You're absolutely right...what is there to keep Google seperate from other businesses who will collect information and later sell out to the highest paying bidder, information and all? The truth is, nothing. But I still trust Google because they haven't lost my trust yet. I usually put my trust in an institution that has a reputable track record for success and customer service. How do I know my credit union will be there tomorrow, other than the FDIC insurance? How will I know if I am actually going to get my 401(k)? How will I know that my car will start tomorrow? I know nothing of the future, but I know from track records that my credit union will be there tomorrow because they have a wise and active Board of Directors. I am a little less certain that my 401(k) won't be nabbed from me by a renegade governor (I work for the state, so I am a bit more secure than others may be about it) but that is still unlikely. My car, a 94 Cavalier Z24 which has "Service Station" listed under my insurance's primary residence, could quite possibly not start tomorrow. I'm not gonna worry about it all though because I have better things to do
Google though is a firm institution in many people's eyes. They support F/OSS in so much as I've seen (even if just by keeping certain sections Beta forever and granting the Mozilla FireFox default start page), they play fair, they push out what people want, and they give, give, give. Picasa 2, GMail, Image Search, Satellite maps and directions, and, of course, the most comprehensive search box on the net. Their ads are unobtrusive yet effective, their founders are ones we can relate to, and most importantly they have a sense of humor! Personally I'd be very upset, like many of you, if Google were to ever betray that trust. But since they haven't yet, I'm not going to hold a grudge against them "just because they might".
We're not, believe it or not, all a product of our parental environment. Other figures in our lives certainly can make up for the shortcomings of poor parenting.
Do you limit his play time? Or did it evolve quickly into "Where's Timmy? Playing his game?"
I hate, absolutely _hate_, laying blame on parents, but after working as long as I have in IT at a school district I can see that children are mirrors of their parents' behavior.
That said, I think what you need to do at this point is take your son, sit him down, and start involving him in reading. Either that or grt him out away from computers for a bit. Anything to keep him from becoming some kid who lets extraneous things come between him and his school work.
Better yet, uninstall the game and get him some educational software. Math Munchers, Zoombies, or Carmen Sandiego are all excellent choices to get him to think. After his allotted playtime, ask him what he's learned.
You make a lot of really good points. Alas, I've never experienced the fun of leasing any hardware.
I've worked in, on varying degrees, the IT departments in two instructional institutions. My first one was at a smaller state university in Wisconsin. Like you, we had a 3 year rotation on all of our equipment, sometimes sooner if a particular PC failed or we acquired another area of responsibility. We rarely had to concern ourselves with hardware failures and, when we did, we were able to send our vendor an e-mail, get the replacement part, and send the other back. We had a lot of machines, but since they were always relatively new and under warranty, parts exchange was, for the most part, without hassle.
When those PCs were done, we trickled them down to areas of low importance or gave them to The State to do with them as they pleased. For the most part, we were always on the cutting edge and everything worked.
The downside, of course, was cost. We dropped a lot of money on new machines yearly, but took advantage of huge discounts because we'd purchase in bulk for the whole university. So we still came out on top that way. Besides, with tuition going the way it has, money wasn't an issue. I miss that place.
Now I am working at a public school district, one recently voted #3 in the nation for quality of education, and we rely on almost 95% of our machines from donations or refurbs. We are literally excited when we get to plop Windows 98 on a 633 with more than 128 meg of RAM. I'd say our average right now is about 450 with 128, which is on par for public education I would think (without doing any discernable research on the issue).
While neither place considered leasing, I think there are a few circumstances, such as public education and smaller universities, where the cost of technology is either not an issue or so much so that we have no IT budget, even for leasing.
I wouldn't mod you as a troll on this, as you ask a great question: The facts are, we can't do our jobs efficiently. What should take (and what administrators budget time for) 10 minutes sometimes takes an hour, such as uploading an image or popping open ConsoleOne to do some pass resets or allocate disk space. As for diagnostic equip., we don't have enough toners, loopbacks, or handheld wire testers to go around, creating a "check-out" system where 9 of these kits (2 are decent, the rest are fairly useless) are divided among the 12 of us. We each average around 5 schools each to support, the exception being those who maintain the high schools. So in short, no, they are not letting us do our jobs properly. We can get by, but we waste more taxpayer money sitting around wishing we could be doing work when the tools we use can't keep up.
...for the suggestions. I'll certainly try to get the grants to incorporate the required materials to support the gifts they give us. I think most people will be understanding when they look at what we need and why we need it. Thanks again for the suggestions, and by all means, keep 'em coming if you get any more ideas.
From working in IT in a school district (a large one, I may add), I know one thing that high school kids love to do with technology:
Put spyware on every lab machine they can!
We also had a student steal the ID making machine, the camera, the printer, and the monitor. Yet he left all of the supplies (printing ribbons, cardstock, and the very necessary proprietary cables) behind. I think it is going to be the world's fastest illegal ID operation ever.
