No kidding. MS has a half-hearted desktop and a shitty server that's nothing more than the desktop with multi-user perms - but they DO integrate better than any other desktop/server combination.
If Novell bought Mandrake, they'd have an awesome desktop to ship, and integrate, with their Netware 7 Linux product.
Wait...wouldn't null-byte attack anti-evasion code be code that prevented evasion of null-byte attacks? Or should I go for that second cup of coffee and try parsing it again?
Beats me.. I'm still stuck on what kind of harm an attack that sends no bytes can do.;)
I'm just wondering, why is this considered flamebait and why should it be ignored?
Because there are Windows Zealots as well.
I suppose I could go into detail - circa 12/94:
[Havokmon] Anyone want Kali for OS/2? You can be on IRC AND wait for a player at the same time!
[winzealot] No, I don't want a virus.
[Havokmon] What? Goto the Kali site and download it yourself.
[winzealot] I don't want a virus.
[winzealot] OS/2 is a virus, Win95 is the future.
[Havokmon] oh god..
Flame war ensues..
So the reason this is immediately dismissed is because it's the same type of garbage propaganda that MS shilled out almost 10 years ago.
At the time, I thought it was just some idiot from #windows95.. Turns out even the MS reps gave out that sort of shit information.
Anyone with half a brain knows that a 'Zealot' can and will probably cause problems for everyone. Specifically target Linux to get that message across is nothing more than a smear campaign wrapped in perceived unaccountability (but it's just an example!).
5.44 Gbps? Only 5.44 times faster than Gigabit Ethernet? I doubt that. Perhaps you meant Tbps?
Err
"1.1 Terabytes of data at a rate of 5.44 Gbps."
If you read the article you'd know they didn't transfer 1.1 Terabytes in 40 seconds. (Roughly - 1Terabyte every 8sec * 5 Terabytes)
"The European Organisation for Nuclear Research, CERN, said the feat, doubling the previous top speed, was achieved in a nearly 30-minute transmission over 7,000 kms of network between Geneva and a partner body in California. "
Balmer on Linux: E-week
"Can IBM give you a product roadmap for Linux? Can they deliver new features and fixes to Linux? Does it indemnify the intellectual property in Linux? No, no and no,"
Classic information warfare: Always put your lie between two truths.
I've got an old External 1x SCSI CDROM that can be a standalone CD Player. Of course, if you removed the SCSI, you'd just have a big Walkman. Are you overthinking this?
God yes - you hit the nail on the head. When reading some of the posts on Slashdot, I wonder how some of these people can hold a job given their holier-than-thou genius-of-all-tech attitudes.
Get over yourselves. An informed boss can make better decisions and work easier. And, if you can help them in a way that doesn't involve humiliating them, maybe it will come back and reward you.
Ahh yes. Consider the following circa 1995, when the 'informed boss' really knew very little.
"Are we going to put up a web site?"
"Yes, I just need something to put up there. Merketing stuff.
"Ok, and it's going to be on an NT server, right?"
"No, NT crashes if you send it an invalid packet, I'm not putting that on the internet."
"But that's what everyone else is using."
"Then they can crash. This is supposed to be a static site, I don't want to have to maintain a billboard."
"It's going to run NT, and that's that."
"Fine."
Later, PHB finds out web site is running Linux - gets royally pissed. Web site never crashes.
Fast forward to last year. PHB has built a new company, I left same company years earlier. Had had it out with PHB multiple times between then, but PHB is paying me to be a consultant:
"HEY! Did your Terminal Server get hacked?"
"Wha? What are you talking about? How do you know it's hacked?"
"When I go to it, it says "Fucked by poisonbox"
"What? Are you sure that's you? I've heard of that web exploit, but when I was there last week I turned off all the services the programming consultants had open and told them not to open them again because you were only using the terminal server."
"Oh no, we use the web services - did you get hacked?"
"No, I don't use IIS, and I wouldn't recommend you use it either - it's basically the same thing we went through at XXXXXX, and why I run Linux."
So, from my perspective, the PHB finally got what he wanted (and deserved).
Now, if you really meant a boss who was a tech - and has a clue - then that's completely different.
