> To be honest with you, the only reason > that I can conclude is that they don't > care about their customer.
Generally speaking, in a corporate environment the computer end-user is not the IT Operations Department's customer. Upper management, and in particular upper management's expectations of SG&A expense ratios, is the IT Dept's customer.
Back in the early days of PCs some organizations put the people and resources into IT operations to make the end users happy. In the organization I was part of at the time those happy days lasted exactly 18 months, until the full implication of the expense budget cost of such end-user happiness became apparent. Good-by support techs; hello outsourcers.
> Users should simply be able to sit down at a system, > log in and have all of the applications they need > (and no more) available at the touch of a button.
They had that in the 1970s. They demanded that they be given "full control" over their business data and applications (and eventually PCs) so that they would not be under the thumb of the "arrogant priests".
> And the interviews were all questions like "What do > you think of users who know absolutely nothing > about computers?"
Speaking as a business manager, I think that is quite appropriate. For an interview conducted in 1986, or perhaps even 1996.
My question to that organization is, why in the year 2006 do you have employees who do not possess the skills to use basic, standard tools to process basic business information, and to extend their own skills by themselves moderate amounts (not to learn a new ERP system by themselves, for example, but to figure out the fairly minor differences between AP module 5.5.7 and the new 5.6.1 version now in pre-production testing)? Why do you still have employees who believe that an inability to do a basic search in their own e-mail box merits a deskside visit from an ultra-qualified, ultra-patient analyst who will provide 4 hours of no-charge tutoring? Can you name another support department that does this? Does Finance provide remedial tutoring in financial accounting to sales managers, not just once upon promotion but over and over and over again over 20 years? Is the CFO on call 24x365 to provide personal tutoring on how to read sales reports? Why not?
Again, I am speaking as a business manager who has been through this entire cycle 3 times since the 1970s and who spent tremendous amounts of time in the 1980s providing basic business (computer) skills tutoring.
> Don't get me wrong, turbines are WAY better from a technical perspective,
Actually, when you are talking about light aircraft that do a lot of up-down, stop-start at low altitudes, piston engines are vastly more fuel efficient than turbines (one of the reasons you still see DC-3s flying in remote areas). Sort of like another vehicle type we are discussing here...
I have been going to auto shows since 1972, actually. I am not necessarily talking about "dream cars" that you see at the CAS here, although that game too became a joke somewhere around 1988. I mean "Car of the Future" prototypes where the future for GM and Ford is 15 years away - and has been since 1960.
GM has literally been promising fuel cell technology "in 15 years" since 1970. Meanwhile Toyota brings out a most-likely-unprofitable first generation Prius, sells it for 4 years, bring out a most-likely-breakeven second generation Prius, sells it for 4 years, brings out a probably-small-profit third generation Prius, sells it for 4 years...
> However, a lot of electricity is made by burning > coal, which is not exactly a clean process.
Currently true. Although burning coal can be made relatively clean, it is extremely difficult to stop the CO2 emissions which are now thought to be the worst "pollutant".
However, keep in mind that as various fossil fuels disappear or grow exceedingly expensive, we will be forced to turn more and more to electricity. And there are many ways besides fossil fuels to generate electricity. Solar, wind, nuclear fission, nuclear fusion(?), tidal, etc.
Cars being charged up at night by otherwise-idle wind turbines would not be a bad thing.
Now, if energy for mobility grows so scarce and expensive that it is impossible to continue using personal vehicles the entire economy of the United States will collapse, so there won't be much for us to discuss here[1]. But if we can carry off a transition to vehicles fueled with renewables this is one step in that process.
I understand the problems with the batteries, but one additional problem that GM has is that they create too damn many concept cars and never get them on the road. They have been working on fuel cells since about 1970 for Gaia's sake. They should get a few thousand of these on the road in 2008 regardless of the weight and profitability so they can get some darned _experience_ with building and operating them. Not wait for the mythical super-battery.
sPh
[1] Yes, I am aware that through the 1940s we had a much less car-dependent US. With what we have done to the housing stock and job locations in the last 30 years however it _will not_ be possible to go back to anything like that way of life in less than 50 more years. Sorry.
