You mention electronics induced inattentiveness... Could the 18th century education model be to blame?
If you want to "detox" from the 21st century I suppose it's a noble goal just like prophets, wisemen and walk-abouts. But if you truly think it's not a fault in yourself then I give the following thoughts.
Find ways to engage with the material and the lecture. If the instructor looks bored, then help them. Especially at the graduate level if you are not engaged the professor should have put a big ole bullseye on you. If the fault is not the instructor's, (remember you are the student, the fault is yours) then you need to find a way to engage.
So if the material is not engaging enough, use the material as a launching point for exploration. A successful benchmark would be if you are asking questions that are related to the topic but more engrossing then the lecture, you are getting close. If the instructor politely says "we can answer that better after class" and then proceeds to spend 20-30minutes doing so you are doing well.
Remember this is your money and your instruction. If the instructor shuts you down, by some shades and sit in the back. If they want to work with you, then you are taking an active role in your education.
This isn't a 21st century issue, this is education and frankly the model is out moded. It was made to make the best use of those who wanted an education to get access to those who "know" and get information from them. Be an active participant, go above what is expected. Especially at the graduate level!
1 ) If the account is compromised can you get access to it again via alternate means?
Be the parent. Have all of the accounts go to an email box you control, or have all of the accounts go to an email box that you know you can get access to beyond the password. In case of breach make sure you have a path to regain access and control.
2) What are the accounts for? Minimize the risk. Don't allow the kids accounts to be an attack vector for *YOU*. Consider them like an untrusted source. Don't open unknown attachments. Bad scenario: Opening an attachment entitled "My homework" with an attached malware. Then go check on your bank account... Don't be that guy/gal!
3) What do you want their learning experience or take away to be? Chances are if they get compromised it won't be a focused attack, it will be someone they know. Decide what you want the worst case scenario to be and minimize the risk... Whether that is removing photo's or setting up rules on do's and don'ts. Don't post your journal on a school resource. Childhood is the chance to ramp up to adulthood.
But for the most folks there is a disconnect between HR/Management folks who are hiring and the IT personnel they are looking to hire.
You are handling it in a fashion most don't. You acknowledge that you don't understand the specifics and are looking to evaluate them (if I understand what you are saying) based on their competence and confidence in fulfilling the task you need.
In the other ads you are seeing they have already consulted with "an expert" of whatever value, perhaps an existing employee, and given a list of requirements with perhaps many acronyms. Sometimes it's so egregious that they have mentioned a product with an acronym they have developed internally, so no one would have experience, or asked for more years of experience than the actual software product or system has existed. But the disconnect between the knowledgeable and the one's hiring allows for this interesting dance.
Most of the professionals I know in the IT field tend to focus on soft skills. If you know 60-70% of what is needed and have a proven track record of getting the job done you are more valuable than someone who sought out certs and qualifications with no real experience in the needed cross discipline thinking or in getting things done, whatever it takes. It's tough to evaluate the core strengths that allows a person to learn whatever is needed in a timely manner and complete the engineering or administrative task. It can be easy to get stuck or side tracked, but the one who can find a way through is the one you want.
I usually hate making posts where I am questioning the questioner, rather than providing an answer but with 1 TB of information you should put on the patience cap. It will take as long as it takes.
To break down what you are wanting: I want a backup based on a journal file system sorta of thing that works incrementally slowing down every disk operation by a few milliseconds so I can shave 15 minutes off of a backup procedure, but I still have to send the same data. I don't think that would be very wise. The best existing method is to use mirror a volume but you're still experiencing the same "15 minutes" of delay.
The best thing you can have is a "fire and forget" procedure where you can walk away and let it run.
locate (based on updatedb) does not capture/sort on file modification dates so you are going to be left with a recursive file system search no matter what.
You could use find to generate a list of files that have been modified since a certain date and then feed that to tar. That way you can pre-generate an incremental backup in a file that you can copy over. Then let whatever backup solution you like make a full backup from time to time. You can setup a script that would run a few times in your work day to generate the file so at least every 24 hours there is a tar file you can copy over when you get a chance.
This depends on what view you want to take. If you want to view piracy is wrong and immoral then you do whatever you feel best.
If instead you want to view this as a transaction in which you have made something for which you are looking to get compensation to provide more benefit.
I state this to focus on the goal. You have made a product which you are charging a modest fee for ($5-$10). You want to maximize the amount of folks who use the tool and will pay you that compensation. So focus on the following:
Positive means more than negative. (We grouse at taxes but fail to realize the benefits and large penalties without the system it supports. Communicate your benefts)
Folks will pay what they can pay. Preventing piracy is an all or nothing proposition, it's a deterence. Through negative consequences you are seeking to provide incentives to pay for your product. Put yourself in your custom shoes, would you (the customer) really want to reward a bad actor (you the business) by giving them money if they make it more difficult to get what they have paid for?
My recommendations based on the above is a tiered payment structure. Tier 1 - Basic tool, cheap. Tier 2 - Additional features (avoid crippleware or nag ware just have a low cost and premium version). Focus on money vs. time as they will in making the choice. Tier 3 - Support Manuals and forum access Tier 4 - Premium cost for premium value.
A tiered support structure (without DRM, just more benefit for more money) will allow you to maximize your profit by providing incentives for folks to pay the most they can. Folks with more money than time will seek the higher tiers as long as you construct it effectively. Bundling multiple tools is a good way to add value for higher buy-in as well.
This is how grocery stores and boutiques do it. Focus on the value you are providing at the appropriate monetary level they are willing to pay.
TLDR; No DRM. Tiered pricing to take effect of what folks can pay based on their own time vs. money assessments. DRM is a stick. Look for a carrot.
Alan Dean Foster's novelization of Design for Great Day (based on a short story by EFR) is what got me hooked. I spent most of the 90's collecting Eric Frank Russel novels. Hard to find them anywhere but online now a days...
The problem is greater than they imagine and you will start to see it every where.
Just google the word plutonomy for the big picture.
The dilemma has always been to provide a customer with a product for a price that works for all. The problem is the price no longer works for the producer so they want to jack it. The blow-back is that customers, who do not think themselves thieves, but savvy consumers are being told they are no longer viable and not wanted.
As the majority of Americans continue to make less while a small part of them continue to make more you will see more and more "big companies" have this same fight. They don't see that the problem isn't that fact that as time goes on only fewer folks will have the ability to afford their goods, they will instead see that they need to lash out against the "unworthy" customers who just don't want to shell out the cash they know in their hearts their product is worth.
