Warning

 

Close

Confirm Action

Are you sure you wish to do this?

Confirm Cancel
BCM
User Panel

Posted: 5/26/2003 11:25:52 PM EDT
Seriously, I just got a Bachelors in Business Administration last year with an emphasis in Marketing. Then I go out and apply to Marketing jobs and all, ALL of them ask for SAS/SQL/Unix for marketing. What the hell did I just blow $36,000 dollars for if it ain't going to get me a job in marketing. Wasn't that my emphasis? Will somebody please tell me what these things are and how quickly can I learn them. I'm a pretty smart guy (especially after a couple of beers), so I learn fast, but somehow, I feel cheated by my education. If someone could inform me of what SQL/SAS/Unix are I would appreciate it. Also, if you also feel cheated by your establishment of higher learning, I'll start another thread.
Link Posted: 5/26/2003 11:43:27 PM EDT
[#1]
SQL: Server Query Language, used when mining & utilizing databases
SAS:[url]http://www.sas.com[/url]
Unix: Operating System & language, think of the competition to MS Windows NT technology that caused MS to come up w/ NT.

Sure you could buy books from a store or take classes on them, but the best way to learn them is ojt & on the company's dime. HTH.
Link Posted: 5/26/2003 11:46:19 PM EDT
[#2]
SQL

SQL (Structured Query Language) is a standard interactive and programming language for getting information from and updating a database. Although SQL is both an ANSI and an ISO standard, many database products support SQL with proprietary extensions to the standard language. Queries take the form of a command language that lets you select, insert, update, find out the location of data, and so forth. There is also a programming interface.

UNIX

Pronounced yoo-niks, a popular multi-user, multitasking operating system developed at Bell Labs in the early 1970s. Created by just a handful of programmers, UNIX was designed to be a small, flexible system used exclusively by programmers. Although it has matured considerably over the years, UNIX still betrays its origins by its cryptic command names and its general lack of user-friendliness. This is changing, however, with graphical user interfaces such as MOTIF.

UNIX was one of the first operating systems to be written in a high-level programming language, namely C. This meant that it could be installed on virtually any computer for which a C compiler existed. This natural portability combined with its low price made it a popular choice among universities. (It was inexpensive because antitrust regulations prohibited Bell Labs from marketing it as a full-scale product.)

Bell Labs distributed the operating system in its source language form, so anyone who obtained a copy could modify and customize it for his own purposes. By the end of the 1970s, dozens of different versions of UNIX were running at various sites.

After its breakup in 1982, AT&T began to market UNIX in earnest. It also began the long and difficult process of defining a standard version of UNIX. To date, there are two main dialects of UNIX; one produced by AT&T known as System V and one developed at Berkeley University and known as BSD4.x, x being a number from 1 to 3.

Due to its portability, flexibility, and power, UNIX has become the leading operating system for workstations. Historically, it has been less popular in the personal computer market, but the emergence of a new version called Linux is revitalizing UNIX across all platforms.

The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing
SAS

  1. Statistical Analysis System.

  2. SAS System


V.E.R.A. -- Virtual Entity of Relevant Acronyms

SAS        Session Active Screen (IBM)
SAS        Simulation Automation System
SAS        Single Attachment Station (FDDI)
SAS        Statistical Analysis System
   
Unix, operating system....some say it's better than windows. old and stable, usually used on servers. SQL, used for interfacing with databases.


[edit]spend all your time collecting info, and someone who actually knows what they're talking  about replys before you.
Link Posted: 5/26/2003 11:52:04 PM EDT
[#3]
Link Posted: 5/26/2003 11:53:37 PM EDT
[#4]
Beat me to it.

The specific link to SAS that appears to be Marketing related is here:

[url]http://www.sas.com/solutions/crm/mktauto/index.html[/url]
Link Posted: 5/26/2003 11:54:39 PM EDT
[#5]
Quoted:

[edit]spend all your time collecting info, and someone who actually knows what they're talking  about replys before you.
View Quote


LOL man, it's all good! You did good w/ the answer you posted.
Link Posted: 5/27/2003 12:00:19 AM EDT
[#6]
ok, off to bed I go. Have been installing a LAMP server, and just reading those definitions made my head hurt. I need a break.

Brass is right, just buzzwords.

hours on end of bash commands messes with the mind. I'm not right, especially since I can't get MySQL to work right... one reason to hate Linux/Unix and source.
Link Posted: 5/27/2003 12:04:03 AM EDT
[#7]
Okay, those answers are great, and I appreciate the help. However, some of them are way over my head. Now I was able to glean a lot from your answers, but try to explain it to me like I'm an 8 year old.

Brasspile,

You said you have been at this for 10 years and still haven't gotten the feel for it. Is it really that complex and difficult to learn? Or is it like, say playing the piano where there are people who can play chopsticks and say they play the piano and get by while people like my sister who have doctorates in piano? I suppose if I can learn how to play chopsticks, I could bs the rest of the way through it. Anyhow, how long does it take to be able to stumble through it?
Link Posted: 5/27/2003 12:44:11 AM EDT
[#8]
Right now I have transition compleatly off windows. I am writing this on a unix like computer.

