Mixer tap November 30, 2008
Posted by Dale in : Personal, Stories , Comments
The replacement tap was only $97. A bargain considering it is a Dorf.
This fix only for Windows NT4 Server October 30, 2008
Posted by Dale in : Stories, Windows , CommentsFolks may remember the support gap when Microsoft dropped support for Windows NT4 Workstation, but still supported NT4 Server.
The difference between NT4 Workstation and Server was minimal, a couple of files and registry keys was all the difference was.
Because Microsoft still supported NT4 Server, we thought,
Ah Ha! We just use the NT4 Server fixes.
No, trying that, would result in this:
Oh, you could still obtain NT4 Workstation patches. IF you had an Extended Support Contract AND paid per patch. We had a small number of customers who did.
Most did not.
Some people only “get it” with pictures … October 29, 2008
Posted by Dale in : Last Job, Stories , Comments
And some are so pig-ignorant that even a photo doesn’t help.
Had to write up training material for a SMS 2003 support session I was presenting. You can see the amount of material I had to review in the photo.
And the pointy-haired female manager still wondered why it would take a while to review.
Look carefully, you can see the Compaq sign. October 24, 2008
Posted by Dale in : Stories , Comments
One company I was at, had an on-site server team from Compaq.
This was in the days before HP merged with Compaq, and stuffed both companies.
Even though it was an on-site team, you can see that there’s no Compaq server guys to be found.
It was POETS day.
Do machines have souls? October 20, 2008
Posted by Dale in : Cars, Stories , Comments
Yes, some do.
You can feel this in how they behave.
Let’s speak of cars. I think the most reliable brand of car is Toyota.
But are their cars exciting??? NO!, they are as boring as dishwater.
The car I find most exciting is the HK GTS-327 Monaro. Which brings us onto the subject on museums.
I think it must be a dreary way to end your useful existence. Full of sound and fury one moment, gathering cobwebs the next.
I think static museums SUCK! A couple of hours on Sunday (long ago) were spent at the Tramway Museum, out at Bylands.
Now, gentle reader, I’m not a Gunzel, Roundhead or Foamer; but someone who is, explained the terms to me.
After handing over my 8 gold coins, I was offered a ride on a SW2 class tram. Once the air compressor had finished going “chokka chokka chokka”, we were off.
It was like riding a W tram in Melbourne, but surreal in the sense that you’re in middle of cattle country.
Now the old bloke who accompanied me must have been a foamer. “W2 644 was built in 1953, and was rebuilt as an SW2 in 19xy due to an accident…”
It was good to see someone so dedicated to their hobby. After the tram ride, I wandered the sheds, sighting one or two trams I remembered from when they were in service. Took some photos too, most of them suck. Conclusion: if you’re interested in trams, or photography, there’s plenty to see at TMSV. Website of the day: The Dome of Foam
NT4 is still out there. October 7, 2008
Posted by Dale in : Stories, Windows , Comments
… or there are still people running Windows NT4 systems.
My last experience with building NT4 systems was trying to fit an existing NT4 SOE image onto a Compaq laptop. Which didn’t have NT4 support.
The difficulties I had with that were:
- no shutdown / power off support.
- Bluetooth & USB not supported (just like any NT4 system).
- was not able to dock the laptop into the docking station.
Surprisingly, it was not the lack of Microsoft and vendor support which halted the “NT4 onto unsupported laptop” request. It was no docking station support which killed the request.
These days, if I was asked to do the same thing with Windows 2000, I’d be concerned about the following:
- lack of Microsoft support.
- heat issues. If the laptop thermal design only considered Windows XP or later, OS’s which have better thermal/power control, I’d worry about heat issues.
- lack of vendor support.
I’ve digressed. Was having a beer with someone the other day
We’re running NT4 Server.
Pardon?
NT4 Server. And we need to migrate off.
Why should I be surprised. As of 2 years ago, we had customers still running Windows 95.
All goes in circles. September 30, 2008
Posted by Dale in : Quotations, Stories , CommentsA wise, long serving public servant once told me:
Everything goes in a circle. First we de-centralised to give control to each of the government departments.
Some years later, we centralised to save money and streamline management.
I was reminded of this today when I received an email about the latest company initiative.
Or as Sir Humphrey put it in The Whiskey Priest:
Bernard, I have served eleven governments in the past thirty years. If I had believed in all their policies, I would have been passionately committed to keeping out of the Common Market, and passionately committed to going into it. I would have been utterly convinced of the rightness of nationalising steel, and of denationalising it and renationalising it. On capital punishment, I’d have been a fervent retentionist and an ardent abolitionist. I would have been a Keynesian and a Friedmanite, a grammar school preserver and destroyer, a nationalisation freak and a privatisation maniac, but above all, I would have been a stark staring raving schizophrenic!
Hitting the big red switch September 10, 2008
Posted by Dale in : Stories , Comments
Hitting the Big Red Button should be nobodies idea of testing whether something works.
But I’ve worked with computer operators who think that is a way of powering down a mainframe/DASD/mini-computer.
The excuses I’ve heard have included:
- it was taking too long to shutdown.
- I thought that’s how we did it(!?!)
- I wanted to see what would happen.
The last excuse was made when “Gibbo” powered off the whole IBM 3090 mainframe complex, by pushing the big red switch. Shortly afterwards, all the big red switches had perspex covers fitted.
For a while there, I toyed with creating the “Gibbo” award, as an IT equivalent to the Darwin Awards. The picture is of an IBM Series/1 emergency pull switch.
You’ve outsourced the helpdesk WHERE? August 25, 2008
Posted by Dale in : Last Job, Stories , Comments
Like many companies, my former employer offshored their Intranet helpdesk to India. First I knew of this was when I received an email
We’ve reset your password to abcd1234, and we’ll now close your Help Desk ticket
"WHAT HELP DESK TICKET!?!?!", I exclaimed to myself.
So I ring the Help Desk
CSC India, how can I be helping you?
"You’ve reset the wrong user account". A point which took 15 minutes to sink in with the bone headed Help Desk jockey. My password was finally reset but it took the best part of the day before I could log in (password had to replicate around the world).
Perhaps it was a coincidence, but a few days later, the Intranet logon page had a new option "I’ve forgotten my password", which eliminates the need to ever speak to the Help Desk ever again.
The morals of the story are:
- Offshoring your helpdesk because it’s cheaper and "everyone’s doing it" should not be your primarily motivation.
- The ability of users to fix their own problems ("I’ve forgotten my password") is a good idea.
- If your Help Desk offer such crummy service internally, what will your external customers think of them?
Customised license plates July 21, 2008
Posted by Dale in : Funny Pictures, Humour, Stories , Comments
Once contracted for a government vehicle registry. Now customised license plates were, and still are, a big money spinner. Brings in huge dollars each year for the registry.
My involvement? NIL. I worked in IT support. Working in IT support does give you an “access all areas” pass though.
Back to customised plates. Now after a person applied for a custom plate, it went off to a senior public servant for approval. Let’s call her Deidre. Deidre would approve the application for the plates to be stamped.
Deidre. Not a worldly-wise women was Deirde. As the wall of 50-odd (stamped) rejected plates attested to. The memorable ones included LUV269, 4PLAY & T*AT.
The curious can click The Smoking Gun - “Blue” Plate List for a list of other rejected plates.
The plate on the right was randomly issued in Miami, Florida, and was not a custom plate. What would the odds be huh?