One should remember that Price is one of the 4 P's of marketing. We tend to think that it means that charging 5 to 10 times the true value of Chanel No. 5 is all that it is about but it also works on the lower spectrum. If your target market is spending 0.025% of their monthly income to purchase your product you need to remember that has to scale. I don't buy my DVDs at best buy. I buy them low cost from the WalMart bin or secondhand in pawn shops. It's not that I don't want to buy DVDs but that source meets my budget.
By continuing to start a war of words and technologies against folks who perceive they are your customer to you are basically telling me I am not your customer. I am not worthy of your product. Fair enough. If they keep this up their customers will find new products to fill that same niche in their income bracket, as they should.
I don't dream of Lamborghini's or Chanel No. 5. My heart no longer goes pitter pat to see the latest Spielberg flick on the big screen at today's movie prices. Although game design studio's may think their products are gold, and they may very well be, they will find by shrinking their own market, rather than finding ways to price appropriately that they also will have no market.
Looks like they want to get to their destination fast rather than slow. Screw 'em. I like board and card games better. If I need story I will pick a good pick up a god book or short story they may or may not have paid the rights to themselves (actually I will lend it from the library cuzz I can't afford to buy it.)
This lesson was learned by me again just the other day. The local coffee roaster that I have loved for years and seen them grow decided that a free cup of coffee could no longer be given if you bought a half pound of whole bean coffee instead of a full pound. The owner actually got the employees together to "discuss this" and then expounded on his personal view that it was too expensive. They never thought to offer a cup of coffee for 50-75 cents with the purchase of the half pound, instead the owner basically made the moral judgement that folks who can only afford half a pound of coffee (6 bucks by the way) are no longer their customer. So I am no longer their customer.
When this will be ready for the everyman will be when the actuarial calculations have been made and the price of insurance is much like what we pay for vehicles. If there is a catastrophic failure the insurance companies will just pass the cost or the lawsuit off to the manufacturer. If a car bursts into flames while idling outside of a coffee shop it's not the owner who takes the hit, it's the insurance company and the manufacturer.
The best way is as it is being used now. As something to lower accidents and insurance costs. We know for the most part a well made autonomous car will be more reliable and safe than a person. It's easy to put in self check software to make sure it is running in the same conditions as the lab. If it engages it will be the safest drive you ever had. The last sign off will be a legal precedent where the owner takes responsibility for its upkeep and the fault if they go outside of manufacturer specifications.
You are absolutely right and a fool. You should never work on something without compensation but you did. You decided to work on your time, non billable, for a company that has hired you on a hourly wage, or perhaps salary. If it's salary, game over. If it's hourly wage you should have clocked your hours.
The best way to look at this is implicit buy in. Implicitly as their employee they are hiring you to do your job in the best interest of the company. They have not signed a detailed contract with you or had a Request for Policy process on what you may write for them as software.
If you decide to change the game you better be ready to walk away. You might win, but it will come at a high cost because you have them over a barrel.
In the end if you want more for what you foolishly already did on your own time then you need to make a win-win argument with them. You will not win by getting yourself reclassified as a developer. But you can negotiate for a pay rise, a title, or some other perk to complete this project in good faith since you put in the extra time.
In the future, do not exceed your mandate (as you see it) without speaking with your supervisor for extra compensation for you see as extra work or above and beyond. Or just suck it up.
You should already be working out a plan for advancement, more pay, and better benefits, because you can be assured as IT they (management) is constantly working to reduce your pay, not need you, and let you go if at all possible. Learning to speak Hindi or Mandarin will not save you.
After reading some comments I have a few ideas. First you don't want an IT department, as the engineering section you want a sub group that focuses on IT. You are already technology management.
The biggest selling point for an IT group IMHO is technology management. In theory you can run without an IT group and the CEO could take on the CFO tasks but it works better when you have an IT group working on utilizing what you are purchasing in the best possible way much like a CFO handles finances. A group that is focused on planning, supporting and implementing an IT strategy rather than letting everyone spend top dollar on whatever they want. Are you publicly traded? If so to my memory there are requirements for IT by the SEC.
To extend the CEO/CFO analogy no one is allowed to justify their expenditures anyway they like, and no one group or individual should be able to use whatever technology they like at the station's expense. Even if someone buys it on their own dollar if it impacts the running of the station or the day to day they will want support. It's best to manage it.
What a good IT dept/group can give you is:
A) Fall back or options : If a server breaks or a hardware goes down they can have contingencies and replacements waiting to minimize downtime. B) Planning: They can either reduce cost or make better use of what you are spending rather than having HP or Dell be your defacto IT Support. C) Data management: Do you have backups? Do you have remote access? Do you allow work from home? Information is the new life blood of the contemporary business. Who is handling this precious resource? D) Security - The Fear Card - do you really want internal memo's leaked because you never had a supportable security policy and someone to implement it?
If you really want to be a bastard recommend ITIL. That will tie up their resources for years but you'll have an IT group. ITIL is crack cocaine for management types.
You are already handling these functions it's just time to take it on and manage it.
You could always make the case for a promotion and be their interim CIO.
At this point he has no place in a normal classroom... *BUT* there is an example you can eliminate.
When I was in highschool at West Anchorage High School they had an alternative high school called Stellar. They were too small for any sort of afterschool extra like band, choir, theater or sports so many of the students their would participate in West's programs.
Have him participate in a nearby school in the programs he wants but bypass the normal class room curriculum. Kinda like a playdate if you will but it will allow him to interact in a way he enjoys and not have to deal with the rudimentary education part.
One of my best teacher's used the following phrase: "The best thing we can teach you is the ways to navigate and find out how to educate yourself on what interests you."
This kid obviously has it. But he can participate with school kids his age in the other stuff and learn to socialize. Junior High / High School may work the best but I remember having sports, competition and band even at the elementary school level. As an extra bonus or workload if something he wants to do whether it be sports, theater, or band doesn't exist he can work to make it exist by organizing it.
You know I was debating cancelling Netflix since between Hulu and Boxee I can find most of what I want to watch but as soon as I got the email I cancelled.
After that stupid Latte' comment I'm never signing back up... Use Greencine, same pricing and a better choice of movies if you ask me. I can redbox whatever I want that netflix could provide. Greencine at least has some unique suggestions and offerings...
I think this is the beginning of Netflix's end... I will hack their surplus roku's in the future with a smile...
There was a time I used to have latte's in the morning but that's after two layoffs and being underwater in my mortgage.
Here's to you netflix. Looking forward to looking back on your silly red envelopes with fondness...
Most large companies, I've worked for Intel and HP, will search their network for know "issues". I remember one time the worm was severe enough if you're system wasn't patched they turned off the port and blocked the MAC address until you patched your system. This was after 72 hours of blocking port 80 traffic to slow the thing down.