You are just as wordy as I am. I'm suprised we don't get troll modded.;]
Yeah. I ranted a bit around here somewhere, and expected a "Flaimbait" mod;)
But yeah, nobody likes the techie with the ashtray mouth and doo doo armpits. Not the guy you want to send up to work on Miss VP's laptop. You know, the lingering looks and nasal noises he'll make right before blathering something about how she should run Linux on her laptop and save everyone a lot of trouble.
My favorite: "So... Do you lady's like wear panties under your nylons? Or over? Or do you just go commando?"
Of course, childhood friend of the boss...*sigh*
College requirements can kiss my ass, too. I've got 11 years experience doing this stuff. My current job said a 4 year degree was required, but after the interview, they hired me anyway. I figure I should get back in school, I know it's going to impact me at some point..
Yep. Same boat. I've moved into management, and I'm not into the politics. I like the small companies, and if I were to move again (lose my 10 minute drive, bi-weekly massages, random free lunches:P) I would still go for the small company. In my case, because I mostly skipped school to support my kid(s), my resume and reasons for skipping more than cover the lack of a piece of paper.
BUT - keep in mind there are more and more of us doing the hiring now:)
He's not, he should escalate it to the real techs. That's what they're getting paid the big bucks for. Not for sitting on their asses and following a script the IT Manager wrote up, but solving problems. Problems that may not even have a documented solution.
To just give up because "It's not our standard" is beyond being a totally lame loser.
Your assumption is that these people are just sitting on their asses reading their scripts because they're lazy. As opposed to say, helping the 50 other people who have real problems with their systems, and doing all the other stuff their bosses wanted done last week but that hasn't been done because half the support staff were laid off?
Nope, I disagree. If the company is in THAT much disarray that a 'real' tech person can't hook up a freaking Mac, then the IT department (specifically management) needs a flogging.
If someone wants support for something non-standard and there are resources available to devote to it, great. But just because the IT staff doesn't have time to devote to learning a shiny new operating system because some employee thinks it's so much shiner and newer than his boring charcoal grey Dell doesn't mean they're incompetent. (It doesn't rule it out either, but hey).
Ok - I'll grant you the potential "They're really too busy to work with something they don't know.." But that only excuses the IT worker bees - not management. Unfortunately it doesn't answer the question as to WHY his system was so unstable that he needed to pursue a replacement on his own - and WHO is responsible for the POS on his desk. Personally, if the worker bees can't get a stable Windows box on his desk, they need new worker bees, or a new 'standard' - or (gasp!) multiple standards.
You mentioned at least 2 times in your text about IT helpdesk and their 'scripts'. I've worked for several large corporations over the past 10 years and none of them had people in IT reading from scripts. These were typically people who were just as intelligent and bright at problem solving as any engineer from our other groups, just typically younger and still in college.
Before you start with your elitist, derogatory remarks, remember that a large percentage of/. readers and posters are, or were, helpdesk at some point of their technical careers.
You're taking that way too literally. There are certain steps you need to take to solve some problems. Most common helpdesk things are the same routine issues - THAT'S what I mean by 'script'. If that helpdesk person can go beyond that, then they won't be a helpdesk person for long.
I thought that was pretty obvious. But as you said, this IS Slashdot:P
Also, the reason for standardizing the desktops in a corporation has a lot less to do with being convienent for an IT group than reducing the TCO. I have my doubts that you've worked for a corporation of any size if you think anything caters to the IT folks. My experience has been 12 hour days, impossible projects, the company always wants more, better, cheaper, faster.. You make it sound like they need more time to play Quake and slurp cheese off their pizza crust..
_A_ reason is to reduce TCO. One of the biggest issues with systems deployment is setup - Standardization makes desktop setup a breeze. Don't confuse that with using standardization as an excuse for not helping the end-user get his job done.
If you purchase all of your systems from Dell, typically, you can get extended support for your IT people.
Never have, never will. My people should be better than that. If they can't fix a certain brand of laptop that is OUR STANDARD, how the hell are they going to be able to figure out something
as simple as a Mac? Oh wait, that's the problem here isn't it?:)
If the helpdesk people can rapily fix a problem, then there's less hours invested in a problem and it costs the company much less in man hours.
