A True Story for the IT Types

[rrich]

Some years ago I worked for a credit reporting company. Part of their service consisted of the client calling the data center with an applicants credit report request. The information would be entered by a terminal operator. The report would then be read back to the client.

The terminal system was ancient and part of my job was to develop a new one. The system emulated an IBM 2260/2848 and was implimented using Digital Equipment PDP-11 hardware.

One evening I was called at home as the terminals had stopped woprking and all credit reports were empty. Over the phone I had the operator go to the system console and attempt to enter a few commands. Everything that I had the operator try produced no response from the system.

Finally I had the operator enter a control C to which the system responded with a prompt. I asked the operator to enter "MCR return" and nothing happened. In desperation I decided to drive in to the data center to determine the cause of the problem.

Upon arriving at the data center I went to the system console and on the bottom line of the console were the words...

MCR RETURN




Before anybody starts responding with the words, "Nobody is that..."

Let me assure you that yes they are!

[rrich]

The reason was that the credit reports were empty was that in the communications area, the T-Bar switch was thrown and the 2260/2848 controller was operating on the backup system but the data base was on the on-line system.

[Gra]

We had a staff member ask the help desk what a folder was?

[bitingmidge]

.. and I have actually been called at 1.00 am to be asked where the "any" key was.

Until that call, we thought the prompts we had in our shop system were completely and utterly idiot proof.

P

[Gra]

.. and I have actually been called at 1.00 am to be asked where the "any" key was.

Until that call, we thought the prompts we had in our shop system were completely and utterly idiot proof.

P

Remember the universe is self leveling, when you make something idiot proof, the universe creates a better idiot

[AlexS]

I think it's a bit rich for IT types to ascribe to stupidity the misinterpretation of their jargon by non-IT types. You've spent years of effort building up a mystique about what is really just cerebral rock-busting, then complain when a normal person calls your bluff. You can't have it both ways, fellers.

(Insert tongue-in-cheek icon here)

[MurrayD99]

"stuck cursor" was always a bit of a problem.... Twink was a good solution.

[pawnhead]

[silentC]

We had a university graduate who had been hired by a major consulting firm and put into a position on our project as a programmer/analyst at a cost of about $150 per hour. Her boss was responsible for phone support and his way of getting everyone up to speed with the project was to rotate the on-call mobile phone through the team. One day it was her turn and she took a call from a branch office. They had an error with their printer which she couldn't help with, so she had written down the error message as dictated over the phone:

PRINTER ERROR
BICYCLE FLOWER

After much head scratching, it turned out that the actual message was:

PRINTER ERROR
CYCLE POWER

[arose62]

I've just been bitten by spending too much time in IT...

The local gym has just been revamped, new carpet, new machines etc.
They've also added swipe card entry, and lockers which can be used via $2 coins or membership swipe cards.

I successfully locked my stuff away on day 1, got hot & sweaty, and was ready to go home.
The locker display reads:
1) NEW LOCKER
2) RE-ENTER LOCKER
# TO CLEAR

I stood there for an embarrasingly long while trying to find an "OPEN LOCKER" function, as I assumed that "Re-enter locker" was for when you had typed in the locker number wrongly, and wanted to re-enter the number, not physically re-enter the locker.



Cheers,
Andrew

[rat52]

I sent a fax to a painter with the colours of all the walls and where the skirting was the same colour I wrote "ditto".

Some hours later I received a phone call from the painter saying he was in the paint suppliers shop and he and the rep couldn't find the colour ditto

[wheelinround]

went to assist an old lady 75/80 yesterday her son is head it for major newpaper set her up with a laptop just so she can type up the newsletter.

I got a call
Help! the screens gone black I was typing and now it all gone

Ok wait a moment what is on the screen

Nothing its gone blank/black I've lost it
Oh wait I'll shut it down an open it again!!

No wait.......to late.

Nope it's gone

ok I am coming over

yep all her typing had gone except for what she had saved about half a page not even a backup copy.

Now this poor lady is anti technology as it is fearfull she wanted to ring her son who's at work and usually in meetings.

Ok sat for a while had a play typed a bit used mouse etc.

that it its gone black she yells!!

I had highlighted the text.........she had done th same and continued typing which in turn removes the highlighted text.

Now this hs gone on for months her son grand daughter all Computer wizz techies come over rest evrything and retype the doc for her.

What was wrong is they hadn't turned off the Touchpad on the laptop but gave her a mouse so everytime she draged her palm or fingers across it bang type gone.

Auto save set up 5 mins backup 5 mins done LOML typed out newsletter pinted out we went home.

[cgallery]

I overheard a guy working help desk at my company ask someone what was on their screen. He then smiled and put the person on hold and told me what she had told him...

drum roll please...

"A network of colored pipes."

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, she described her screen saver.

[Rodgera]

QUOTE AlexS;585288]I think it's a bit rich for IT types to ascribe to stupidity the misinterpretation of their jargon by non-IT types. You've spent years of effort building up a mystique about what is really just cerebral rock-busting, then complain when a normal person calls your bluff. You can't have it both ways, fellers.


We ran a three hour "Orientation to a PC " session at work for the manufacturing staff. At the end of the session two of the girls said "it was great, but how do you turn the machine on "

[mcchaddy]

In the days of the old IBM dumb terminals and the old green/orange screens. We use to have anti clare screens fitted to all of our terminals. The guy that sat beside was very annoying so when he went to lunch I grabbed a piece of cardboard and a black nicko and colour it in. I stuck it on the inside of his anti clare screen. When he return and saw there was nothing on his screen he called IBM and logged a fault with his terminal. The promptly arrived and unplugged and replugged cables, twiddled nobs, whacked on the side and decided it was easier to replace the terminal. Lucky I came back from lunch and showed them the fault.......

They weren't to impressed but we all were.

Michael