The first, most common, and most significant mistake that most IT shops make is that they are managing technology. This is wrong. The computer has no wants or needs, no defined function, no need to connect with other computers, save for what the user imposes on it. The computer is a tool, no more and no less. It is a high-tech hammer for pounding digital nails. Never forget this. Your job is to provide the best tool possible for the person using it. That means that you must understand for what it will be used, which in turn means you must understand the person, which means that the primary job of IT is customer service. You, dear computer geek, to be successful, must be a People Person.
Users have certain needs, desires, and expectations of their tools. If the tool does not give the desired result, it is a useless tool. If you are in charge of that useless tool, then you, too, are useless. No amount of ranting, railing, policy, or scope statement to the contrary will change this simple fact. If you're not part of the solution and all that. You are in charge of the whole tool, not just connectivity. In a larger organization with thousands of connected devices you can break the job up into different groups (network, desktop, development, helpdesk) - but with 110 machines, it's all you, baby.
Talk to your users. Sit in on planning meetings that involve technology or new software. Know what they want to do and why they're looking at this piece of software or hardware to do it. You may be able to offer insights. Maybe the desired result is an unexplored function of software you already have. Maybe there's a different package available that will do what they want better than what they're looking at. Maybe what they want isn't exactly what they're asking for. You won't know any of this unless you participate.
Use the staff you already have. You said you're on your own. You also said that there are 93 permanent users. Use them. Deputize one or two technically savvy people from each department and make them your first line of defense. Your personal noise level will drop more than you'd believe by weeding out all of the problems that can be solved by rebooting and checking that connections are tight. Spreading this over a dozen people significantly lightens your day without negatively impacting theirs.
Know, also, that your users don't understand the tool. They understand what they do with the tool. They know how to run a sales report without having the foggiest idea of how a database works. They know how to go to Google without having ever heard of TCP/IP, or knowing why T-568A and T-568B are different. They'll hand you a 4" square piece of plastic and report that "their hard drive is broken". So what? They don't need to know nuts and bolts. (What percentage of automobile drivers could change their own crankshaft? What percentage of residential electric customers could troubleshoot voltage drop on a generator?)
That's why you, the expert, are there. You, dear people person, to be successful, must be a competent Computer Geek. Don't try to teach technology to your users. It wastes your time, and annoys the users. Save the acronyms, jargon, and 1337-5p34k for the tech groups. Answer their questions as simply and as directly as possible. Learn to recognize blank stares or nervous fidgets. If you see either, then you've gone on too long or shot too far over their head with your answer. Wrap it up or dumb it down. Communicate, absolutely, but let them be happy with the answer on their own level. An informed user with a fixed problem (or at least the knowledge that you're on the case) is a Happy User who will sing your praises. This is the lifeblood of job security and a pleasant workday. Cultivate it.
And therein lies the problem of which he was speaking, I believe. That search for someone or something to blame. That crutch on which you can dump your personal responsibility.
I'm not getting good grades - but it's because I have ADHD. Or dyslexia. Or my teacher hates me. Or they're not really teaching me anymore, they're just drilling me for the SOL test. It can't be that I'm not trying hard enough.
The hurricane killed half my family and washed my house away. It's the weatherman's fault for not warning me soon enough. It's the mayor's fault for not coming to pick me up. It's FEMA's fault for not getting here soon enough with food and shelter. Not mine, though, for living in hurricane territory without adequate insurance and for ignoring the evacuation orders.
I'm not as rich as I want to be. I'm not successful. I'm not beautiful. I don't have the latest snazzy toy that I want. It's all because the system is set up to work against me! I lost my job because of the "good old boy" network, or affirmative action quotas, or offshoring, or corporate merger downsizing. I have an unhealthy self-image because of the unrealistic images of beauty in the magazines. I have heart disease because of Phillip-Morris and McDonalds. Dammit, I need somebody to sue.
Now the courts are clogged. It's because of the lawyers.
Everybody's a victim. The problem is, if everybody is a victim laying the blame somewhere else, then nobody is accountable anymore. It's not my fault because of you, but it's not your fault either because of him, and the buck never stops.
Don't get me wrong. There are victims. There are hardships. There are obstacles. Life sucks hard sometimes. It always has, it always will, but we seem to have forgotten how to suck it up and move on.
Monet was blind. Beethoven was deaf. Helen Keller was both. What's your excuse?
And if you don't like what I have to say, don't blame me. "They" made me do it.
[...] an action sequence with some demon from the pits of hell tearing a person apart in front of their children is fine [...]
-- Voldemort is a Republican
Yeah, the trailer for the new Harry Potter movie does look pretty good, doesn't it?
Who's ever going to need more than 640K of RAM? How about that world market for maybe five computers? In fact, there is no reason anyone would want a computer in their home. attributable to Bill Gates (who denies the quote), Thomas Watson, and Ken Olson, respectively
Moore's Law states that computing power and storage density at a given price point doubles every 18 months, which has roughly held to be true. This technology is filling in a required data point on the curve. The quotes above illustrate this lesson of history - just because you can't imagine the need != the need does not exist.
Besides, MS is going to need this to distribute the next version of Windows.
I hereby predict the meta-RFID. A single, programmable, multi-personality RFID tag into which you can dump all of the data from all of the seperate tags that will be issued to you.
C'mon, it'll be great! Your TiVo will remember your seating position, your car will make your toast at just the volume you like, your crushed ice will automatically $sys$rootkit your network logon... I love this plan!