Exactly, and you don't just plunk someone out of Micky-D's to do that job.
I'm sorry, but your derogatory remarks just make you look like one of those users who tries to alienate himself due to some sort of superiority/inferiority complex. You also hit me as that one guy in every company that is so disrespectful to IT staff that everyone just avoids him, period.
Sorry. I AM the IT staff. My job is to make your, the end user's, job easier. I need to do whatever I can to make what you need work for you, or get you something appropriate for your job. IT is a SERVICE within a company.
IMHO, Everyone who is bitching at me needs to realize I'm not an end user, I'm a Network guy.
I have to make this stuff work just as much as you do.
Maybe the difference is that when I'm done, it DOES work.
Call my cocky, but what REALLY pisses ME off is the college requirement. Half-assed shitty admins with zero experience working with users will get a shot at a job before I do.
This is why articles like this are written. The IT industry is full of D&D players who can't talk to the end user and actually find out what they need to get their job done - then blame THE USER when the user has no choice but to take actions into their own hands because their IT department is full of twits.
Having been on both sides of the Helpdesk, I can honestly say that none of the helpdesk folks I have known have been hated by their userbase. They are typically seen as helpful people who do their best to get things rolling when users are in a jam.
I have never been on the 'end user' side of the help desk except when talking to the clueless tech support at a "Dell". But I DO talk to my users. And I can tell you for sure they know who they want to talk to, and who they want to go to when they actually want to get something fixed. And conversely, who the END USERS don't want to help them - because even end users know the difference between a crappy tech and a good tech.
I'm very glad you are working for a company that can afford enough decent people to get that job done. You are in a minority.
For the past 3 years, it's just been me - so yeah, I'm in the minority.:) Last job, it was me and a couple other people. (I've got about 25 people to support now. Before, it was over 200). We didn't spend a lot of money, we know what we're doing. I currently support Netware/Linux/Win9x/OS X/EDI & VFP. It's not hard stuff - you just need good people. Previously there was a guy who didn't want to have anything to do with the PBX. Guess what, that's part of the job. Learn it, live it, love it. If you don't like it, go somewhere else. IT isn't a cookie-cutter job, you have to know how to think and learn new things.
And if by "help the IT department" you mean "allow the IT department to not blow it's salary budget while maintaining a reasonalbe level of service", I agree with you.
I agree, but now we're into, "Why the hell does HR/Management hire nimrods with college educations, instead of good tech people."
It really sounds like this guy brought his powerbook in, opened an help desk ticket, and then started bitching. That's not how you get things done in the real world.
What world do you live in?
What, as the CEO, would you say when you heard one of your employees was so frustrated that he bought his own system, and the IT dept didn't do a thing to help?
He doesn't have networking experience, that's what the IT department is for. Seems to me like they were completely unable to do their jobs.Spoken like someone whos never had to admin a large number of users.
Close, How about: Spoken like someone who's never had one of the user's he was admin'ing be forced to get their own equipment.
They picked a standard platform, Windows on Dell. They know about that platform. They have Dells with windows on them that management has bought for them. They can use them as testbeds.
Oh please. Get some decent people and software, and you don't NEED to get that specific. All standardization does is help the IT department - not the users.
I generally hate and despise windows, but the only "unusuable" Dell Laptops I've run into over the years are the ones that belong to non-technical people whose system trays extend more than a third of the way accross the screen.
I would agree - BUT - what are the users doing that required the number of apps they have open? Have you not met their requirements with your standard?
So he goes out and buys a Mac, and suddenly the IT people are magically supposed to know about Macs. Why are they supposed to know about Macs?
Why not? I know about Mac's. Hell I know about PBX's. If you (not specifically you, but this is Slashdot so I have to explain it's not a personal attack) are a technical person, this isn't rocket science. If you can't pick up something new with the fucking Internet as a resource, maybe you need a different career.
They haven't had any Mac training.
So what?
They don't have company supplied Macs to use as testbeds. They probably don't own Macs at home. They may never have admined a Mac ever.
So what? They've already failed at what they were trained in - else he wouldn't have bought a Mac.
