posted
To be a computer specialist, I expect you to have some smarts about computers. Here are some statements that the computer specialist where I work has made.
They are specific as I can make them--but this person mumbles a lot and pronounces his words poorly and jumbles them together.
1. Linux isn't as secure as Windows. The only reason that it isn't attacked as often is because linux use is not as prevalent.
2. Linux isn't as secure as Windows because Microsoft has a financial incentive to write a good operating system and good programs. People who aren't getting paid like the people who work on Linux have no motivation to make a good program. Also, there are too many people working on it. (Open source is, therefore, bad.)
3. Spyware isn't always bad. (He said something about it's good that companies can know what advertisements to send you.)
4. I shouldn't have message pane open in netscape mail because if I have it open, it will leave me more vulnerable to viruses sent to me by email. Instead, I should double-click on messages so they open a completely new window.
I get hundreds of work emails a day--needless to say, closing an email window over a hundred times a day gets tiring. So the first time he told me this, I just set it back to open email in the main window after about a week of hassle. Later, he came back to work on my computer, and changed it back and launched into the explanation that I should keep it off. This time, I fought back. I explained that with message pane ON, I still need to click on the email to open it. With it OFF, I need to double-click. If I know there is a virus, I won't click on the message title at all. If I don't know there is a virus, I'm going to click on the email ANYWAY, whether it takes a click or a double-click to do it makes no difference at all. It took a while, but message pane is still open on my mail, thank you very much. (Evidentally, another woman in the library was getting viruses all the time, and turning off message pane helped her. I have no idea why. But I'm not her.)
5. Internet Explorer is the most secure browser out there. When pressed, he explained that which browser is more secure changes all the time. And it just so happened that IE was at the top that day. Firefox had been good, he said, but it was more insecure now. (He did say, though, that in order to be really, really secure, you had to buy Opera...which is better than Firefox because you have to pay for it.)
That's all I can think of at the moment.
I'm just bitter, because this person has less education than I do and makes nearly twice as much as me.
posted
Also, he changes my computer settings nearly every time he does ANYTHING on my computer. One time, Internet Explorer was set as my default browser and I could NOT set it back to Firefox. Nothing I did worked. I had him come back and fix it. I thought it might be because of another program he installed, but I know better now. He never admitted it, but I'm sure he set it that way.
fugu13, yeah! Won't do that here, though. I gotta finish my masters and get a well-paying job again.
posted
Try going from being the computer specialist to having to follow a someone else's inane policies.
"No, you can't put an access database on the network file drive because it will increase network traffic too much. Put it on a local shared folder instead."
My "local" folders are already stored on the network, and files stored on the C:\ drive aren't backed up.
Posts: 26071 | Registered: Oct 2003
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posted
1. is true, if you amend it. Linux is not inherently anymore secure than Windows. And the Linux system, being a "underground" darling, does not get malicious attention thrown at it at anywhere near the rate Windows does.
2. is irrelevant.
3. is probably technically true some weird cases that 99.99% of all spyware doesn't apply to his comment.
4. can be true, one click is easier to do accidentally than a double-click, and many people have it such that the first new email is automatically previewed when the client starts up. Of course, one can disable activex/javascript in the mail client and protect yourself from most of the worst.
5. is just nonsensical hand-waving.
Posts: 7021 | Registered: Nov 1999
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posted
Dagonee, That sounds really annoying. Luckily, we keep everything on servers here. There's an open server which everyone has access to, and one where only we have access. It's backed up every night. My access database is there. No one else wants to see it, though, so it doesn't need to be on the open one. *sigh* It's so pretty, too.
Its a fascinating read on how to handle missing data without nulls in the relational model (note, not in SQL; a pseudo-language far closer to a true relational model is used).
Posts: 15770 | Registered: Dec 2001
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posted
1. Whether or not it gets attacked as often is, to me, irrelevant. It IS more secure. (I will say, though, that I'm basing this on the supposition that in any test, the two users are equally versed in the particular operating system they are using. It wouldn't be fair to put an experienced linux user against an inexperienced windows user or vice versa. I would say, though, that with equally experienced users, linux will come out as the more secure machine.)
3. Spyware is ALWAYS bad.
4. I suppose some people might click once accidentally. I'm not one of those people. I also don't have the first email previewed.
posted
BTW, adam, that's a perfect example of one reasons Informatics exists -- training in CS can far too easily bypass simple practical technical understandings of Information Technology.
Posts: 15770 | Registered: Dec 2001
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posted
fugu13, oh, but it is! I had never used Access before this job and I taught it to myself. I really cleaned up some horrible files. They were keeping all of the records for this job in various word and excel files. Word tables... Ick. It was difficult to get it all in Access and now it's sooo pretty. *grin*
I realize there are better database systems out there. But I used what I could. There's a mysql server here, but I was able to learn the Access system better than I could have learned mysql.
I don't really understand what that link is about. I'm not well-versed with databases, having only learned Access on my own since December.
posted
Heh, don't worry about it, its fairly esoteric, and will mainly appeal to those who with both experience in RDBMS's and a background in set theory.