When you DO go to "The Incredibles", be sure not to arrive late. The "Revenge of the Sith" trailer is attached to the movie, and the cartoon short that appears before the show is absolutely hilarious! Adding to the hilarity of the movie is Jason Lee (of Kevin Smith fame) voicing a bad guy. I kept flashing back to "Chasing Amy":
Last time I was at a Best Buy was when I was picking up my sister from college. I got there the day before her last class to hang out with her and her roommates.
Well, while she was taking her final I decided I would go to the local mall and hang out for awhile to burn some time. I ended up at Best Buy (most guys, when left to their own shopping accords with no woman at their hip and money to burn, will end up at an electronics store. Call it Jay's Law). Anyhow, I went inside and was glancing at everything: computer stuff, DVDs, video games, TVs, stereo stuff, etc., basically deciding what I wanted to get that day. I didn't have a cart on me in their defense just because I may have gotten a DVD or a stereo; I wasn't sure yet.
So, about 15 to 20 minutes into the excursion I notice a pretty big guy in tattoos looking at The Sims' latest expansion. A little odd, I decided, that this wanna-be biker guy was checking something like that out. I filed it in the back of my mind and went to look at digital cameras.
Not 5 minutes later I am leaving digicam land to examine TVs and, while deciding between one model and another (had my mind made up at this point as to what I wanted) who do I see but Mr. Tattoo "looking" at plasmas. Now I know I am being tailed. Having time to burn, I decide to have fun with this.
I abandon TVs, deciding any major purchases from this point on will be done at Sears or CC. I walk over to the car stereo section, and change the display test model to the most annoying rap station I could find, then proceed to blast Puff fitty cent or what-have-you at an annoying level. I get the "can I help you?" not too long afterwards and start chatting with the clerk about what subwoofer is the best. Dollar signs in his eyes, I proceed to listen with half an ear as he extols the latest and greatest 12" with case and built-in amp. Meanwhile, I catch tattoo guy moseying on over to check out - I shit you not - Celine Dion CDs that are stationed close to the stereo section!
Breaking the poor salesguys's heart, I interrupt his explanation of how badly I'll need a PSP on the sub and ask him straight up does tattoo guy work for you? He glanced over at the guy and looked back at me and gestured me over to the cable section and said "Yeah, he does. He's security."
I thanked him, walked out the door, and was halfway to my car when I felt a tap on my shoulder. There, in the parking lot, was a manager (the name tag alluded to that fact) and a blue-shirt I hadn't remembered. They asked me to come back inside. Having yet another half hour to burn and wanting to clear my name, I went back in. I was escorted to an office. I was asked why I was wandering from dept. to dept. aimlessly. I was asked where was the DVD I stole. On and on. Finally Minnesota's finest shows up. I plead ignorance, knowing I had done nothing wrong. Finally it comes down to tape (I am running behind at this point, and I don't have my cell on me to call my sister and let her know what's happening. Best Buy, of course, won't let me make the local call. Meh, whatever. I'm having fun.)
So, in true NFL action, it comes down to me and the tape. The tape ends up clearing me; at no point do I do anything with any DVD except look at the back of it. After all that, I am escorted from the store by the cop, who says this happens waaaay too often, and told by the manager that I am not allowed there ever.
Needless to say, I'll never browse or buy at a Best Buy again. Their loss; I went to Circuit City and was met with the best of sales staff and dropped $300 on a new TV.
One thing I do recommend when you get good customer service though is to talk to a manager or send a letter. Yeah, it takes 15 minutes from Doom 3 and a stamp, but the feeling afterwards is well worth it. I even got a hand-written letter from the CC employee and a $5 gift card for my feedback. To this day, that $5, the letter, and the amazing customer service has done more for their business for me than anything else. I continue to shop there to this day and extol their virtues to others.
I've always wondered if this is perhaps one of the stumbling blocks for Linux's adaptation to a wide market share of the Joe Sixpack desktop world. While everything is technically correct (mounting a hard drive, loading a graphical window manager, etc.) people tend to scratch their heads and be like "huh?"
One thing that may work wonders is to just change some of the syntax to something perhaps easier to understand. For instance, instead of "mounting hda0", change it to "browse (disk label name)". Refer to a "window management system" not as a graphical interface but as the desktop or icons. Most people know what you mean when you say desktop or icons, but if you get into the KDE vs GNOME argument here then people will just get confused and leave.
