On Wed, Mar 27, 2024, 15:20 Liam Proven via cctalk <cctalk@classiccmp.org> wrote:
> On Sun, 24 Mar 2024 at 14:50, Alexander Schreiber via cctalk > <cctalk@classiccmp.org> wrote: > > > > Reminds of something that happened at a previous job, where I was part > > of the small Unix team. We had bought an expensive pile of HP-UX related > > kit from HP and apparently also some HP consultant time for training > > on said kit. First day of training, HP consultant shows up in usual > > full on business attire. Starts talking about stuff (e.g. SAN management > > and and clustering related things) in a very ... "HP business" kind of > > lingo, which rubbed us rather the wrong way. So I interrupt him, pointing > > out: a) we already understand Unix TYVM and are mostly interested in the > > HP-UX specific details and b) drop the business lingo and start talking > > plain text, we're Unix admins, not MBAs. With a heavy unsaid implication > > of "You are wearing a suit while explaining tech, that makes it hard to > > take you seriously". > > > > So, step 1) said HP consultant _did_ drop the "HP business" lingo and > > started talking plain Unix. And step 2) beginning the next day, he always > > showed up at our site in shirt and jeans and was taken seriously now ;-) > > > > That was ... sometime in the early 2000. > > Very nice story. :-) > > In about 1989 my company sent me to London for a 3 day training course > on 3Com 3+Open, 3Com's fancy new NOS based on OS/2 1.0. > > The airline lost my luggage. I turned up on day 1 in a not-too-fresh > T-shirt and jeans. Everyone else was in a suit. I explained: no > suitcase. > > Day 2, no suitcase. T shirt was now "fragrant". Some other students on > the course had adopted casual wear. > > Day 3: my luggage arrives! I turn up in a fresh clean suit. Everyone > else, tutor included, is in jeans and tees. :-D > > My company did _not_ adopt 3+Open or OS/2. On the basis of my > experience we moved to Novell instead. At the time, a good choice, I > still think today. > If your company's primary aim was to have a reliable file server with fine-grained permissions, I'd say you made a fair choice. At a SIGUCCS conference once in my early career I showed up in ripped blue jeans and a T-shirt for my paper presentation. My employer was aghast but after the talk I was recruited by another university ;-) -Henry >
