strongmantim - Slashdot User

Comment Re:Go easy on the "should" will you? (Score 2, Insightful) 360

by strongmantim on Tuesday April 07, 2009 @09:25AM (#27488145) Attached to: Internal Instant Messaging Client / Server Combo?

Thanks for the support! According to many posters here, I should also likely Google programming languages, learn to program, write my own IM/chat application, etc. There are a lot of people on Slashdot who have already gone through all the research and have a ton of experience using a particular server or client. I didn't ask this question on other boards or sites because I knew I wouldn't get honest, helpful answers from the other sites... I chose Slashdot because the community is resourceful, intelligent, and knowledgeable. Thanks again for your post!

Submission + - Internal Instant Messaging Client and Server Combo

Submitted by

strongmantim

on Monday April 06, 2009 @06:08PM

strongmantim writes: "I work for a medium-large company with a decent-sized internal help desk (25-30 people) that I manage. We're looking for an internal, secure, FOSS (if possible) instant messaging/presence awareness client and server combo. Healthcare is our industry, so transmission of PHI (protected health information) is a sensitive area. Therefore, the server has to be able to log any conversation that occurs. It is preferred that outside protocols (such as AIM, MSN, Yahoo, etc.) are not supported by the client, though if it does support them, it will be one more policy for me to enforce that my techs do not connect to them. All of the computers connecting to it are Windows XP and it should be scalable up to 100 people or so (in case we decide to include our entire office in the roll-out). Hardware and OS for the server are not an issue. Oh, and one more thing: It has to be free. Suggestions?"

Joomla's Project Director Talks 1.1 96

Posted by Zonk on Tuesday March 28, 2006 @10:52AM from the fast-times-at-joomla-high dept.

daria42 writes "It's been a hectic six months for the Joomla open-source CMS since its split from the Mambo project, but according to this interview with project director Andrew Eddie there are even faster times ahead. Next week Joomla will make its formal debut at LinuxWorld Expo in Boston, with the milestone Joomla 1.1 release due towards the end of April. As Mambo and Joomla continue to diverge, Eddie says, users and developers will be forced to declare their colours and pick one or the other for production sites."

Comment I can't login to the system! (Score 1) 962

by strongmantim on Wednesday January 18, 2006 @12:39AM (#14496870) Attached to: What Should People Understand About Computers?

I work for a helpdesk and I find that the most difficult thing to get out of a user is what the heck they are trying to do. "I can't get into my system!" can mean Windows, a terminal session, VPN, AS/400, Unix, AIX, HPUX, webmail, Exchange, or any of the other 10 proprietary "systems" my company uses. I am also in charge of training all the n00bs. The first thing I tell them is that our employees are the stupidest people you will ever meet. The second is that getting the information out of them that you will need to solve their problem is 90% of the battle. It sure is easy to be smug and arrogant about knowing how to use PCs (and tech in general) when you work at the helpdesk, but it is always settling to remember that I sure as heck couldn't be a pharmacist (like most of the callers are).

SO... I guess one thing I would include would be to work hard to distinguish the difference between (for example) Windows and Office and Word. Windows = Operating system. Office = Application Suite. Word = word processing program. Yet somehow teach the reader that all of this is software at the same time. This isn't an easy task in a Windows-centric world (since Windows is document-based, rather than application based like Mac OS X). Good luck to you! I look forward to buying your book for my parents next Christmas.

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