As far as the Washington Post article reads I can relate to it. I tried using Linux before knowing how to code - that's rough. After learning a bit of c and c++ (enough to do some basics) I found it much easier to comprehend why things act the way they do. Perhaps Linux could stand to have an average Windows user hanging out by a programmer's desk saying "Why does that do this?" and "Can't you make this happen?". For example, my mom, who happens to be a nurse, has been attending a developer's conference in Oklahoma lately because the hospital is purchasing some new software being developed exclusively for them. Rather than just work off of the hospital's "to-do" list the developing agency asked for 15-20 end users to come down, play with the software, find any points of contention, and the developers would take care of it. I velieve this went on for 3 times at 2 weeks a pop, and the end result is a piece of software that cost a bit more to develop but was created with the end user, not the programmer, in mind.
I do believe that Linux's time is coming soon. I think the major sticking point might be some fragile egos and the "Well, EVERYBODY SHOULD know how to compile from source, download dependencies, and run command line syntax that looks like a keyboard went under a hammer." (I saw a comment in an earlier thread suggesting that ANY end user ought to be able to run complex command line code. Alas, this is not going to fly in the face of Windows or Macs, where command line is secondary to the GUI, whereas in Linux is is the exact opposite). I'm not asking for dancing paperclips or those damn pop-up balloons that won't go away...just an easy way to accomplish what can be done at the command line.
This will have a stronger impact than you think
on
SBC CWA Strike Imminent
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· Score: 4, Insightful
I work for a CLEC (Competetive Local Exchange Carrier) that leases lines from SBC per the 1998 Telecommunications Act. This act provided the ability for smaller phone companies to gain a foothold in an industry largely controlled by SBC and Verizon, to name a few. This is the Act in a nutshell. Google for more info if you are curious about the details.
Anyhow, we have our own fiber network, our own switchng equipment, and we are responsible for our own order processing, repairs, service changes, etc. Basically we rely on SBC for what is termed the "last mile", or the cable that leaves from either a COLO (colococation office) or CO (central office) and leads right up to the building being serviced. This also includes the pedestals and other line structures used to pass service along.
We rely on SBC to make repairs to aerial or buried drops and for basic installation. How it works is we send SBC an order saying "Hey, this person wants our service. Hook them up." SBC then gives us the line from their switch and ensures that the line leading from the pedestal or segmentation equipment is dropped off at the NID (Network Interface Device). We then complete the order by doing the necessary routing, NPAC (Number Portability), hooking up the inside wiring, and ensuring service is delivered properly. As you can imagine, while we don't overly rely on SBC's equipment we are very dependent on their service. This strike will make an already long installation process even longer and perhaps delay repairs to infrastructure. While this strike seems to only affect SBC and their customers on the surface, this could have potentially damaging effects on our service as well by delaying key steps in the installation and repair sectors.
SBC has always been a little underhanded when it has come to playing fair, ie giving our customers lines that they knew were of less than stellar quality, delaying the install process when they can get away with it, charging us for doing a "no trouble found" dispatch where the problem "mysteriously" diappears so as to cause an unnecessary dispatch chargeback to appear, etc. We try and get along, but it is not always that easy. We've had issues with their technicians disparaging our service as well, trying to get a "winback" so as to regain their previous customers' service. In fact, we keep a database of all the things that SBC has done to try and undermine our service so we can have an accurate record to present to the PSC (Public Service Commission). You'd be amazed at what SBC tries to do to steal back their customers. Thankfully we do provide cheaper service and better customer care IMHO.
While I understand why the CWA is striking I hope the issue is solved soon. Otherwise it is going to cause our little company a lot of headaches in the long run. While we may not always get along, we are really dependent on SBC to get service and maintanance schedules completed properly and on time.
But, I don't want anyone but me putting stuff on my computer, whether it be a patch, virus defs, upgrade, etc. Yeah, self-updating technology is good for systems that aren't open for bona-fide consumer modification (like Dish receivers, cell phones, and TiVO) but a PC should only run what I want it to run. Honestly, how long would it take for some shady company to sell you CoolApp 1.0 for $5 but then relaease a "patch" that automatically bills you $19.95/mo for features that are now deemed necessary? While this is an extreme example I think that self-updating technology is only good in smaller, controlled environments such as a corporate LAN or university system...not the entire Internet.
Not only that, but firewalls, difefrent user configurations, security concerns, etc. could all impact an automated update process in very bad ways.
On Friday March 19, 2004 at approximately 8:45pm PST, an Internet worm began to spread, targeting a buffer overflow vulnerability in several Internet Security Systems (ISS) products, including ISS RealSecure Network, RealSecure Server Sensor, Proventia, RealSecure Desktop, and BlackICE.Emphasis mine.
Man, I am so used to seeing IIS in a security vulnerability I had to give it a second glace. I guess people shouldn't use those letters in software abbreviations anymore. It's becoming bad luck!
Seriously, worms like this that damage computers are very un-cool. As a freelancer I got to see this on only a few machines and by gratuitous use of recovery console, fixmbr, and (alas) one format and reinstall later I was able to fix them all.
