News from PANUG/BizNix - September 30, 2003
http://panug.org - http://biznix.org

Sorry for this second broadcast today but the following
item is time-sensitive.


JOBS

We were just contacted by someone who needs about 4
PHP programmers immediately. The jobs are limited in
duration but one or two may end up being full-time.
Send your details or resume to jeff.sohler@sohlius.com.


PHP COURSE

And speaking of PHP, a few of you have contacted us
regarding the dates of the "Apache, MySQL, and PHP"
course that's listed on this ALC Web site:

http://alcpress.com/training/schedule.html

We've not had enough interest in this 4-day course to
schedule it. However, we can schedule it if there is
sufficient interest. If you're interested, please reply
to this message and let us know what dates you prefer.

If you are interested but want a course of shorter duration
and less expensive, let us know that too.


FEEDBACK

Ray Robert:
I take issue with the remark that Ken Barber was
"punish[ed] for promoting the use of Open Source
software in Oregon State government."  The state runs
many, many open source, UNIX, and NetWare applications.
There isn't and hasn't been any state campaign against
open source or for Microsoft.

Ken dealt with one particular agency (ODOT). ODOT is a
Microsoft shop that didn't wish to diversify into Linux.
A factor in its decision was the high degree of
integration among its various systems using Visual Basic.
There are times when an organization needs to make a
decision on its systems. At other times, employee and
consultant criticism is merely a distraction.  

Right this minute I'm not sure I'm buying the "Cyber
InSecurity" report's paean in praise of diversity of
systems. I've spent the morning patching our Linux systems.
I spent much of yesterday patching our Unix systems only
to get another dozen patch notifications today and a CERT
bulletin on OpenSSH. Standardizing on one system is looking
pretty good to me.


DISCLAIMER
PANUG and BizNix welcome contributions from all members.
Member contributions do not necessarily represent the
official positions of PANUG or BizNix. The views of
members that contribute frequently may appear to be the
official position of the group(s). If you contribute,
you'll be adding vital diversity of opinion and outlook
to these broadcasts.