Walt's Corner

See this for a little background information. In sum, the US Government IT folks score a D+ in the Federal Computer Security Report Card. Not very good. Not very good at all.

Working for the US Government, I can testify to the lack of skills within the IT department if the local departments are any indication of the global picture. I have many examples of incompetence. Here is, what I believe to be, the best example.

I move to another department and adopt the computer of the person I am replacing. My first use of the computer gives me the impression that there is more on this computer than should be. It’s full of viruses, spy-ware, ad-ware, and has some start up issues resulting from a botched installation/update. Basically, the OS is shot.

Don’t take this as belittling someone for not knowing the terms, slang, etc. of the computer world, but as a belittling of someone whose job it is to know this stuff. They get paid good money for having specific skills.

One of the IT guys comes walking down the hall. I tell him that my Windows is shot and proceed to tell him the symptoms. I tell him the couple DLL errors I receive at start up, and the fact that once it does start up, I have to log out and back in again in order for the computer to work right. He tells me that I don’t have a Windows problem. I tell him it is a Windows problem, and if he gives me the Windows CD I can fix it myself if he doesn’t have the time to handle it. Working with and repairing computers and computer networks were some of my duties elsewhere. Again he tells me that giving me the Windows CD won’t fix the problem. He tells me that the problem is not with Windows, but with my OS.

What???!!! Come again?

So then I tell him that Windows is my OS, and he swears to me that it isn’t. So I try to explain to him that Windows is an OS, and there are many flavors of it to include 95, 98, ME, NT, 2k, 2kPro, XP, and XP Pro. He still tries to convince me that Windows is not my OS. So I tell him that if he were to bring me the Windows CD right now, what would be on it. You know what he tells me? Outlook, Excel, PowerPoint, etc. THAT’S MS OFFICE I practically screamed at him. I told him to go ask his IT supervisor what comes on the Windows CD. He told me “well, that’s what me and my buddies have called it. It might also be called Windows, but that’s what we always called it.” That’s when I told him that this explains everything. I told him that he should know better. Anyone in his field would not make the mistake of saying Outlook when they meant Outlook Express. I told him he needs to get his money back if he paid for his school. Walking around with that “Microsoft Certified” logo on your shirt.