While doing this onsite at a realty company I asked what they used as a firewall. Seeing blank stares from them all wasn't the highlight of the day. Not having a hardware firewall handy it was quite fun to race against the vermin as I downloaded patches off of the net on a virgin XP install! I actually thought I heard giggling echoing from the DSL modem as the DL percentage ticked higher slowly but surely....
People often complain about how buggy and how full of security holes. Bugs are what occur when you make something that is very large and very complex. People want stuff to be easy to use, which means advanced programming, which in turn results in bugs. As for security holes. This is a subject that really bugs me. The people that tend to be the most critical of microsoft for their numerous security holes (which also result from having such a complex system), also tend to be the ones that like to exploit them. Which is a damn hipocracy if you ask me. Security holes exist, they always have, they always will, and there is nothing whatsoever that you, I or Mr. Gates can do to change that. The problem isn't the security holes, it's the fact that there are people that exploit them. And then those innocent people who don't exploit them will get mad at Microsoft, effectively siding with those malicious jerks who exploit the holes. People should be supportive of Microsoft to fix the holes and bugs, while denouncing the jerks, letting them know that they are neither cool nor respected.
You say that the problem with bugs are that they are present in complex programs and the people who exploit them should be beaten with a donkey. I concur.
HOWEVER, it's not the fact that the bugs were created in the first place that pisses most people off. It is:
-Microsoft takes its time to fix even the smallest bugs. Remember this?
-Microsoft's patches often cause compatibility issues on down the road for enterprise systems (I don't think I need a link to prove that one).
My point is, you can whine about Microsoft being exploited all you want and complex software having bugs...it's life, it happens. But when the company in question releases buggy software on purpose, takes months to fix critical issues, gouges customers on support costs, releases patches that are not working and/or break other parts of the operating system, etc etc it shows a level of deception that rivals only the tobacco companies.
That's why, for one, I don't complain about release dates being shoved back and the public beta of Windows XP SP2. This shows that Microsoft is trying to become more responsible...but those few actions are but a whisper in the jet engine of Blaster et al.
From one unemplyed college grad to another, I say "right on".
I think people with jobs tend to forget what life is like without one. While I certainly don't wish misery on people by hoping that they become unemployed, I think those that are unhappy in their current jobs need to step aside and let someone else in before they go postal at work because someone accidentally deleted their system files again....
I actually went to a university for Criminal Justice and Psychology. Problem is, becoming a police officer takes months and months of background checks, interviews, physicals, assessments of all kinds, etc etc. (Not that I am questioning the system in place...it just takes a long time to do!)
So, rather than waiting months, making no money and living on the streets, I have been hunting for IT jobs all over the Madison WI area, arguably the tech mecca of Wisconsin. The thing is, I enjoy IT. I've done help desk for many years while at the university (and lemme tell ya, you get a very wide range of users and issues there) and would love to keep doing it.
I think once one gets over the "stupid (l)user" part of his/her job things can be fun. Remember, IT is a support job more often than not, meaning you are not in the spotlight...the people you are helping are. That doesn't mean any work you do goes unnoticed or is unappreciated. I have had my fill of users who have been told not to do something, then 5 minutes later are back on the phone with the same problem simply because they didn't listen. Rather than go off on them, we made flipbooks of index cards and added instructions/directions for various issues. E-mail with BigBadMoFoVirus.exe.pif.scr attached? Flip in your book to virus procedures, delete the file, and call us if you really think it was something that was kosher. We're always happy to take a look to be sure it wasn't Grandma's cookie recipe.
That said, we did have the occassional user that called us, saying her problem was an absolute emergency and could we come down immediately. When we got there she couldn't open a.jpg file of her niece or nephew because her file associations were messed up. How did this affect her work as a secretary for dining services people? I have no idea. Needless to say we chastised her and told her that her punishment would be no pictures for a week. Her supervisor also yelled at her.
The point is this...if you are not happy in your IT field, get out so those of us that enjoy interacting with people/computers can take over. I've known more and more companies trying to move away from the anti-social nerd computer guy who keeps him/herself aloof and better-than-thou attitude and move on to those of us who like to work with people, have a modicum of patience, enjoy what we do, and aren't afraid to stand out ground when required to.
Intuit's GM, Tom Allanson, wrote a letter of apology on TurboTax's Website. Since it is a javascript popup I can't directly link to it, but it is the link beneath the search box on the right hand side of the page. It is entitled "A message to our customers" or something along that line.
Any company that comes out and puts something like that on their page AND THEN changes their license agreement to allow the software to be used on multiple machines is a winner in my eyes.
Weather Underground is an amazing site, full of historical information, severe weather reports, and scientific explanations of the forecast. If you are a regular visitor to the site, you'll notice that the people behind the site are always updating and tweaking things to work better and to provide more features. For $5/year you get the ad-free version (or just grab Firebird if you are stingy) along with unlimited radar access and other goodies.
