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Forum Index : Other Stuff : The problem with business.....
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Gizmo Admin Group  Joined: 05/06/2004 Location: AustraliaPosts: 5078 |
Couple of things I thought I would share. First up, I have a business developing software intranet applications. Its just me, work alone, and earn less than minimum wage, but my cost of living is low so cant complain, too much. I do have a trademark for one of my software applications. I registered it about 9 years ago. Its up for renewal late next year, and renewal cost about $500. In the last few months I received 4 trademark renewal reminder letters from businesses like "Patent & Trademark Organisations Pty Ltd". These letters remind you your trademark is coming up for renewal, and you can pay now by filling in the details and returning the letter. And for the service they charge over $1200! What a con. I wonder how many people just pay the amount without looking into it. Something to keep an eye out for if you have a trade mark. My second gripe ( yeah, ok, I do complain a bit ) is "the cloud". I have a couple of clients who have been convinced by their IT provider to move their server to "the cloud". This is a bad idea, and I've told them so. If the internet goes down, then their server is not accessible, and they have to stop work. As I type this I have one client who has 20 employees who cant work today because their internet is down. Its ridiculous. When the server was on site, a internet outage meant you couldn't send emails or surf the web, but the business could still function. Now that they are using a cloud based server, their business grinds to a halt every time the internet goes down. And in Australia, this is a common issue. Use the cloud to backup and share files, NOT act as your business server. Glenn The best time to plant a tree was twenty years ago, the second best time is right now. JAQ |
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plover Guru  Joined: 18/04/2013 Location: AustraliaPosts: 302 |
Wholeheartedly agree regarding the cloud, it makes no sense to use this a primary storage. |
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TassyJim Guru Joined: 07/08/2011 Location: AustraliaPosts: 6098 |
I used to look after a business which ran a network of Windows 3.11 PCs. I managed to get one PC upgraded to W98 but the rest just chugged away happily and I upgraded the hardware with second hand systems. Everything just worked and the owner was not going to update his software no matter what. We could still source printers with parallel port interfaces. Eventually there was a change in management and the new 'cloud based' management software appeared. The people installing the new system used Intel compute sticks and WiFi as well as a slow ADSL Internet. I laughed when I saw it but they just thought I was too old to understand the new way of doing things. I was called back in out of retirement and got rid of the WiFi. I persuaded the new IT people to try a W7 refurbed DEL and it was 'better' They are now changing all the PCs to better systems. They tried numerous Internet methods and their current setup is costing $800 a month and still not as good as the old W3.11 system. They are due for NBN soon but it is only FTTN so who knows how good it will be. I am waiting for them to give up and put in a local server and just use the cloud for backup. Glad I retired. Jim VK7JH MMedit MMBasic Help |
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Tinker Guru Joined: 07/11/2007 Location: AustraliaPosts: 1904 |
Well, I was born a while ago and retired 10 years ago but still have not yet figured out what exactly they mean by the term "cloud" Surely, sending data to a "cloud" must store it physically somewhere? Where is that?? And, would doing that not increase traffic on the cable/ fibre optic/ satellite network since there is a 'there and back' trip involved rather than one to a local storage/ memory/ processor? Klaus |
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Grogster Admin Group Joined: 31/12/2012 Location: New ZealandPosts: 9306 |
@ Tinker - 'The Cloud' exists as storage space on gigantic data-centers. These are huge air-conditioned buildings with racks and racks of computers and thousands and thousands of hard-drives - and serious connections to the power grid! Any business running cloud storage services can purchase space on one of these data-centers, so this is where 'The Cloud' really lives, and the people offering cloud storage are really just the middle-man between you and the actual data-center itself. Have a look at this video as a starting point, then follow your nose from there. @ Jim - The Intel Compute stick is a cute idea, but I have heard some bad things about it's stability as it get really hot, and I think the thermal issues cause performance problems. Funny how the Windows For Workgroups 3.11 was so simple in it's networking, but it just worked. Something to be learned there with the obsessive over-complication of things today. @ Glenn - Yes, cloud storage is great for backups, and I use 1TB of DropBox myself, but it is only as a backup. Totally agree that no-one in their right mind should be using cloud-based storage or applications for any serious work UNLESS you can GUARANTEE your internet connection, and that last one is a big ask. Smoke makes things work. When the smoke gets out, it stops! |
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| TassyJim Guru Joined: 07/08/2011 Location: AustraliaPosts: 6098 |
AS well as off site storage, cloud includes offsite applications. Back in the 'good old days' the main business applications ran on servers in the cupboard and all the workers sat at dumb terminals. All the computing power was in the server. In those days the programs were text based and ran quite well over a 9600 baud serial line. Cloud based is a modern version. The workers use a web browser on their tablet or smart phone etc to access the brains which can be physically anywhere in the world. The problem is, the developers of the software tested it over a fast network and using a fast PC as the client. They also rarely test it in 'real life' situations. Insert a slow PC, slow WiFi, slow internet, software that is too 'pretty' and not 'smart' enough and not developed by people who are going to use it. The developers don't like being told how cr...p their software is, especially by some old f...t who allowed the business to stay with W3.11 for 20 years. Don't tell them about the old W3.11 system still running so they can access historical data that was supposed to be uploaded to the cloud.... Jim VK7JH MMedit MMBasic Help |
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| Grogster Admin Group Joined: 31/12/2012 Location: New ZealandPosts: 9306 |
[Quote=Jim]Back in the 'good old days' the main business applications ran on servers in the cupboard and all the workers sat at dumb terminals. All the computing power was in the server. In those days the programs were text based and ran quite well over a 9600 baud serial line.[/Quote] Yes indeed. The VT100 terminal standard was the in-thing in the 80's. Big computer in a room of it's own, and lots of 9600-baud text-mode terminals all over the place. The old nursecall system at our local village that got barbecued by the lightning strike last year, still used that interface - 9600 terminal text-only screen. In years gone by while I was still doing my apprenticeship, they used genuine Wyse-100 terminals with the amber CRT. As the text menu never moved, when the screen failed, and you took it out to fix it, you could clearly see the main menu burned into the phosphor on the CRT.  You'd fix the CRT, and put it back in. Receptionist just got used to seeing the ghost image of the main menu when in any of the other menus.  We had two of those Wyse-100's, and one was used while the other was being fixed. Eventually it became impossible to fix either of them, and there were no spare ones, so we went to using a cheap DOS laptop with a DOS-based serial terminal such as Terminal Plus to run the system. .....until Mother Nature intervened last year. Memories. Smoke makes things work. When the smoke gets out, it stops! |
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| Tinker Guru Joined: 07/11/2007 Location: AustraliaPosts: 1904 |
Thanks Grogster, absolutely mind boggling stuff. I do feel sorry for kids born now, what a life will they have? Klaus |
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| M Del Senior Member  Joined: 09/04/2012 Location: AustraliaPosts: 155 |
We just went this way at work, sites every where in OZ (& overseas), big server rooms, dumb boxes to plug mice etc into, rain kills the server rooms & phones. And some real life activities do not work. Stuff backed up on a 5 year old laptop in our office. And we also use over twice as much paper now, print, sign, scan, email, ditto at the other end, then we print, add a folio number, scan and archive. What happened to the paperless office? Mark |
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CaptainBoing Guru Joined: 07/09/2016 Location: United KingdomPosts: 2075 |
Guys! Keep it down! You'll blow my cover!  "Cloud Integration Architect" |
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