Of course, no one is prohibited from starting up their own content distribution service and competing with Akami (ignoring patents for the moment) as long as the tubes are neutral. I am sure the good professor is well aware of this but has decided for some odd reason not to mention it.
> Cairo was more of a platform plan than a > specific OS. Win95, NT4, 2000, and > Vista-before-removal all included pieces > of Cairo
Cairo was very definately intended to be an OS release - read the trade press from 1993-1996. It wasn't until Microsoft was unable to actually get a release-able product out the door that the "NT will contain elements of Cairo technology" dodge came out. Which the trade press _also_lapped up and reported as gospel.
> On a side note, don't you just love those British 3-prong > plugs? Just be careful not to step on one in the middle of > the night barefoot!:-)
IMHO there is at least a master's degree in psychology awaiting the person who performs an analysis of national character as revealed by the UK, French, US, Italian, and Australian electric plugs/sockets.
One thing I will say about the UK plug: at least there is no question that you have a ground (earth).
I have been reading about biodiesel from algae for at least 5 years now. Sounds great: Closed carbon cycle. Free energy from sunlight. Happy friendly energy.
My question is: where are the big oil companies? Why aren't they buying up huge tracts of land in southern Texas and Mexico and digging huge ponds? Why aren't the hiring algae biologists by the thousands? Building proof test algae refineries? Seems to me that if this were such a great idea ExxonMobil etc would be all over it like flies on algae (so to speak).
Perhaps they are and it is all being kept secret. But as far as I can tell every article/web post/discussion of this process traces back to a single paper by a single biology professor with some basic input/output calculations and not much else. Which makes me a bit suspicious.
=== What I think is sorely missing is a page where interested persons can go to see what the next deadline in the case is and what various known future deadlines are. ===
Here is the page you ask for, although Al has not yet updated it with the schedule changes implicit in the last two rulings.
I have never had another cell phone that worked as well as my now-departed Motorola brick phone; particularly as an in-car phone it has never had an equal. What is amazing to me is how in just 20 years Americans have been conditioned to accept unbelievably bad phone call quality in the name of "progress".
=== mean, come on! How much easier the lives of techies would be if their boss was one of them, if he would actually understand? ===
A little bit of a problem there: the microsecond the boss lifts his hand to actually perform any technical task, the rest of the management team classifies him with the toilet-cleaner and never listens to him seriously again. There might be a few hyper-technical organizations where this isn't strictly true, but it is a fact for 95% of the employers out there.
sPh
Re:Sounds like a pretty accurate book to me....
on
In Search of Stupidity
·
· Score: 3, Interesting
From the OP: === Microsoft at one point was working with IBM to develop OS/2 and many have written that Microsoft took advantage of IBM in that joint effort. But Chapman writes that complete and direct responsibility for the failure of OS/2 falls completely on IBM. He notes that it is difficult to find a marketing mistake around OS/2 that IBM did not make. ===
Even worse: Jerry Pournelle, who at that point was still an influential person in the PC industry, documented the mistakes IBM was making with OS/2 in real time. And discussed them one-on-one with the top dudes and dudettes on IBM's OS/2 team. And documented their lack of responses to the problems in real time.
=== Sadly in the big corporate world that just isn't true, I wish it was (would make life a lot simpler). I get asked for Netware / eDirectory / Groupwise (you missed that one) integration all the time. ===
I have never used Groupwise, although those who have and still do say it is an excellent product. My spouse uses their web-based client for work and it seems as good or better than any web version of a featureful mail system (for what that is worth).
As far as eDirectory, and to a lesser extent Netware goes, I would respectfully disagree. eDirectory was and still is a very very good directory product. After fighting with inActive Directory for 3 years I would tell any enterprise with a large directory that is considering migrating off eDirectory that they are nuts - stay with it until Novell gives up the last gasp.
Somewhat ironic that this story is published immediately before one describing new hyper-aggressive adaptable viruses. I am sure that the designers of these systems will have security (and the possibility of malware specifically targeted at their systems) in mind from day one.
sPh
Re:verb conjugation and pirates
on
Microsoft or Google?
