Something Random

This user works for one of our subsidiaries, whose tech support needs I handle as part of my day job. Here is the complete text of an e-mail I just sent to my boss (owner of everything), the head of that business, and their office manager (who is in charge of the bills and through whom I actually heard about the problem). Names have not been changed; this is a straight copy/paste.

I've replaced Alfredo's computer with our backup server. This machine has 12 processors, 24GB of RAM, top-of-the-line GPU with 4GB of video memory, and a 500GB SSD. A single machine slightly slower than this one runs every program in all the companies for all the users. This machine has also been used regularly by me for over a year, where it has been put through every conceivable test and has never crashed. Replacement value is around $6000 if you want to keep it.


After the last rebuild, I had a discussion with Alfredo where I related that something he was installing might be causing his issues. This seemed the only possible conclusion after going through so many machines(4) and so many rebuilds(6). We agreed that I would do just the minimum software install he needed to do his job, even avoiding the older version of AutoCAD to see if this would be more successful. 6 hours into today's rebuild, I got his hard drive running correctly on the new hardware and booted to the desktop. The first thing I notice is iTunes installed on the computer. iTunes is notoriously buggy and a portion of it runs every time you turn on the computer, whether you launch it or not. Sure enough, this portion of iTunes was in a permanently crashed/corrupted state. On his previous computer, this would have crippled about 75% of the machines performance and caused all kinds of other issues.


The rebuild mentioned above was completed late Wednesday night/Thursday morning of last week. The first mention I hear of any issues is third-hand from Caroline this morning (Sunday), causing me to cancel my plans for the day and respond immediately to an issue that should have been brought to my attention and addressed during the week.


Due to the issue being caused by actions completely in control of the user, and the unnecessarily urgent nature of the response, please find attached a bill for my time.
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The bill is attached and is several thousand dollars. Let's see what happens.
 
You could, lock-down his machine/user account so tightly that it will only run "approved" programs and he can not run anything else. Less extreme is lock the machine/user account so nothing new can be installed. Another alternative is to store all data elsewhere and then automatically re-image the machine daily so that any software installed after the image disappears the next day.
 
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P5-133XL said:
You could, lock-down his machine/user account so tightly that it will only run "approved" programs and he can not run anything else. Less extreme is lock the machine/user account so nothing new can be installed. Another alternative is to store all data elsewhere and then automatically re-image the machine daily so that any software installed after the image disappears the next day.
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I'm a firm believer that social problems cannot be fixed with technical solutions. Partially thwarted perhaps, but "life finds a way", and it isn't without a morale hit and resentment. Best just to hit them in the wallet and let the economics of the situation help them in their decision. I'm perfectly happy making a few grand every Sunday.
 
Is it possible that Autocad just sucks that much?
Or, alternately, that it's time to begin some random mandatory drug testing that just happens to start in his office?
 
If the machine works fine once you give it to someone else is it a software problem?

Can you give him the machine with software installed that tells you later what he did to it?
 
WTF, A quick question regarding policy... Is there any policy that forbids users from installing their own software? eg only approved applications are to be installed by IT only, and failure to comply is immediate vacation time whilst an investigation takes place as to whether they continue employment there? (When I used to work as a IT manager for a pharmaceutical manufacturer, I had that policy brought in due to security concerns and as a IP-loss/theft prevention measure).

Mind most users only had regular user rights (only a few had admin rights due to software they used could/would only run with administrator rights), so was an easy policy to enforce. But still didn't stop a few users from trying. (And yes one tried to get Napster installed via IT, they were let go within 4 hours of IT getting the request and personal meeting with the company general manager).
 
We have a general policy that work machines are not to be used for personal stuff, but this is very loosely enforced as it doesn't matter in 99% of cases. 30 minutes a week is all I usually spend telling people to stop some particularly troublesome activity, totally worth it to improve morale. In this particular case however I had already told him not to install anything, even work related software. Total number of items in the Add/Remove that he put there? 11.
 
Sounds like someone needs a warning about following instructions...

Unfortunately I had to enforce a strict policy as people thought it was OK to install Napster (or other p2p application) and use GB's of company internet connection bandwidth for sharing mp3s. (and since this was in '03, the main company connection was a 1.5Mbps SDSL connection where we paid per MB transferred above 5GB per month).

A quick reminder of copyright law, malware, the theft vector (could literally cost the company millions if formulations were stolen) got most people thinking.

I personally would've preferred a lax policy (like you've got), but sometimes you just need to lay down the law. (And it's lucky overall you've got good people you support).
 
I had to write up a document with a step by step explanation of how to buy a song from Amazon's MP3 store today. I made frequent use of the circle and arrow tools in paint.net and made sure that I used the same browser and screen resolution for my screenshot as the person who paid for my time just to be sure there's no chance for confusion (note: there will still be confusion).

