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I thought I might harp on a bit about "having only one dominant platform sucks".

Then I thought ... it would probably be much better to let other people harp on about it:

http://www.computerworlduk.com/community/blogs/index.cfm?entryid=15...

http://www.linuxpromagazine.com/online/news/ex_microsoft_developer_...

http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/12/01/a-microsoft-veteran-embrac...

http://www.lulu.com/content/4964815

http://www.linuxdevices.com/news/NS4759851685.html

http://www.consortiuminfo.org/standardsblog/article.php?story=20081...

These links are just from the last day or two, BTW.

I'm sorry, but your argument that having just one standard operating system is better because it makes life easier for IT professionals / Technicians flat out doesn't fly in my book. Competition is always better then monopolies; for myriad of reasons. If IT people are afraid to learn more than one operating system then they're simply lazy and shouldn't be in the business to begin with. It's like saying linguists shouldn't have to learn more than one language to be successful. The very idea is absurd.

Edited 2008-12-04 03:40 UTC

It would make life much easier for mechanics if we all drove the same brand of car, but yet somehow they manage to get by, despite our stubborn and naive insistence on choice and value.

Sorry, but that attitude looks like laziness mostly.

But let's say that your work place gets news Linux work stations, when having used Windows only previously. Of course the employer should also guarantee their IT staff enough time and education to learn and know the new operating system and everything related to it. That's also how it would naturally go. So, what's the problem then?

But I'd claim that also in general there are all too many lazy system admins (granted, sometimes they may have all too much work and stress too, but then again who wouldn't), not willing to learn new things. I've seen many such people oppose Linux deployment or oppose some other new things only because they wouldn't like to learn new things.

Even with one platform, like MS Windows, it sucks to ask such lazy system admins to get something done over and over for weeks, and when you also sometimes know that you could have done the same thing yourself already days ago (but you can't because it is their job, not yours according to the job rules).

Operating systems are not that different from each other, not any more than, say cars are. A real IT pro should be able to quickly learn and understand the basics of other operating systems too. If he wants to, and is not all too lazy to do so. Heck, a real pro - from his own initiative - is willing to learn about all new things related to his work field, including other operating systems too if he is an IT pro.

Well, of course, it is also ok and fine that some tech experts specialize in some tech brands only and know those brands better than others do (a bit like some doctors specializing in some field of medicine). But if not, then it is very much their job to at least learn and know something about other tech bands too than the brand mostly used at their work place. If they are not willing and capable of learning new things, I'd say they may not be the best persons for their jobs then.

Edited 2008-12-04 12:10 UTC

My heart bleeds for those poor bastards who actually, you know, have to keep up with the times. I doubt anything will change in any event, considering 99% of the shops out there still refuse to work on Macs, but as a Network Admin all I can say is cry me a river.

That will change as time goes on. These people h efuse to work on Macs will see customers go somewhere else. Thats no good for business. Getting Apple certified isn;t all that hard, there is no reason why they can't become an Apple houe as well.

An example, I work in IT at our company. We support asious organizations which are primarily Windows houses. As of late we've been seeing request for more support for alternative with OSX being the majority and Linux he minority. I am fortunate enough to have a personal interest and experience in OS's (or I wouldn't be on this site). Being that the care now I'm the primary director for support of alternative OS and hardware issues, something which there was no need for just a year ago. Apple is slowly gaining on the market and I'm seign moe and more developers requesting Linux nstalled on their machines to develop their tools. Its really a wonderful thing. Unfortunately for Windows the embrace of change seems to extend to every aspect even computing choices.

Even Valve has been reported of working on a Steam client for Linux and had already stated that they were porting over their source engine to Linux. Porting to Linux usually means that things can get ported to other OS's as well such as OSX. Once gaming gets detached from being a Windows only experience which thanks to consoles it has, then I really don't see Windows keeping its market share. Everything else that windows can do the other Os's can do just as well if not better.

I can uderstand your feelings, and I do sympathize for over-stressed IT workers too.

But here's an example from real world showing how opposing new things can actually increase stress and work load when compared to learning a few new things:

In the early 2000's I worked as a web technology specialist in a big and relatively wealthy organization. They still relied on hand coded HTML in almost all their web services, and various units (often without any experienced computer users) were also supposed to update their web pages by themselves using primitive free WYSIWYG tools (believe or not: Netscape Composer was the chosen tool for them...). For years, me and others at the web unit tried to suggest moving to more advanced dynamic and database driven web solutions but without a success. In the end many of my colleagues left the work place and I got a serious burnout too. Had they been even a bit more open to new things, many problems could have been avoided.

Often it just pays of to be open to new things too and be ready to learn new technologies that can often ease the work load needed in many old tasks. Staying in the old ways too long can become more of a burden than a help in the long run as demands and the world around us changes constantly.

It's gonna suck though for those doing tech support/computer repair. Suddenly, you're going to have to know 3-4 operating systems instead of only 1. It's hard enough removing spyware from somebody's Windows box... now pile on top of that trying to figure out why the hell Compiz isn't working with some off-brand integrated graphics solutions.

Having only one dominant platform sucks in some areas, but definitely has its advantages in others. "

You obviously didn't think through your post very well at all. I would welcome the change of ditching all of these Windows computers and going with Linux or OSX, where I don't have to worry about viruses and spyware. I use PING, so I have an image for each computer model at work, so if something gets hosed beyond repair - no problem. Restore the image to it.

Compiz isn't needed at work, and I personally turn off all of the eye candy on my Linux box when I'm working.

You have a lot to learn about the real world, and what an IT Professional actually is vs some zit faced "PC Technician".

And do you think that, once OS X or Linux become a contender to Windows, that you won't be facing viruses and spyware? Yes, OS X and Linux are pretty secure in some areas just by design. But they're certainly not immune and, once they have become "big enough" as far as marketshare and the amount of users, malware will target them just as much as it does Windows. It may not be as easy to write certain types of malicious software, but eventually you will face it on whatever the dominant platform, or platforms, are. At the moment, Windows is the biggest target because they will hit the most amount of users. OS X trojans are already appearing, though they're not a danger to anyone with a little common sense as they have to be installed by an account with administrator privileges. They can't just suddenly take over, but OS X is already getting attention, even if only a little. Malware won't go away, eve if Windows eventually does.

First, you need to reread my original post. Exactly where did I mention IT Professionals? What I said was:

It's gonna suck though for those doing tech support/computer repair.

You guys are missing the point entirely.

Sure, having all these different platforms isn't an issue if you work inhouse and can control the configurations of the computers you work on. But imagine if you're some schmuck working at CompUSA or a mom 'n pop computer shop, and you have to work with whatever customers bring in the door. Or doing end-user phone support for a printer manufacturer or ISP. Not to mention the owners of said businesses, who would have to pony up more $$ for the extra costs involved in training their staff to be familiar enough with the operating systems to provide support for them.

Or somebody like me, who becomes the default go-to person for friends and family who have problems with their computers. Right now, it's not too difficult because they're all running Win2k or XP. But some of them have gotten Vista machines, so I had to get a copy of that just so that I could keep up. If they started buying Mac and Linux machines, well... they're basically shit outta luck, unless they can find somebody else to help them.

All that being said, I'm not saying that having many platforms being equal would be worse than having only one. I'm just saying it's a double-edged sword.

For some of them. But it also gives a competitive advantage to techs who are capable of supporting multiple OSes.

some people that do pc tech support just know how to fix windows more common problems and they are lazy to learn something else if they are not good enough they should do something else, there are a lot of people capable and happy to learn more and it will be people specialized in each or all the areas of computers if the market share is big enough.