OS on their
>> network, including being able to edit and compile drivers for
>> specialized hardware. I have an old mac here (its a series 2007
>> vintage white book) and I managed to get linux working on it. The key
>> is finding the correct drivers. If one doesn't exist, but is close to
>> another in the same chipset, it isn't that hard to modify it to work
>> (or, it may just work anyway). The kicker is getting the source info
>> from the manufacturer (in the case of apple, its Intel). SOmetimes
>> they are helpful and sometimes they aren't .
>> -eric
>> On Oct 25, 2015, at 2:09 PM, Keith Smith wrote:
>>> "Linux is only free if your time is worthless." - A guy that owns a data center told me he buys Mac because he does not have the time to fix driver issues.... etc.  Time is money!!
> 
> </snip>
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