[KLUG Members] Re: Postgresql -- Windows admins want MSSQL+Access/VB

[Bryan J. Smith]

On Wed, 2002-02-27 at 11:22, Adam Bultman wrote:
> Yeah, the idea was the make a CD with our app (zend encoded, of course)
> along with apache, php, and postgres  ... suggest a distro to go along
> with it.

And that's fine for Linux admins, go ahead and sell it.

But you spoke of Windows admins, that's where this comes in.  The great
majority only "buy Microsoft" when it comes to software.  This means it
better be MS SQL and Access/VB-based, regardless of how inferior and/or
broken that solution is.

Unless you sell a "we don't touch, black box" solution.  They love that!

> With the idea of a server solution:  The main issue with that is that now
> we have to create a support contract for the machine--

No you don't, the machine _is_ the contract.  You can now add "priority
support" options (or not).

> and we don't know where that would go, how it would be treated, etc,

They can't break the seals on the box, period.

> and we have more liabilities on our hands.

In what capacity?  Heck, software has a lot!  ;-P

> It would be far easier to merely sell the software, and offer initial
> set-up support to go with it, if needed.

Er, but there are 100x as many variables with the software solution. 
With the hardware solution, _you_ control everything.  And they are NOT
allowed to touch the box's internals.

> And speaking of windows and databases, I recently set up a temporary one
> (I can't remember if I posted to this list ) that was IIS/ASP/Access.
> Wow, what a pain to set up.  We are temporarily hosting their page while
> we redo their site, etc.

Exactomundo!  Windows admins want Microsoft-based software solutions. 
Anyone who has read Ziff-Davis' Sm@rtPartner (fka Sm@rtReseller)
magazine _knows_ this.  They realize this and actually _advocate_
Linux-based "black box" solutions because of this (which is why it is
the only ZD pub I can stand ;-).

Remember, Linux is not about what you see (like Windows), but what you
don't see.  ;-P

-- Bryan

-- 
MSWord is not even a "proprietary standard."  That would
require it to be fully compatible with itself, let alone
other products from the same vendor (e.g., MSPublisher).
--------------------------------------------------------
Bryan J. Smith, Engineer       mailto:b.j.smith@ieee.org
SmithConcepts, Inc.         http://www.SmithConcepts.com