You should not need all that much unix knowledge to deal with sql. You should be able to understand  very basic sql in an afternoon. A local community college would be the cheapest and easiest way to pickup skills.

1. Sign up for a sql class at a community college.
2. Join a local LuG (linux user group).
3. Get a copy of knoppix and begin to play.
Link Posted: 5/27/2003 12:46:14 AM EDT
[#9]
Link Posted: 5/27/2003 7:40:56 AM EDT
[#10]
Link Posted: 5/27/2003 8:04:39 AM EDT
[#11]
Here's an SQL query, to make you feel better  [;)]

SELECT
(select p.personid from P2PERSON P where (P.JOBID = S.JOBID) AND
(P.PERSONID = S.PERSONID) ) as country
,(select p.country from P2PERSON P where (P.JOBID = S.JOBID) AND
(P.PERSONID = S.PERSONID) ) as country
,(select p.state from P2PERSON P where (P.JOBID = S.JOBID) AND
(P.PERSONID = S.PERSONID) ) as state
,(select p.lastname from P2PERSON P where (P.JOBID = S.JOBID) AND
(P.PERSONID = S.PERSONID) ) as lastname
,(select p.firstname from P2PERSON P where (P.JOBID = S.JOBID) AND
(P.PERSONID = S.PERSONID) ) as firstname
,(select p.address from P2PERSON P where (P.JOBID = S.JOBID) AND
(P.PERSONID = S.PERSONID) ) as address
,(select p.city from P2PERSON P where (P.JOBID = S.JOBID) AND
(P.PERSONID = S.PERSONID) ) as city
,(select p.zip from P2PERSON P where (P.JOBID = S.JOBID) AND (P.PERSONID
= S.PERSONID) ) as zip
,(select p.phone1 from P2PERSON P where (P.JOBID = S.JOBID) AND
(P.PERSONID = S.PERSONID) ) as phone1
,(select p.phone2 from P2PERSON P where (P.JOBID = S.JOBID) AND
(P.PERSONID = S.PERSONID) ) as phone2
,(select p.phone3 from P2PERSON P where (P.JOBID = S.JOBID) AND
(P.PERSONID = S.PERSONID) ) as phone3
,(select p.phone4 from P2PERSON P where (P.JOBID = S.JOBID) AND
(P.PERSONID = S.PERSONID) ) as phone4

 ,r.roleab, s.modstamp
 , (select max(s0.choicestring) from SU5QUESTIONRESPONSE S0
 where (S0.JOBID = S.JOBID) AND (S0.RESPONDENTID = S.RESPONDENTID) AND
(S0.SURVEYID = 3) AND (S0.QUESTIONAB = 'REFGRADE')
) as REFGRADE

 , (select max(s1.choicestring) from SU5QUESTIONRESPONSE S1
 where (S1.JOBID = S.JOBID) AND (S1.RESPONDENTID = S.RESPONDENTID) AND
(S1.SURVEYID = 3) AND (S1.QUESTIONAB = 'REFLEVEL')
) as REFLEVEL


 , S.RESPONDENTID, S.PERSONID

FROM SU2RESPONDENT S, p5rolelg r
WHERE
(S.JOBID = 80754) AND (S.SURVEYID = 3)
AND (r.VOID <> 'X')
and (r.jobid = S.JOBID) and (r.PERSONID = S.PERSONID) and
(r.ROLEGROUPAB = 'LG') AND (r.ROLEAB in ('RU','RI','RT'))
and exists (
select * from SU5QUESTIONRESPONSE ex
 where (ex.JOBID = S.JOBID) AND (ex.RESPONDENTID = S.RESPONDENTID) AND
(ex.SURVEYID = 3) AND (ex.QUESTIONAB = 'PARTIC') and (ex.choicestring =
'YES')
)
and (s.Modstamp > cast ('1/28/03' as date))

Order by s.modstamp

________________________________

You'd have to be damn good to write that query yourself, but if you used Crystal or an sas tool, it wouldn't be that tough.

Either way, It's far more than Bachelors in Business Administration should be expected to know
Link Posted: 5/27/2003 8:08:55 AM EDT
[#12]
Actually, I'd recommend against just learning the buzzwords.  Know what they are, what they mean but don't try to pull the wool over anyone's eyes with it.  If a company is looking for someone with the knowledge, admitting a lack of experience with but an agressive desire to learn is much better than being caught in a falsehood.

If you are applying to a position that requires you're knowledge of SAS/SQL and UNIX, odds are that it is more of a statistical analysis position.  You should have had one or two classes in stats.

Basic SQL can be learned in a few hours as mentioned above. Basic UNIX commands can also be learned in a few hours.