Posts: 15770 | Registered: Dec 2001
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posted
Kat, you'd be wrong, except in DoD-style "security", which few people actually need. I'm not a windows-fanatic by any means, but any Windows flavor built on NT can be set up just as secure as Linux. The problem is that Windows is so widespread that people often hire incompetents to admin the intranets, which DOES make the system insecure. I think that part of the Linux culture self-selects out the gross incompetence, but there are still all sorts of known security holes.
posted
Bokonon, I don't know what DoD-style security is. I am not an expert, by any means, but I still believe that linux is more secure than windows. You say that windows can be set up to be as secure as linux... and, reluctantly, I suppose that might be true. But even though linux might have some security holes, I still contend that it's more secure than windows.
This is probably because I have faith that when those holes are found, the linux community will fix them and quickly. Windows doesn't have that sort of support and community, so the holes are bigger problems. Yeah... I guess THAT is my argument... that yes, linux might have security problems, but they're going to be remedied much faster because of the way linux works.
posted
Step 4 (not having preview pane) is actually company policy where I work.
Not so much because we (as techs) believe they can actually get a virus just by having preview pane on -- but because users are just so dumb sometimes... and this keeps them one step further away from opening something they shouldn't.
Posts: 9538 | Registered: Aug 2003
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posted
Those types of users are usually the ones who double-click on EVERYTHING, even when a single click would do. You know the type?
It's annoying because I'm not one of those users. If the techs use netscape, do they have the preview pane off as well?
I painstakingly had to explain that if I'm going to open an email, it makes no difference if I have to double-click or single-click. Except having to double-click annoys me more.
And email never automatically opens for me. I HAVE to click on it.
I put up with a lot of annoying policies because some of my coworkers are computer morons. But this is something I refuse to deal with.
I'm just saying if you have to have rules for the less-computer-inclined, then you have to enforce them for everyone.
(says the person sitting here at her keyboard outside of the firewall where she can download anything she wants, has access to anything she wants, etc..)
(of course, if I do something to screw up my machine due to my own stupidity, I'm also the one that has to fix it. So I get special priviledges)
posted
I think the double-click thing happens because these people are told over and over..No! You have to double-click! Then they think.. okay.. so I have to double-click everywhere!
And I'm not allowed to install anything. Nobody is. So if I want something, I have to get them to do it. I made them put winamp on my machine a while back. Nyah! Hehe. It's something I could easily do and not screw up, but hey, I'll live with having them do it. But the message pane thing isn't a policy.
I guess what REALLY gets me is that this guy can be so clueless and rake in so much money. And he comes by my desk and fishes out the chocolate from my candy dish. Grr. There's no chocolate there anymore.
But they love him here. Ooooh, he is so great! He can fix anything!
posted
A few of the things he says are reasonable from my point of view but a good computer tech should know better than to treat everyone they help like they're totally clueless. There's a very fine line between educating someone and being condescending and often times people end up doing the latter because it gives them a sense of superiority.
I really detest those people.
As for your chocolate problem... I have a great solution if you really want to put a stop to him nabbing all your candy:
It really depends on what sort of chocolates you keep, if they're the kind that come filled with cream or anything (the ones that are hollow) what you do is carefully unwrap it, get a syringe and remove the filling from the chocolate. Then you have a choice to make, you have to pick what you'd like to replace the filling with! Choose something edible but nasty, for example, I liked to use mayonaisse (if you do use mayo, make sure the chocolate is eaten soon after so that the mayo doesn't spoil... you don't want to make the guy sick) when I pulled this prank on my friends but something along those lines would work just as well. Then after you inject the chocolate with your new "surprise" just place it in the bowl with the rest of your candy after you carefully re-wrap it.
If they're just regular solid chocolate bars I guess you could apply a similar principle and douse them in lemon juice or something just as weird. Just keep it on the safe side, it's all about making it taste bad not about making someone sick to their stomach
That should do it for him! After that he won't be fishing around your candy bowl Posts: 459 | Registered: Mar 2005
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posted
In 1989, I was lent a computer at a company I worked at (for only a year...I wonder why?). It was a work computer, for use at work.
I loaded it up with the apps I needed, and it was useful (well...for 1989!).
But, after about 9 months, they needed it back, and the IT guy (no comment) needed it back. So he asked me to clean all my apps off it; no problem (remember--we were still using DOS back then). I had some wonderful text-based graphics app called Deltree or VTree, or some such Tree that showed hidden and system files, and let me delete whole groups, subdirectories, etc.
As I used this app to clean off my hard drive, the SysAdmin came in and looked over my shoulder. He saw these two files:
MSDOS.SYS and IOSYS.SYS (if I remember correctly). These were the major Microsoft system files back them, and were hidden & system files (so they normally didn't show up)
"Delete them!" he demanded, "I've never seen them before! Delete them!"
As much as I wanted to be the smart-ass and delete them, I couldn't bring myself to do it.
