In business areas where IT is a clearly defined discipline, different than what the primary business of the company is, where most, if not all employees have trouble performing their daily details without a clearly defined "IT function" within an organization, IT organizations seem to have sprung up as if they were needed, in all places where they were really needed. That they have not been (until now) clearly and obviously needed in your organization, suggests that the business need is not so clear cut. May I draw some parallels? I have worked in R&D environments around scientists and engineers, who know how to do most of the IT functions that non-technical people wish IT would do for them, and who actively resent some snot-nosed MCSE telling them how good Group Policy and locked-down IT environments are for The Business. May I suggest that what will (sadly) happen in your environment is that a major IT disaster will create the instant perceived need for Standardization and Lockdown. it is only a matter of time. Your most prudent course may be to do nothing extraordinary, but be there and ready with solutions when the actual animal offal hits the actual rotary air-movement apparatus. Warren

The very first Commodore PET model did indeed have a "calculator" keyboard that is more like the PC Jr Chiclet keyboard, than like a regular typewriter keyboard. Warren

I hate bell. I hate rogers. This is good news for everybody but the people at Bell and Rogers who enjoy screwing over their customers. W

Wow. Love the linear pdf. Including the doodle on the last page! W

Actually it was Windows XP's naieve "get to the desktop at all costs, as fast as you can" strategy (an effort to speed apparent boot times) but which delayed a lot of stuff loading, that resulted in Windows XP booting, and then not being usable for nearly 1-2 minutes after you boot. In vista, the startup architecture and the IO scheduling were fixed well enough that the machine, once booted, could actually be used, wonder of wonders. W

I'm 41, and I'm not happy with that advice about staying put. I'll tell you why. Because part of being a great software developer, is confidence in your ability to land on your feet. I have seen every mindgame management has at its disposal, too. And I pick my battles carefully, and I take notes. When people are arrogant bastards, I don't call them on it. I wait for a chance to leave, and I leave them to the hell of their own making. And I agree with absolutely everything Number6.2 says, except the verdict; Stay put. Only stay put if the place you are is not killing you. Make a lateral project management move to some other job that is 90% PM and 10% programming. Then make another lateral move inside the same company, that gets you the mix you like. Who says you can't do whatever you want? What kind of stupid software company would ban its PMs from coding? Oh right. Most of them. Because they're idiots. So leave. Who needs to work for idiots? Who cares where you land at 65, if you're dead of a heart-attack or a stroke, at 50. Toxic work environments kill you, especially if you're a typical overweight male geek, and your health isn't that great. W