[geeks] Re: [SunRescue] yet another new list

[Gregory Leblanc]

This probably belongs on the geeks list, so please reply there (copied
to rescue to let people know that it's moving)

On 11 May 2001 01:59:20 -0400, Joshua D. Boyd wrote:
> My sysadmin doesn't currently have procmail installed.  This summer, he is
> moving the main server from solaris/sparc to linux/intel.  He is planning
> on specifically not installing procmail (even though redhat installs it by
> default).

Why don't they want procmail installed?  If you went to my school, I'd
be your sys admin, although we don't have any computer programs, so you
wouldn't get to touch my *nix machines.  :-/

> Currently, few students work in the labs other than during the official
> lab period (CS classes have a lab component to justify being 4cr instead
> of 3cr.  I forget why they wanted to change the number of crs.)  The
> exception is the people who work on one professor's projects.  Those
> students get to use super powerfull machine with lots of cool peripherals.
> See a connection?  All other labs seem to be doing almost everything
> possible to drive away students, then wonder why lab useage is down so
> much and why they try to keep them (the labs) up to date.  

You mean work as in use the labs, or work as in employed as student
workers to help out students in the labs?  It sounds to me like whoever
is in charge of IT doesn't understand what their purpose is.  We're here
to provide a service to the students, in order to help them get a better
education.  We try to provide them with the tools they need in order to
solve their problems.  We don't necessarily install some piece of
software because a student asks for it, but we tell them what we have
available which will allow them to get the same job done.
Unfortunately, we don't have the same luxury with the professors.  If
they want some piece of software, we pretty much have to support it.
Sometimes that's worse than others.  All of our ITS people know access
pretty well, and certainly know enough SQL to get around.  Our professor
(who is a Microsoft certified Access applications developer) doesn't
know enough about Access to be able to teach even the basic database
course, so we have to install File Maker Pro.  On the other hand, we
have a professor who teaches desktop publishing...  When we told him
that Page Maker wasn't going to be available next fall, and asked what
he needed to teach the class, he pretty much said that he could teach
desktop publishing with -any- package we provided, because it was an
intro class.  Amazing difference... 

> And if anyone tries to show inititive on their own (say by putting a
> sunvideo capture card into use for motion tracking programs) they are made
> fun of (I'm constantly being told that I need to get out more by people
> who spend more nights gaming at home).  I really, really, really am sick
> of life as an undergrad.  Only 3 or 4 semesters left.  Maybe grad school
> will be better.
> 
> On Fri, 11 May 2001, Bill Bradford wrote:
> 
> > On Thu, May 10, 2001 at 11:12:59PM -0400, Mike Nicewonger wrote:
> > > Christ, not yet another list :(
> > > Nope I ain't gonna subscribe
> > 
> > I didnt say that people had to subscribe to ALL of them.. 8-)
> > 
> > Tip: procmail is your friend.
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