Look, this forum is about IT. If the "webmaster" wants to turn it off, make it a sideline. Keep it out of our face every fricken time we get on though.

We get it. You want to discontinue until you automate. How about automate, then let us know. A little IT before the apple cart would "do", or should I say "due" (see spelling) us all very well and fine. Thank you.

-Steve

Doc, first forgive me for riding your coat tails on this one, but you really got me going. No plagiarism is intended nor implied.
Next: The rebuttal in favor of is actually a rebuttal in favor of Doc's story about the lexicon use and paysites, not the use of crystal radio, even though I know Doc would know that, since he himself is a Radio aficionado. OK, disclaimer over.

The Master of the Garage, Mr. Searls, wrote an excellent blog on Open-sourcing your lexicon. Read it. There are ideas that are powerful to IT organizations and how we talk to each other as an open source conversation. Not users of course. Yes, I'm bitter.

Getting a lot of email about this post from a particular direction; SIP on the Desktop

I am writing an upcoming post about this (used in an extraction from another writing) on this subject.
Hope you all will join in.

-Steve

If your not just out of your mind already that you must have Apple’s new release of OSX Tiger, then you are in no way interested in this. Move on.

But, if you are, let me fill you in on this analyst’s perspective of what the future holds for the Apple GUI built on BSD.

Besides that it is just bitchin, albeit a possible IT nightmare, Tiger incorporates what I think are two distinctive technologies that crush all other Desktop OS/NOS Platforms.

First, iChatAV just frickin rocks. I don’t care what you think any unix variant does, this is my vote for the 2005 killer app. When I first saw it run at Macworld SF in January, I was utterly thrilled that true collaboration conferencing was finally coming to the desktop. Better yet, it is one small but giant step for singular communication platforms to unite closer to the desktop. It’s not that it is already there in other flavors and platforms, but knowing that your already smart about IT, you know that VoIP SIP Based communication may be the standard of all communication for the next 50 years. Now, going one step further, iChat AV, although a transport based on h264 , another Apple self proclaimed win, is just another bridging technology that brings best of breed software together in one place. iChatAV coupled with a SIP desktop app (anyday I’m sure now) completely eliminates the need for the telset. It is, undisputed, the Killer App for communication. In fact, I’ll wager that with Apple’s widgets technology (introduced elsewhere as Konfabulator will pave the way for mini SIP applets on the desktop, if they are not java based first.

..."I get the feeling, I'm not the only one" sung of course to Sheryl Crow's "All I wanna do".

But hopefully you get the picture. Everyday we crank out the IT grind. Then there's that special someone who deserves the extra special IT attention. They are just asking for it. You know who "they" are. So we in IT like to mess with them a little sometimes. : )

Maybe it's because they left us a zillion voicemails about the "server" (the term non-IT people use for anything that's broken in the chain) being down. Or "My Netscape doesn't work".
You get what I'm saying.

So over the years, there are just some tried and true fun goodies to help share with our special "customers" when we like to give them some attention right back.

So here we are, making another migration for a client when the new CFO starts it up about how are we going to justify costs, overuns, Return on Investment. Oh god, I think I'm gonna puke. My stomach starts rumbling, blood pressure going up, ears ringing -the whole bit- all because my team has to "again" explain IT 101 to the chief bean counter.

What is really comical though, is that almost every small company we have contracted to, just as they start getting big, always bring in the new Financial Heads, and they appoint them in charge of IT. Don't ask me why, I have no idea who's great idea that was to make finance in charge of IT. In fact, the big industry financial heads I know stay as far away from impeding IT at all costs. But not the small-growing-transition companies for some unknown reason. They just love to stick a finance person in charge of IT.

Welcome Mark to the HP way.

As an HP Reseller and VAR, we are excited to see some positive leadership take control of HP.

Without going into whats wrong, let me state what I think the Professional IT community is looking for in HP as a Partner.

First, please remember that each day we are in the trenches using HP technologies (Compaq) to build strong Enterprise Class Data Centers and front ends for end users. Clearly, we need simplification of the Compaq model as it was blended with HP. But foremost, we just need some clarity of what we are installing, supporting and migrating. The mix has been trimmed, so please keep it simple for our little IT brains so we avoid *future* confusion (no more "Carlita's Way")

MS posts on the front page user assistance for how to make Windows Server a better place for all.

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsserver2003/community/feedback.mspx

OK, I'll bite, here's my comments:

1. Scrap the P.O.S. and rewrite it in Unix you ding dongs!
2. Apple did it, so can you.
3. Yes we want security, stability, an OS that works. Get it?
4. We've been asking for 7 years, are you sure you really want to change now?

I really don't care anymore. After all, I made a living fixing Active Directory, Domain Controllers, Shitty Security. The way I see it, MS made me a butt load of money. Thank You!!!

I read a little of Doc's new blog, IT Garage, and honestly, it is a little to high society for my IT liking.
Sorry Doc. It's just not what we chat about in the trenches.
Users and Open Source, HP vs. Novell. Are you serious? Internet Radio?
C'mon now.

Look, as an "in the field" guy, I can assure you, we don't talk about any of that with customers, in the NOC, or anywhere. It is just not IT Speak.

What we do talk about is Fibre Channel, SAN's, Gigabit, SATA, blah, blah blah. All that nuts and bolts stuff that is IT Centric. We complain about users, not empowering them to join us! We don't want them to join us. In fact, we sometimes won't even tell them our names so they can't complain to us. Do you think we want a pack of open source users telling us thier Netscape doesn't work, or the servers down? Pleeaaasee.