I've begun using their site over weather.com because the radars on The Weather Channel's site are not updated as often as Weather Underground's, and their site seems to be completely built around advertising, making it hard to find severe weather information and damage reports.
One last thing I like about Weather Underground is its speed. Radars load quickly, my favorites are stored easily, and (at least for subscribers) the layout is impeccable, utilizing a Google-like whitespace rather than cramming sensory overload everywhere.
Most of the students we see at our helpdesk never even bother to approach vendors or companies anymore. I don't blame them, what with the endless voicemail prompts, the guy who rattles off his/her badge number so quickly that one never has a chance of getting it down, the unfriendly and often unhelpful techs, etc. etc.
Instead, they approach us instead with their spyware problems and rely on us for support. We have gone through more CD-Rs this year alone on SpyBot, Ad-Aware, and Symantec AV definitions than I think we have ever had before.
Thinking about this whole article though brings up a humorous moment I had with a major computer vendor. We purchased a new machine for our office and the mouse was defective. Not a huge deal, really, as we have hundreds lying around. However, having just spent a lot of money for the system, I figured I'd call them and ask them to ship us a replacement mouse.
The guy on the other end of the phone was harried and rude, and I believe our conversation went something like this:
Major Computer Support Guy: "Ok, so you have the cable plugged in, reinstalled the mouse drivers (it was USB...duh), and tried it on a different machine."
Me: "Yes"
MCSG: "Ok, let em get your mailing address."
Me: "University of Wisconsin Platteville, "
MCSG: "City please."
Me: "Uh, Platteville."
MCSG: "And your state?"
Me: "FUCKING Utah! That's right, the University of Wisconsin Platteville is located in beautiful Utah!"
from the burn-your-eyes-out dept.
There is no risk of damaging your vision by looking at a lunar eclipse. The sun is positioned behind the earth which blocks light from hitting the moon, so if anything you may have to strain in some places to see the lunar eclipse.
Solar eclipses, on the other hand, do present a danger of vision loss cuz staring directly at the sun is never a good idea.
Slashdot Mirror
Google though is a firm institution in many people's eyes. They support F/OSS in so much as I've seen (even if just by keeping certain sections Beta forever and granting the Mozilla FireFox default start page), they play fair, they push out what people want, and they give, give, give. Picasa 2, GMail, Image Search, Satellite maps and directions, and, of course, the most comprehensive search box on the net. Their ads are unobtrusive yet effective, their founders are ones we can relate to, and most importantly they have a sense of humor! Personally I'd be very upset, like many of you, if Google were to ever betray that trust. But since they haven't yet, I'm not going to hold a grudge against them "just because they might".
We're not, believe it or not, all a product of our parental environment. Other figures in our lives certainly can make up for the shortcomings of poor parenting.
I hate, absolutely _hate_, laying blame on parents, but after working as long as I have in IT at a school district I can see that children are mirrors of their parents' behavior.
That said, I think what you need to do at this point is take your son, sit him down, and start involving him in reading. Either that or grt him out away from computers for a bit. Anything to keep him from becoming some kid who lets extraneous things come between him and his school work.
Better yet, uninstall the game and get him some educational software. Math Munchers, Zoombies, or Carmen Sandiego are all excellent choices to get him to think. After his allotted playtime, ask him what he's learned.
I've worked in, on varying degrees, the IT departments in two instructional institutions. My first one was at a smaller state university in Wisconsin. Like you, we had a 3 year rotation on all of our equipment, sometimes sooner if a particular PC failed or we acquired another area of responsibility. We rarely had to concern ourselves with hardware failures and, when we did, we were able to send our vendor an e-mail, get the replacement part, and send the other back. We had a lot of machines, but since they were always relatively new and under warranty, parts exchange was, for the most part, without hassle.
When those PCs were done, we trickled them down to areas of low importance or gave them to The State to do with them as they pleased. For the most part, we were always on the cutting edge and everything worked.
The downside, of course, was cost. We dropped a lot of money on new machines yearly, but took advantage of huge discounts because we'd purchase in bulk for the whole university. So we still came out on top that way. Besides, with tuition going the way it has, money wasn't an issue. I miss that place.
Now I am working at a public school district, one recently voted #3 in the nation for quality of education, and we rely on almost 95% of our machines from donations or refurbs. We are literally excited when we get to plop Windows 98 on a 633 with more than 128 meg of RAM. I'd say our average right now is about 450 with 128, which is on par for public education I would think (without doing any discernable research on the issue).
While neither place considered leasing, I think there are a few circumstances, such as public education and smaller universities, where the cost of technology is either not an issue or so much so that we have no IT budget, even for leasing.
Just my $0.02.
