Spooky Spooky! IE7 is Coming! Spooky Spooky!

Tomorrow is Internet Explorer 7 (IE7) day (info). Microsoft is planning to roll it out through automatic updates. Ooohh, Microsoft! Why must you induce IBS (info)?

I did rant some time ago about how I thought auto updates were such a great thing (post) for small companies like mine with no update protocol in place. I still think it is except in times like these. So I finally focused on WSUS and planned everything to be ready by today. Nope, not happening.

1) The settings in group policy that allow changes to workstation update schedules and update site redirection just would not take effect. The parts I setup previously work fine, like the remote printer installation and drive mapping login script, but the workstations don't receive the changes to the auto update settings. I always have some quirky issue with group policies.

2) WSUS won't recognize any of the computers on the domain.

I haven't had enough time to research these issues but attempting to beat tomorrows deadline left me little choice but to go to each computer and manually change all the update settings to notify. As a simple fix, a friend suggested I could have blocked Microsoft's update sites altogether through the firewall, but there's some issue with the Sonicwall (site) and licenses. I always thought blocking websites was a basic part of firewalls. Unless I've missed something, it can't be done without the license. I miss the Fortinet (site) firewalls I used to use at the adoption agency.

IE7 seems quite harmless overall. I've noticed no problems and it seems to have a few nice influences from other browsers. The PC I'm testing on continues to behave normally, however, I'm certain the new interface will trouble many users initially. I'll release IE7 to staff eventually. It's just not that critical for all this fuss.

Wow!

The well-wishes have been very uplifting. But I was not expecting the job listings, offers to pass around my resume, and contacts. I'm stunned and grateful and planning on making the best use of all your help. Thank you, everyone!

It struck me that while my blog is a tremendous resource for making contacts in the non-profit tech community, my need to remain anonymous limits me from using the site to its fullest potential. Despite my disappointment in my current employer, I cannot reveal the company in any way because I have discussed too many details. It would simply be inappropriate. And frankly, the disappointment is with one person, certainly not the entire organization, which I feel continues to do wonderful work for its cause and I don't want to hinder that in any way.

While the resumes have already begun going out, I will continue working to improve this company's infrastructure as much as I can; as much as time allows.

Thanks again, everyone.

Wasting My Time

Boss being how he is, no one actually wants to talk to him if it can be helped. As a result I've worked independently for a while, with little or no information exchange between him and me. Boss has decided he does not like this vacuum and so today was the first of ongoing weekly meetings reviewing what I accomplished last week and outlining what I intend to do this week.

Immediately we got into an argument over Kintera. He had repeatedly told me that staff's dislike of Kintera was due to their inability to use the tool. Ignoring the obvious questions about training, I gave him my opinion as an IT professional who actually has gone to Kintera training (post).

His usual threatening and belittling prattle ensued regarding any research on my part for alternatives to Kintera. Some time ago he had ordered me not to pursue such research but today I purposely informed him that I have done so on my own time. My aim at this point was to escalate this argument. Stress and frustration shouldn't only flow one way.

Now I was wasting his time and was told I should not be doing this on my time either. All this amused me for several reasons.

1) He never uses Kintera so how he disregards anyone's opinion is beyond me.

2) He made one of his minions delete several thousand records at 100 records at a time (yes, that's right!). Kintera doesn't allow more than that through their web-interface. However if Kintera ever gets back to you, they can do it with one push of the delete key. Somehow my seeking alternatives to a bad situation was a waste of time but deleting several thousand records, 100 at a time because the company refuses to get back to you, is efficiency.

3) He now presumes he has control over my personal life. I love it!

I've never behaved this way at work. Then again, I've never been treated this way at a job. I've worked for multi-millionaires with their own startups; Yale, Harvard, and Wharton graduates; IT engineers leagues over my abilities; even government bureaucrats, and no one has ever threatened, insulted, belittled, or disrespected me like boss has. This nobody has done it all.

