call yourself a computer expert?

Well, no I didn't. But that has not stopped some folks posting their pleas for help on Linux as comments on my blog. I am flattered. As to getting help, I would suggest looking out a Linux support group near to where they live and posting there for help. I cannot answer some of the questions, particularly about hardware that I have never used, but I am sure there is someone with the answer. So, go on, put linux User Group into your favourite search engine along with the town nearest you. You may be pleasantly surprised.

Baha'is try to live by the principles of honesty, modesty, service to others, investigating the truth. You may find your computer support group has some of those same ideas. After all, they are none of them in it for the money!

remote access (2)

Well, her I am sitting at home again, with the same company laptop computer. Only this time I have been told to run a specific remote access program. Right, I do that and it asks me which machine I want to connect to. "Progress" I thought to myself. But alas no, as it just reported that there was no computer of that name on my network. No, it is on the network back at the office. So how to get a connection to the office LAN? I was told that it would "just work" and ask me for my identity number.
I'll have to phone them whilst I am at home and go through the steps. The laptop is clearly not configured for remote working, or else there is some other instruction that the support staff have forgotten to tell me. What we need is some clear documentation.

Why do I end up being the one experiencing problems and ending up writing the documentation myself? I wonder ....

growth and change

There is no standing still. There is either growth or decay. When we plant a small tree, we support it by providing a post beside it and gently tie the young tree to the support. If there is no support we risk the young tree being broken before it is strong enough to survive on its own. But if we tie the support too tightly we can kill the tree by stopping it from growing.
In the same way we support our children by being there for them when they need us, but not being too restrictive. Sure we need to impose rules, but we must also allow them to make mistakes and still give them our loving support.

So when it comes to the world of work, how then do we expect to bring in new work practices without providing support for the staff who are affected? Training, support and care are just as much needed by adults as they are needed by children or plants.

who is in control - us or Computers?

In speaking to friends who have worked in call centres, and in email conversations with Baha'is around the world, I am finding that call centre staff are for the most part not allowed to deviate from the scripts they are given. Whilst this is not really any great surprise to me, it does show how much we have given up control of our working environment to that we fit in with computers. And I thought that we invented computers to be our slaves, not for us to become their slaves!
In fact it really comes down to the lack of flexibility in the scripts, which after all were devised by humans. I differentiate those call centre staff who are just out to make a sale by calling you from those others whom we call when we have a problem to be sorted out. I think it shows a lack of knowledge on the part of the staff who are answering the calls, a lack of trust in those who manage the staff and a lack of understanding on the part of those who devised the scripts - all of which makes me less inclined to have any further dealings with such a company. Far from being a help, using fixed scripts is actually giving a bad impression of the company and ultimately losing its customers.