On Tuesday 31 May 2005 04:26 pm, Marc A. Volovic wrote: > Aharon, hello. > > What you need to answer (us and yourself, I suspect) is whether what you > have written is true. > > Now - I am not impugning your veracity. You probably think that what you > wrote is actually true. However, I have frequently found that what you > have described as a requirement is not what the users desire. What the > users (not you, mind) actually want can be best translated as: > > "WE WANT OUTLOOK!"
An extremely correct, valid and important point. > > Not calendaring, not appointment coord, not email client - outlook. If > that is the case in your company, your options are sharply limited. > Because, as you well know, soon the will be asking for "an intranet > site" (but actually hoping for sharepoint) and "project management" (but > actually meaning MS Project).... It is a slippery slope and, moreover, > one that can only be successfully negotiated with the aid of company > management. Actually, I was not required to install Outlook at all, but simply to supply a solution for appointment co-ordination and file sharing. I suggested, and was given permission to attempt a Linux-based solution. I tried, but failed, to bring up Kolab and PDC on Linux. I was working against a very short deadline, so I gave in, and brought in someone who brought up a Microsoft exchange server within several hours which apparently answers our needs. Since then, I have realized that this solution is very expensive (MS licenses), so I want to re-explore the possibility of a Linux-based solution - installed by someone more capable than me. I definitely have a reasonable level of management support - as long as I deliver the goods. However, I do agree that this is a slippery slope, and besides doing a cost analysis of any offers I may receive, I will definitely be asking myself if I am shooting myself in the foot. Specifically, I will be asking myself (and others) what features are supplied by a Microsoft Server, and not available via a Linux server. For example, I have here a copy of Symantec Antivirus corporate Edition which apparently can be installed in a client/server configuration on a Microsoft Server, thereby significantly lowering administration headaches. Is there a similar Linux based solution ? In any event, I / we have not yet made a final decision, and I the next step I would like to take is to see if there is anyone out there who can do the installation for me within a very short period of time, and if so, how much would that cost. I will then attempt to do a cost analysis to see if a Linux based solution might be worth looking into, even though there is a very real risk that somewhere down the line someone will come up with some feature that a Microsoft based solution provides, and that a Linux based solution does not. Also I will have to consider if administrating a Linus based solution will be more difficult (for me - a Linux person) than administrating a Microsoft based solution. > > However, I should be glad to try helping you further. Well, for a first step, I need to find someone willing and capable of doing the installation. Thanks for the advice ! > > Aharon Schkolnik wrote: > >Hi. > > > >My company needed Microsoft Exchange/Domain Controller functionality for > >Windows users - shared files, appointment co-ordination, logon from any > >station, etc. I tried but failed to install Domain Controller, and kolab > > on a Linux server, and eventually gave in to pressure and installed > > Microsoft 2003 Server. I am now looking at how much it will cost the > > company for all the MS licenses needed to feed this beast, and I am more > > convinced that the Linux solution should be given more of a chance. > > > >Is there anyone out there who would be willing to install a solution for > > us for money, very, very soon, and with definite success ? We are > > located in Jerusalem. > > > >TIA -- The day is short, and the work is great, | Aharon Schkolnik and the laborers are lazy, and the reward | is great, and the Master of the house is | [EMAIL PROTECTED] impatient. - Ethics Of The Fathers Ch. 2 | 052-5560120 ================================================================= To unsubscribe, send mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the word "unsubscribe" in the message body, e.g., run the command echo unsubscribe | mail [EMAIL PROTECTED]
