A question for repair shop owners: Software

[cminor9]

Open source software works on the basis that Microsoft are so bad at software development, an infinite number of monkeys with an IRC chatroom can beat them.

lol, I am sure that infinite monkeys or mongolian hordes could in all likelihood write better software than MSFT. Seriously, though, the strength of f/oss is that it consists of people working for various entities pooling ideas together and collaborating. At worst, it means design by committee (which IMO is why linux desktop environments, while getting better, lack the polish and usability of OSX.) At best, it means that software is developed based on what will solve the problem best and NOT based on what will lock people in most effectively (looking at you, MSFT). F/OSS is eating MSFT's lunch.

Where I work we use Apple computers, and PHP, Linux, Apache, MySQL, SOLR, Java, ActiveMQ, Hadoop, git, etc. We are more nimble and stable than any MSFT or Java shop I have worked at. The operations guys double as desktop support, because guess what? There are very few hardware/pc issues. The linux servers stay running and have never hit the memory consumption issues I have seen at Java, MSFT, and Adobe shops I have worked at. When I have to use a MSFT PC or some MSFT software it is a horrific experience because I am so spoiled not having to deal with that crap anymore.

[Steve Conner]

So, another Apple fanboy.

My boss runs a Mac with Parallels and Windows 7 for when he needs to get some Windows stuff done. I thought that was a great system, until I realised he wasn't going to get me one and I would have to pay for it out of my own pocket.

We have a file/print/web/Subversion server in the lab. It actually runs on XP, because it started out as a print server, all of the other lab machines run Windows, and I couldn't be bothered figuring out SMB printing under Linux. I added the other services later, and the Windows versions of them seem to work just fine. I have set up similar servers with Linux before.

Every web developer I know (admittedly not that many) likes to bitch about Adobe.

I have a Macbook at home. I've owned it for 2 years and haven't the foggiest idea how any of the hardware or OS internals work, because I've never had to mess with them. I like that.

Oh, I forgot, we also use Perl and Subversion. And sometimes MinGW for those stubborn stains that Visual Studio won't shift.

[cminor9]

So, another Apple fanboy.

I have a Macbook at home. I've owned it for 2 years and haven't the foggiest idea how any of the hardware or OS internals work, because I've never had to mess with them. I like that.

Yes! Messing with your OS is, unless you just like linux hacking, a pointless activity. A computer is a tool for accomplishing work, and anytime you have to maintain that tool it means you are not using it to get work done. IME, Windows requires more babysitting and maintenance than any other OS, perhaps unless you compiled your own linux OS or are using something like Gentoo.

Perl, eh? Man, I started learning that a few years ago and just kinda quit. I had no real reason to learn it other than for fun and the geek credit, but it became too convoluted to be any fun. Learning that was harder than learning C mostly because perl seemed to be sort of unpredictable and counterintuitive. Of course, the argument for that is that while it's hard to learn, it is easy to use. And that's ok, because you only have to learn it once. In my book, anyone who really knows perl has tremendous geek cred.

[Euthymia]

I would like to know what you think of PostBooks: xTuple PostBooks | Open Source ERP for Mac, Linux and Windows

I haven't tried it in battle myself; what I use so far is GNUCash, but I got as far as downloading PostBooks/XTuple and getting the demo working with a Postgres back end. I was very impressed just clicking around the modules.

I was looking at it more from a manufacturer's viewpoint than a repair shop's. But it looked like it handled lots of handy things like inventory, work orders....

[jrfrond]

As far as hacking is concerned, I agree. I am a long-time Mac user and love the OS, but not the hardware $$$. So, I just bought a PC laptop with a fairly large HD which will be partitioned and I am turning it into a PC/Hackintosh. As it turns out, all PC's with Intel Dual-Core or higher processors can run Snow Leopard. This way, I have BOTH OS' running NATIVE on the same box. No emulation software needed.

I think that we've drifted pretty far away from what the AVERAGE repair shop with several techs, parts sales, etc. REALLY needs in terms of a software package. It doesn't need to be rocket-science y'know. For the most part, you will be running half a dozen computers or so over a LAN, and might want to implement a system where customers can check their repair status online. Again, Filemaker Pro can do all of this and more, and does not demand that you have degree-level knowledge of programming.

We're running antiquated Filemaker Pro v3.05 with self-compiled relational databases running on old Macs with OS8 & 9, and our workorder and invoice printers are Apple Imagewriters with pin-feed forms. It performs flawlessly, rarely crashes and does about 99% of what I really need to accomplish. Upgrading to Filemaker 11 with all new hardware would fill in the remaining 1%. I'd say that is pretty darn good for "antiques".

Call me silly, but I always look for the simplest solution.

[Vasily Dyshlov]

I went from St. Petersburg to San Francisco and started develope software for repair bussines. Result: https://gincore.net/en.
Almost 5 years) so we missed)