In part 1 we discovered CDFW's pain. Part 2 dealt with CDFW's admission of his ignorance and dealing with consultants. Part 3 saw CDFW prepare for battle with his trusty squire in tow. Here CDFW discovers the cost of magix.
"And, as I expected, when computers are hooked up, nothing works properly. A call to the sorcerer's cell gives me the minimum info I need to get started and the comment from him, "We need to talk.
"YA THINK?!?
"And a promise to come in later that day. Which seamlessly evolves into tomorrow morning. It's OK. This is my eighth contact with a network sorcerer. I know what to expect. I'd love to be pleasantly surprised, but so far everything's going according to my previous experiences. At least this time I have the supreme advantage that I have a secret magic password to get into the -- shudder -- new ($800) router.
"OK, I've got three things I need to have happen. I need to get network access, I need to get internet access, and I need to get something new: cross-domain, cross-subnet secure access to a financial (very private) file.
"With no documentation, it takes me about thirty minutes to figure out the telnet command structure of the new router. I try a few spells and manage to get network access. I'm not sure which spell worked, but it's working so I'm good. Internet access eludes me, though. After an hour, I identify the problem. I have subnets, now, where I didn't before. The $40 main router that has served me so well since I put it in last year can't handle subnets. Ah, well. I can't complain, as I've gotten more than my money's worth from it, and the sorcerer will be in in the morning and he can put in a new one. The existing main router is not able to invoke the truly magic name of "Cisco," so I know I'll hear whines from the sorcerer. Still, the router is a noble, if vulgar, beast for its diligence, and I'll not gainsay it."
Next, the wisdom of magic.
I'll be speaking at the San Francisco April '07 Emetrics Summit on Quantifying and Optimizing the Human Side of Online Marketing on May 7, 2007. Come on by and say hello.
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