Yet suddenly because jackass employee went out and bought a Mac, the IT guy (Read: Some poor sap manning the help desk for $9.00/hr) is supposed to know all about Mac configuration, with all of its quirks and oddities(every OS has them). If he'd bought a SparcBook, would you expect them to become Solaris Admins over night? How about if he'd just decided to install BeOS on his Dell? VMS?
HA! Spoken like someone whos never had to admin a large number of users.:P
Seriously. Helpdesk is level 1. If it doesn't fit their scripts, they need to escalate the problem. If the user needs VMS to do their job, and there isn't an IT person on staff who can figure it out, the CIO/CTO needs a flogging.
I hate the implication that every guy whos ever worked with computers is supposed to know about every platform in existence and everything that can possibly be wrong with it and that if they don't they must be incompetent. It seems to be a fairly prevelent attitude.
Just about everyone understands if you DON'T immediately know everything - but you're supposed to be able to figure it out. Again, this isn't rocket science.
I don't expect my proctologist to know why I've got these funny headaches and doubled vision, I don't ask my my optomotrist to look at my twisted knee.
Bad examples, 'the body' is the only thing in common. Why not pick three different types of 'electronics'. Satellite, Computers, and say, short wave radio.
Why the hell should the the help desk guy in a Windows-standard shop be expected to know about Macs when one suddenly shows up on his doorstep one day?
He's not, he should escalate it to the real techs. That's what they're getting paid the big bucks for. Not for sitting on their asses and following a script the IT Manager wrote up, but solving problems. Problems that may not even have a documented solution.
To just give up because "It's not our standard" is beyond being a totally lame loser.
Now you know why so many 'common' people think computer people are snotty and arrogant. You're supposed to help them get their work done. Nothing more, nothing less.
It is not the IT departments responsibility to support something they, well do not support/sanction, he chose to get a Mac and deploy it in a Windows server environment, why should they be expected to learn it for him?
IT is expected to provide usable tools for the end-user to do their job. Not set flat standards that only help themselves, because now (on paper) they only have to know a small subset of what's out in the industry
Do you believe in personal responsibility?
Yes, the IT department should be held accountable
Nobody held a gun to his head to purchase a mac, he chose to. So no one owes him anything.
IT ows him a working system. Sure, I'll give you the fact that most of us would have done a better job integrating it. I'll give you that he could have done a better job being prepared. But it's also been HOW MANY years and this shit still doesn't work across the board? That's not his fault. IMHO, that again, would be IT's fault.
I think it's a piss-poor IT department that forces it's users to get their own equipment and set it up to work with a system that the IT department designed.
The author appears to have done zero research into how to get a Mac talking on a Windows network, if he had done maybe 1-2 hours of research, he would have saved himself 2-3 weeks of grief. Instead of not having any clue on how he got it to work, he would have known exactly how to set things up how he wanted. I don't get it, why spend the money on a Mac if you are not prepared to do any research on how to make it do the things you need to do?
BLEEP BLEEP! Warning, the preceeding was a TECHNICAL point of view.
It seems to me he had experience with Mac's, how easy they are to use, and how much of a piece of shit his MSWindows box is.
He doesn't have networking experience, that's what the IT department is for. Seems to me like they were completely unable to do their jobs.
They actually had a user that was so frustrated, that he spent his own money to buy himself a computer that worked well enough to do his job in a non-frustrating manner.
Don't you think maybe IT should exist to allow users to do their jobs without being frustrated at the tool that's put in front of them?
IMHO, he should be billing the IT department for his Mac right now. Not only was his previous system unusable, but he was also the guinea pig for a new system - all on his own dime.
Our Novell 5 server is starting to show it's age (file/printing only) and I'm starting to wonder whether to move to a later version of Novell, switch to Linux/Samba, use a NAS device, or just load up another Win2000 server.
Ugh.
Netware: File/Print.
Linux: Application Server
Windows: Desktop
Keep your Netware box - if anything it's a central source of authentication for everything. Windows is garbage for a server - Programmers seem to have this need for using UNC names, which royally screws up upgrades (unless you do a complete rip and replace).
Netware 7 is on the Horizon, and will give you Netware services ontop of Linux. Netware 6, out of the box, gives you clutstering, failover, hot backups, and a load of other stuff you don't get in Windows.