Combine the above realities with DMCA takedown notices and I think it's time. Most ISPs have a 3 strikes you are out policy for violating DMCA and Copyright. The precedent is already set. There are many ways to detect bots and it's time to have the ISPs turn them down and make folks take appropriate steps to clean up their own systems.
I have had many instructors use this technique. They either have open book or 1 sheet of notes you can use. They open the door to "cheating" if you will but then they stack the deck. In cases of Math and Econ professors they have questions that run the gambit. Say 10% easy questions, 60% appropriate questions, 20% questions a really good student *MAY* be able to answer, and 10% uber or almost impossible questions. So what does this do?
Well it presents the student with a dilemma. If they have studied and are confident they will be able to answer the 60% competently and then you curve it. You will find those that needed to cheat got themselves stuck on the "unanswerable" questions because they didn't study the material enough to discern the questions in the time frame you provided. Tuning the time limit can take a few tries but you can figure it out in the first year of a new course, much like you usually have to.
Your safety valve is you are curving the results so it will sort it out for you as well. You can adjust the curve so it doesn't arbitrarily toss folks into the D category. You can also allow for extra credit. Cheaters are lazy and won't use the Extra Credit. If they do they are using the option to learn, which is a self rewarding fix and allows for other paths to learn.
So how does the above speak to cheating gadgetry? It hobbles them. A cheating student will find their "advantage" will fail them. You can randomize the questions for each class so a key won't do any good or they will over perform which is a red flag for a re-test with the 1 or 2 loaner equipment you have on hand rather than for the entire class.
Usually the performance gap between a cheating student and a non cheating student is large enough such tactics as above will psychologically "break them" and cause them to go into a failure situation. I've been there without cheating but when I've been overconfident on "open book" or "1 sheet of notes". Trust me. I am good but I was lucky to squeak out with a C. The lack of studying and preparation effectively limited my ability to score based on the questions. The open book / notes could have been used 2-3 times on a hard questions but without being pretty much ready to take the test I hosed myself. Without a firm understanding of the scope of the class this also made me fail math classes. I hated it at the time but to be honest it was an effective test. Math is understanding not just plugging in variables.
Hope this helps or gives some ideas. Technology is a just a new twist and obfuscation at best.
Education is based in a Victorian era copy of a flawed greco-roman model. Easy to say but what does that mean?
Our education models are not about learning, but creating students with a homogeneous comparative experience. If you really want them to learn you simply provide them with resources and incentives.
That's it.
A good analysis is from this former NY teacher, John Taylor Gatto. He put his book online. It's a good read to find out how *DEEP* these hierarchical ideas go. Underground History of American Education.
There was a recent TED presentation I remember where the speaker stated flatly that higher education was specifically tuned at making academic administrators, but perhaps not much good at other things.
Having just achieved my bachelors and even considering a master's (not in science granted but) I find the education wasn't so much about the knowledge but also about the opportunity to interact with the knowledgeable. What they have given is of dubious value at best but what you tease from them with your own questions is invaluable. How they went about becoming a "professional" was of interest as well. Using your time in any program as a launching point for what you want to do seems to me the true way to use this education system.
As to what should replace it. You need to decide on the principles of what you want to achieve. The rest will flow.
The solution to intellectual property is to understand the roots of copyright.
I provide a link to the grand oracle of Wikipedia to backup my memory of history: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copyright#History
In short copyright, as the historical headwaters of intellectual property, came about due to the advent of the printing press. Logistically governments and big interests were upset because they no longer had control of what they perceived they had control of before. Nobody likes change.
So why do I bring this up?
You are looking for a workable solution for Intellectual Property from your viewpoint. There is none. Much like the origin of copyright (which we now take *TOO MUCH* for granted) the carrying force for intellectual property is the entrenched interest of media producing monopolies much like the *AA you referenced. They are willing to move logistical and legal heaven and earth to maintain their revenue stream.
There is no such thing as intellectual property for the individual or the small company. A small company does not have the money or the resources to defend or logistically use a patent if a bigger company wants to use it. They either sell it or find some other way to logistically make money from it. A bigger company will find a way around the patent and use their larger resources to do so. The money wins in the long term.
Intellectual property is a creation of vested interests to justify their monopoly and continue to make money. There is no middle ground. Much like copyright was first adopted by the British government and supported by printers (the folks who owned and ran the printing press, not a contemporary desktop printer;-). Over time it became accepted and we no longer question it.
Your attempt to find a middle ground is worthy and I can understand the temptation but since the driving force and creation of intellectual property is a continual monopoly by the powers that be, a small company or individual will not be able to effectively and reliably count on intellectual property. Nor can you much influence its development. Copyright wasn't created for the average citizen, only over time could the average fellow use its precedents, the same is true for intellectual property. Right now intellectual property is an attempt of vested interested to get a greater return on their investment through political and legal means. Nothing more.
Much like artists in the old patron system (where you had a well moneyed or aristocratic sponsor to support and protect you) you can only wield the "laws" if you have the "resources". So the point of intellectual property for the standard fellow is quite moot. RIAA/MPAA won't steal your stuff since its not in their economic interests to cross their own precedent and work against their interests for now. And if a well money'd interest (deep pockets) infringes your "intellectual property" rights then you have impetus for a lawyer to work on contingency. For the bulk of us who make less than $100,000 intellectual property means... Nada.
There is actually a new form of jurisprudence that is looking into the idea that all laws for the last 100 years or so are no longer usuable by the "common man", but only rich folks or corporations since only they have the resources anymore to actually take anything to court or participate in the legal process.
To directly answer your questions: 1) Intellectual property is a figment. Copyright law is established. You should be focusing on existing copyright law, not intellectual property. Much like you should look at hot dogs or sausages, not oscar meyer wieners. You can use copyright precedent to defend your rights and garner money. Intellectual property at this time DOES NOT EXIST.
2) The truth is in the economics. For a person making less than $100,000 the new frontiers of copyright, or intellectual property if you insist, is of no concern. If you have something that will make $20k to $50k no one is going to care. If you start to make six
There's the key phrase... Whether you are 2 or 10 levels removed from your management team you are insulated from the policy makers. Chances are you were never a person or peer in their eyes, just a resource. That resource is now a liability.
You are done. Speak to your immediate manager for your options, whether that's a severance package or leaving after two weeks. Or decide for yourself and leave. Effectively you no longer work there. Do what's best for you.