·
· Score: 2, Insightful
> but I had to try three times before I managed to > get past "Microsoft were a..." and "Google have > constantly...", etc.
That is the standard British English usage. Makes more sense IMHO.
Related question: are there any LCDs that handle more than one resolution? I would like to replace a dying CRT with an LCD for space and eyestrain reasons, but I have (1) family members who prefer/require different resoluions (2) more importantly - some legacy games that require 800x600. Is there any LCD that looks right in at least two resolutions (native and 800x600)?
=== What IBM should really do is formally offer SCO a settlement of One US Dollar. It would be One US Dollar more than SCO could ever hope to win with their baseless and time consuming lawsuit. ===
Problem is that after the most recent filing by Novell it is possible that TSG will not have even one single dollar to pay IBM that settlement; TSG have $8 million in cash on hand and Novell are asking for a minimum of $25 million payable instantly.
Better for IBM to get the win than for them to collect $1 and watch Novell take home the silverware, etc.
Back around 1992(?) Steve Gibson[1] wrote a column in which he predicted that by the year 2000 50% of the world's population would be employed supporting Windows for the other 50%. At this point I don't think he was far wrong.
sPh
[1] The old SpinRite guy who wrote a lot of good utilities in the DOS era.
> there was no improper access of records to get 99% of > the personal info.. that was on file. That's what HP > gave the investigators to work on. The only infraction > was the "pretexting" everything else was perfectly legal... > that's why I keep saying it's a minor thing because while > it makes the case, there's implicit agreement for > employees to be "spied" on, yep you gave it all away when > you signed you app. So if the company needs to "phreak" to > access info you've already approved it's "grey"
The employer can use the HR records for any legitimate business purpose. Transferring the records to an entity which will use them to commit impersonation and theft is not a legitimate purpose and is not "grey"; it is becoming an accessory to a crime.
I doubt very much that members of the Board of Directors sign the same employment agreement that cubicle dwellers do. Legally speaking they _are_ the company; their situation is considerably from someone who is _employed by_ the company.
In any event, the California Attorney General seems to disagree with you, so I would suggest consulting with an attorney (preferably one experience in both corporate and criminal law) before acting on your "grey line" theory.
> It's a fine line to walk but the line is more > "grey" for private individuals than for law > enforcement. It's dirty, underhanded, but > the guy was basicly selling secrets to see > the public go his way in board discussions.
For a member of a Board of Directors to talk to the press, even against the wishes of his fellow board members, is probably not illegal (consult your securities lawyer for full details), possibly not wrong in an ethical sense depending on the circumstances, and at worst can generate a civil lawsuit by the full board against the errant director. Improperly accessing personnel records, using the stolen records to impersonate another person, using the impersonation to access telephone records in violation of various telecommunications and privacy acts, and doing all these things without fully informing the BoD seems to me to be well over some fine "line".
sPh
It was theft, by the way, not "pretexting". Let's use the correct term please.
Slashdot Mirror
> To be honest with you, the only reason
> that I can conclude is that they don't
> care about their customer.
Generally speaking, in a corporate environment the computer end-user is not the IT Operations Department's customer. Upper management, and in particular upper management's expectations of SG&A expense ratios, is the IT Dept's customer.
Back in the early days of PCs some organizations put the people and resources into IT operations to make the end users happy. In the organization I was part of at the time those happy days lasted exactly 18 months, until the full implication of the expense budget cost of such end-user happiness became apparent. Good-by support techs; hello outsourcers.
sPh
> Users should simply be able to sit down at a system,
> log in and have all of the applications they need
> (and no more) available at the touch of a button.
They had that in the 1970s. They demanded that they be given "full control" over their business data and applications (and eventually PCs) so that they would not be under the thumb of the "arrogant priests".
sPh
> And the interviews were all questions like "What do
> you think of users who know absolutely nothing
> about computers?"
Speaking as a business manager, I think that is quite appropriate. For an interview conducted in 1986, or perhaps even 1996.
