Old, old, and half-assed I work in a 100+ year-old building. We have a 7 year-old computer. It works fine for what we need - except that the rest of the campus' technology is so advanced, the techies couldn't update our PC along with everyone elses' for the latest network capabilities. When they stop by, they make sarcastic jokes about our pc. From one techie: "You don't need a new computer, you need an abacus." Great, it sucks, I know, thanks!
Obviously-we're-low-on-the-administrative-totem-pole The network jack is as old as they come, and rests not in a wall socket but lays on the floor. The wire out the back of the reclining socket goes into a drilled hole in the wall, never plastered over or cleaned up beyond a dusting after the drilling. The hole leads into the kitchen, and the network cable is stapled/pinned up and around the kitchen, and then through another drilled hole in the wall. It ends up outside in an odd looking metal pipe, and immediately takes a sharp turn down and into the ground.
Paging: Benefit of the Doubt Well, our network connection died this week. At first, they blamed loose cables. I proved that wasn't the problem, and they blamed the computer. Our poor little computer may be old, but it's fine! So they replaced the network card. But it still didn't work, but it wasn't due to our perceived technical incompetence the workplace (I'm the only person under 45 in the shop - and you know how arrogant techies can be to perceived luddites.) So they searched the cable.
Was this half-assed too? Finally, we learn of the problem. Apparently, in the process of replacing a fence somewhere near the back of our building, they accidentally cut the wire. I'm not really sure how a big ethernet cord randomly running under a mulched landscape got missed by the workmen, but it did.
I'd at least like my abacus back, thanks. So the repair parts and work are on order. Only - nobody thought to fix the logins to the computer to allow us to, er, login to the computer without being on the network. So we might as well have the crappy, useless computer the rest of the campus thinks we have! We can't use Word or Excel. We can't even get to the desktop.
Major ranting over! So more of my home online time is cut into - I'm spending more time online (yay!) but the past 4 days I'm doing a lot of work from home (boo! lol). I have no idea what the timetable is on getting the network up at work. Our hands are tied! The bookkeeper can't even pay our bills in the usual fashion without access to the hard drive. But I think this will drive home to my colleagues how much we use and rely on our pc, even if we don't have to turn it on every day. And maybe, therefore, we'll get a new one that much faster. =)
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