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Linux vs the MSP

I was working on the tech-support frontdesk from my flat when my girlfriend-at-the-time asked how to watch films on Linux. I was maybe 30 minutes into some bullshit ticket, and probably watching a crappy web-interface load.

[ 00:00 seconds ]

I turned to her, stared for a moment, and thought ‘popcorntime’. This program should be able to let her watch any TV show she wanted.

[ 00:02 seconds ]

I switched to the Linux connection I had open, and accessed the PC she was on over ssh.

[ 00:05 seconds ]

Then I installed the program.

[ 00:08 seconds ]

While it was installing, I wanted to add a desktop-notification saying when the software was installed.

I went back to quietly swearing at the loading screen in front of me at my job, then suddenly felt struck by a number of things.

1. I’d just effectively completed a ticket in a tiny fraction of the time, because I could use Linux.

2. I didn’t need to organize ‘when to get on the computer’, because ssh doesn’t require a GUI - you just fix the problem without disturbing the user.

3. If I needed to add all this to a ticketing system, I could just add taskwarrior plus some notes, and could still do this in under 1 minute.

Ever since that day, I’ve been wondering why people don’t do a full Linux-based MSP. This questions has good answers in the case of some businesses, but more often than not, brings up deep misunderstandings of the available tech.