Vent coming up! ... ... ...

Sorry, but I have to take this out somewhere...

I'm doing a support session for some students who have been given laptops (Acer TravelMates) as part of their MBA (this is a £4K + course to take). A lot of the users are foriegn and don't speak great english but seriously:

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WHY DID IT TAKE ME 45 MINUTES TO EXPLAIN TO 1 PERSON THAT YOU CAN'T USE A CAT5 UTP CABLE AS A MODEM CABLE!!!!! <IMG SRC="smilies/mad.gif" border="0"> <IMG SRC="smilies/mad.gif" border="0"> <IMG SRC="smilies/mad.gif" border="0">

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That's better

Cad

<IMG SRC="smilies/rolleyes.gif" border="0">

Why can't you <IMG SRC="smilies/biggrin.gif" border="0"> <IMG SRC="smilies/biggrin.gif" border="0"> <IMG SRC="smilies/biggrin.gif" border="0"> <IMG SRC="smilies/biggrin.gif" border="0">

If it weren't for the (L)users, a lot of us would be unemployed. Look at it this way: every time someone asked goofy question and demands a lengthy response, count the dollars going into your pocket. It helps me! <IMG SRC="smilies/wink.gif" border="0">

Here is the answer to your question:

Dilbert's "Salary Theorem" states that "Engineers and scientists can never earn as much as administrators and sales people."

This theorem can now be proved mathematically:

Given: Power = Work / Time and, Knowledge is Power

Substituting knowledge for power, we obtain:

Knowledge = Work/ Time

If time = money, then:

Knowledge = Work/ Money

Solving this equation for money, we obtain:

Money = Work/ Knowledge

Therefore, as knowledge approaches zero, money approaches infinity, regardless of the amount of work done.

Conclusion: the less you know, the more you make.

CAT5 has 8 wires as I understand it. You only need 2 wires to make a phone cable. Of course you'd have to use the right connector and connect the right wires to the right "pins". But doing so, would give you 4 phone lines on one cable. I've done this in the office. I am sure that making your own rigged lines can lead to attenuation, but it shouldn't be too bad. If my "mentors" in telecom and networking have steered me wrong on this, somebody please explain it so I won't make the same mistakes twice.

Quote:

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Originally posted by WesFlash:
<STRONG>CAT5 has 8 wires as I understand it. You only need 2 wires to make a phone cable. Of course you'd have to use the right connector and connect the right wires to the right "pins". But doing so, would give you 4 phone lines on one cable. I've done this in the office. I am sure that making your own rigged lines can lead to attenuation, but it shouldn't be too bad. If my "mentors" in telecom and networking have steered me wrong on this, somebody please explain it so I won't make the same mistakes twice.</STRONG>

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There is nothing wrong with using cat5 for phones other than the fact that it is a waste of money to make cat5 patch cords when you get one when you buy a modem. There is no reason why you can't clip an RJ11 plug to the end of a cat5 cable.

Most new houses are wired with cat5. With the twisted pair that the cable offers it does create less interference and potential buzz in the phone line.

Of course anyone that does computers, like my buddy, that just built a house he had them pull a strand for phone and an strand for network to each room and dropped it at a patch panel. He did the same with Coax.

Quote:

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Originally posted by WesFlash:
<STRONG>CAT5 has 8 wires as I understand it. You only need 2 wires to make a phone cable. Of course you'd have to use the right connector and connect the right wires to the right "pins". But doing so, would give you 4 phone lines on one cable. I've done this in the office. I am sure that making your own rigged lines can lead to attenuation, but it shouldn't be too bad. If my "mentors" in telecom and networking have steered me wrong on this, somebody please explain it so I won't make the same mistakes twice.</STRONG>

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It wasn't that I couldn't have done it - I could, despite it being a pain in the ar$3 - but more the fac that I was talking in English and he was listening in Gibberish. <IMG SRC="smilies/biggrin.gif" border="0">
Plus the fact that every time I told him it was less time and effort to go to the resource office and, egads, ask for a modem cable, he held up the end of the UTP cable, and the end of a phone cable, and said "you make this (utp cable) into this (phone cable)". Anyway, I feel better now, since my girlfriend cooked me a gorgeous dinner. <IMG SRC="smilies/biggrin.gif" border="0"> <IMG SRC="smilies/biggrin.gif" border="0">

Cad

<IMG SRC="smilies/tongue.gif" border="0">

Cad, I do agree with you. Now, if there had been 2 or more phone lines already installed then maybe making a cat5 cable into several phone lines might look more appealing, but why? Like you said, there were phone cables readily available. Why go through the hassle when you can get just what you need. I mean it isn't like they had 4 modems on one card and 4 lines in the room to mulitlink with. I wonder if that was their motive or were they just proving themselves to be the users we all have come to love and.....love?