I wouldn't mod you as a troll on this, as you ask a great question: The facts are, we can't do our jobs efficiently. What should take (and what administrators budget time for) 10 minutes sometimes takes an hour, such as uploading an image or popping open ConsoleOne to do some pass resets or allocate disk space. As for diagnostic equip., we don't have enough toners, loopbacks, or handheld wire testers to go around, creating a "check-out" system where 9 of these kits (2 are decent, the rest are fairly useless) are divided among the 12 of us. We each average around 5 schools each to support, the exception being those who maintain the high schools. So in short, no, they are not letting us do our jobs properly. We can get by, but we waste more taxpayer money sitting around wishing we could be doing work when the tools we use can't keep up.
...for the suggestions. I'll certainly try to get the grants to incorporate the required materials to support the gifts they give us. I think most people will be understanding when they look at what we need and why we need it. Thanks again for the suggestions, and by all means, keep 'em coming if you get any more ideas.
Put spyware on every lab machine they can!
We also had a student steal the ID making machine, the camera, the printer, and the monitor. Yet he left all of the supplies (printing ribbons, cardstock, and the very necessary proprietary cables) behind. I think it is going to be the world's fastest illegal ID operation ever.
"I AM NOT A TRACER!"
Well, while she was taking her final I decided I would go to the local mall and hang out for awhile to burn some time. I ended up at Best Buy (most guys, when left to their own shopping accords with no woman at their hip and money to burn, will end up at an electronics store. Call it Jay's Law). Anyhow, I went inside and was glancing at everything: computer stuff, DVDs, video games, TVs, stereo stuff, etc., basically deciding what I wanted to get that day. I didn't have a cart on me in their defense just because I may have gotten a DVD or a stereo; I wasn't sure yet.
So, about 15 to 20 minutes into the excursion I notice a pretty big guy in tattoos looking at The Sims' latest expansion. A little odd, I decided, that this wanna-be biker guy was checking something like that out. I filed it in the back of my mind and went to look at digital cameras.
Not 5 minutes later I am leaving digicam land to examine TVs and, while deciding between one model and another (had my mind made up at this point as to what I wanted) who do I see but Mr. Tattoo "looking" at plasmas. Now I know I am being tailed. Having time to burn, I decide to have fun with this.
I abandon TVs, deciding any major purchases from this point on will be done at Sears or CC. I walk over to the car stereo section, and change the display test model to the most annoying rap station I could find, then proceed to blast Puff fitty cent or what-have-you at an annoying level. I get the "can I help you?" not too long afterwards and start chatting with the clerk about what subwoofer is the best. Dollar signs in his eyes, I proceed to listen with half an ear as he extols the latest and greatest 12" with case and built-in amp. Meanwhile, I catch tattoo guy moseying on over to check out - I shit you not - Celine Dion CDs that are stationed close to the stereo section!
Breaking the poor salesguys's heart, I interrupt his explanation of how badly I'll need a PSP on the sub and ask him straight up does tattoo guy work for you? He glanced over at the guy and looked back at me and gestured me over to the cable section and said "Yeah, he does. He's security."
I thanked him, walked out the door, and was halfway to my car when I felt a tap on my shoulder. There, in the parking lot, was a manager (the name tag alluded to that fact) and a blue-shirt I hadn't remembered. They asked me to come back inside. Having yet another half hour to burn and wanting to clear my name, I went back in. I was escorted to an office. I was asked why I was wandering from dept. to dept. aimlessly. I was asked where was the DVD I stole. On and on. Finally Minnesota's finest shows up. I plead ignorance, knowing I had done nothing wrong. Finally it comes down to tape (I am running behind at this point, and I don't have my cell on me to call my sister and let her know what's happening. Best Buy, of course, won't let me make the local call. Meh, whatever. I'm having fun.)
So, in true NFL action, it comes down to me and the tape. The tape ends up clearing me; at no point do I do anything with any DVD except look at the back of it. After all that, I am escorted from the store by the cop, who says this happens waaaay too often, and told by the manager that I am not allowed there ever.
Needless to say, I'll never browse or buy at a Best Buy again. Their loss; I went to Circuit City and was met with the best of sales staff and dropped $300 on a new TV.
One thing I do recommend when you get good customer service though is to talk to a manager or send a letter. Yeah, it takes 15 minutes from Doom 3 and a stamp, but the feeling afterwards is well worth it. I even got a hand-written letter from the CC employee and a $5 gift card for my feedback. To this day, that $5, the letter, and the amazing customer service has done more for their business for me than anything else. I continue to shop there to this day and extol their virtues to others.
One thing that may work wonders is to just change some of the syntax to something perhaps easier to understand. For instance, instead of "mounting hda0", change it to "browse (disk label name)". Refer to a "window management system" not as a graphical interface but as the desktop or icons. Most people know what you mean when you say desktop or icons, but if you get into the KDE vs GNOME argument here then people will just get confused and leave.