Take heart. I have worked for many firms. For one of them I was only 1 removed from the CEO and President. We had regular meetings. I was still ordered off the premises in my own office after I asked for 5 minutes to grab my books and a poster. When I didn't comply in 30 seconds the President picked up the phone and started calling the police for trespass. I waited for 5 minutes on the curb to hand them their keys and security card when he came down to "chastise me" for my decision. I was "de-invited" from a co-workers going away party. That was in 1998.
To see folks continue their positions after giving notice is still a surprise to me. It all depends on your experience.
You can't argue against ignorance and paranoia. If it really matters to you then you will need to negotiate these matters for ending your job at the beginning. Else be glad they donot call the cops or worse, blame you for errors or problems after you leave. I still received threatening phone calls from that firm because they didn't secure the passwords upon my leaving and were still demanding them 2 weeks after I left.
For me it's a ceiling. No matter what I do I keep getting stuck with implementation and support instead of design and engineering.
For what it's worth here are my thoughts:
1) IT is ubiquitous. It's time you take a moment and assay what else you love and see if you can combine it with IT. I've just finished a Bachelors in Theater Arts / Directing with a minors in Business. My journey begins in about 2 weeks when the final credits are complete.
2) Research the trends and see what takes your fancy. Two that come to mind are handheld computing and also a more business orientated approach to computing, such as Business Analyst and Technical Architect.
3) Make your peace. If you haven't already found an outside hobby perhaps its time to invest time in one or invest more time in it. Find what you love beyond the daily grind, but be aware that IT is competitive and if you are not driven to do it for whatever reason you will be finding a new position. Hopefully that will happen when you've found a new calling instead of being outsourced or replaced.
4) Consult with your wife. Me and mine got a little crossways because we were "reinventing" ourselves at the same time. Perhaps its time for her to hit her power stroke while you explore what you want. Mine has the job she loves and now I get some time to explore my new "niche". In the end working for just the money won't cut it.
We can debate all sorts of remedies but it comes down to your world view. Your view of right and wrong. My view of right is that you take responsibility for what you do. If you harm someone or create a problem you should become part of the solution.
A bully is not part of the solution. What defines them is passing their own psychological garbage on others rather than finding a way to take care of it themselves. It's cowardly to put it on someone else when you can't deal with it yourself. Psychological strength is a good trait to practice as well.
Making kids "bolster their self esteem" is like telling a rape victim if only she wasn't wearing that provocative outfit. It's not fair but this is yet another "new world". How much grief can you get in for "joking" at a airport security counter? or mouthing off to an officer for having a bad day? But yet we shouldn't focus on the bullies so much as strengthening the victims.
Sorry. Your view point is flawed.
Having, as an adult, to wrestle with cyber bullying of my wife from her messed up ex of 5 years ago (5 #@%&! years ago). Not only her ex but for some reason his wife as well as is quite annoying. It's taken a good year to get balance on these issues of people who spend several hours out of their day trying to weave chaos in our lives from afar. Realizing you have no resources you can call on until they happen to do what they have been threatening to do for years. It's not easy stuff to take. I wasn't looking forward to "living in highschool" now that I'm in my 30's but having to deal with it is very real.
A 5 minute montage or even a call to the cops offers no solution or even support. This is a very real issue. But it lies with the maladjusted not with "the weaklings" who should just grow a pair. Hopefully this poster will gain some perspective of the issue with which they speak.
Any legislation that concentrates on the flaw of the bullies will go much farther than trying to "bolster" the victim. I don't need any more rights, I need more options in how to deal with those who will not take care of their own problems.
The world is achanging and folks who can't see the big picture and how to deal with their own problems will become yet another part of our burgeoning prison population. It's not fair, just tis.
If you really doubt how serious the consequences of this behavior is then feel free to send your own hateful mail to the president or vice president and see who quickly your world turns. If it's good for the leader of the free world, who in theory is simply a citizen, then why it is not good for the rest of our citizenry?
Of a good a idea that worked well in one area but is not ready for full adoption. Wide Are Network has too much latency to simply turn local office systems global.
Your company is trying to cheat their development model. Rather than setup a distributed IT application they have simply tried to distribute a small office network worldwide. If you look back to the tried and true OSI model. 7 layers. The 7 layer model doesn't speak of Network File Sharing, it speaks of Hardware and Application. TCP/IP (which we have taken quite for granted) is around/below the application level. If you have an application that runs at the TCP/IP level you are good to go.
I have setup distributed systems for several ISPs in the late 90's. We didn't think about what we were doing or why it worked. It looked like we could long haul anything we wanted. A little lag in sending mail or a few extra milliseconds to authenticate LDAP is no big thang. The Internet is distributed by nature. Sometimes DNS was a little slow but that was acceptable for 56k modems and DSL customers. But we spent 2 years working on a central web based administration/billing/customer support application with 1 SQL base in the center. We didn't distribute the application and have it write to the SQL base directly or move files around.
But you can't distribute the file layer. SANs in a local building have had some of the same problems. Any lag affects all applications and you solve it by throwing a big fat fiber backbone in the local building, but it break downs when you try to long haul over WAN links.
If your company is thinking it can sneak around coming up with a decent workflow model, and then implementing that in an application by simply given MS Office and Exchange (or whatever they have employed) to everybody they are sadly mistaken.
But worry not. You are not alone. Many business execs scratch their heads as to why the simply can't share out MS Project and their Excel Spreadsheets to 25 plus people teams and it will work fine. You still need to do the leg work of figuring out the work flow and reducing that to a transaction based system centrally located. That's it. All we've done in the last 20 years is replaced printouts with emails and spreadsheets, and the night operator (a job I used ta do) with scripts (or procedures) that dynamically update or run every 10-15 minutes. You still need a central system and then distribute parts of it, or have slim down interface that everyone can use remotely. Look at how a bank does it, just good ole dumb terminals.
No magic bullets yet. We need faster broadband and much lower latency before you can share out at the file layer using a network stack meant for transaction based appilications.
Let yourself off the hook. No mortal IT person can turn this tide....
You need local servers to reduce the latency. You need some decent thought on the application, not the OS and Office Suite. Good luck!
Slashdot Mirror
You know I'm all for open source but if you have a proprietary system that's vendor supplied, contact the vendor.
Make it a time/cost/material problem...
Yes, there is a technical work around for this, but if the firmware update is this half-assed you have other issues.
I so wish someone would port/clone that one....
*SIGH*
You mention electronics induced inattentiveness... Could the 18th century education model be to blame?
If you want to "detox" from the 21st century I suppose it's a noble goal just like prophets, wisemen and walk-abouts. But if you truly think it's not a fault in yourself then I give the following thoughts.