The biggie is SAS.  (Some companies are moving to S-Plus, another stats package.)  This will take a bit to learn, but is fairly easy once you learn it's syntax.  Basically, you write "programs" and run them against your data sets.  I differ in brassphile's opinion of how SAS is used.  We don't use it as a SQL or reporting engine.  Instead, we use it the way it was originally designed:  to look for means, variance, frequencies and other statistical gems.  (Look at Zaphod's post on this thread:  [url]http://www.ar15.com/forums/topic.html?b=1&f=5&t=187858&page=3[/url])

If a position is asking you to know SQL/SAS/Unix, odds are the real requirement is SAS.  SAS, while it can be run on a PC, is usually installed on a UNIX server, and you'd need to know how to logon to the server, set your display variables, manipulate the data sets and run SAS against them.  SQL would be need to extract datasets from the database so they could be processed by SAS.

I could be wrong, but I know the above scenario fits our environment exactly.  When our job requisition lists those tools, that is what we need someone to be able to do.

As for feeling cheated:  Unless your school offers business specialization, you probably were'nt exposed to much more than a semester or two of statistics.  My school (USC School of Business) allowed people to specialize in marketing, finance and statistical analysis.  As such I, as a marketing focus, only had two semesters of stats.  At the same time, my finance roommate only had one semester of marketing while I had eight or nine classes.  Go to Barnes and Noble and pick up a copy of SAMS Teach yourself SQL/UNIX in 24 hours.  While these are very basic books, they cover what you would need in an entry level position.  As for SAS:  tell the interviewer you're eager to learn it.  After a few hours of playing, you'll probably pick it up.

Everyone's experience may vary but, in your position, I doubt these are just "buzzwords."  I suspect they will be part of your job, a part that you should be able to pick up very easily.
Link Posted: 5/27/2003 2:47:44 PM EDT
[#13]
SAS training might be a worthwhile investment.  All of the guys I deal with who knows how to use SAS properly are all in six figure incomes.
Link Posted: 5/27/2003 3:02:52 PM EDT
[#14]
Thanks for all the info guys. At this time, I don't think I'll be taking any sort of classes seeing as how I'll be taking courses in firefighting. I only want to do marketing for as long as it takes me to be a firefighter. I figure I can tolerate that for a couple of years, I just don't feel like investing all that time and money just to leave in a year. But all this info was very helpful, from what I gather, it is simple, yet complex and if they want me to be a master of any of those programs, they are barking up the wrong tree. However, I think that I will invest in a couple of books to learn.
Link Posted: 5/27/2003 3:18:40 PM EDT
[#15]
You can recognize Unix system administrators and developers by their penchant for wearing Birkenstocks, shorts, and holey T-shirts, and sporting ZZ Top beards.  They also tend to wear glasses with 1/2-inch thick lenses and like to spout obscure jokes and anecdotes.  Their God is Richard Stallman, an arrogant hippie who hasn't taken a bath since 1968. [;D]

You can recognize SQL programmers by their 3-piece suits, shoes in need of polishing, and out-of-style ties tied way too short.  Their suit vests tend to be too small, and they always have a few wild hairs sticking up in the back of their oily heads.

SAS programmers are alleged to exist, and there is a report one was sighted in a thick forest in Germany.  According to eye-witnesses, it was 7 feet tall, completely covered in hair, and had size 18 feet.  It appeared to be muttering quotes from Nietzsche while humming "The Ride of the Valkyries."
Link Posted: 5/27/2003 7:57:46 PM EDT
[#16]
Quoted:
You can recognize Unix system administrators and developers by their penchant for wearing Birkenstocks, shorts, and holey T-shirts, and sporting ZZ Top beards.  They also tend to wear glasses with 1/2-inch thick lenses and like to spout obscure jokes and anecdotes.  Their God is Richard Stallman, an arrogant hippie who hasn't taken a bath since 1968. [;D]
"
View Quote


Give me a few years and this is what I will look like, except that do not need vision correction and will never have a beard worth shit.

If an alien where to pop his hatch outside my house and ask me to take him to our leader I would take him to meet RMS.

chown RMS:RMS /

Note this comment was free as in beer
Link Posted: 5/27/2003 8:17:42 PM EDT
[#17]
One job interview I went into, for being an assitant to a stocker broker, was going really well until their "rainmaker" started asking me questions.  She wanted to ok whoever was getting hired.  The bitch said that she required who ever she hired to be able to build a relational database.

No problem.  They taught me that in college computer class. Then she started asking for specific examples of the projects I did in school, if I could link it to Outlook Express, cross reference it with an Excel spreadsheet, blah blah blah.  Jesus, I can't remember that stuff.  I just winged it and said I suppose that I could, although they didn't have Outlook Express when I learned this stuff.  But anything in MS Office suite is not exactly difficult to master.  I wondered what this had to do with the job, which normally involves paperwork and answering the phone.

Anyway, I didn't get the job, but I met the guy who did, a classmate in one of my business classes.  I asked him if he built databases, etc. etc.  He said "No, I just do paperwork and answer the phones." He didn't even have his registered representative licenses (and I did).

Fucking bitch and her relational databases.
Link Posted: 5/27/2003 8:51:09 PM EDT
[#18]
Quoted:
You can recognize Unix system administrators and developers by their penchant for wearing Birkenstocks, shorts, and holey T-shirts, and sporting ZZ Top beards.  They also tend to wear glasses with 1/2-inch thick lenses and like to spout obscure jokes and anecdotes.  Their God is Richard Stallman, an arrogant hippie who hasn't taken a bath since 1968.
View Quote


All this time, I thought they wore Doc Martens, khaki pants, denim shirts and listened to ACDC & Metallica.  