My question to that organization is, why in the year 2006 do you have employees who do not possess the skills to use basic, standard tools to process basic business information, and to extend their own skills by themselves moderate amounts (not to learn a new ERP system by themselves, for example, but to figure out the fairly minor differences between AP module 5.5.7 and the new 5.6.1 version now in pre-production testing)? Why do you still have employees who believe that an inability to do a basic search in their own e-mail box merits a deskside visit from an ultra-qualified, ultra-patient analyst who will provide 4 hours of no-charge tutoring? Can you name another support department that does this? Does Finance provide remedial tutoring in financial accounting to sales managers, not just once upon promotion but over and over and over again over 20 years? Is the CFO on call 24x365 to provide personal tutoring on how to read sales reports? Why not?
Again, I am speaking as a business manager who has been through this entire cycle 3 times since the 1970s and who spent tremendous amounts of time in the 1980s providing basic business (computer) skills tutoring.
sPh
> Don't get me wrong, turbines are WAY better from a technical perspective,
Actually, when you are talking about light aircraft that do a lot of up-down, stop-start at low altitudes, piston engines are vastly more fuel efficient than turbines (one of the reasons you still see DC-3s flying in remote areas). Sort of like another vehicle type we are discussing here...
sPh
> You need to go to more auto shows.
I have been going to auto shows since 1972, actually. I am not necessarily talking about "dream cars" that you see at the CAS here, although that game too became a joke somewhere around 1988. I mean "Car of the Future" prototypes where the future for GM and Ford is 15 years away - and has been since 1960.
GM has literally been promising fuel cell technology "in 15 years" since 1970. Meanwhile Toyota brings out a most-likely-unprofitable first generation Prius, sells it for 4 years, bring out a most-likely-breakeven second generation Prius, sells it for 4 years, brings out a probably-small-profit third generation Prius, sells it for 4 years...
sPh
> However, a lot of electricity is made by burning
> coal, which is not exactly a clean process.
Currently true. Although burning coal can be made relatively clean, it is extremely difficult to stop the CO2 emissions which are now thought to be the worst "pollutant".
However, keep in mind that as various fossil fuels disappear or grow exceedingly expensive, we will be forced to turn more and more to electricity. And there are many ways besides fossil fuels to generate electricity. Solar, wind, nuclear fission, nuclear fusion(?), tidal, etc.
Cars being charged up at night by otherwise-idle wind turbines would not be a bad thing.
Now, if energy for mobility grows so scarce and expensive that it is impossible to continue using personal vehicles the entire economy of the United States will collapse, so there won't be much for us to discuss here[1]. But if we can carry off a transition to vehicles fueled with renewables this is one step in that process.
I understand the problems with the batteries, but one additional problem that GM has is that they create too damn many concept cars and never get them on the road. They have been working on fuel cells since about 1970 for Gaia's sake. They should get a few thousand of these on the road in 2008 regardless of the weight and profitability so they can get some darned _experience_ with building and operating them. Not wait for the mythical super-battery.
sPh
[1] Yes, I am aware that through the 1940s we had a much less car-dependent US. With what we have done to the housing stock and job locations in the last 30 years however it _will not_ be possible to go back to anything like that way of life in less than 50 more years. Sorry.
sPh
_That_ Yoo is John Yoo, and I believe he is at UCLA.
sPh
If this is to be a tera_BIT_ drive then I believe the headline should read "Tb" rather than "TB".
sPh
> Cairo was more of a platform plan than a
> specific OS. Win95, NT4, 2000, and
> Vista-before-removal all included pieces
> of Cairo
Cairo was very definately intended to be an OS release - read the trade press from 1993-1996. It wasn't until Microsoft was unable to actually get a release-able product out the door that the "NT will contain elements of Cairo technology" dodge came out. Which the trade press _also_lapped up and reported as gospel.
sPh
> WinFS?
> Wasn't that originally promised in Cairo?
Yes, for release 4th quarter of 1996 I believe. I am glad someone else remembers!
sPh
> On a side note, don't you just love those British 3-prong :-)
> plugs? Just be careful not to step on one in the middle of
> the night barefoot!