Find ways to engage with the material and the lecture. If the instructor looks bored, then help them. Especially at the graduate level if you are not engaged the professor should have put a big ole bullseye on you. If the fault is not the instructor's, (remember you are the student, the fault is yours) then you need to find a way to engage.
So if the material is not engaging enough, use the material as a launching point for exploration. A successful benchmark would be if you are asking questions that are related to the topic but more engrossing then the lecture, you are getting close. If the instructor politely says "we can answer that better after class" and then proceeds to spend 20-30minutes doing so you are doing well.
Remember this is your money and your instruction. If the instructor shuts you down, by some shades and sit in the back. If they want to work with you, then you are taking an active role in your education.
This isn't a 21st century issue, this is education and frankly the model is out moded. It was made to make the best use of those who wanted an education to get access to those who "know" and get information from them. Be an active participant, go above what is expected. Especially at the graduate level!
I see FUD... Sigh....
What assets are you protecting? What is the risk?
1 ) If the account is compromised can you get access to it again via alternate means?
Be the parent. Have all of the accounts go to an email box you control, or have all of the accounts go to an email box that you know you can get access to beyond the password. In case of breach make sure you have a path to regain access and control.
2) What are the accounts for? Minimize the risk.
Don't allow the kids accounts to be an attack vector for *YOU*. Consider them like an untrusted source. Don't open unknown attachments. Bad scenario: Opening an attachment entitled "My homework" with an attached malware. Then go check on your bank account... Don't be that guy/gal!
3) What do you want their learning experience or take away to be?
Chances are if they get compromised it won't be a focused attack, it will be someone they know. Decide what you want the worst case scenario to be and minimize the risk... Whether that is removing photo's or setting up rules on do's and don'ts. Don't post your journal on a school resource. Childhood is the chance to ramp up to adulthood.
But for the most folks there is a disconnect between HR/Management folks who are hiring and the IT personnel they are looking to hire.
You are handling it in a fashion most don't. You acknowledge that you don't understand the specifics and are looking to evaluate them (if I understand what you are saying) based on their competence and confidence in fulfilling the task you need.
In the other ads you are seeing they have already consulted with "an expert" of whatever value, perhaps an existing employee, and given a list of requirements with perhaps many acronyms. Sometimes it's so egregious that they have mentioned a product with an acronym they have developed internally, so no one would have experience, or asked for more years of experience than the actual software product or system has existed. But the disconnect between the knowledgeable and the one's hiring allows for this interesting dance.
Most of the professionals I know in the IT field tend to focus on soft skills. If you know 60-70% of what is needed and have a proven track record of getting the job done you are more valuable than someone who sought out certs and qualifications with no real experience in the needed cross discipline thinking or in getting things done, whatever it takes. It's tough to evaluate the core strengths that allows a person to learn whatever is needed in a timely manner and complete the engineering or administrative task. It can be easy to get stuck or side tracked, but the one who can find a way through is the one you want.
Good luck in finding the one you are after!!!
I usually hate making posts where I am questioning the questioner, rather than providing an answer but with 1 TB of information you should put on the patience cap. It will take as long as it takes.
To break down what you are wanting:
I want a backup based on a journal file system sorta of thing that works incrementally slowing down every disk operation by a few milliseconds so I can shave 15 minutes off of a backup procedure, but I still have to send the same data. I don't think that would be very wise. The best existing method is to use mirror a volume but you're still experiencing the same "15 minutes" of delay.
The best thing you can have is a "fire and forget" procedure where you can walk away and let it run.
locate (based on updatedb) does not capture/sort on file modification dates so you are going to be left with a recursive file system search no matter what.
You could use find to generate a list of files that have been modified since a certain date and then feed that to tar. That way you can pre-generate an incremental backup in a file that you can copy over. Then let whatever backup solution you like make a full backup from time to time. You can setup a script that would run a few times in your work day to generate the file so at least every 24 hours there is a tar file you can copy over when you get a chance.
Good luck!
This depends on what view you want to take. If you want to view piracy is wrong and immoral then you do whatever you feel best.
If instead you want to view this as a transaction in which you have made something for which you are looking to get compensation to provide more benefit.
I state this to focus on the goal. You have made a product which you are charging a modest fee for ($5-$10). You want to maximize the amount of folks who use the tool and will pay you that compensation. So focus on the following:
Positive means more than negative. (We grouse at taxes but fail to realize the benefits and large penalties without the system it supports. Communicate your benefts)
Folks will pay what they can pay. Preventing piracy is an all or nothing proposition, it's a deterence. Through negative consequences you are seeking to provide incentives to pay for your product. Put yourself in your custom shoes, would you (the customer) really want to reward a bad actor (you the business) by giving them money if they make it more difficult to get what they have paid for?
My recommendations based on the above is a tiered payment structure.
Tier 1 - Basic tool, cheap.
Tier 2 - Additional features (avoid crippleware or nag ware just have a low cost and premium version). Focus on money vs. time as they will in making the choice.
Tier 3 - Support Manuals and forum access
Tier 4 - Premium cost for premium value.
A tiered support structure (without DRM, just more benefit for more money) will allow you to maximize your profit by providing incentives for folks to pay the most they can. Folks with more money than time will seek the higher tiers as long as you construct it effectively. Bundling multiple tools is a good way to add value for higher buy-in as well.
This is how grocery stores and boutiques do it. Focus on the value you are providing at the appropriate monetary level they are willing to pay.
TLDR; No DRM. Tiered pricing to take effect of what folks can pay based on their own time vs. money assessments. DRM is a stick. Look for a carrot.
Three to Conquer is awesome too!
Alan Dean Foster's novelization of Design for Great Day (based on a short story by EFR) is what got me hooked. I spent most of the 90's collecting Eric Frank Russel novels. Hard to find them anywhere but online now a days...
I've loved every story of his I got my hands on.
The problem is greater than they imagine and you will start to see it every where.
Just google the word plutonomy for the big picture.
The dilemma has always been to provide a customer with a product for a price that works for all. The problem is the price no longer works for the producer so they want to jack it. The blow-back is that customers, who do not think themselves thieves, but savvy consumers are being told they are no longer viable and not wanted.
As the majority of Americans continue to make less while a small part of them continue to make more you will see more and more "big companies" have this same fight. They don't see that the problem isn't that fact that as time goes on only fewer folks will have the ability to afford their goods, they will instead see that they need to lash out against the "unworthy" customers who just don't want to shell out the cash they know in their hearts their product is worth.