You need to get Windows2003 if you want SALVAGE. Jesus, if you actually know Netware, keep it. I do consulting for an old boss who has finally gotten his dream of running Windows boxes. What a pain in the ass it is. I can tell you right now, if he would have forced us to move from Netware at our last company, I would had quit years earlier.
If you have more load on your Netware box, just get a bigger box - I doubt you even need anything newer than Netware 5 with the latest patches.
I'm using Red Hat 9, and the GUI tools will allow me to configure a networked printer using LPD, but I can't get the thing to actually print (it asks for the IP of the printer and the name queue; I don't know how to find out the name of the queue).
It's been a while, but I believe the default queue name is 0 - but it depends on the LPR device. Did you 'just try it' with different queue names?
Slashdot Mirror
No kidding. MS has a half-hearted desktop and a shitty server that's nothing more than the desktop with multi-user perms - but they DO integrate better than any other desktop/server combination.
If Novell bought Mandrake, they'd have an awesome desktop to ship, and integrate, with their Netware 7 Linux product.
Beats me.. I'm still stuck on what kind of harm an attack that sends no bytes can do. ;)
Because there are Windows Zealots as well.
I suppose I could go into detail - circa 12/94:
[Havokmon] Anyone want Kali for OS/2? You can be on IRC AND wait for a player at the same time!
[winzealot] No, I don't want a virus.
[Havokmon] What? Goto the Kali site and download it yourself.
[winzealot] I don't want a virus.
[winzealot] OS/2 is a virus, Win95 is the future.
[Havokmon] oh god..
Flame war ensues..
So the reason this is immediately dismissed is because it's the same type of garbage propaganda that MS shilled out almost 10 years ago.
At the time, I thought it was just some idiot from #windows95.. Turns out even the MS reps gave out that sort of shit information.
Anyone with half a brain knows that a 'Zealot' can and will probably cause problems for everyone. Specifically target Linux to get that message across is nothing more than a smear campaign wrapped in perceived unaccountability (but it's just an example!).
IMHO, you fell for it.
Jesus dude. Get a new one from Victor Geneao for $100.
I got a 25" from him for $230 shipped. And WHY did he use a Millipede cab?
Damn hippies.
And what are you going to use all this land for? Growing food for the people who live in deserts?
Just send them U-Haul's damnit, tell them to MOVE!
What? They don't have roads in their desert? I suppose you want them to move with mass transit? Have you ever tried to fit a mattress on a bus?
Damn hippies.
Err
"1.1 Terabytes of data at a rate of 5.44 Gbps."
If you read the article you'd know they didn't transfer 1.1 Terabytes in 40 seconds. (Roughly - 1Terabyte every 8sec * 5 Terabytes)
"The European Organisation for Nuclear Research, CERN, said the feat, doubling the previous top speed, was achieved in a nearly 30-minute transmission over 7,000 kms of network between Geneva and a partner body in California. "
Yeah it dropped. That's because when marriage is removed, women get together in the bathroom to bicker, instead of yelling at their husbands :P
I read that and first thought, "Hmm Some people REALLY like MSOffice."
Oh, you said it the other way around. I read it like I see it. :)
"Can IBM give you a product roadmap for Linux? Can they deliver new features and fixes to Linux? Does it indemnify the intellectual property in Linux? No, no and no,"
Classic information warfare: Always put your lie between two truths.
Get over yourselves. An informed boss can make better decisions and work easier. And, if you can help them in a way that doesn't involve humiliating them, maybe it will come back and reward you.
Ahh yes. Consider the following circa 1995, when the 'informed boss' really knew very little.
"Are we going to put up a web site?"
"Yes, I just need something to put up there. Merketing stuff.
"Ok, and it's going to be on an NT server, right?"
"No, NT crashes if you send it an invalid packet, I'm not putting that on the internet."
"But that's what everyone else is using."
"Then they can crash. This is supposed to be a static site, I don't want to have to maintain a billboard."
"It's going to run NT, and that's that."
"Fine."
Later, PHB finds out web site is running Linux - gets royally pissed. Web site never crashes.
Fast forward to last year. PHB has built a new company, I left same company years earlier. Had had it out with PHB multiple times between then, but PHB is paying me to be a consultant:
"HEY! Did your Terminal Server get hacked?"