As far as the Washington Post article reads I can relate to it. I tried using Linux before knowing how to code - that's rough. After learning a bit of c and c++ (enough to do some basics) I found it much easier to comprehend why things act the way they do. Perhaps Linux could stand to have an average Windows user hanging out by a programmer's desk saying "Why does that do this?" and "Can't you make this happen?". For example, my mom, who happens to be a nurse, has been attending a developer's conference in Oklahoma lately because the hospital is purchasing some new software being developed exclusively for them. Rather than just work off of the hospital's "to-do" list the developing agency asked for 15-20 end users to come down, play with the software, find any points of contention, and the developers would take care of it. I velieve this went on for 3 times at 2 weeks a pop, and the end result is a piece of software that cost a bit more to develop but was created with the end user, not the programmer, in mind.
I do believe that Linux's time is coming soon. I think the major sticking point might be some fragile egos and the "Well, EVERYBODY SHOULD know how to compile from source, download dependencies, and run command line syntax that looks like a keyboard went under a hammer." (I saw a comment in an earlier thread suggesting that ANY end user ought to be able to run complex command line code. Alas, this is not going to fly in the face of Windows or Macs, where command line is secondary to the GUI, whereas in Linux is is the exact opposite). I'm not asking for dancing paperclips or those damn pop-up balloons that won't go away...just an easy way to accomplish what can be done at the command line.
Anyhow, we have our own fiber network, our own switchng equipment, and we are responsible for our own order processing, repairs, service changes, etc. Basically we rely on SBC for what is termed the "last mile", or the cable that leaves from either a COLO (colococation office) or CO (central office) and leads right up to the building being serviced. This also includes the pedestals and other line structures used to pass service along.
We rely on SBC to make repairs to aerial or buried drops and for basic installation. How it works is we send SBC an order saying "Hey, this person wants our service. Hook them up." SBC then gives us the line from their switch and ensures that the line leading from the pedestal or segmentation equipment is dropped off at the NID (Network Interface Device). We then complete the order by doing the necessary routing, NPAC (Number Portability), hooking up the inside wiring, and ensuring service is delivered properly. As you can imagine, while we don't overly rely on SBC's equipment we are very dependent on their service. This strike will make an already long installation process even longer and perhaps delay repairs to infrastructure. While this strike seems to only affect SBC and their customers on the surface, this could have potentially damaging effects on our service as well by delaying key steps in the installation and repair sectors.
SBC has always been a little underhanded when it has come to playing fair, ie giving our customers lines that they knew were of less than stellar quality, delaying the install process when they can get away with it, charging us for doing a "no trouble found" dispatch where the problem "mysteriously" diappears so as to cause an unnecessary dispatch chargeback to appear, etc. We try and get along, but it is not always that easy. We've had issues with their technicians disparaging our service as well, trying to get a "winback" so as to regain their previous customers' service. In fact, we keep a database of all the things that SBC has done to try and undermine our service so we can have an accurate record to present to the PSC (Public Service Commission). You'd be amazed at what SBC tries to do to steal back their customers. Thankfully we do provide cheaper service and better customer care IMHO.
While I understand why the CWA is striking I hope the issue is solved soon. Otherwise it is going to cause our little company a lot of headaches in the long run. While we may not always get along, we are really dependent on SBC to get service and maintanance schedules completed properly and on time.
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The only thing different is the "@gmail.com" e-mail addy at the top...I cut mine out just to avoid any potential issues...sorry.
But, I don't want anyone but me putting stuff on my computer, whether it be a patch, virus defs, upgrade, etc. Yeah, self-updating technology is good for systems that aren't open for bona-fide consumer modification (like Dish receivers, cell phones, and TiVO) but a PC should only run what I want it to run. Honestly, how long would it take for some shady company to sell you CoolApp 1.0 for $5 but then relaease a "patch" that automatically bills you $19.95/mo for features that are now deemed necessary? While this is an extreme example I think that self-updating technology is only good in smaller, controlled environments such as a corporate LAN or university system...not the entire Internet.
Not only that, but firewalls, difefrent user configurations, security concerns, etc. could all impact an automated update process in very bad ways.
Man, I am so used to seeing IIS in a security vulnerability I had to give it a second glace. I guess people shouldn't use those letters in software abbreviations anymore. It's becoming bad luck!
Seriously, worms like this that damage computers are very un-cool. As a freelancer I got to see this on only a few machines and by gratuitous use of recovery console, fixmbr, and (alas) one format and reinstall later I was able to fix them all.
While doing this onsite at a realty company I asked what they used as a firewall. Seeing blank stares from them all wasn't the highlight of the day. Not having a hardware firewall handy it was quite fun to race against the vermin as I downloaded patches off of the net on a virgin XP install! I actually thought I heard giggling echoing from the DSL modem as the DL percentage ticked higher slowly but surely....
You say that the problem with bugs are that they are present in complex programs and the people who exploit them should be beaten with a donkey. I concur.