Why the hell should I care about Stallman.  What's he done for me lately? [;)]
Link Posted: 5/27/2003 9:15:16 PM EDT
[#19]
Link Posted: 5/27/2003 9:22:35 PM EDT
[#20]
Stallman made servers stable and cheap.

Stallman is my leader.

a .45? did not know that...
Link Posted: 5/27/2003 9:50:15 PM EDT
[#21]
Link Posted: 5/27/2003 10:41:47 PM EDT
[#22]
Link Posted: 5/28/2003 12:49:26 AM EDT
[#23]
If you are on an MBA/management type track, then you definitely don't need to know the details of SQL databases or Unix. You'll have geeks working under you to take care of that. The job postings you saw are just dropping buzzwords. (like the many programming job offers that listed "five years Java experience" as a requirement, only three years after Java was released...)
Link Posted: 5/28/2003 1:38:02 AM EDT
[#24]
unix just remember this

cd root
ls -la
rm *.*
Link Posted: 5/28/2003 1:50:24 AM EDT
[#25]
Quoted:
unix just remember this

cd root
ls -la
rm *.*
View Quote


I always remember this for my friends linux machines:

su -
rm -Rf /


*edit* This was my 150th post. I better slow down, or I'll make some of you look like amateurs. That many posts since Jan 01, I don't want to appear to have no life.....
Link Posted: 5/28/2003 4:00:21 AM EDT
[#26]
Link Posted: 5/28/2003 5:27:13 AM EDT
[#27]
[blue]meltdown:[/blue]
Not sure if this was directed at me, but my comment may have been tongue in cheek.  Then again, when I was installing Slackware off three floppies I routinely cussed out Torvalds.  After all, he addicted me to a monkey that still rides my back.

[blue]brasspile:[/blue]
I shall strive to never again confuse you with one addicted to spent casings.  [;)]

I really don't like to use [italic]rm -rf *[/italic].  I think [italic]cd /tmp/knark; make install[/italic]  is a much more useful trick to play on your friends.  Oh wait, I don't have many friends anymore.  [;)]
Link Posted: 5/28/2003 6:44:13 AM EDT
[#28]
Quoted:

As for the comments regarding Richard Stallman: I'll bite the troll bait. If everyone spoke out for what we believe in as strongly as he does the world be a better place. Browse his web site [url]http://www.stallman.org[/url] before posting negative comments about someone you know little about. IIRC he packs a .45
View Quote


And what makes you think I don't know the prick?  Because I consider him to be an eccentric wierdo?  I was at M.I.T. in 1971 when he was there and have followed his career gleefully ever since.

Oh, and packing a .45 suggests he might have a correct attitude about guns.  But I'm surprised he hasn't shot himself in the foot with it.  The guy plays a recorder, for Christ's sake. [rolleyes]
Link Posted: 5/28/2003 6:49:22 AM EDT
[#29]
Quoted:
To re-emphasize a point, [b]RMS/GNU/FSF is the future, software and knowledge are meant to be free![/b]  Companies should be paying the people who know how to [b]use[/b] the software, not the software itself.
View Quote


I couldn't agree more.  Food should be free.  Medical insurance should be free. Pussy should be free.  Cars should be free.  From each according to his ability, to each according to his need.  Did I mention that ar15.com memberships should be free? [rolleyes]
Link Posted: 5/28/2003 7:33:33 AM EDT
[#30]
Link Posted: 5/28/2003 11:34:04 AM EDT
[#31]
Link Posted: 5/28/2003 11:52:49 AM EDT
[#32]
Link Posted: 5/28/2003 12:20:56 PM EDT
[#33]
Quoted:
Eric Raymond is another hacker that likes to throw lead:
[url]http://www.catb.org/~esr/guns/[/url]
View Quote


Marcus Ranum, the guy who invented application proxy firewalling, also loves guns.  The bigger and more over the top, the better.  He loves his Barret 95 and Desert Eagle .50.

[url]http://www.ranum.com/guns/index.shtml[/url]

And the bastard still owes me an NFR t-shirt, though he left the company.

On RMS/GNU, I always love it when the GNU folks show up at the technical conferences.  One of my favoriute GNU moments was when one of their guys asked Thomas Dolby (She blinded me with science!) during his presentation about making a proprietary audio codec for hi quality music over the internet free.  Not only did the entire audience groan, but his response was very funny.  "I don't know what your talking about.  Why the fuck would I want to make my company's only product free?  I've got to make a living just like everyone else!  Giving things away doesn't put my kids in college."

And if we want to talk free software, I'll take BSD any day.  Linux is free as in beer.  BSD is free as in beer and free as in speech.

