(no subject)

[random-c.livejournal.com]

I really am starting to hate customers' IT departments. Aside from the formatting-the-data-drive-thinking-it's-a-floppy chap, today I've encountered mostly server moves they didn't feel the need to tell the users about. Two of those broke things because they'd originally been using \\server\share and then only later given it a drive letter, and our app's been installed long enough that the files were using the \\server path which no longer exists. The third was via drive letter, but resulted in a \\server\share path at least 25 characters longer than the old one which therefore causes our app - and yes, I realise that means there's some sloppy coding going on - to fall over. Also, there were a couple of My Documents folders rerouted to network shares the speed of narcoleptic snails. One of them was wireless, and died every time someone used the microwave. The user had been working over other people's lunch and it corrupted the main data file. The other one just suddenly took 15 minutes to run a process that takes 30 seconds run on a local file and because it happened just after she'd upgraded to the latest version, the IT chap told her it must be our fault. I had to remote in through that snail-like connection and move those files locally. Because she's on a single-user licence, which doesn't allow moving the data file, I had to reset the app, she's lost her list of backed-up files and will have to find them herself if she needs them.
Fine, back up to the network, we like people backing up to the network. Just... please stop forcing our users to put their files on the network, because when the network hiccups, they lose work and we have to sort it out.

A Fine Rant

[jayrtfm.livejournal.com]

Rachel Lucas is a popular blogger who moved to the UK about a month ago and has been in BT hell ever since. She posted a good rant about it at http://www.rachellucas.com/index.php/2009/03/26/dirty-evil-robbing-bastards/

Tim Minear, executive producer and writer on ‘Firefly’, ‘Angel’ and ‘Wonderfalls’ reads her blog.
http://www.rachellucas.com/index.php/2008/05/12/this-should-solidify-my-firefly-fan-street-cred-very-nicely/