Re: cron on 10.5.2 server

In article <bob-4686B9.11245324042008@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>,
 Robert Peirce <bob@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote:

> In article <jollyroger-89048A.10053124042008@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>,
>  Jolly Roger <jollyroger@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote:
> 
> > > I agree, but it won't work.  It turns out these consultants are 
> > > specialists in OS X.  I think I know more about the underlying Unix 
> > > system than they do and it should be clear from my posts that I
don't 
> > > know as much as I should!
> > 
> > If the consultants are specialists in Mac OS X, and they can't fix
what 
> > they've broken, and you know more than them, why are you hiring them?!
> 
> This is Unix problem.  I know more than they do about Unix, not about OS

> X.  I got into OS X because it reminded me of NEXTSTEP, which I had used

> before.  However, I have never tried to become an expert in it.  In 
> fact, I am probably only aware of 25% of what it can do.  We needed OS X

> specialists to help us move to a 100% Apple network over the next few 
> years.  I don't have the knowledge to do that and it may not be 
> completed before I leave.

Mac OS X is a Unix-based operating system. What, exactly, are these 
consultants qualifications, if they know nothing of Unix?

I am considered by my employers to be a Mac OS X / Linux / Unix 
specialist. I'd have a hard time believing anyone who calls himself a 
Mac OS X specialist without knowing anything about the underlying system 
that makes Mac OS X what it is. 

> > The problem is if cron is screwed up, other things may be screwed up
as 
> > well. Personally, I wonder if your install did not complete correctly.

> > The only good way to solve that problem is to re-install the operating

> > system.
> 
> I hate to do that but you are probably correct.  So far we have only 
> found the one problem, but there could be more.  Actually, cron works 
> fine.  It is crontab -e that is acting up, and I guess that means it is 
> vim that is acting up.

It's obvious whatever the consultant did, and however you recovered from 
the backup, left you with a system that is not in a good state.

Again, if it were me, and especially if this were a mission-critical 
server, I'd reinstall from scratch (meaning erase and install) so that I 
was sure the install went flawlessly. 

And I'd be careful to whom I gave administrator access in the future! 
Perhaps these consultants can get their jobs done with non-administrator 
accounts. That way if they do screw something up, they only screw up 
their own user accounts.

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JR