Today I Cried (IT)

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

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

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

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!

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.