Remember the Alamo and God Bless Texas...
Link Posted: 5/28/2003 6:39:09 PM EDT
[#34]
Link Posted: 5/28/2003 8:53:13 PM EDT
[#35]
You are not to far off brasspile, I just interviewed at Primerica selling financial services where I would sell mortgages, financial advice and LIFE INSURANCE. What are you some kind of clairvoyant? And no, I haven't written off marketing, I'll be the A hole on top banging the secretary while the "geeks" doing all the grunt work. [:D]
Link Posted: 5/28/2003 9:47:15 PM EDT
[#36]
1) You seem to be reading ads for system administration, even if they say 'marketing'...

How odd.

2) SQL: 'Structured Query Language'. A programming language for accessing (or 'running queries on', in database parlance) databases. Invented by IBM way back when, it is also used to referr to various database products (notably Microsoft's 'SQL Server') that implement the SQL language for access to their databases, but the most popular/powerfull package (Oracle) is named for a piece of greek mythology, whith no mention of SQL in the name.

3) UNIX: The first major multi-platform operating system, and due to 30+ years of refinement, the best OS for servers and other systems that do not directly interact with non-techinical users. It was developed by AT&T's Bell Labs, with no connection to the 'free software' movement, Mr Stallman, or any similar movement apart from the fact that said groups are big fans of the UNIX method of system design...

As the 'universal OS', it has no built-in user interface (Ala Windows), but rather runs the UI as a program (weather this is a command line 'shell' (such as the original, (in)famous UNIX UI - a pound sign and blinking cursor) or a full-blown graphical environment), allowing infinite flexibility with regard to the equipment and purpose of installation. If you think of where MS has been taking Windows lately wrt network accessability (integrating 'terminal services' for remote access, adding further remote admin capabilities, etc...) UNIX has been there since 1990.

Where the 'Free Software' and 'Open Source' guys come in is another story. Basically, a few separate groups (most notably Mr Stallman's 'Free Software Foundation', UC Berkley (which in this case, actually -gasp- did something usefull), and a Finn named Linus) decided (at various points in time, and starting on various parts) to re-write their own original re-implementations of UNIX, and release them for free on the internet. Stallman had his (now (in)famous 'software should be free) ideology behind his project, UC Berkley was in on the original UNIX development and eventually did enough of their own work that they no longer needed the AT&T code, and Linus just wanted to see what he could do... The end result is 2 stable, complete UNIX variants that are free to the public, and a 3rd bass-ackwards implementation (Stallman's. His group did the UI before the OS, so they had a lot of neat user programs that ran on other versions of UNIX, but no complete system) that is heavily used by one of the other 2 (Linux, being an OS (kernel) without a UI, uses Stallmans's UI programs (I know, a simplified explanation, but that's what I'm aiming for))...

While there are a few 'FSF true believers' in the UNIX community, there are also a wide range of other 'types', from the Solaris/AIX guys who make quite good money supporting systems that literally are worth their weight in gold ($64,000 computers are 'cheap' in this area), to small business guys like me (when I was still self-employed) who are in it for the stability (less POed customers), ease of support (remote access that works), and the price (Free versions are, well FREE. Lower prices or more margin, both are good)...

P.S.

'cd /; rm *.*' will not delete anything on most UNIX systems. UNIX does not use file extensions, and there are rarely periods in filenames... *.* is a MS-DOS thing, as MS requires a file extension (even if it's a blank one, the file is still technically named 'MYFILE.'. On UNIX, 'myfile' and 'myfile.' are 2 different files - rm *.* would only erase 'myfile.'.)

The correct sequence is

cd /
rm -rf *

And if you somehow get enough access to a system and do that, RUN... Because not all of us in the UNIX world are ZZ-top bearded neo-hippies...

P.S. P.S.
My personal dislike of MS comes not from adhearance to some neo-socialist attitude towards computer software... I've just worked with their products enough to know better... MS is the Hesse Arms of the computer world... The difference is that MS has allways been brilliant with regard to marketing, which is why they make the money they do (First, computer users have been conditioned into believing that problems are 'normal' so just reboot, and second, by the time you figure out what you bought is crap, they have you convinced that the 'next, latest, greatest' crap will solve your problem, so you buy it)... The fact that their hardware platform of choice (Intel x86) is the 'econo box' of the computer industry doesn't help this either...

Microsoft: Proof that some people really can SELL anything... Just as long as they have enough people who will actually buy it... There's no law against consumer ignorance/apathy...
Link Posted: 5/28/2003 10:05:09 PM EDT
[#37]
Quoted:
Quoted:
To re-emphasize a point, [b]RMS/GNU/FSF is the future, software and knowledge are meant to be free![/b]  Companies should be paying the people who know how to [b]use[/b] the software, not the software itself.
View Quote


I couldn't agree more.  Food should be free.  Medical insurance should be free. Pussy should be free.  Cars should be free.  From each according to his ability, to each according to his need.  Did I mention that ar15.com memberships should be free? [rolleyes]
View Quote


Stallman's ideology will never go anywhere, this is obvious...

However, the software that his movement produced (some directly, some merely under the licensing terms they advocate) is slowly edging commercial UNIX out of existance (We're down to AIX, Solaris, and Tru64. SCO is gone, HPUX is going... Even AIX's days are numbered, as IBM obviously plans to replace it with Linux (since they are a hardware company, the idea of an OS that they neither develop nor pay license fees for is a windfall)).