One should remember that Price is one of the 4 P's of marketing. We tend to think that it means that charging 5 to 10 times the true value of Chanel No. 5 is all that it is about but it also works on the lower spectrum. If your target market is spending 0.025% of their monthly income to purchase your product you need to remember that has to scale. I don't buy my DVDs at best buy. I buy them low cost from the WalMart bin or secondhand in pawn shops. It's not that I don't want to buy DVDs but that source meets my budget.
By continuing to start a war of words and technologies against folks who perceive they are your customer to you are basically telling me I am not your customer. I am not worthy of your product. Fair enough. If they keep this up their customers will find new products to fill that same niche in their income bracket, as they should.
I don't dream of Lamborghini's or Chanel No. 5. My heart no longer goes pitter pat to see the latest Spielberg flick on the big screen at today's movie prices. Although game design studio's may think their products are gold, and they may very well be, they will find by shrinking their own market, rather than finding ways to price appropriately that they also will have no market.
Looks like they want to get to their destination fast rather than slow. Screw 'em. I like board and card games better. If I need story I will pick a good pick up a god book or short story they may or may not have paid the rights to themselves (actually I will lend it from the library cuzz I can't afford to buy it.)
This lesson was learned by me again just the other day. The local coffee roaster that I have loved for years and seen them grow decided that a free cup of coffee could no longer be given if you bought a half pound of whole bean coffee instead of a full pound. The owner actually got the employees together to "discuss this" and then expounded on his personal view that it was too expensive. They never thought to offer a cup of coffee for 50-75 cents with the purchase of the half pound, instead the owner basically made the moral judgement that folks who can only afford half a pound of coffee (6 bucks by the way) are no longer their customer. So I am no longer their customer.
When this will be ready for the everyman will be when the actuarial calculations have been made and the price of insurance is much like what we pay for vehicles. If there is a catastrophic failure the insurance companies will just pass the cost or the lawsuit off to the manufacturer. If a car bursts into flames while idling outside of a coffee shop it's not the owner who takes the hit, it's the insurance company and the manufacturer.
The best way is as it is being used now. As something to lower accidents and insurance costs. We know for the most part a well made autonomous car will be more reliable and safe than a person. It's easy to put in self check software to make sure it is running in the same conditions as the lab. If it engages it will be the safest drive you ever had. The last sign off will be a legal precedent where the owner takes responsibility for its upkeep and the fault if they go outside of manufacturer specifications.
Do you like poker, son?
You are absolutely right and a fool. You should never work on something without compensation but you did. You decided to work on your time, non billable, for a company that has hired you on a hourly wage, or perhaps salary. If it's salary, game over. If it's hourly wage you should have clocked your hours.
The best way to look at this is implicit buy in. Implicitly as their employee they are hiring you to do your job in the best interest of the company. They have not signed a detailed contract with you or had a Request for Policy process on what you may write for them as software.
If you decide to change the game you better be ready to walk away. You might win, but it will come at a high cost because you have them over a barrel.
In the end if you want more for what you foolishly already did on your own time then you need to make a win-win argument with them. You will not win by getting yourself reclassified as a developer. But you can negotiate for a pay rise, a title, or some other perk to complete this project in good faith since you put in the extra time.
In the future, do not exceed your mandate (as you see it) without speaking with your supervisor for extra compensation for you see as extra work or above and beyond. Or just suck it up.
You should already be working out a plan for advancement, more pay, and better benefits, because you can be assured as IT they (management) is constantly working to reduce your pay, not need you, and let you go if at all possible. Learning to speak Hindi or Mandarin will not save you.
Good luck!
After reading some comments I have a few ideas. First you don't want an IT department, as the engineering section you want a sub group that focuses on IT. You are already technology management.
The biggest selling point for an IT group IMHO is technology management. In theory you can run without an IT group and the CEO could take on the CFO tasks but it works better when you have an IT group working on utilizing what you are purchasing in the best possible way much like a CFO handles finances. A group that is focused on planning, supporting and implementing an IT strategy rather than letting everyone spend top dollar on whatever they want. Are you publicly traded? If so to my memory there are requirements for IT by the SEC.
To extend the CEO/CFO analogy no one is allowed to justify their expenditures anyway they like, and no one group or individual should be able to use whatever technology they like at the station's expense. Even if someone buys it on their own dollar if it impacts the running of the station or the day to day they will want support. It's best to manage it.
What a good IT dept/group can give you is:
A) Fall back or options : If a server breaks or a hardware goes down they can have contingencies and replacements waiting to minimize downtime.
B) Planning: They can either reduce cost or make better use of what you are spending rather than having HP or Dell be your defacto IT Support.
C) Data management: Do you have backups? Do you have remote access? Do you allow work from home? Information is the new life blood of the contemporary business. Who is handling this precious resource?
D) Security - The Fear Card - do you really want internal memo's leaked because you never had a supportable security policy and someone to implement it?
If you really want to be a bastard recommend ITIL. That will tie up their resources for years but you'll have an IT group. ITIL is crack cocaine for management types.
You are already handling these functions it's just time to take it on and manage it.
You could always make the case for a promotion and be their interim CIO.
Sigh...
At this point he has no place in a normal classroom... *BUT* there is an example you can emulate. (Not eliminate...)
If I ever win the lottery the first thing I will do is hire a full time editor to review anything I write to be read by someone other than me...
At this point he has no place in a normal classroom... *BUT* there is an example you can eliminate.
When I was in highschool at West Anchorage High School they had an alternative high school called Stellar. They were too small for any sort of afterschool extra like band, choir, theater or sports so many of the students their would participate in West's programs.
Have him participate in a nearby school in the programs he wants but bypass the normal class room curriculum. Kinda like a playdate if you will but it will allow him to interact in a way he enjoys and not have to deal with the rudimentary education part.
One of my best teacher's used the following phrase: "The best thing we can teach you is the ways to navigate and find out how to educate yourself on what interests you."
This kid obviously has it. But he can participate with school kids his age in the other stuff and learn to socialize. Junior High / High School may work the best but I remember having sports, competition and band even at the elementary school level. As an extra bonus or workload if something he wants to do whether it be sports, theater, or band doesn't exist he can work to make it exist by organizing it.
You know I was debating cancelling Netflix since between Hulu and Boxee I can find most of what I want to watch but as soon as I got the email I cancelled.
After that stupid Latte' comment I'm never signing back up... Use Greencine, same pricing and a better choice of movies if you ask me. I can redbox whatever I want that netflix could provide. Greencine at least has some unique suggestions and offerings...
I think this is the beginning of Netflix's end... I will hack their surplus roku's in the future with a smile...
There was a time I used to have latte's in the morning but that's after two layoffs and being underwater in my mortgage.
Here's to you netflix. Looking forward to looking back on your silly red envelopes with fondness...