On the EFF post, item 7 is speaking of Article 9, paragraph 2, section iii in Sony's EULA which reads in part: "... the term of this EULA shall terminate immediately... and all rights you may have hereunder... shall be immediately revoked, in the event that you... file a voluntary petition or are subject to an involuntary petition... or are served with a writ of attachment, writ of execution, garnishment or other legal process pertaining to any of your assets or property."
My understanding of this language (IANAL, blah blah, fine print) is that something as simple as a court order for child support invalidates your right to any material published under this EULA.
OTOH, in the event that Sony loses one of the rootkit suits against them, I'd love to see someone argue that the "legal process pertaining to any of their assets", by their own legalese, makes all material released under this EULA public domain.
Slashdot Mirror
Play an AOL CD backwards and you'll hear Beelzebub say "Me, too".
Worse, play it forwards and all of your base are belong to us.
Wouldn't work, I touch type. Now, a toe, on the other hand... er, foot...
http://www.bbspot.com/News/2003/06/apple_p4.html
The first, most common, and most significant mistake that most IT shops make is that they are managing technology. This is wrong. The computer has no wants or needs, no defined function, no need to connect with other computers, save for what the user imposes on it. The computer is a tool, no more and no less. It is a high-tech hammer for pounding digital nails. Never forget this. Your job is to provide the best tool possible for the person using it. That means that you must understand for what it will be used, which in turn means you must understand the person, which means that the primary job of IT is customer service. You, dear computer geek, to be successful, must be a People Person.
Users have certain needs, desires, and expectations of their tools. If the tool does not give the desired result, it is a useless tool. If you are in charge of that useless tool, then you, too, are useless. No amount of ranting, railing, policy, or scope statement to the contrary will change this simple fact. If you're not part of the solution and all that. You are in charge of the whole tool, not just connectivity. In a larger organization with thousands of connected devices you can break the job up into different groups (network, desktop, development, helpdesk) - but with 110 machines, it's all you, baby.
Talk to your users. Sit in on planning meetings that involve technology or new software. Know what they want to do and why they're looking at this piece of software or hardware to do it. You may be able to offer insights. Maybe the desired result is an unexplored function of software you already have. Maybe there's a different package available that will do what they want better than what they're looking at. Maybe what they want isn't exactly what they're asking for. You won't know any of this unless you participate.
Use the staff you already have. You said you're on your own. You also said that there are 93 permanent users. Use them. Deputize one or two technically savvy people from each department and make them your first line of defense. Your personal noise level will drop more than you'd believe by weeding out all of the problems that can be solved by rebooting and checking that connections are tight. Spreading this over a dozen people significantly lightens your day without negatively impacting theirs.
Know, also, that your users don't understand the tool. They understand what they do with the tool. They know how to run a sales report without having the foggiest idea of how a database works. They know how to go to Google without having ever heard of TCP/IP, or knowing why T-568A and T-568B are different. They'll hand you a 4" square piece of plastic and report that "their hard drive is broken". So what? They don't need to know nuts and bolts. (What percentage of automobile drivers could change their own crankshaft? What percentage of residential electric customers could troubleshoot voltage drop on a generator?)
That's why you, the expert, are there. You, dear people person, to be successful, must be a competent Computer Geek. Don't try to teach technology to your users. It wastes your time, and annoys the users. Save the acronyms, jargon, and 1337-5p34k for the tech groups. Answer their questions as simply and as directly as possible. Learn to recognize blank stares or nervous fidgets. If you see either, then you've gone on too long or shot too far over their head with your answer. Wrap it up or dumb it down. Communicate, absolutely, but let them be happy with the answer on their own level. An informed user with a fixed problem (or at least the knowledge that you're on the case) is a Happy User who will sing your praises. This is the lifeblood of job security and a pleasant workday. Cultivate it.
My job requires me to wear a nametag while administering a Windows network.
They won't let me carry a gun. Even though I asked really, really nicely.
Bastards.
You forgot that they can also glow in the darki ng_Mice
http://digg.com/science/Genetically_Enhanced_Glow
Yeah, the trailer for the new Harry Potter movie does look pretty good, doesn't it?
Is 300 GB necessary?
Who's ever going to need more than 640K of RAM? How about that world market for maybe five computers? In fact, there is no reason anyone would want a computer in their home. attributable to Bill Gates (who denies the quote), Thomas Watson, and Ken Olson, respectively
Moore's Law states that computing power and storage density at a given price point doubles every 18 months, which has roughly held to be true. This technology is filling in a required data point on the curve. The quotes above illustrate this lesson of history - just because you can't imagine the need != the need does not exist.
Besides, MS is going to need this to distribute the next version of Windows.
Isn't this called "on demand", and doesn't it already exist?
I hereby predict the meta-RFID. A single, programmable, multi-personality RFID tag into which you can dump all of the data from all of the seperate tags that will be issued to you. C'mon, it'll be great! Your TiVo will remember your seating position, your car will make your toast at just the volume you like, your crushed ice will automatically $sys$rootkit your network logon... I love this plan!
On the EFF post, item 7 is speaking of Article 9, paragraph 2, section iii in Sony's EULA which reads in part: "... the term of this EULA shall terminate immediately ... and all rights you may have hereunder ... shall be immediately revoked, in the event that you ... file a voluntary petition or are subject to an involuntary petition ... or are served with a writ of attachment, writ of execution, garnishment or other legal process pertaining to any of your assets or property."
My understanding of this language (IANAL, blah blah, fine print) is that something as simple as a court order for child support invalidates your right to any material published under this EULA.
OTOH, in the event that Sony loses one of the rootkit suits against them, I'd love to see someone argue that the "legal process pertaining to any of their assets", by their own legalese, makes all material released under this EULA public domain.