Linux Section

Sneakers on a Dead Pig

With enough patience and perhaps some duct tape, you can get a pair of Air Jordan's onto a dead pig. You could strap two pair on if you like and even add a nice Celtics jersey, but there's still no way that pig is going to shoot any hoops. First of all, it's a pig. Second, did you notice that it's dead?

That's how I felt about a customer's question concerning strapping a modern Sendmail onto his legacy SCO 5.0.7 system. First, I'm not sure there is enough duct tape available anywhere to get these sneakers held in place. In the case of SCO, the pig may not be completely dead yet, but that sure is an awful wheezing noise it's making, isn't it it? Even when this particular pig might have been able to bounce around the court a little, I never liked running it as a mailserver. At the best of times SCO was several versions behind on Sendmail but my main reasoning was (and is) that you don't mix application servers with mail/web servers. That sort of blending makes it harder to test performance and security - I just don't like it.

And it's so unnecessary! Throw up a little Linux box and you have a modern, maintainable Sendmail almost instantly! I happen to sell Kerio if you don't want to mess with Sendmail and there are certainly plenty of other feature packed, secure choices available once you leave the wheezing pig. Tell the ancient SCO Sendmail that the Linux box is its Smart Server and be done with at least that part of SCO nonsense forever!

You may be stuck with the legacy SCO app for a while yet. That's regrettable, but it doesn't mean you should compound the problem by making the poor thing your mail server. Also, you don't need fire-breathing hardware for a mail server. A machine that you wouldn't give to the mail room as a desktop will probably run away with mail even if you have a hundred users or more. Mail is light duty work and of course Linux doesn't need Microsoft level hardware to start with. Unless you have more than a few hundred users, you probably can't even put your hands on any hardware too weak for a decent Linux mail server.. this ain't no wheezing pig.

By the way, I detest professional team sports of all kinds. I really hesitated about using a basketball analogy here, but the image of a dead pig in basketball sneakers just seemed so right I had to use it. My apologies to pigdom.

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Wed Feb 25 15:07:55 2009:   BigDumbDinosaur
http://bcstechnology.net

Sendmail on OSR5 isn't entirely a bust, although I would recommend it to a client, primarily because the SCO implementation is several years out of date. As you say, using Linux for mail services is a lot less trouble. The problem with trying to implement the latest version of Sendmail is compiling it on OSR5 with all of its out-pf-date shared libraries, etc. I've tried in the past with no luck, certainly not for a lack of persistence. I'm sure we won't be counting on SCO to update it, or much of anything else. It appears their skunkworks site hasn't received anything more than cursory maintenance in the last several years.

BTW, I see your (Tony's) gravatar appearing in messages. Is that some sort of embedded code in the message or in the site itself?



Wed Feb 25 15:12:37 2009:   TonyLawrence


You are just noticing the Gravatars? I added them mid last month.

You can go get your own gravatar: http://en.gravatar.com/

If you put your email in when adding comments, it will appear (the gravatar, not the email).

See http://aplawrence.com/Web/gravatars_perl.html also.



Wed Feb 25 15:19:36 2009:   TonyLawrence


And I see that more recently I have broken all but my own - I better look at that!



Wed Feb 25 15:41:59 2009:   TonyLawrence


Ayup - silly mistake - should be all set in a few minutes.



Wed Feb 25 16:08:42 2009:   NickBarron


No team sports at all?



Wed Feb 25 16:31:43 2009:   TonyLawrence


Don't get me started: http://aplawrence.com/Opinion/social_grooming.html



Wed Feb 25 16:43:45 2009:   TonyLawrence


And f you still don't understand that I REALLY detest this stuff, try http://aplawrence.com/Opinion/sports.html



Wed Feb 25 17:09:07 2009:   NickBarron


Well I remember the most recent of those posts and even think I read the original.

While I do agree on some points, notably the did you see the game last night..... 'no I only like watching live Chess' (that usually does the trick) I do like playing physical sports.

This is different from what you are describing in some ways I think, You do not follow the major sports, neither do I really. But I do like to play a few games of something a week, it keeps me physically active alert and my brain working :)



Wed Feb 25 17:14:31 2009:   TonyLawrence


I've always liked playing sports and I'll even watch them if I know the people. It's fun to go watch people you know play sand-lot baseball or whatever.

But pro teams? Disgusting idiocy. Following pro sports stats? Moronic unless you are gambling. If the pro isn't your cousin and you aren't betting on the team, having any interest in it at all is as dumb as it gets, I think.



Wed Feb 25 17:18:41 2009:   TonyLawrence


And also people who enjoy the mental challenge of trying to pick winners - that's cool.





Wed Feb 25 17:28:45 2009:   NickBarron


Now that makes more sense :)

For the people who analyse for winners, that is fair enough I suppose.

I do follow professional Italian football, I find it interesting and like the to see some of the excellent abilities and manipulation that the fantasista's do. But the great thing for me is, no one knows or cares about it in England, so I don't get drawn into conversations :D

Was supposed to have a game tonight actually but looks like it is a no go.. Shame :(



Thu Feb 26 15:03:13 2009:   BigDumbDInosaur
http://bcstechnology.net

Sendmail on OSR5 isn't entirely a bust, although I would recommend it to a client, primarily because the SCO implementation is several years out of date.

That should have read "...although I wouldn't recommend it to a client..." My typing, along with almost everything else, it seems, has deteriorated from two years of struggling with chronic ITP. Better living through (pharmaceutical) chemistry!



Thu Feb 26 15:24:54 2009:   BigDumbDInosaur
http://bcstechnology.net

I'm not a follower of professional sports either, although I don't detest them. I do, however, have a pretty low opinion of many professional athletes, who I certainly would never consider to be suitable role models for anyone.

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