You Know, "That Guy"

You know the one I'm talking about. He's young and brilliant, and he knows it. In fact, in his mind, he's the only one that knows what's going on, and how things should be. He started when the company was smaller and is used to having the freedom to do whatever needed to be done, because that's just the way it was back in the day.

But now the company is bigger. People have moved in, around, and above him. Processes have changed. And it's not that anyone hasn't told him that, he just wants to be able to do what he's always done, even if it's someone else's department now.

I had an argument with "That Guy" today. You see, we just migrated our entire current product code from Microsoft Visual SourceSafe into Microsoft's new Team Foundation Server, and while he used to have Administrator access to the VSS server and databases, he has not been granted that kind of access to the new TFS server. The reason is simply this: source control management is my department's responsibility. He's just a developer. A brilliant one, yes, but still just a developer.

To his credit, he has never done anything detrimental to any server he has had access to in the past. I wouldn't go as far as to say that he's careful about it, just that he hasn't done anything bad so far. But he is impatient, and often reckless in his "getting things done," at the expense of any consultation or accountability. And our department is all about accountability - we like having an email trail of everything so there are no questions later as to why something was done the way it was. Believe me, it has been nothing but pain when there is no trail, and has saved our asses more than once when there was.

But the argument went on, and it became pretty apparent pretty fast that he was both taking it personally, and and did not want to lose his unchecked control over the source control system only for the sake of having the power to do what he wants when he wants.

I know we've capitulated to this guy many times in the past, but this time I'm putting my foot down. I was hired to do a job and I'm going to do it at the level of quality that has become expected of me. I can't do that if someone else is mucking around unfettered and not telling anyone what he's doing, let alone asking permission first. He simply has to accept that as the company has grown, responsibilities have shifted away from him and into different departments. It's time for him to grow up and get on with his job, and trust other people enough to do theirs.

Are Open Wireless Networks a Thing of the Past?

Answer: Maybe not!

I brought my personal laptop with me to work today. I like doing this, but haven't in a while because it was the only really usable computer in the apartment, up until I fixed my girlfriend's laptop. I like it not only because I can browse freely without worrying about the corporate proxy and firewall tracking my usage and blocking some of my favourite sites, but also because I can use it to record my day-to-day thoughts on my blogs.

I used to use an open wireless network that just happened to be nearby. I should make it clear that I never attempt to access the actual networks when I connect to an open wireless, I only use them for the Internet connectivity. I figure if I'm not doing anything illegal, and you're not securing your wireless access points, then we don't really have much to say to each other.

The network I used to use is now secured, no longer open to the world. I scanned the area repeatedly and couldn't find any other suitable open wireless networks.

This is good because it means businesses are smartening up about their WAPs, and realizing that they need to be secured like any other access point to the network (like, say, the Intertubes).

Unfortunately, the cost is that people like me no longer have quick and easy access to the Internet from virtually any point downtown.

But there is hope! I was purposely avoiding the open WAP of a nearby hotel, because the last time I used it, I was asked to provide a credit card number to do any actual browsing. I tried it again after failing to find anything else, and lo and behold, it's now free for all!

I know that the city also provides wireless internet access in a few limited locations downtown, but they filter it for inappropriate content.

So I guess while companies are getting smarter and closing off their open wireless, we can count on cities and hotels to fill in the gap and provide access to what is mre and more being considered an essential service - The Internets.

Reinstalling XP

I'm reformatting and reinstalling Windows XP on my girlfriend's laptop. Despite how it's still the most widely used operating system, it feels so old already. This might only stand out for someone like me who has sat through so many installations of XP, but there it was.

I'm also a little stunned at the number of updates that have been released. I installed a copy of XP with SP1 slipstreamed into it. After the install completed, Microsoft Update insisted that I download and install the 62 pre-SP2 updates before I could install SP2. I don't know why it did that, and figured it would take less time to just let it do it than to track down the reason or the elusive full download.

After SP2 finished installing, there were another 49 post-SP2 updates to download and install. I managed to get through two full-length movies while updating from SP1 to SP2 with all the latest updates. That's a little ridiculous; Microsoft really needs to revise their service pack and update rollup policies. In other words, they need to actually have a policy that makes this update process easier and faster by introducing service packs and update rollups more frequently. A quarterly update rollup doesn't sound unreasonable, does it?