So yeah Chewy that seems highly appropriate to me just now.
 
I'll see if I can modify it into something generally useful. The specific workflow the lady wanted was "Buy this song I heard on Pandora from Amazon" but I guess that little extra bit doesn't hurt, either.
What I really want to do is add screen shots for doing it from Android as well.
 
I have been watching the America's Cup too. It was awesome! The other day the two boats were doing 52-58 MPH downwind. Wind speed was 24 knots. Most average power boats can only do about half that.
 
I have a new, different roommate. She just got away from the latest in a string of douchebag guys and brought everything she has into my spare bedroom. When I brought her in, she said "This is the nicest place I've ever lived. I can't believe how clean it is." She's sleeping in my spare bedroom, where my cat boxes and servers are, but she's acting l let her into a palace.

Her reaction to the privilege of how I can live (by myself, with so many personal belongings, nothing that's broken, everything clean) has been a complete eye-opener to me.
 
Mercutio said:
Her reaction to the privilege of how I can live (by myself, with so many personal belongings, nothing that's broken, everything clean) has been a complete eye-opener to me.
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She's probably used to the typical "guy" apartment with dirty laundry everywhere, a layer of grime in the kitchen, beer and spoiled food in the fridge, and several piles of dried up vomit next to the bed from the last few hangovers.
 
Yeah. My place is clean. Cluttered, but clean. But she's used to trailers and and living places where the water or power might be turned off a few days a month because nobody can scrape together the $75 to pay the bill. It's sad, because I know from talking to her that she has a brain in her head, but she's never had a chance to rise up out of that. And there's a whole world of people who are in exactly the same boat.
 
Mercutio said:
Yeah. My place is clean. Cluttered, but clean. But she's used to trailers and and living places where the water or power might be turned off a few days a month because nobody can scrape together the $75 to pay the bill. It's sad, because I know from talking to her that she has a brain in her head, but she's never had a chance to rise up out of that. And there's a whole world of people who are in exactly the same boat.
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I've spent some time with people who have come from similar situations. It amazed me how much someones actions and decisions were effected by what they considered normal, or more specifically by what the actions and decisions of those around them were. Just a heads-up on my experiences; after about 6 months and me nearly being arrested as an accomplice to something, she went back to her old friends and I cried a lot.
 
I have a homeless pair with an expecting baby that I've been helping out for a long time now. Neither is addicted or insane, just really very bad luck and stupidity got them in their situation. I tried letting them stay with me for a short time period. That sucked, and they didn't even try to find replacement housing which was a requirement. Got him a job, and kicked them out. They found another sucker to supply short-term housing and then he quit the job to play video games. They've been moving from couch to tent to couch now for 7 months living on food stamps and the food bank without really even trying to get a real job. I'm just a person being used for rides, laundry, and a shower. I'm totally sick of it.

I do not understand them. What do they expect to happen when the baby arrives shortly? Rather than being a really good day, it's going to be extremely hard and very unhappy for them when inevitably the state gets involved and takes it away. So very very sad.

P.S. It is very easy to keep an apt. clean, if you live alone and don't have children.
 
Correction : It's very easy to keep an appartment clean if you live alone as long as it's not cluttered. I live in a three-floor house now and keeping it clean is very simple since I do it and I'm no Marie-Antoinette. But back when I lived in a small appartment with the same amount of stuff, I couldn't keep it clean. There simply was too much stuff and not enough space and storage to do normal house-keeping. So I did the minimum on the places I used most and left the remaining accumulating dust. I lived like that for quite a while.

If you can afford it, move to a larger place where you can spread your belongings. Your live will be much more pleasant at home.

Also, I also did try to help someone with recurrent difficulties for almost six years. I gave up last Spring. Every damn time you think you can make them see the light at the end of the tunnel, they turn around and stick their nose right into it. I guess some people just love misery. I'm not advocating to become a selfish bastard, but I advise you not to get too attached.
 
She had to sign a contract detailing the conditions under which she can stay with me. The contract was witnessed and notarized. Basically she gets until the end of the year to work and build up some savings and then she's either on her own or she can start paying rent.

I think the biggest problem she has is that she's just incapable of looking at anything in more than immediate terms. She only looks at the next bill that's coming due or the next tank of gas or the next meal. She's not a dummy, but that's how her brain is conditioned to work.

Anyway, yeah, it's easy to keep stuff clean if you live by yourself. No question. I take a lot of pride in my place looking like a human being lives there. My basic test is "If my mom were to walk in right now, would I be embarrassed?" That trick works for me.
 
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