Most large companies, I've worked for Intel and HP, will search their network for know "issues". I remember one time the worm was severe enough if you're system wasn't patched they turned off the port and blocked the MAC address until you patched your system. This was after 72 hours of blocking port 80 traffic to slow the thing down.
Combine the above realities with DMCA takedown notices and I think it's time. Most ISPs have a 3 strikes you are out policy for violating DMCA and Copyright. The precedent is already set. There are many ways to detect bots and it's time to have the ISPs turn them down and make folks take appropriate steps to clean up their own systems.
I have had many instructors use this technique. They either have open book or 1 sheet of notes you can use. They open the door to "cheating" if you will but then they stack the deck. In cases of Math and Econ professors they have questions that run the gambit. Say 10% easy questions, 60% appropriate questions, 20% questions a really good student *MAY* be able to answer, and 10% uber or almost impossible questions. So what does this do?
Well it presents the student with a dilemma. If they have studied and are confident they will be able to answer the 60% competently and then you curve it. You will find those that needed to cheat got themselves stuck on the "unanswerable" questions because they didn't study the material enough to discern the questions in the time frame you provided. Tuning the time limit can take a few tries but you can figure it out in the first year of a new course, much like you usually have to.
Your safety valve is you are curving the results so it will sort it out for you as well. You can adjust the curve so it doesn't arbitrarily toss folks into the D category. You can also allow for extra credit. Cheaters are lazy and won't use the Extra Credit. If they do they are using the option to learn, which is a self rewarding fix and allows for other paths to learn.
So how does the above speak to cheating gadgetry? It hobbles them. A cheating student will find their "advantage" will fail them. You can randomize the questions for each class so a key won't do any good or they will over perform which is a red flag for a re-test with the 1 or 2 loaner equipment you have on hand rather than for the entire class.
Usually the performance gap between a cheating student and a non cheating student is large enough such tactics as above will psychologically "break them" and cause them to go into a failure situation. I've been there without cheating but when I've been overconfident on "open book" or "1 sheet of notes". Trust me. I am good but I was lucky to squeak out with a C. The lack of studying and preparation effectively limited my ability to score based on the questions. The open book / notes could have been used 2-3 times on a hard questions but without being pretty much ready to take the test I hosed myself. Without a firm understanding of the scope of the class this also made me fail math classes. I hated it at the time but to be honest it was an effective test. Math is understanding not just plugging in variables.
Hope this helps or gives some ideas. Technology is a just a new twist and obfuscation at best.
One thing I never understood and would "drool" over the information with morbid curiosity is how they did the gmail rollout.
You had to be invited in. I think you still do. That means to get what most of us finally have you had to have someone invite you.
That chronological tree of who is connected to whom would be pretty interesting data. Who is friends with whom? How long did it take to propagate?
Education is based in a Victorian era copy of a flawed greco-roman model. Easy to say but what does that mean?
Our education models are not about learning, but creating students with a homogeneous comparative experience. If you really want them to learn you simply provide them with resources and incentives.
That's it.
A good analysis is from this former NY teacher, John Taylor Gatto. He put his book online. It's a good read to find out how *DEEP* these hierarchical ideas go. Underground History of American Education.
There was a recent TED presentation I remember where the speaker stated flatly that higher education was specifically tuned at making academic administrators, but perhaps not much good at other things.
Having just achieved my bachelors and even considering a master's (not in science granted but) I find the education wasn't so much about the knowledge but also about the opportunity to interact with the knowledgeable. What they have given is of dubious value at best but what you tease from them with your own questions is invaluable. How they went about becoming a "professional" was of interest as well. Using your time in any program as a launching point for what you want to do seems to me the true way to use this education system.
As to what should replace it. You need to decide on the principles of what you want to achieve. The rest will flow.
The solution to intellectual property is to understand the roots of copyright.
;-). Over time it became accepted and we no longer question it.
I provide a link to the grand oracle of Wikipedia to backup my memory of history:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copyright#History
In short copyright, as the historical headwaters of intellectual property, came about due to the advent of the printing press. Logistically governments and big interests were upset because they no longer had control of what they perceived they had control of before. Nobody likes change.
So why do I bring this up?
You are looking for a workable solution for Intellectual Property from your viewpoint. There is none. Much like the origin of copyright (which we now take *TOO MUCH* for granted) the carrying force for intellectual property is the entrenched interest of media producing monopolies much like the *AA you referenced. They are willing to move logistical and legal heaven and earth to maintain their revenue stream.
There is no such thing as intellectual property for the individual or the small company. A small company does not have the money or the resources to defend or logistically use a patent if a bigger company wants to use it. They either sell it or find some other way to logistically make money from it. A bigger company will find a way around the patent and use their larger resources to do so. The money wins in the long term.
Intellectual property is a creation of vested interests to justify their monopoly and continue to make money. There is no middle ground. Much like copyright was first adopted by the British government and supported by printers (the folks who owned and ran the printing press, not a contemporary desktop printer
Your attempt to find a middle ground is worthy and I can understand the temptation but since the driving force and creation of intellectual property is a continual monopoly by the powers that be, a small company or individual will not be able to effectively and reliably count on intellectual property. Nor can you much influence its development. Copyright wasn't created for the average citizen, only over time could the average fellow use its precedents, the same is true for intellectual property. Right now intellectual property is an attempt of vested interested to get a greater return on their investment through political and legal means. Nothing more.
Much like artists in the old patron system (where you had a well moneyed or aristocratic sponsor to support and protect you) you can only wield the "laws" if you have the "resources". So the point of intellectual property for the standard fellow is quite moot. RIAA/MPAA won't steal your stuff since its not in their economic interests to cross their own precedent and work against their interests for now. And if a well money'd interest (deep pockets) infringes your "intellectual property" rights then you have impetus for a lawyer to work on contingency. For the bulk of us who make less than $100,000 intellectual property means... Nada.
There is actually a new form of jurisprudence that is looking into the idea that all laws for the last 100 years or so are no longer usuable by the "common man", but only rich folks or corporations since only they have the resources anymore to actually take anything to court or participate in the legal process.
To directly answer your questions:
1) Intellectual property is a figment. Copyright law is established. You should be focusing on existing copyright law, not intellectual property. Much like you should look at hot dogs or sausages, not oscar meyer wieners. You can use copyright precedent to defend your rights and garner money. Intellectual property at this time DOES NOT EXIST.