"Wha? What are you talking about? How do you know it's hacked?"
"When I go to it, it says "Fucked by poisonbox"
"What? Are you sure that's you? I've heard of that web exploit, but when I was there last week I turned off all the services the programming consultants had open and told them not to open them again because you were only using the terminal server."
"Oh no, we use the web services - did you get hacked?"
"No, I don't use IIS, and I wouldn't recommend you use it either - it's basically the same thing we went through at XXXXXX, and why I run Linux."
So, from my perspective, the PHB finally got what he wanted (and deserved).
Now, if you really meant a boss who was a tech - and has a clue - then that's completely different.
Yeah. I ranted a bit around here somewhere, and expected a "Flaimbait" mod ;)
But yeah, nobody likes the techie with the ashtray mouth and doo doo armpits. Not the guy you want to send up to work on Miss VP's laptop. You know, the lingering looks and nasal noises he'll make right before blathering something about how she should run Linux on her laptop and save everyone a lot of trouble.
My favorite: "So ... Do you lady's like wear panties under your nylons? Or over? Or do you just go commando?"
Of course, childhood friend of the boss...*sigh*
College requirements can kiss my ass, too. I've got 11 years experience doing this stuff. My current job said a 4 year degree was required, but after the interview, they hired me anyway. I figure I should get back in school, I know it's going to impact me at some point..
Yep. Same boat. I've moved into management, and I'm not into the politics. I like the small companies, and if I were to move again (lose my 10 minute drive, bi-weekly massages, random free lunches :P) I would still go for the small company. In my case, because I mostly skipped school to support my kid(s), my resume and reasons for skipping more than cover the lack of a piece of paper.
BUT - keep in mind there are more and more of us doing the hiring now :)
Nope, I disagree. If the company is in THAT much disarray that a 'real' tech person can't hook up a freaking Mac, then the IT department (specifically management) needs a flogging.
If someone wants support for something non-standard and there are resources available to devote to it, great. But just because the IT staff doesn't have time to devote to learning a shiny new operating system because some employee thinks it's so much shiner and newer than his boring charcoal grey Dell doesn't mean they're incompetent. (It doesn't rule it out either, but hey).
Ok - I'll grant you the potential "They're really too busy to work with something they don't know.." But that only excuses the IT worker bees - not management. Unfortunately it doesn't answer the question as to WHY his system was so unstable that he needed to pursue a replacement on his own - and WHO is responsible for the POS on his desk. Personally, if the worker bees can't get a stable Windows box on his desk, they need new worker bees, or a new 'standard' - or (gasp!) multiple standards.
Yeah, you gave up.
Works for me, easier that way. ;)
I'll be taking your first-born now
Before you start with your elitist, derogatory remarks, remember that a large percentage of /. readers and posters are, or were, helpdesk at some point of their technical careers.
You're taking that way too literally. There are certain steps you need to take to solve some problems. Most common helpdesk things are the same routine issues - THAT'S what I mean by 'script'. If that helpdesk person can go beyond that, then they won't be a helpdesk person for long.
I thought that was pretty obvious. But as you said, this IS Slashdot :P
Also, the reason for standardizing the desktops in a corporation has a lot less to do with being convienent for an IT group than reducing the TCO. I have my doubts that you've worked for a corporation of any size if you think anything caters to the IT folks. My experience has been 12 hour days, impossible projects, the company always wants more, better, cheaper, faster.. You make it sound like they need more time to play Quake and slurp cheese off their pizza crust..
_A_ reason is to reduce TCO. One of the biggest issues with systems deployment is setup - Standardization makes desktop setup a breeze. Don't confuse that with using standardization as an excuse for not helping the end-user get his job done.
If you purchase all of your systems from Dell, typically, you can get extended support for your IT people.
Never have, never will. My people should be better than that. If they can't fix a certain brand of laptop that is OUR STANDARD, how the hell are they going to be able to figure out something as simple as a Mac? Oh wait, that's the problem here isn't it? :)
If the helpdesk people can rapily fix a problem, then there's less hours invested in a problem and it costs the company much less in man hours.