I could care less about the 'free software' movement, and in fact I find some of the quibbling that it's idealogues spawn quite annoying (!#%!%, just use the best tool for the job, don't argue about the wording of a license agreement that most of us don't read anyhow)...

But I can definitely see some of the software that came from it as a big part of 'the future', perticularly when it comes to consolidating the '31 flavors' of UNIX into
'vanilla, chocolate, and twist'... The ideology of the creators is now irrelevant, as long as 'free unix' doesn't grow a mandatory price tag...

As for MS, we'll see... Barring a 'flagrant act of creativity', there's not much more they can do to Windows, and the current structure of the company is very adverse to actually developing something new, MS will eventually run out of color changes, add-on programs, and other bolt-ons to re-package as a 'New OS'...
Link Posted: 5/28/2003 11:33:04 PM EDT
[#38]
Quoted:
And if we want to talk free software, I'll take BSD any day.
View Quote


Definitely. I'm running FreeBSD right now; well, actually I'm running a FreeBSD based OS: Mac OS X! [:D] Its Unix made easy. And with Fink and Apple's X11 client, I can run a TON of Unix apps. Its great.

And Dave_A, your reasons for disliking MS are dead on, and why I'm using a Mac.
Link Posted: 5/29/2003 12:30:04 AM EDT
[#39]
FreeBSD on an AMD bases PC is by FAR the best solution.  Johnphin and myself run servers of them for a few different domains!!!  You can run DNS, SMTP, POP3 IMAP4, FTP, SSH, Telnet (if you choose), Proxy, HTTP, SHTTP and many other services right out the box for free.  You don't have to pay for each extra feature like you do with Micro Sh*t.  Plus, it's more secure, more stable and they've done a hell of alot to make it a better desktop environment on top of everything else!
Link Posted: 5/29/2003 2:35:47 AM EDT
[#40]
Quoted:
Microsoft: Proof that some people really can SELL anything... Just as long as they have enough people who will actually buy it... There's no law against consumer ignorance/apathy...
View Quote


Not just consumers. For a lot of sys admins and those who recommend OSs and solutions, it was a Godsend to have [i]less[/i] choices. Just as no one ever got fired for recommending IBM, no one ever got fired for recommending MS.
Link Posted: 5/29/2003 3:07:57 AM EDT
[#41]
Rub any two geeks together and you get flames. [OS flames, UI flames, IDE flames]

From: [url]http://www.securityfocus.com/advisories[/url]


MDKSA-2003:061
Mandrake : gnupg
Published: May 22, 2003 - Updated: May 22, 2003

SSA:2003-141-06a
Slackware Linux : quotacheck security fix in rc.M
Published: May 22, 2003 - Updated: May 22, 2003

SSA:2003-141-05
Slackware Linux : mod_ssl RSA blinding fixes
Published: May 22, 2003 - Updated: May 22, 2003

SSA:2003-141-03
Slackware Linux : glibc XDR overflow fix
Published: May 22, 2003 - Updated: May 22, 2003

SSA:2003-141-01
Slackware Linux : EPIC4 security fixes
Published: May 22, 2003 - Updated: May 22, 2003

MDKSA-2003:060
Mandrake : LPRng
Published: May 21, 2003 - Updated: May 21, 2003

MDKSA-2003:059
Mandrake : lpr
Published: May 21, 2003 - Updated: May 21, 2003

CLA-2003:653
Conectiva Linux : bugzilla
Published: May 21, 2003 - Updated: May 21, 2003

SSA:2003-141-02
Slackware Linux : BitchX
Published: May 21, 2003 - Updated: May 21, 2003

RHSA-2003:175-01
RedHat : Updated gnupg packages fix validation bug
Published: May 21, 2003 - Updated: May 21, 2003

TLSA-2003-33
TurboLinux : cups
Published: May 20, 2003 - Updated: May 20, 2003

TLSA-2003-32
TurboLinux : DoS vulnerabilities in radiusd-cistron
Published: May 20, 2003 - Updated: May 20, 2003

20030502-01-I
Silicon Graphics : Security Vulnerabilities in MediaBase Apache and PHP
Published: May 19, 2003 - Updated: May 19, 2003

HPSBUX0305-259
Hewlett-Packard : Potential Security Vulnerability in kermit
Published: May 19, 2003 - Updated: May 19, 2003

HPSBUX0305-260
Hewlett-Packard : Potential Security Vulnerability in ipcs(1)
Published: May 19, 2003 - Updated: May 19, 2003

DSA 306-1
Debian : ircii-pana
Published: May 19, 2003 - Updated: May 19, 2003

IMNX-2003-7+-010-01
Immunix : fileutils
Published: May 16, 2003 - Updated: May 16, 2003

RHSA-2003:169-01
RedHat : Updated lv packages fix vulnerability
Published: May 16, 2003 - Updated: May 16, 2003

OpenPKG-SA-2003.029
OpenPKG : gnupg
Published: May 16, 2003 - Updated: May 16, 2003

