Technicalities

It’s almost that time of year again! The Rocky Mountain Chapter will soon be seeking new officers for 2010-2011. Volunteering for office provides an excellent opportunity to network with peers, grow professionally and personally, and serve your profession. And, given today’s dynamic environment, it’s an exciting time to get involved in our chapter and make a difference.

Descriptions of all the elected chapter offices can be found here: http://stcrmc.org/elections/runforoffice.htm

• President
• Vice President
• Treasurer
• Secretary
• Nominating Committee

Remember that Committee Chairs are not elected; they are appointed by the Council.

To become a candidate or to recommend someone else for office, please contact Ron Arner (ron_arner@comcast.net) or Joel Meier (joel_meier@comcast.net).

When I got my first tech writing gig (I was not hired as a tech writer but it was tech writing. I got it not because of my writing skills but the fact that I knew WordPerfect for DOS—Alas, reveal codes. I knew them Horatio!) So, the point is, I had no idea what instant messaging was when I first got into this field.

Around 12 years ago, along with some of the folks who will read this Blog, I discovered AOL and IM. And I “dialed in,”

–beeeppp…shhhh…gerbunk….shhhh…bling…bling!–

no one else could use the phone, and I could IM folks far and wide. I did know any of them but I could do it! At that time, I was working for a large software company in the Denver area and you did not install 3rd-party software and you did not IM from work.

Then, about 10 years ago (at the same large software company in the Denver), I kicked and screamed and begged and borrowed, and finally convinced my manager that I had to sit with the developers. “I had to. The success of my job depended upon it” or so I said (and I really thought so). I moved away from the protection of the pack and moved into the den of Development. And sitting in Development, the first thing I noticed was that everyone used IM! Even the managers! I remember sitting across from one of the lead developers and trying to ask questions and never getting any help; trying to ask questions to the guy next to him and never getting any help; and trying to ask questions to the guy next to him and never getting any help. I was at a loss as to what to do. Then, one by one, they all began telling me that same thing; “just send me an IM.” I thought, “Send you an IM? I am flipping sitting right next to you.”

Waiting for IT to descend upon my cube and escort me out the door at any minute, as I was sure that this IM privilege was reserved for the development elite only, I downloaded IM, got all their addresses, and began sending messages:

“I am in the XYZ environment and I cannot log on.” SEND

“use password abcdef” BING

I got answers, err, umm, well, instantly!

I did not get it. Here I sat 4 feet away and had been “Umm excuse me..” for weeks and all this guy wanted was an IM! I got answers from SMEs and I got them fast. So, what did I care! And so it went….

And now to the recent past; the last 4 places I have worked have used either company IM, Yahoo, or MSN. Today, I don’t know how I could do without it. (This whole Blog started out with this paragraph believe it or not.) Where I currently work, the first thing you get is a list of everyone’s IM. And their IM address are in every address book record as well.

Last Friday, I was updating a guide and I did not have the most recent screens shots for the install section. I asked the guy next to me if he knew where I could get them and he said “Send me an IM.”

“Send you an IM.” I thought, “Send you an IM? I am flipping sitting right next to you.” But I did. I am learner, slow learner at times, but a learner.

Before I knew it, an IM request came from someone I don’t even know in Support on the East Coast.

“use url http://www.xyzabc.com”

I did. Several clicks in SnagIt (no endorsement disclaimer applies) later and I was done.

“Thanks John!” SEND

“np” was the reply….

In about 6 minutes I had updated screenshots, start to finish.

And, that’s my Blog after waking up from Sunday nap and before spaghetti dinner.

“Good night and have a pleasant tomorrow.”

“Now, I don’t want to get off on a rant here…” but I opened four cases in two days with Adobe. RoboHelp froze when trying to perform ANY import function (Word, CSS, Master page, and so on). I am NOT satisfied with their “work around,” err… I mean solution.

1) I had to create a new admin account in XP and then run RH 8 from there. That is not a solution. (And I was told if it happens again; just create another Admin account…not a solution.)
2) I had to then install and set up all my Java settings for java output creation in RoboHelp, again.
3) And then have Dev come over and give me access to all the Java apps as my settings are not kept when creating a new Admin acct.
4) And have Dev come over and give me access to Eclipse again as my settings are not kept when creating a new Admin acct.
5) And then had to move over my Outlook settings.
Their support told me, my application is running, and they spent 45 mins on the phone with me (which was reiterated several times that that was long enough). Their support told me that it is not their job to comment on Adobe or Adobe’s solutions (they are an outsourced entity) and they were closing my case.
Thanks Adobe. Not what I expect from a company of ~7, 000 employees and ~2.5 Bil in revenue (in 2008).
Has anyone else had this problem?

Joel