Dear Vickram,
You have a great idea...! Well a year ago, I and my
friend decided to sell proxy solutions to these small
time cafe's and faced the following problems
1. The small cyber cafe's cannot afford to provide one
stand-alone machine for the proxy set-up. Normally
they set-up win/analog/free proxy on a machine and
allow users to use it during peak hours.
2. A entire GNU\Linux cyber cafe setup has the most
daunting task (others may disagree) of a browser which
supports all sites just like IE....we may agree that
IE is insecure...but most of the sites are optimised
for IE..! Opera is the best but then its paid..!
3. Cyber cafe accounting software is also needed, the
present ones are all windows based, there are a couple
of projects on freshmeat but have'nt found success
implementing them, maybe need to invest more man
hours.
4. Messengers with similiar LOOK FEEL AND
FUNCTIONALITY..!
5. VOIP dialer applications to run on the OS.
There are more such avenues where the LUG can play an
immediate and active role.
1. I had got first hand reports of management students
who received Laptops with Suse loaded feeling
uncomfortable and loading WinXP in them. This hapenned
at MET too..!
2. Educating pupils in schools and colleges too can
ensure Linux Domination by 2007.
3. We had a Marketing exec who used RedHat 9.0 for a
year as a desktop but couldnt convince himself and
others for extending it, since Word docs were'nt the
same when they viewed it in OOffice.
People like me have to be blamed....i have to follow
the TALK LESS WORK MORE regimen immediately.
My new year resolution would be to act more in
spreading awareness about GNU\Linux, we have to make
life easier on GNU\Linux than on windows if we were to
ever dream of a secure.
I have succesfully helped many of my friends who are
IT managers in non-IT firms to atleast bring about a
foot in the door for GNU\Linux and can use more
contacts and reach to convince others too.
Although I'am not so sure of my work schedule next
week , i would try my level best if we can have a user
interaction and a wish list ready in the meet.
WISHING ALL LUG members A HAPPY AND PROSPEROUS NEW
YEAR.
bye rgds
BIJU
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On Saturday 01 January 2005 04:21 pm, you wrote:
> you seem to have lost the context here. Manoj is not talking of large
> businesses but small players without tech skill.
>
> Pricing is decided by competition and you do not have luxary of adding up
> all costs. The cost has to be minimise.
>
> Nor does it make sense to tell them that they cannot do business without
> skills. They are doing it and making adequate profits.
>
> This is top posted since interleaved reply does not make sense.
even the top posted reply doesnt make sense - the OP has made one of the best
posts i have ever seen (although he needs to do something about his line
length)
kg
you seem to have lost the context here. Manoj is not talking of large businesses but small players without tech skill.
Pricing is decided by competition and you do not have luxary of adding up all costs. The cost has to be minimise.
Nor does it make sense to tell them that they cannot do business without skills. They are doing it and making adequate profits.
This is top posted since interleaved reply does not make sense.
Saswata
sherlock(a)vsnl.com wrote:
__________
>On Friday 31 December 2004 18:50, Manoj Ovhal wrote:
>> Around three years back I was using Linux as a router for one cyber
>> cafe in Goa,
>> I encountered different problems with Linux. I left Goa, and our
>
>strange. I have used GNU/Linux as the os for a router, loadbalancer (Trevor remember that ;-) ), desktop, videoconfernece appliance, ATM control and god only knows what else. The load balancer installation has been booted accidentally once since the installation 3 yrs?? ago.) Never faced a problem in any of the above. And these include business critical apps in a bank.
>Another one currently on is a call center using nothing but GNU/Linux.
>Dont blame GNU if u do not have the guts to learn it well.
>GNU/Linux beats the S@#$ out of everything else. Some apps sometimes lack eyecandy but a little coding remedies that. And if u are offering a service or product YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE for providing the missing bits.
>
>> company left the maintenance contract with the cyber cafe. Some
>> body else walked into the maintenace contract & they simply
>> installed Windows with DLinks Internet Sharer.
>> The list of problems
>> 1) Customer Support & maintenance is not possible until & unless
>> there is someone skilled in Linux.
>Do u expect to pick the next MS certified zombie and get a job done? Most of them dont know classes of internet addresses. U have to get the skillset or know the stuff to run a bussiness.
>Are Linux skills expensive? on a per man metric - yes. On a productivity metric - no. One Linux guy can easily handle 8 to 10 small to medium networks. The number of visits required reduces rapidly with time as opposed to exponential increase with m$. Further because of M$ product vulnerabilities service calls tend to bunch and peak together.
>
>> 2) Though We used Linux as a router, other PCs were with windows
>> only.
>> 3) I got many problems while configuring it as I was also
>> very much new in Linux at that time. I couldnt get help from
>> anywhere in Goa.(I am talking about three years back). Many times I
>> have to find help myself. Its like swimming in a sea without enoghh
>> knowledge of swimming.
>
>U said it. Dont offer a boat ride to others unless u can swim very well. If u thought that u can make a bussiness of GNU/Linux by buying two elcheapo cds u are very mistaken.
>
>> 4) ... It means one PC is fully blocked only as a
>> router, means loss of around Rs. 400 a day.
>
>Heard of a cisco router. A low end router costed upwards of Rs.50000 then and required a CCNA to install and maintain. 50000 for a static router. Even now a pc with linux is a better router.
>
>> 5) Many sites are specially designed to work with IE.
>>
>> I dont think the situation is changed so much now a days also.
>
>The situation is this
>1) without hard work, knowledge and money to build and run a bussiness u are doomed.
>2) Costing is tricky if u do not factor in all the variables.
>3) In the long term GNU/Linux is a far cheaper, secure and hassle free foundation for running a bussiness.
>
>And the above is not about to change in the forseeable future.
>
>In this thread we find a hundred silly excuses for laziness. Be happy that u have been given every tool u can imagine to learn, build and run a bussiness or skill without spending a penny and an environment filled with helpful people and which does not require doing anything illegal or immoral to succeed.
>You have been empowered to help yourself and others (who are not so disgustingly lazy).
>
>I have had replies to my problems from the developers of complex stuff like gnomemeeting and features added on request - but after i have run thru page after page of google and mail archives.
>
>And if u find problems work on eliminating those by aquiring skilled people or aquiring the skill and by not whinning.
>
>rgds
>jtd
>
>
>--
>http://mm.ilug-bom.org.in/mailman/listinfo/linuxers
>
>--- message truncated ---
