*$s layoffs and fixing Microsoft's ECTS for MOSS 2007 for them

So, I'll bet you're wondering what *$s is, eh?!

(OK, it is internet slang for something .... the picture here is a hint..... I'll wait....)

Got it?!

Cool!

So anyways, I was at *$'s today.


But what was different about it?

Well, not much - but I have this system: If the line for the drive-through is more than 3 cars long, I go inside to get the coffee. Then, if there are less than 3 or 4 spots open in front, I skip it entirely. This system guarantees that I'll be in and out of there in 5-7 minutes. (Unless, of course, the receptionist from the orthodontist's office across the street is in picking up the coffee for everybody, in which case I do not yet have a way to identify their presence from the road or way to account for that variable if I could.)

ANYWAYS - the line was atrocious this morning - like 6 cars, bent around the back even. So I went in. There was only one couple in front of me, but it took them forever to get served. By then I was committed - there was no going back!

And then I found out why - they had HALF the staff they normally do. They had had layoffs!!!

Needless to say, I was sad, yet my service was poor.

The whole thing frustrates me. I mean, their coffee quality has been slacking lately, and now the service is going downhill. One of the main reasons I go there is because it takes about the same amount of time for me to stop there and get coffee as it does for me to make it myself, and the cost is pretty inexpensive since I'd waste a lot of coffee at home making it for myself and they make it better anyways. Bah!

So, maybe it is time for me to start investigating alternatives. A man needs his coffee, on time, in the morning.

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And now, for those who cannot even feign interest in technical discussions regarding computer software, feel free to quit reading this post. That read this right before bed to make sure you go right to sleep.
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If you don't know, I'm the practice leader for a publicly-traded technology consulting firm.

Among other things, I architect pretty complex computer systems, set up projects with clients to deliver them, staff them, then make sure they get done in a way that makes us money.

In short, the buck stops with me on a technology level. Which also means I get all the hard stuff or really messed up stuff if nobody else can handle it.





Well, that has happened with a technology called Microsoft's External Collaboration Toolkit for Sharepoint, or ECTS. The install got all boogered up due to some changing components on the infrastructure level and what not.

Wouldn't be so bad except it is a fixed-bid project and the due date is in 3 weeks!

Yowzah!

Come to find out, Microsoft's install instructions were wrong. So I had to fix it for them. I also had to manage a team halfway across the world to set stuff up for me in India. What a drag. It is amazing the cultural differences there. Instead of just saying "I don't know" the typical mideastern cultural reaction is to cover like they know and buy time to try and figure it out behind the scenes, meanwhile messing everything up in the process. Meanwhile you keep asking for status updates and you get "Yes, it is ready to go!" but it really isn't.

This has been going on for months. (There is an indentation on the wall by my desk about head level at the client site btw.)

So, today I was happy because I actually got it all set right. Took a lot of time and focus, but I got it set right.

The key was having the CA-issued certificate, ADAM (Active Directory Applicaiton Management) Connection String in the web.config, and parameters into the setup scripts with the fully-qualified domain name (FQDN) of the machine - AFTER all their dependencies were set correctly like the DNS and firewall entries.

Nothing like having the entire network, database, and external network configurations changed on you to hose up an install.

Anyways, I actually taught the Microsoft boys a thing or two about setting it up after this one.



Have a good night's sleep!!!