The oddest thing: as a result of maintaining limited communication, people around him tend to fail often. When one fails he rewards with compassion. It's almost as if success is threatening to him, preferring rather that those around him fail so his status as top dog maintains. Odd behavior for a CFO - for any manager, in fact.

I'm done with this. He's right, I am wasting my time, but not because of what I do but in dealing with him. My resumes are going out tonight. I hope I can stick with non-profit but with twins on the way, I don't have the flexibility I once did.

Wish me luck.

Computer Equipment Rental

For our recent fundraiser the event planner spoke to me about computer rentals and her needs for the project. We didn't comparison shop, we just went with who we used last year, Rent-A-PC (site). They not only made the planning easier but the tech that came knowledgeably and quickly put together the PCs into a peer-to-peer network. Granted some of it was setup beforehand but that's the point, our project was handled well. I'm sure many rental equipment companies can do a comparably good job.

The costs were not great and so renting the units made far more sense than buying equipment for a one day event. Plus, working with an equipment provider whose prime directive is the maintenance of their wares gave me some confidence that we weren't going to be stuck with lemons. In the end the event went well.

Then another event crept up on me. Other departments decided they would handle a west coast event by themselves. However, at crunch time they needed my help. That was fine but suddenly I was getting so many requests for equipment purchases under the logic that it was cheaper than renting them. Without seeing the numbers I took their word. Since this is a multi-day event, I imagined costs could add up. Then I started seeing numbers and thought things like, "$50 a day for a presentation remote seems high." There was too much happening for me to get any deeper into the matter so I let it go and just ordered the equipment.

Today is the event, the equipment is in, and I now understand why the gear was so expensive. The staff rents equipment directly from the hotels where they are conducting their events.

O...
M...
G...

For anyone that does this: don't do this. Would you even buy a bag of peanuts from a hotel? Of course not! Then why would anyone pay $500 a day for a laptop? Just give the money to me. I'll waste it far better than you. Besides, the twins are going need plasma TVs.

Owning your own equipment is nice until it breaks, gets old, or you can't figure out how to set it up. Renting it from a dedicated computer equipment vendor should mean you get some support and a few less headaches during your event. I suppose that's the allure of renting from the hotel, but the costs don't justify it. Of course your rental choices are determined by how involved the hotel is in your event but if you can bring your own equipment, you can certainly rent from somewhere else too.

Tags: nptech computer rental

Suddenly MStyfied

The PowerPoint onslaught continued today. I poorly timed the setup of my long delayed WSUS project (post) this week, unaware that when half the company went to the west coast tomorrow it meant PowerPoint, PowerPoint, PowerPoint for me. Suddenly I feel more AV than IT as I sit there timing slides and fades to Fantasia's I Believe (shop).

WSUS (site) this week because Microsoft finally pushed me over the edge. The announcement that IE7 will be deployed through automatic updates (link) sent shivers down my spine. I tested IE7 (ha!) on my own workstation and nothing blew up, so my fears have subsided, but I would still like to manage the installs myself. And while MS kindly provided a blocker toolkit (info) to deter their deployment, why must I deploy something to deter a deploy? Maybe I didn't read something right but in any case, I decided WSUS was what I needed to setup this week. I'm still not done 3 days later with all the event distractions (i.e. PowerPoint).

Tomorrow I mix Diddy's "classic" All About the Benjamins (shop) to a slide show about giving for medical research.

I'm kidding!

Tags: nptech powerpoint Microsoft WSUS IE7

Next Level of Productivity: PowerPoint?

It's happened twice. I go into a company, rebuild their network, and clean up their workstations. The result is that increased productivity appears in one form: PowerPoint. Suddenly everyone is doing presentations. It's happening here like it occurred at my last gig. This is funny and odd but I think the reasons are somewhat clear.

The task that once took three hours only takes two, so employees want to enhance their output. PowerPoint is easily accessible because it uses similar logic to other programs used by staff (i.e. Word, Excel, Outlook). There is plenty of online help (find) and instant gratification couldn't be more attainable.