Exactly, and you don't just plunk someone out of Micky-D's to do that job.
I'm sorry, but your derogatory remarks just make you look like one of those users who tries to alienate himself due to some sort of superiority/inferiority complex. You also hit me as that one guy in every company that is so disrespectful to IT staff that everyone just avoids him, period.
Sorry. I AM the IT staff. My job is to make your, the end user's, job easier. I need to do whatever I can to make what you need work for you, or get you something appropriate for your job. IT is a SERVICE within a company.
IMHO, Everyone who is bitching at me needs to realize I'm not an end user, I'm a Network guy. I have to make this stuff work just as much as you do.
Maybe the difference is that when I'm done, it DOES work.
Call my cocky, but what REALLY pisses ME off is the college requirement. Half-assed shitty admins with zero experience working with users will get a shot at a job before I do.
This is why articles like this are written. The IT industry is full of D&D players who can't talk to the end user and actually find out what they need to get their job done - then blame THE USER when the user has no choice but to take actions into their own hands because their IT department is full of twits.
Having been on both sides of the Helpdesk, I can honestly say that none of the helpdesk folks I have known have been hated by their userbase. They are typically seen as helpful people who do their best to get things rolling when users are in a jam.
I have never been on the 'end user' side of the help desk except when talking to the clueless tech support at a "Dell". But I DO talk to my users. And I can tell you for sure they know who they want to talk to, and who they want to go to when they actually want to get something fixed. And conversely, who the END USERS don't want to help them - because even end users know the difference between a crappy tech and a good tech.
For the past 3 years, it's just been me - so yeah, I'm in the minority. :) Last job, it was me and a couple other people. (I've got about 25 people to support now. Before, it was over 200). We didn't spend a lot of money, we know what we're doing. I currently support Netware/Linux/Win9x/OS X/EDI & VFP. It's not hard stuff - you just need good people. Previously there was a guy who didn't want to have anything to do with the PBX. Guess what, that's part of the job. Learn it, live it, love it. If you don't like it, go somewhere else. IT isn't a cookie-cutter job, you have to know how to think and learn new things.
And if by "help the IT department" you mean "allow the IT department to not blow it's salary budget while maintaining a reasonalbe level of service", I agree with you.
I agree, but now we're into, "Why the hell does HR/Management hire nimrods with college educations, instead of good tech people."
But I digress :)
IT standards are rarely optimal for all users. But there are there because the days of a 1:15 IT to staff ratio are LONG gone.
Wow, that's pretty shitty. When I was in 'the big company', We were 1:50.
I ran the servers (Netware), desktops (Win9x), PBX (Fujitsu 9600), Telecomm issues, Internet.
I sure hope 1:15 includes developers (who outnumbered Systems 3:1). I personally don't include them, mostly we fixed what the developers broke.
What world do you live in?
What, as the CEO, would you say when you heard one of your employees was so frustrated that he bought his own system, and the IT dept didn't do a thing to help?
Close, How about: Spoken like someone who's never had one of the user's he was admin'ing be forced to get their own equipment.
They picked a standard platform, Windows on Dell. They know about that platform. They have Dells with windows on them that management has bought for them. They can use them as testbeds.
Oh please. Get some decent people and software, and you don't NEED to get that specific. All standardization does is help the IT department - not the users. I generally hate and despise windows, but the only "unusuable" Dell Laptops I've run into over the years are the ones that belong to non-technical people whose system trays extend more than a third of the way accross the screen.
I would agree - BUT - what are the users doing that required the number of apps they have open? Have you not met their requirements with your standard?
So he goes out and buys a Mac, and suddenly the IT people are magically supposed to know about Macs. Why are they supposed to know about Macs?
Why not? I know about Mac's. Hell I know about PBX's. If you (not specifically you, but this is Slashdot so I have to explain it's not a personal attack) are a technical person, this isn't rocket science. If you can't pick up something new with the fucking Internet as a resource, maybe you need a different career.
They haven't had any Mac training. So what?
They don't have company supplied Macs to use as testbeds. They probably don't own Macs at home. They may never have admined a Mac ever.
So what? They've already failed at what they were trained in - else he wouldn't have bought a Mac.