2) The truth is in the economics. For a person making less than $100,000 the new frontiers of copyright, or intellectual property if you insist, is of no concern. If you have something that will make $20k to $50k no one is going to care. If you start to make six
There's the key phrase... Whether you are 2 or 10 levels removed from your management team you are insulated from the policy makers. Chances are you were never a person or peer in their eyes, just a resource. That resource is now a liability.
You are done. Speak to your immediate manager for your options, whether that's a severance package or leaving after two weeks. Or decide for yourself and leave. Effectively you no longer work there. Do what's best for you.
Take heart. I have worked for many firms. For one of them I was only 1 removed from the CEO and President. We had regular meetings. I was still ordered off the premises in my own office after I asked for 5 minutes to grab my books and a poster. When I didn't comply in 30 seconds the President picked up the phone and started calling the police for trespass. I waited for 5 minutes on the curb to hand them their keys and security card when he came down to "chastise me" for my decision. I was "de-invited" from a co-workers going away party. That was in 1998.
To see folks continue their positions after giving notice is still a surprise to me. It all depends on your experience.
You can't argue against ignorance and paranoia. If it really matters to you then you will need to negotiate these matters for ending your job at the beginning. Else be glad they donot call the cops or worse, blame you for errors or problems after you leave. I still received threatening phone calls from that firm because they didn't secure the passwords upon my leaving and were still demanding them 2 weeks after I left.
Earn a high wage. Buy awesome toys. Die happy.
Well wishes to you.
For me it's a ceiling. No matter what I do I keep getting stuck with implementation and support instead of design and engineering.
For what it's worth here are my thoughts:
1) IT is ubiquitous. It's time you take a moment and assay what else you love and see if you can combine it with IT. I've just finished a Bachelors in Theater Arts / Directing with a minors in Business. My journey begins in about 2 weeks when the final credits are complete.
2) Research the trends and see what takes your fancy. Two that come to mind are handheld computing and also a more business orientated approach to computing, such as Business Analyst and Technical Architect.
3) Make your peace. If you haven't already found an outside hobby perhaps its time to invest time in one or invest more time in it. Find what you love beyond the daily grind, but be aware that IT is competitive and if you are not driven to do it for whatever reason you will be finding a new position. Hopefully that will happen when you've found a new calling instead of being outsourced or replaced.
4) Consult with your wife. Me and mine got a little crossways because we were "reinventing" ourselves at the same time. Perhaps its time for her to hit her power stroke while you explore what you want. Mine has the job she loves and now I get some time to explore my new "niche". In the end working for just the money won't cut it.
Well wishes to you!
We can debate all sorts of remedies but it comes down to your world view. Your view of right and wrong. My view of right is that you take responsibility for what you do. If you harm someone or create a problem you should become part of the solution.
A bully is not part of the solution. What defines them is passing their own psychological garbage on others rather than finding a way to take care of it themselves. It's cowardly to put it on someone else when you can't deal with it yourself. Psychological strength is a good trait to practice as well.
Making kids "bolster their self esteem" is like telling a rape victim if only she wasn't wearing that provocative outfit. It's not fair but this is yet another "new world". How much grief can you get in for "joking" at a airport security counter? or mouthing off to an officer for having a bad day? But yet we shouldn't focus on the bullies so much as strengthening the victims.
Sorry. Your view point is flawed.
Having, as an adult, to wrestle with cyber bullying of my wife from her messed up ex of 5 years ago (5 #@%&! years ago). Not only her ex but for some reason his wife as well as is quite annoying. It's taken a good year to get balance on these issues of people who spend several hours out of their day trying to weave chaos in our lives from afar. Realizing you have no resources you can call on until they happen to do what they have been threatening to do for years. It's not easy stuff to take. I wasn't looking forward to "living in highschool" now that I'm in my 30's but having to deal with it is very real.
A 5 minute montage or even a call to the cops offers no solution or even support. This is a very real issue. But it lies with the maladjusted not with "the weaklings" who should just grow a pair. Hopefully this poster will gain some perspective of the issue with which they speak.
Any legislation that concentrates on the flaw of the bullies will go much farther than trying to "bolster" the victim. I don't need any more rights, I need more options in how to deal with those who will not take care of their own problems.
The world is achanging and folks who can't see the big picture and how to deal with their own problems will become yet another part of our burgeoning prison population. It's not fair, just tis.
If you really doubt how serious the consequences of this behavior is then feel free to send your own hateful mail to the president or vice president and see who quickly your world turns. If it's good for the leader of the free world, who in theory is simply a citizen, then why it is not good for the rest of our citizenry?
Of a good a idea that worked well in one area but is not ready for full adoption. Wide Are Network has too much latency to simply turn local office systems global.
Your company is trying to cheat their development model. Rather than setup a distributed IT application they have simply tried to distribute a small office network worldwide. If you look back to the tried and true OSI model. 7 layers. The 7 layer model doesn't speak of Network File Sharing, it speaks of Hardware and Application. TCP/IP (which we have taken quite for granted) is around/below the application level. If you have an application that runs at the TCP/IP level you are good to go.
I have setup distributed systems for several ISPs in the late 90's. We didn't think about what we were doing or why it worked. It looked like we could long haul anything we wanted. A little lag in sending mail or a few extra milliseconds to authenticate LDAP is no big thang. The Internet is distributed by nature. Sometimes DNS was a little slow but that was acceptable for 56k modems and DSL customers. But we spent 2 years working on a central web based administration/billing/customer support application with 1 SQL base in the center. We didn't distribute the application and have it write to the SQL base directly or move files around.
But you can't distribute the file layer. SANs in a local building have had some of the same problems. Any lag affects all applications and you solve it by throwing a big fat fiber backbone in the local building, but it break downs when you try to long haul over WAN links.
If your company is thinking it can sneak around coming up with a decent workflow model, and then implementing that in an application by simply given MS Office and Exchange (or whatever they have employed) to everybody they are sadly mistaken.
But worry not. You are not alone. Many business execs scratch their heads as to why the simply can't share out MS Project and their Excel Spreadsheets to 25 plus people teams and it will work fine. You still need to do the leg work of figuring out the work flow and reducing that to a transaction based system centrally located. That's it. All we've done in the last 20 years is replaced printouts with emails and spreadsheets, and the night operator (a job I used ta do) with scripts (or procedures) that dynamically update or run every 10-15 minutes. You still need a central system and then distribute parts of it, or have slim down interface that everyone can use remotely. Look at how a bank does it, just good ole dumb terminals.
No magic bullets yet. We need faster broadband and much lower latency before you can share out at the file layer using a network stack meant for transaction based appilications.
Let yourself off the hook. No mortal IT person can turn this tide....
You need local servers to reduce the latency. You need some decent thought on the application, not the OS and Office Suite. Good luck!