RDP From Linux and Technology Integration

My good friend Chris Schultz (whose wife invaded my earlier post) is a big Linux fan. In truth, he was responsible for introducing me to the open source operating system when we were roommates in college. And because he is such a big fan, he uses Linux on one of his primary desktop machines, on which I am currently typing this entry.

I discovered that some brilliant hacker reverse engineered Micrsoft’s Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) and that a RDP client exists for Linux! I was able to go home and play with my VMWare Gentoo experiment from his Redhat 9 installation here in Arlington, Virginia.

I really respect the people who take the time to make Linux interoperable with Windows in so many ways. Their dedication to making technology work is something I admire, and I tend to try to emulate that in my daily work as a consultant. It frustrates me, then, when as a consultant I am required to compromise technological Rightness for business reasons. I imagine it’s like being a medical doctor who is trying to save a patient’s life, but who is hindered by the insurance companies because the necessary procedures are too expensive. The doctors have the hippocratic oath on which they can fall back as an “excuse” to follow their conscience and do the Right Thing.

Maybe we need something similar for technologists. I’m trying to think up some person who was famous for “just doing the right thing” when it came to technology, but I’m not having much luck. Perhaps Jon Postal? The Postalian Oath?