[WEB4LIB] Where do you get support and why?

[Raymond Wood]

>>> I'm not interested in engaging in any browser, OS, or platform
>>> warfare.  My point is simply that many organizations, whether profit
>>> or nonprofit, want a commercial product that has support.

>> 	The implicit assumptions here are 1) that commercial
>> 	products are supported, and 2) that free ones are not.

> 	All:
> 
> 	I have three points:
> 
> 1)	In the past, when I paid the most for support by buying a very
> expensive product and paying for a service agreement to answer questions the
> company would not answer, the support was the worst.  (It was a computer
> network program from Utah.)
> 2)	The best support I ever got was from Word Perfect.
> 3)	My experience with HP support has been bad, but problems have been
> so infrequent that I don't really care.  And when I have a problem and
> really work the web site, I can get answers.  I just don't try to call. 
> 
> So support is really a relative question.  The best world is when you don't
> ever need it.  

I have found that with GNU/Linux, setup of new systems (both software
and hardware, that is) is the toughest part.  (Then again, that probably
goes for any Operating System).  This is where support is probably
needed most, if at all.  In other words, after you have whatever it is
set up, you are usually homefree.  After that, you can just snooze,
because they run, and run, and run, with zero problems.  GNU/Linux and
FreeBSD systems are famous for their phenomenal 'uptime' - that is, the
length of time the server has been up and running without needing a
re-boot.  

This reputation for unflinching stability (unlike the commonly
acknowledged shenanigans of That Other OS) is very well-deserved, and a
real relief to former Windows servers sysadmins who are used to having
to reboot the server(s) at some regular interval (even daily - I kid you
not) off-hours just to keep it/them up and running 'smoothly'.

> Next best, is a good  place to post questions and where some
> will take time to answer, 

Places like this list for instance.  I subscribe to different
Linux-related lists, and the support and rapidity of response is usually
quite amazing.

For more robust support requirements, commercial support for GNU/Linux
is now available, and has been for some time from quite a few different
sources.  

Yes friends, GNU/Linux is a supported OS, if that's what you need or
want.

Raymond