Projectors are also easy to use. Anyone with the drive to see their work on a wall will spend energy learning to use a projector. And projectors often come with presentation remotes, which are also relatively easy to learn and allow staff to be techno-cool (though included projector remotes aren't nearly as user-friendly as third party presentation remotes. This Logitech (shop) is my favorite right now). So there is an element of fun to this.

The real driving force is that most non-profit departments (especially in small companies) do their own marketing. The easy visuals offered by PowerPoint make for a better pitch and in the end, one hopes, this means growth for the company. I'm not sure if this is success but it is interesting to see where the first steps after a major overhaul take us. Now, if only people knew how to use PowerPoint well (info).

Books I've suggested to staff:
PowerPoint 2003 Personal Trainer (shop)
The Visual Display of Quantitative Information (shop)

Tags: nptech powerpoint

I'm A Man, Technobaby!

When I started this blog I purposely left out the context of my gender. The intention was to focus on the broader scope of non-profit technology and not so much on myself. I figured my gender was irrelevant to the issues of technology and business and have always felt that identifying oneself on blogs tends to immediately impress certain ideas on readers. As time went on the blog started becoming more about me. While I had no intention of keeping my gender a big secret, I kept it quiet until I let it slip in a moment of exhaustion (post). I decided to leave the post as is and confirmed my manhood in a comment on Beth Kanter's site (nothing dirty!) (link). Later I received an email from Deborah Elizabeth Finn that my gender identity was a big enough issue for a group calling themselves the Technobabes to discuss it during a gathering (link). I'm floored and flattered and hope the gender mystery wasn't the only reason you came to the site. There is still the gender mystery for my unborn twins!

It was interesting to me that the use of the word "cried" led many people, not just the Technobabes, to believe I was a woman. There are all kinds of socio-psychological lessons that can be derived from this. I just want to clarify that the word "cried" can mean several things, including yelling for someone to pay attention. And frankly, man or woman, who hasn't wept in the face of insurmountable computer illiteracy? :)

Technobabes, thanks for the support!

An Opinion About Raiser's Edge

Celeste had inquired about my opinion on Blackbaud's Raiser's Edge (RE) in a recent comment (post). It's a program that has dominated fundraising and one that I've worked with quite a bit. However I should clarify, I don’t work with Raiser's Edge (info) directly. That is: not the database end of it. I do manage the installations, upgrades, maintenance, and troubleshooting, and currently work closely with a very talented in-house DBA. On occasion I do find myself in the development tools, though. Between the DBA’s experience and my own, I find RE to be a well conceived, well supported application. It does exactly what it is meant to do and seems to do so quite competently. More often than not, problems I come across have solutions found in the online knowledgebase. While the DBA has outwitted many of the Blackbaud support staff, I have felt they are all well enough trained for my needs, patient, responsive, and clear. That's what I need from my complex-application providers.

If you’ve not used RE, be prepared for a couple of things.

1) Complexity. Logically constructed and versatile though it may be, RE requires training for effective use. I would never setup an RE database without help. After training, new functions can be picked up relatively easily. It helps to have a dedicated staff person on RE, but there are plenty of consultants specializing in the product if needs arise.

2) Expensive. Blackbaud has made an industry out of charging non-profits exorbitant prices. Their products seem well worth it though. I would recommend RE if your non-profit can handle the initial and recurring costs.

Due to RE's costs, I recommend a few things. Speak to other non-profits that use RE to understand the full scope of RE's deployment into your organization. Don't limit yourself to just the ones Blackbaud provides as references. An investment of this level shouldn't just make fundraising and customer management easier. This product should shape the way your development department operates, opening up new roads to money and constituent generation. Have a plan for growth in place before you buy and be willing to change that plan as you experience the strengths and weaknesses of RE.

Kintera Sucks, Man!

The mind can only take so much of the illogical. When 75% of one's time is spent trying to make connections between tasks and elements in a program as vast and as ill-conceived as Kintera, all one wants to do is nap. Instinctively the brain knows that putting so much effort into something inevitably fruitless is fruitless in and of itself, and therefore prefers to shutdown. My initial psuedo-optimism has passed (post).