DSA 305-1
Debian : sendmail
Published: May 16, 2003 - Updated: May 16, 2003

DSA 303-1
Debian : mysql
Published: May 16, 2003 - Updated: May 16, 2003

DSA 304-1
Debian : lv
Published: May 16, 2003 - Updated: May 16, 2003
MDKSA-2003:058-1
Mandrake : cdrecord
Published: May 15, 2003 - Updated: May 21, 2003

ESA-20030515-016
EnGarde Secure Linux : gnupg
Published: May 15, 2003 - Updated: May 15, 2003

RHSA-2003:174-01
RedHat : Updated tcpdump packages fix privilege dropping error
Published: May 15, 2003 - Updated: May 15, 2003

ESA-20030515-015
EnGarde Secure Linux : sudo
Published: May 15, 2003 - Updated: May 15, 2003

ESA-20030515-017
EnGarde Secure Linux : kernel
Published: May 15, 2003 - Updated: May 15, 2003

MDKSA-2003:057
Mandrake : MySQL
Published: May 14, 2003 - Updated: May 14, 2003

MDKSA-2003:056
Mandrake : xinetd
Published: May 14, 2003 - Updated: May 14, 2003

20030501-01-I
Silicon Graphics : Multiple Security Vulnerabilities in OpenSSL
Published: May 14, 2003 - Updated: May 14, 2003

RHSA-2003:172-00
RedHat : Updated 2.4 kernel fixes security vulnerabilities and various bugs
Published: May 14, 2003 - Updated: May 14, 2003

CLA-2003:648
Conectiva Linux : evolution
Published: May 14, 2003 - Updated: May 14, 2003

CSSA-2003-021.0
Santa Cruz Operation : OpenLinux: mgetty caller ID buffer overflow and spool perm
Published: May 13, 2003 - Updated: May 13, 2003

RHSA-2003:160-01
RedHat : Updated xinetd packages fix a denial-of-service attack and other bugs
Published: May 13, 2003 - Updated: May 13, 2003

CSSA-2003-020.0
Santa Cruz Operation : OpenLinux: kernel kmod/ptrace root exploit
Published: May 12, 2003 - Updated: May 12, 2003

RHSA-2003:002-01
RedHat : Updated KDE packages fix security issues
Published: May 12, 2003 - Updated: May 12, 2003

a051203-1
@stake : Apple AirPort Administrative Password Obfuscation
Published: May 12, 2003 - Updated: May 12, 2003

MDKSA-2003:055
Mandrake : kopete
Published: May 08, 2003 - Updated: May 08, 2003

CLA-2003:643
Conectiva Linux : slocate
Published: May 08, 2003 - Updated: May 08, 2003

HPSBUX0305-258
Hewlett-Packard : SSRT3483 Potential Security Vulnerability in wall(1M) command
Published: May 07, 2003 - Updated: May 07, 2003

DSA 301-1
Debian : libgtop
Published: May 07, 2003 - Updated: May 07, 2003

DSA 302-1
Debian : fuzz
Published: May 07, 2003 - Updated: May 07, 2003

MDKSA-2003:054
Mandrake : man
Published: May 06, 2003 - Updated: May 06, 2003

MDKSA-2003:053
Mandrake : mgetty
Published: May 06, 2003 - Updated: May 06, 2003

CSSA-2003-017.0
Santa Cruz Operation : OpenLinux: Various serious Samba vulnerabilities
Published: May 06, 2003 - Updated: May 06, 2003

DSA 299-1
Debian : leksbot
Published: May 06, 2003 - Updated: May 06, 2003

DSA 300-1
Debian : balsa
Published: May 06, 2003 - Updated: May 06, 2003

CLA-2003:640
Conectiva Linux : Vulnerabilties in cookies and random challenge generations
Published: May 05, 2003 - Updated: May 05, 2003

CORE-2003-0303
CORE SDI : Multiple Vulnerabilities in Mirabilis ICQ client
Published: May 05, 2003 - Updated: May 05, 2003

CLA-2003:639
Conectiva Linux : Several Kerberos vulnerabilities
Published: May 05, 2003 - Updated: May 05, 2003

CSSA-2003-018.0
Santa Cruz Operation : OpenLinux: file command buffer overflow
Published: May 02, 2003 - Updated: May 02, 2003

CSSA-2003-017.0
Santa Cruz Operation : OpenLinux: Various serious Samba vulnerabilities
Published: May 02, 2003 - Updated: May 02, 2003

RHSA-2003:113-01
RedHat : Updated mod_auth_any packages available
Published: May 02, 2003 - Updated: May 02, 2003

200305-01
Gentoo Linux : openssh
Published: May 02, 2003 - Updated: May 02, 2003

DSA-298-1
Debian : New EPIC4 packages fix DoS and arbitrary code execution
Published: May 02, 2003 - Updated: May 02, 2003

DSA 297-1
Debian : snort
Published: May 01, 2003 - Updated: May 01, 2003

RHSA-2003:133-01
RedHat : Updated man packages fix minor vulnerability
Published: May 01, 2003 - Updated: May 01, 2003

