Cheap Computer > Productivity?

[Dan]

I have not had a good rant in a bit so here we go:

The company i am curtely working for (Lakehead Uni + Thunder Bay Chambor of Comerece) has a great new idea, if they only spend 10 bucks on a computer for there programers it has got to save them moeny right? In fact they did not even spend that much, they picked up a computer that the public computer labs here where throwing out (mostly becues my cell phone has a faster cpu and more ram then it) and assigned it to me and of corse since progamers are untrustly worthy they descied to install deep frezze on it (software that makesit so when ever you reboot or logoff a computer the hdd goses back to the state it started at).

Affter pointing out that i can not do any work if they format my computer every time it crashes, reboots, shutsdown or logs off (witch is alot since it has to be windows os) i will never get any work done, they called up tech suport to "tepmeraly" disable deep frezze for the time i was working here and give me an acount on the network so i could login and aucatly do work.

Now things seems fine for the first few weeks, shure i was grossly underpayed, had abuslty no support or input for what i was working on and the computer ran so slow that chaging desktops (i had a MSVDM, a muptial desktop app for windows, installed for better productivity) took a few mins but then things start geting worses and worses. Soon files started randomly cropting all over the place, witch is not that bad since for the most part it just ment alot of error messages when starting programs or login in. It truned out they had the XP mashen i was using installed on a FAT32 file system in a city (Thunder Bay) that has many power outages due to weather and in the summer construction to fix evreything for the next set of bad weather. This means that my masshen witch had to stay on since it also had the test/prduction server and data base whould be shut off soundly due to power outages and since it was FAT32 cropte random files with it.

Still this was managable, and i had them filled a ticket with tech sport to reformat my computer right. More weeks pasted and no tech sport was to be seen. This croption keeped geting worses and worses each day and had me spending a few hours each work day replacing system files with noncropted versons. Intill one day techsport desided it whould be fun to reable deep frezz on every computer in the school that had been disabled remotely with no warning to any one. Not only did this destroy all the work i had done (i had more then daily back ups so no big deal) but it whould "resore" the computer to a state where almost all the files where cropted and not fixed by me.

To make it more funny (or sad) the person i work with who has the excat same computer and set up got his deep frezz tured on too and it restored his computer to a state where the files where so badly messed over the computer would not boot. Now if we where alowed to reinstall windows our selves it whould be a simple fix, but it was both agisted the unis rules and deep frezze did somthing to the bio to make it so only the hdd is bootable and nothing can be isntalled from boot. We filed an enmergany ticket with tech suport about a month ago.......there still has been no one here to fix them.

Lucky i was able to mess with deep frezz on my computer and disable it for the next 255 boots and then resotred my backups and fixed the croupted files. But becues of this i spend serveral hours a day just fixing files and making back ups since deep frezz could come on at any second, add that in with the time i spend just wating to chage windows and the fact that some how copy and past got disabled i spend almost 75% of my time fixing this computer or waiting for it to do somthiming.

So i ask you? Is it realy a savings to screw emoplyeys over with cheap computers? If you took the moeny they where paying me and all the other employes who sit and wait for the computers they could buy serveral brand new computer labs with the latest technogly. Yet they deside to save a few bucks in the short term and piss off almost every empoly who uses a computer in this deparment.

Pissed off empolys do not work effshently, they do things like post rants on message borads all day.....

[Clayton]

i agree with you completely Dan, and its not just in the workplace either the computers in a lot of schools today are ridiculously underpowered or filled with corrupted files etc etc. It makes it next to impossible for a student to make any headway if they are working on a school computer and all of a sudden the server crashes for the third time that day (trust me it happens) If government actually spent more money on education people would be far better off

[we64]

People don't see the big picture. Especially when it comes to techonology stuff.
And the tech guy is quite dumb there I guess, if I am you I would go kick his ass. Also I just dont' like stupid rules about computers in workplace.

[Dan]

Sadly, shortly affter posting this both my keyborad and mouse stoped working and no other mouse or keyborad in the office whoudl work with the computer either. If tech suport dose not show up on monday i am going to hunt them down, steal there windows cds and do it my self.

[we64]

I think many work places computer management is like that. Have a tech guy that make all the rules and do everything. He makes the rules so that makes his job the easiest but never think about others. Same with school boards, maybe governments, wherever, probably all the same.
I have been thinking about a better management system than this type, but haven't had any great ideas. First I thought give each individual the rights to do whatever they want, but that would be too much freedom and lack of control. If there is a problem, it would be impossible to manage and fix. Also some people aren't that great with computers and they would need a lot of help from the tech man; a lot of burden. The easiest I thought would be tech guy being reasonable and give the rights to stuff that would actually make the whole place run smoothly, everyone gets the basic functions, save stuff whatever, some degree of freedom. But you know, how many tech person would be that nice; he doens't get paid much and he doesn't want all that trouble of maintain all those nice functions.
So it is really hard to manage after all I think, anyone has a nice way of manage large number of computers?

[Dan]

Well in my case the tech deparment is not one guy but about 20 peolop at least. Probly more then that, just 20 at one time. My guse whould be that the rules where made by peoleop that have litte to no knowagle of tech or computers and forced it on both the empoyes and the tech suport.

I whould think the best way to run tech suport whould be to have user levels, where progamers and tech jobs who know what they are doing have full access to there own computer work station and peoleop with less knowalge have less access. Also give protiy levels to the problems peoleop are having, for example your computer being unusable compelty should be more inportent then some one who needs front page installed. Also there job should effect the proity, for example a progmaer needs there computer up 24/7 (or in this case 8:30 to 4:30 week days) well other jobs like an office securatiy who just needs to check e-mail and use online tools and could use any computer dose not need there computer fixed as fast.

Now for how to decied who gets what equpment, it realy shoudl depend on the job. Where i work right now the securitay has the fastest computer (even faster then the server they have some stuff on) with 2 LCD monoters hooked up to and 3 printers. Well the progmers have 300mhz to 400mhz cpus with old CTRs and no printer contection at all. Consider the securaity just needs there computer to check e-mail and uses the companys web based tools and maybe ms word this is crazy. I am not saying there job is any less imporent just that they do not need a tone of RAM and CPU to use FF. Progamers, tech peoleops, video editors, network adimstatorts, and even image desingers/editors, ect should have the fastest computers as there jobs require them to run tasks that use alot of cpu/ram and they are most likey to be power users. Then there should be lower teares based on job type and users skill/requments.

Also computers should be update like every 3 years at least. This dose not mean throw them out but just push them down the tear. So update the top tears computers every year and give them to the one blow and so on intill you get to the lowest one and then you could give them to needy students or make them public computers or the net cafes or somthing.