Yet suddenly because jackass employee went out and bought a Mac, the IT guy (Read: Some poor sap manning the help desk for $9.00/hr) is supposed to know all about Mac configuration, with all of its quirks and oddities(every OS has them). If he'd bought a SparcBook, would you expect them to become Solaris Admins over night? How about if he'd just decided to install BeOS on his Dell? VMS?
HA! Spoken like someone whos never had to admin a large number of users. :P
Seriously. Helpdesk is level 1. If it doesn't fit their scripts, they need to escalate the problem. If the user needs VMS to do their job, and there isn't an IT person on staff who can figure it out, the CIO/CTO needs a flogging.
I hate the implication that every guy whos ever worked with computers is supposed to know about every platform in existence and everything that can possibly be wrong with it and that if they don't they must be incompetent. It seems to be a fairly prevelent attitude.
Just about everyone understands if you DON'T immediately know everything - but you're supposed to be able to figure it out. Again, this isn't rocket science.
I don't expect my proctologist to know why I've got these funny headaches and doubled vision, I don't ask my my optomotrist to look at my twisted knee.
Bad examples, 'the body' is the only thing in common. Why not pick three different types of 'electronics'. Satellite, Computers, and say, short wave radio.
Why the hell should the the help desk guy in a Windows-standard shop be expected to know about Macs when one suddenly shows up on his doorstep one day?
He's not, he should escalate it to the real techs. That's what they're getting paid the big bucks for. Not for sitting on their asses and following a script the IT Manager wrote up, but solving problems. Problems that may not even have a documented solution.
To just give up because "It's not our standard" is beyond being a totally lame loser.
Now you know why so many 'common' people think computer people are snotty and arrogant. You're supposed to help them get their work done. Nothing more, nothing less.
IT is expected to provide usable tools for the end-user to do their job. Not set flat standards that only help themselves, because now (on paper) they only have to know a small subset of what's out in the industry
Do you believe in personal responsibility?
Yes, the IT department should be held accountable
Nobody held a gun to his head to purchase a mac, he chose to. So no one owes him anything.
IT ows him a working system. Sure, I'll give you the fact that most of us would have done a better job integrating it. I'll give you that he could have done a better job being prepared. But it's also been HOW MANY years and this shit still doesn't work across the board? That's not his fault. IMHO, that again, would be IT's fault.
I think it's a piss-poor IT department that forces it's users to get their own equipment and set it up to work with a system that the IT department designed.
BLEEP BLEEP! Warning, the preceeding was a TECHNICAL point of view.
It seems to me he had experience with Mac's, how easy they are to use, and how much of a piece of shit his MSWindows box is.
He doesn't have networking experience, that's what the IT department is for. Seems to me like they were completely unable to do their jobs.
They actually had a user that was so frustrated, that he spent his own money to buy himself a computer that worked well enough to do his job in a non-frustrating manner.
Don't you think maybe IT should exist to allow users to do their jobs without being frustrated at the tool that's put in front of them?
IMHO, he should be billing the IT department for his Mac right now. Not only was his previous system unusable, but he was also the guinea pig for a new system - all on his own dime.
Ugh.
Netware: File/Print.
Linux: Application Server
Windows: Desktop
Keep your Netware box - if anything it's a central source of authentication for everything. Windows is garbage for a server - Programmers seem to have this need for using UNC names, which royally screws up upgrades (unless you do a complete rip and replace).
Netware 7 is on the Horizon, and will give you Netware services ontop of Linux. Netware 6, out of the box, gives you clutstering, failover, hot backups, and a load of other stuff you don't get in Windows. You need to get Windows2003 if you want SALVAGE. Jesus, if you actually know Netware, keep it. I do consulting for an old boss who has finally gotten his dream of running Windows boxes. What a pain in the ass it is. I can tell you right now, if he would have forced us to move from Netware at our last company, I would had quit years earlier.
If you have more load on your Netware box, just get a bigger box - I doubt you even need anything newer than Netware 5 with the latest patches.
It's been a while, but I believe the default queue name is 0 - but it depends on the LPR device.
Did you 'just try it' with different queue names?
I'm currently taking bets on the surprise release of Duke Nukem Forever.. (Which surprisingly, looks like Half Life 2)