HPSBUX0304-257
Hewlett-Packard : SSRT3496 Potential Security Vulnerability in rexec
Published: Apr 30, 2003 - Updated: Apr 30, 2003

CLA-2003:633
Conectiva Linux : glibc
Published: Apr 30, 2003 - Updated: Apr 30, 2003

ESA-20030430-013
EnGarde Secure Linux : snort
Published: Apr 30, 2003 - Updated: Apr 30, 2003

ESA-20030430-014
EnGarde Secure Linux : libpcap, tcpdump
Published: Apr 30, 2003 - Updated: Apr 30, 2003

CLA-2003:632
Conectiva Linux : apache
Published: Apr 30, 2003 - Updated: Apr 30, 2003

20030430
Cisco : Cisco Content Service Switch 11000 Series DNS Negative Cache of Information Denial-of-Service Vulner
Published: Apr 30, 2003 - Updated: Apr 30, 2003

CSSA-2003-018.0
Santa Cruz Operation : OpenLinux: file command buffer overflow
Published: Apr 30, 2003 - Updated: Apr 30, 2003

CLA-2003:635
Conectiva Linux : balsa
Published: Apr 30, 2003 - Updated: Apr 30, 2003

200304-10
Gentoo Linux : balsa
Published: Apr 30, 2003 - Updated: Apr 30, 2003

DSA 296-1
Debian : kdebase
Published: Apr 30, 2003 - Updated: Apr 30, 2003

DSA 295-1
Debian : pptpd
Published: Apr 30, 2003 - Updated: Apr 30, 2003

RHSA-2003:093-02
RedHat : Updated MySQL packages fix vulnerabilities

Published: Apr 29, 2003 - Updated: May 02, 2003
View Quote


Looks like free software gets the "brownware award" this month.
Link Posted: 5/29/2003 5:37:08 AM EDT
[#42]
Having administered a wide variety of networking OSes (Wfw 3.11 and beyond, Solaris, IRIX, HPUX, AIX, Linux, BSD, Appleshare, OSX), I believe that there is no panacea when it comes to an operating system.  Each of the has their strong points and their weak points.  Pick the one that works best for you and have fun.

As someone mentioned:  use the right tool for the job.  As such, I work in an environment in which NT, Solaris and Linux all co-habitate easily.  If we could, we'd migrate off our Solaris boxes but Linux isn't ready to handle a 12 processor/48 GB RAM hardware solution yet.

GPL stuff has a lot of patches each week?  Fine by me.  Sometimes it's better than waiting three months for a commerical product to release a patch.  MS, while the biggest offender, is not the only company to remain silent about known vulnerabilities until they can shift the internal resources to solve the problem.  

To each his own, use the best tool for the job.  Just as I'm not going to grab my grandfather's model 94 when someone breaks into my house, I'm not going to ask my Linux boxes to handle 70+ million transactions a day.  At the same time, they both have honored positions/roles in my house.
Link Posted: 5/29/2003 2:43:41 PM EDT
[#43]
Don't sound too knowledgeable though, they might think you will steal the source code and drain their bank accounts/kill the server.
Link Posted: 5/29/2003 3:28:23 PM EDT
[#44]
If we could, we'd migrate off our Solaris boxes but Linux isn't ready to handle a 12 processor/48 GB RAM hardware solution yet.
View Quote


Just wait till 2.6!!!
Link Posted: 5/29/2003 3:50:55 PM EDT
[#45]
Quoted:
You are not to far off brasspile, I just interviewed at Primerica selling financial services where I would sell mortgages, financial advice and LIFE INSURANCE. What are you some kind of clairvoyant? And no, I haven't written off marketing, I'll be the A hole on top banging the secretary while the "geeks" doing all the grunt work. [:D]
View Quote


You might want to take another look at that.  My wife looked at "Primerica selling financial services" a few months back, and after a bit of careful scrutiny it was clearly nothing more than a legalized pyramid scheme.

Oh, and you "software should be free" fellows:  when I become Dictator Extraordinaire I intend to have you all sterilized to help stamp out such ecologically unsound ideas. [;D]
Link Posted: 5/29/2003 3:54:17 PM EDT
[#46]
Quoted:
If we could, we'd migrate off our Solaris boxes but Linux isn't ready to handle a 12 processor/48 GB RAM hardware solution yet.
View Quote


Just wait till 2.6!!!
View Quote


[sarcasm]will that be the 'enhanced and frequent kernel panic option' or the 'standard and even more frequent kernel panic option'?[/sarcasm]
Link Posted: 5/30/2003 6:09:38 AM EDT
[#47]
Close Join Our Mail List to Stay Up To Date! Win a FREE Membership!

Sign up for the ARFCOM weekly newsletter and be entered to win a free ARFCOM membership. One new winner* is announced every week!

You will receive an email every Friday morning featuring the latest chatter from the hottest topics, breaking news surrounding legislation, as well as exclusive deals only available to ARFCOM email subscribers.


By signing up you agree to our User Agreement. *Must have a registered ARFCOM account to win.
Top Top