Linux Contractor Fired for Using Firefox/Linux

If I was needing a job that bad I would of used any software they asked me to use. Just get over your linux obsession.
 
Enduring_Warrior said:
Conclusion. Capitalism only works with small companies that actually function.
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I think this is a bit specious. People on boards like this love to talk about their computers scaling however many of the same principle that apply to technology also apply to companies.

Like a program that's under light load a small company can get away certain things that as volume and complexity increase become riskier.

Sure if you're a small company you probably like lots of individual initiative and creating thinking. But as system becomes more complex everything and everyone doing their own thing becomes less and less manageable and less robust. While most hate beuracracy like myself it like any rule in a complex system servers a purpose.

I think that people often confuse simplicity with efficiency.
 
Enduring_Warrior said:
Conclusion. Capitalism only works with small companies that actually function.
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Wrong. Assuming no government support/involvement, capitalism leaves open the opportunity for a company to come along that offers better products/services/support to wipe trash company off the map. But if government is involved, then all bets are off since government can't lose unless the country loses.
 
TheMead said:
If I was needing a job that bad I would of used any software they asked me to use. Just get over your linux obsession.
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This SHOULD be obvious. Make your point but when someone is paying you you do what they want. That's called life.
 
aireyc said:
Wrong. Assuming no government support/involvement, capitalism leaves open the opportunity for a company to come along that offers better products/services/support to wipe trash company off the map. But if government is involved, then all bets are off since government can't lose unless the country loses.
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It's a fine line. There are pros and cons, to be sure. For instance, a company doesn't necessarily have to supply a better product, it only has to supply a "competitive" (even slightly inferior) product, more cheaply. This gives incentives for companies to lie, cheat, undercut, outsource, lay-off, and steal their way to success. On the other hand, a too much government regulation stifles competition and upstarting companies from the get-go. Capitalism has to be regulated, and the regulation has to be very wisely performed.

Also, that guy in the article cannot be completely innocent. How many Linux network admins don't have access to a windows PC!? Go to the frigging library. It seems like he had issues with the fact that a job application for a linux-based position required Windows. Oh, and the project manager was a bimbo, too.
 
heatlesssun said:
This SHOULD be obvious. Make your point but when someone is paying you you do what they want. That's called life.
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But from reading the article, that is what it sounded like he was going to do. This does smell like something where there is more to the story than is printed.
 
Uhh I think many are overlooking the aspect that if he was being contracted to do work.... get this TO CHANGE THINGS TO LINUX SERVERS.

You'd imagine that it wouldn't be unreasonable for said person to install a linux desktop distribution to improve their performance. Which wouldn't be unreasonable as they're migrating to that kind of platform, even if for servers.

Those of you who are e-nighting for visa saying go buy a windows PC etc... seriously you've never worked for a top tier company with real security policies. Personal equipment hooked up to a corporate network? I'd laugh and assume it weren't a joke if I didn't see posts supporting that line of thought.

There is likely a lot that wasn't noted, he could've had an attitude. Most likely the web admin probably started to throw a holier than thou attitude towards him about using linux/firefox, guy retorted.. things escalated.

Those that think end users don't try installing crap on their own.. wake up. I've seen managers who complain to our IT guys about Itunes messing up their work PCs. Even though its strictly forbidden to install software on your own.
 
Oh yeah, not to mention people are forgetting the idea that he might've HAD to have a linux distro installed to do his job. We don't know.

I'm not on either side but.... non technical PM's (read: idiots who shouldn't have this job) typically don't know their ass from a hole in the ground, tend to over react.
 
bbf said:
I disagree with the reason that this person was "fired" for, but in the Real World (tm), pissing of your prospective employer is not a good thing. If your prospective boss *FEDEXes" you a windows PC to finish a competency exam, calling up their IE Only Website to see if they can change it to cater to *YOUR* incompatible browser is a HUGE no-no. Why should an employer *change* to suit you, especially if they haven't even hired you?
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This says it all.
 
It really sounds like he refused to use IE on a windows machine. You're saying he couldnt go to the library for an hour and take the test? Borrow a friends laptop? Just wait for the free work one to come in? Sounds too weird and definitly one sided.
 
HOCP4ME said:
QFT. I know someone who will surf the web with Netscape Navigator just because he refuses to use IE. Netscape Navigator!
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A woman at work couldn't connect to the internet with Internet Explorer and the OS on the computer was ME. I was going to use Firefox, but it wouldn't work on ME. The PC still had Netscape Navigator installed so I used that and it's working for her.
 
I forgot to say that I don't quite get the story. It says a Linux contractor patching Linux servers...what does using Windows have to do with anything?
 
htpc_user said:
I forgot to say that I don't quite get the story. It says a Linux contractor patching Linux servers...what does using Windows have to do with anything?
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You missed the part where the applicant was told to take the test on the windows laptop that the company was paying to overnight him. You know.... follow directions. The applicant demonstrated that they did not have the ability to do that. Kobayashi Maru works great in a film, not so much in real life. And no, I am not really suggesting he cheated, just that he tried to take the test in a manner other than how he was instructed to.
 
keenan said:
Sounded to me more like he considered the lack of Firefox compatibility in the test to be a bug
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I consider the presence of Firefox to be a bug these days... Maybe every time someone installs Firefox they should just mail them a 2GB stick of RAM.
 
I can attest that large Fortune 500 companies will do strange things like 'canceling a project' when they want to fire a contractor. And, sometimes a Test is more than what it seems, like can you do this simple task in a timely fashion?

I bet this guy is thinking "unmount /my/life"
 
Sounds like a stupid company with ridgid managment. It also sounds like a typical Linux user trying to get stuff to work in Linux which isn't bad. It's just not a good move to piss off the company thats in the process of hiring you even if they do have a crappy website.
 
CraftyChicken said:
I can attest that large Fortune 500 companies will do strange things like 'canceling a project' when they want to fire a contractor. And, sometimes a Test is more than what it seems, like can you do this simple task in a timely fashion?

I bet this guy is thinking "unmount /my/life"
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Probably thinking init 1; rm -rf /
 
CraftyChicken said:
I can attest that large Fortune 500 companies will do strange things like 'canceling a project' when they want to fire a contractor. And, sometimes a Test is more than what it seems, like can you do this simple task in a timely fashion?

I bet this guy is thinking "unmount /my/life"
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hehe I used to make this same mistake all the time. It's umount, not unmount.

It used to drive me wild when I couldn't figure out why the command wouldn't work. I wonder how many people think to look at the spelling of this command.
 
'umount /life 2> /dev/null |grep "bad memories" |awk '{print $1}' |xargs rm -f'

That's the one I'd use. That should get rid of the infuriated feeling incompetence yields :D
 
I'm a network design engineer for a telecommunications company and we often deal with vendors (Contractors) who decide that a network should be designed to meet their standard on our network. We of course have network standards and policies that keeps our network robust. So when vendors demand that a network should meet their needs we tell them were to go, nicely :) So in this case, IBM has standards and just because some little arrogant contractor thinks he can change IBM standards to meet his need to complete the test, I would have fired him too.
 
aireyc said:
Wrong. Assuming no government support/involvement, capitalism leaves open the opportunity for a company to come along that offers better products/services/support to wipe trash company off the map. But if government is involved, then all bets are off since government can't lose unless the country loses.
Click to expand...

And what is happening now?
How can you unlink both things. What you're doing is irrational. A clear and honest observation will tell you that big companies use to government to linger on despite competition.Latest example, newspapers bailout. Conclussion, Duh?
 
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