It's hard to argue Kintera's benefit when you look at the numbers. My non-profit makes heaps off the relatively minimal investment in Kintera. Hard to argue until you factor in that data management and site traffic have very little to do with Kintera. Kintera's function, at least in the capacity we manage to use it, is not unique. Many products such as ESX (site), Convio (site), and Blackbaud's NetCommunity (site), could do just as well because in the end the tools provided are just tools. Granted, I've not used other services, but ours site's traffic, this non-profit's service, and the reasons why people donate have nothing to do with Kintera and everything to do with the quality and sincerity of this organization.

I think my company is trapped into thinking that Kintera is the only road to online donations success. I can't explain their insistence on staying with Kintera any other way. In the end, Kintera only makes this company's life harder. Its tools are difficult to use and its support is non-existent. Volunteers, constituents, and donations are practically manually managed since Kintera won't speak to Raiser's Edge with any competence. After my three-day training, the instructor who claimed a supporting commitment to all his students has never once responded to my emails. (I never even got the fleece promised me!)

At least I got some Silly Putty (info) from them. Do you know that the harder you throw Silly Putty, the harder it gets (demo)? That's cool! At least Silly Putty makes far more sense (info) than Kintera.

Kintera is a lemon. There are options. Go with them.

Speaker/Tower Confusion

A frenzied social worker called saying her boss' computer would not start. She was left in charge of checking her director's email while she was on vacation. Ignoring that I had already explained to everyone that I can help them check another person's email from their own computer, I went upstairs to help. I walked into the director's office to find the panicked social worker leaning over the desk, desperately turning the speaker on and off.

Yeah, alright, I'm just picking on silly staff now. But sometimes it's necessary.

Misbehaving Mice

When I first started at the adoption agency, one of the sweet older social workers would leave voicemails complaining that her mouse did not work. She was never in her office when I arrived but the mouse seemed fine upon investigation. The voicemails kept coming and I would keep missing her until one day we connected. I ran upstairs and asked her to show me what was going on. She promptly picked up the mouse, buttons to palm, and demonstrated how badly the mouse behaved.

Funny Stuff

The last post, along with Michael Stein's story (post), has cheered me up a bit. I will post a few funnies over the next couple of days. Please do write your own.

*****

Deep in the bowels of the basement of the my last job, the adoption agency, I found a spot to house the old computers until there were ready for recycling. Cluttered with old chairs, file cabinets, boxes, and other office supplies, I never paid much attention to the dark recesses of the room. One day, as my collection of recyclables expanded into the darker regions, I discovered .... a professional-grade meat/cheese deli slicer.

Old Buildings Are Wired Funny

Once upon a time, at my old job, a staff person had been promoted and was given her own office. She decided she wanted her computer in a corner and I set it up by her request. Normally she kept regular hours but once in a while she would come in early or stay late. Soon after she moved I started getting messages or emails about odd occurrences. The PC would not always start in the morning, then start on its own when she wasn't looking. Sometimes the PC would be on when she came in, yet she was sure she had turned it off the night before. In the evening it would just shut off unexpectedly. Unfortunately a lot of this happened when I wasn't in the office and they weren't regular events.

One day I was in a little after 5 PM when she called to tell me her machine had just shut off and that it wouldn't start again. I went up and realized everything connected to that outlet was off. The circuit breakers were fine so I decided to check the equipment in the other rooms. I started with the adjacent room and found nothing unusual. As I entered the next room over I flicked on the lights to inspect the equipment. Immediately I heard the staff person yelling from the other office that the computer had turned on. I laughed and I laughed. This office was relatively far from the outlet her computer was connected to. Old buildings can be amusing.

I was reminded of this recently when I was told by a colleague that a group of people in her non-profit could only receive email between 9 AM and 5 PM. After much investigating of network settings, it was discovered that the hub that provided the room with connectivity was attached to an outlet that was connected to a light switch in the office of a very punctual woman.