IMHO there is at least a master's degree in psychology awaiting the person who performs an analysis of national character as revealed by the UK, French, US, Italian, and Australian electric plugs/sockets.
One thing I will say about the UK plug: at least there is no question that you have a ground (earth).
sPh
I have been reading about biodiesel from algae for at least 5 years now. Sounds great: Closed carbon cycle. Free energy from sunlight. Happy friendly energy.
My question is: where are the big oil companies? Why aren't they buying up huge tracts of land in southern Texas and Mexico and digging huge ponds? Why aren't the hiring algae biologists by the thousands? Building proof test algae refineries? Seems to me that if this were such a great idea ExxonMobil etc would be all over it like flies on algae (so to speak).
Perhaps they are and it is all being kept secret. But as far as I can tell every article/web post/discussion of this process traces back to a single paper by a single biology professor with some basic input/output calculations and not much else. Which makes me a bit suspicious.
sPh
Lot of other good stuff on his site as well.
sPh
I have never had another cell phone that worked as well as my now-departed Motorola brick phone; particularly as an in-car phone it has never had an equal. What is amazing to me is how in just 20 years Americans have been conditioned to accept unbelievably bad phone call quality in the name of "progress".
sPh
sPh
And IBM still didn't listen.
sPh
As far as eDirectory, and to a lesser extent Netware goes, I would respectfully disagree. eDirectory was and still is a very very good directory product. After fighting with inActive Directory for 3 years I would tell any enterprise with a large directory that is considering migrating off eDirectory that they are nuts - stay with it until Novell gives up the last gasp.
sPh
sPh
> but I had to try three times before I managed to
> get past "Microsoft were a..." and "Google have
> constantly...", etc.
That is the standard British English usage. Makes more sense IMHO.
sPh
Related question: are there any LCDs that handle more than one resolution? I would like to replace a dying CRT with an LCD for space and eyestrain reasons, but I have (1) family members who prefer/require different resoluions (2) more importantly - some legacy games that require 800x600. Is there any LCD that looks right in at least two resolutions (native and 800x600)?
Thanks.
sPh
Better for IBM to get the win than for them to collect $1 and watch Novell take home the silverware, etc.
sPh
Back around 1992(?) Steve Gibson[1] wrote a column in which he predicted that by the year 2000 50% of the world's population would be employed supporting Windows for the other 50%. At this point I don't think he was far wrong.
sPh
[1] The old SpinRite guy who wrote a lot of good utilities in the DOS era.
> there was no improper access of records to get 99% of
> the personal info.. that was on file. That's what HP
> gave the investigators to work on. The only infraction
> was the "pretexting" everything else was perfectly legal...
> that's why I keep saying it's a minor thing because while
> it makes the case, there's implicit agreement for
> employees to be "spied" on, yep you gave it all away when
> you signed you app. So if the company needs to "phreak" to
> access info you've already approved it's "grey"
The employer can use the HR records for any legitimate business purpose. Transferring the records to an entity which will use them to commit impersonation and theft is not a legitimate purpose and is not "grey"; it is becoming an accessory to a crime.
I doubt very much that members of the Board of Directors sign the same employment agreement that cubicle dwellers do. Legally speaking they _are_ the company; their situation is considerably from someone who is _employed by_ the company.
In any event, the California Attorney General seems to disagree with you, so I would suggest consulting with an attorney (preferably one experience in both corporate and criminal law) before acting on your "grey line" theory.
sPh
> It's a fine line to walk but the line is more
> "grey" for private individuals than for law
> enforcement. It's dirty, underhanded, but
> the guy was basicly selling secrets to see
> the public go his way in board discussions.
For a member of a Board of Directors to talk to the press, even against the wishes of his fellow board members, is probably not illegal (consult your securities lawyer for full details), possibly not wrong in an ethical sense depending on the circumstances, and at worst can generate a civil lawsuit by the full board against the errant director. Improperly accessing personnel records, using the stolen records to impersonate another person, using the impersonation to access telephone records in violation of various telecommunications and privacy acts, and doing all these things without fully informing the BoD seems to me to be well over some fine "line".
sPh
It was theft, by the way, not "pretexting". Let's use the correct term please.