HOWEVER, it's not the fact that the bugs were created in the first place that pisses most people off. It is:
-Microsoft consistently releases software with known bugs...23,000 such known in Windows 2000 upon its deployment.
-Microsoft takes its time to fix even the smallest bugs. Remember this?
-Microsoft's patches often cause compatibility issues on down the road for enterprise systems (I don't think I need a link to prove that one).
My point is, you can whine about Microsoft being exploited all you want and complex software having bugs...it's life, it happens. But when the company in question releases buggy software on purpose, takes months to fix critical issues, gouges customers on support costs, releases patches that are not working and/or break other parts of the operating system, etc etc it shows a level of deception that rivals only the tobacco companies.
That's why, for one, I don't complain about release dates being shoved back and the public beta of Windows XP SP2. This shows that Microsoft is trying to become more responsible...but those few actions are but a whisper in the jet engine of Blaster et al.
I think people with jobs tend to forget what life is like without one. While I certainly don't wish misery on people by hoping that they become unemployed, I think those that are unhappy in their current jobs need to step aside and let someone else in before they go postal at work because someone accidentally deleted their system files again....
So, rather than waiting months, making no money and living on the streets, I have been hunting for IT jobs all over the Madison WI area, arguably the tech mecca of Wisconsin. The thing is, I enjoy IT. I've done help desk for many years while at the university (and lemme tell ya, you get a very wide range of users and issues there) and would love to keep doing it.
I think once one gets over the "stupid (l)user" part of his/her job things can be fun. Remember, IT is a support job more often than not, meaning you are not in the spotlight...the people you are helping are. That doesn't mean any work you do goes unnoticed or is unappreciated. I have had my fill of users who have been told not to do something, then 5 minutes later are back on the phone with the same problem simply because they didn't listen. Rather than go off on them, we made flipbooks of index cards and added instructions/directions for various issues. E-mail with BigBadMoFoVirus.exe.pif.scr attached? Flip in your book to virus procedures, delete the file, and call us if you really think it was something that was kosher. We're always happy to take a look to be sure it wasn't Grandma's cookie recipe.
That said, we did have the occassional user that called us, saying her problem was an absolute emergency and could we come down immediately. When we got there she couldn't open a .jpg file of her niece or nephew because her file associations were messed up. How did this affect her work as a secretary for dining services people? I have no idea. Needless to say we chastised her and told her that her punishment would be no pictures for a week. Her supervisor also yelled at her.
The point is this...if you are not happy in your IT field, get out so those of us that enjoy interacting with people/computers can take over. I've known more and more companies trying to move away from the anti-social nerd computer guy who keeps him/herself aloof and better-than-thou attitude and move on to those of us who like to work with people, have a modicum of patience, enjoy what we do, and aren't afraid to stand out ground when required to.
http://ars.userfriendly.org/cartoons/?id=20040307
Any company that comes out and puts something like that on their page AND THEN changes their license agreement to allow the software to be used on multiple machines is a winner in my eyes.
I've begun using their site over weather.com because the radars on The Weather Channel's site are not updated as often as Weather Underground's, and their site seems to be completely built around advertising, making it hard to find severe weather information and damage reports.
One last thing I like about Weather Underground is its speed. Radars load quickly, my favorites are stored easily, and (at least for subscribers) the layout is impeccable, utilizing a Google-like whitespace rather than cramming sensory overload everywhere.
Kudos to the team at Weather Underground!
Instead, they approach us instead with their spyware problems and rely on us for support. We have gone through more CD-Rs this year alone on SpyBot, Ad-Aware, and Symantec AV definitions than I think we have ever had before.
Thinking about this whole article though brings up a humorous moment I had with a major computer vendor. We purchased a new machine for our office and the mouse was defective. Not a huge deal, really, as we have hundreds lying around. However, having just spent a lot of money for the system, I figured I'd call them and ask them to ship us a replacement mouse.
The guy on the other end of the phone was harried and rude, and I believe our conversation went something like this:
Major Computer Support Guy: "Ok, so you have the cable plugged in, reinstalled the mouse drivers (it was USB...duh), and tried it on a different machine."
Me: "Yes"
MCSG: "Ok, let em get your mailing address."
Me: "University of Wisconsin Platteville, "
MCSG: "City please."
Me: "Uh, Platteville."
MCSG: "And your state?"
Me: "FUCKING Utah! That's right, the University of Wisconsin Platteville is located in beautiful Utah!"
MCSG: ...
from the burn-your-eyes-out dept. There is no risk of damaging your vision by looking at a lunar eclipse. The sun is positioned behind the earth which blocks light from hitting the moon, so if anything you may have to strain in some places to see the lunar eclipse. Solar eclipses, on the other hand, do present a danger of vision loss cuz staring directly at the sun is never a good idea.
Thanks for the clarification! Now I know...