Posts: 1862 | Registered: Mar 2000
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posted
Well, at one of meetings where they were covering their policy for raises and evaluations, they put everyone's salary up on the screen. It was an excel file. Anyway, being the curious person I am, I looked at everybody's salary that I could. (I work for a state university library--salaries are NOT private. It's considered public record. We just don't discuss numbers usually out of politeness.) There's a woman who is in a parallel position to me and she's worked here for like 26 years. She makes just a little tiny bit more than me. (We're talking mid 20s.) The librarians were mostly in the 30s, with some higher, of course. And this guy, who works under the Systems Librarian, makes over 40,000 a year. That's a lot for this area.
What gets me is that they advertise for full-time positions here and they ALWAYS want someone with a bachelor's (for jobs that don't really require it), yet they pay them a mere pittance. But because computer work is so in demand and just so gosh darn difficult, they feel they must pay more to retain someone in the position. Well, over the last 5+ years, they've had people bouncing out of my position like ping pong balls. They need someone here, but they can't retain them at this salary. But somehow, they can afford to pay this guy who really isn't all that bright nearly twice as much as the rest of us? (And my other parallel coworkers make the same little bit..and they've worked here MUCH longer than he has. I understand why I don't make a lot...I don't like it, but I'm new around here. Seniority and being very good at their jobs should count for something.)
posted
Oh.. by the way... they pay me more than the last girl to have my position because I had library experience. My supervisor bent over backwards to get me as much money as she could. It's not much, but I appreciate it and it makes me very loyal to this department.
This problem lies with state funding, mostly. It's not that I think the systems guy should be paid less. It's that I think the rest of us should be paid a fair wage.
quote: But somehow, they can afford to pay this guy who really isn't all that bright nearly twice as much as the rest of us?
That's because they don't realize he isn't all that bright. Really.
H.R. people who interview Technology people really have no idea how much "tech" this person knows - other than "they know more than I do" type of thing.
That's why they need tech people (existing in the company) to interview tech people. I've seen a lot of morons get jobs in tech with little or no knowledge, just because they can B.S. themselves through an interview.
quote:But because computer work is so in demand and just so gosh darn difficult, they feel they must pay more to retain someone in the position.
In all fairness, $40,000 for what sounds like the primary System Administrator for a smallish organization is a pittance. While I've done that job for that salary, I would demand -- nay, require -- at least $60K nowadays.
For $40K, you're generally going to get people who are just starting out in the industry and have very little real skills. They're going to use this job as a springboard to other things, or else a shelter from the harshness of the real IT job market. Seriously. (This is why so many small organizations are now outsourcing their IT departments and moving to telephone help desk support.)
People with actual skills and certifications will work for $40K as part of a team, but will almost certainly expect more if they're the only computer person on staff. And they should.
Posts: 37449 | Registered: May 1999
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posted
Well, I assume the systems librarian interviewed him. He's not so bad.
Okay...so this guy isn't a complete moron. He has some questionable views as I put in the first post and I have difficulty understanding half of what he says... but I suppose whatever he's saying COULD be brilliant.
I'm never too optimistic about techs who worship microsoft.
posted
Hey, I'm a pretty ardent defender of Microsoft in general.
That said, it's pretty ridiculous to argue that any Microsoft OS is more secure than any random UNIX OS; the Microsoft user security model just isn't as good, and ActiveX, while enormously powerful, is also a dangerous gateway into the system. (That said, they're moving to a more UNIX-like security model in Longhorn/Vista, which should help enormously but which will also wind up pissing off a lot of people who won't understand why they have to keep typing in their password all the time. And corporations can lock down ActiveX fairly easily through the use of the Trusted Sites group policy.)
We use a mix of OSX, Mandrake, and Win2003 here at Edgewood, but are mostly a Microsoft shop. In general, it's a very functional solution -- and can be made reasonably secure if you know what you're doing.
Posts: 37449 | Registered: May 1999
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posted
Well, our techs (there are 12 in my department) get between $30,000 and $50,000 per year. (I'm on the low end because, at five years, I have been here the least amount of time, and have almost the least amount of training) Of course, this is Kansas, and a bank (banks are known for low wages but good stability). This might be considered low-end in Tom's world, but we do have a cheaper standard of living here, so perhaps it is comparable to the 60K in Tom's area. We do have two that I know make over $50K, but they have been here over 20 years and are in managerial positions.
So a lot depends on the wage structure of your geographic location.
Mid-20s sounds low to me, though, for the university library position. However, I have no idea what libraries pay.
posted
How about something in the 30s for a librarian position? Someone who had to get a bachelor's and TWO masters degrees? One in library science and one in something else.
One plus, they are hired as faculty and that has a certain amount of privileges.
It's actually a bit of scandal about how little staff members make at state universities. I've heard of protests at other colleges over it. When the activist students find out that the staff members at their university can't feed their families, they get angry. I kinda wish that'd happen here.
I'd make more teaching. When I finish my masters, I'll make a lot closer to the 40s, if not over. I just don't know if it's worth it.
posted
Farmgirl, I got the impression that this tech at Katarain's library is their only tech. If you didn't have 12 people on your IT staff, the one person on your IT staff would be making more than $40K. Posts: 37449 | Registered: May 1999
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