Gotta love this one,
I got a call from a user bitching and complaining that the modem that we sold him was no good. " It just isn't connecting to the internet". After walking him through reinstalling drivers and checking all the settings I asked him who his ISP was. I had to control my laughter when he answered "Internet Explorer". This guy actually though he could just buy a modem and hook it up to his phone line and surf away. Well, I set him straight right away.

Quote:

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Originally posted by Johnny Blaze:
<STRONG>Gotta love this one,
I got a call from a user bitching and complaining that the modem that we sold him was no good. " It just isn't connecting to the internet". After walking him through reinstalling drivers and checking all the settings I asked him who his ISP was. I had to control my laughter when he answered "Internet Explorer". This guy actually though he could just buy a modem and hook it up to his phone line and surf away. Well, I set him straight right away.</STRONG>

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I can beat that. I once had a guy storm in and throw a modem at me because he couldn't surf the net with it. It took me five minutes of listening to him shouting to explain that he needed a PC to go with the modem - he thought that he could just use a USR external on its own <IMG SRC="smilies/biggrin.gif" border="0"> <IMG SRC="smilies/biggrin.gif" border="0"> <IMG SRC="smilies/biggrin.gif" border="0"> <IMG SRC="smilies/biggrin.gif" border="0"> <IMG SRC="smilies/biggrin.gif" border="0">

Cad

<IMG SRC="smilies/rolleyes.gif" border="0">

not quite on the topic of modems, rather networking;
I had a call on our helpdesk software which stated:

"user gets message 'Cannot connect to domain controller' when booting up in standalone mode"

I nearly cried. I really did.
Not because of the user, but because the helpdesk people who log the calls are supposed to go through rudimentary checks with the user first. Just goes to prove...it would be quicker to train a monkey.

Quote:

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Originally posted by rscos:
<STRONG>not quite on the topic of modems, rather networking;
I had a call on our helpdesk software which stated:

"user gets message 'Cannot connect to domain controller' when booting up in standalone mode"

I nearly cried. I really did.
Not because of the user, but because the helpdesk people who log the calls are supposed to go through rudimentary checks with the user first. Just goes to prove...it would be quicker to train a monkey.</STRONG>

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hehe...this is one for the
George Site. They have a UBB now and people are venting about endusers on the job.

GG

Quote:

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Originally posted by GirlGeek:
<STRONG>
hehe...this is one for the
George Site. They have a UBB now and people are venting about endusers on the job.

GG</STRONG>

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Kewl
A whole new set of Georges....im going there now to LMAO <IMG SRC="smilies/biggrin.gif" border="0"> <IMG SRC="smilies/biggrin.gif" border="0"> <IMG SRC="smilies/biggrin.gif" border="0">

OMG - the george site is even using the same call logging software - Remedy....deja vu or what?!!!!

I can seriously relate to most of the samples on the george page. no, REALLY. you have no idea how thick some of our users are.....

Quote:

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Originally posted by MacGyver:
<STRONG>Here is the answer to your question:

Dilbert's "Salary Theorem" states that "Engineers and scientists can never earn as much as administrators and sales people."

This theorem can now be proved mathematically:

Given: Power = Work / Time and, Knowledge is Power

Substituting knowledge for power, we obtain:

Knowledge = Work/ Time

If time = money, then:

Knowledge = Work/ Money

Solving this equation for money, we obtain:

Money = Work/ Knowledge

Therefore, as knowledge approaches zero, money approaches infinity, regardless of the amount of work done.

Conclusion: the less you know, the more you make.</STRONG>

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interesting.... I find it true...