• Michael (unregistered)

    That's what I call personal service!

  • Arthur (unregistered)

    Ummm.. Congratz?

  • (cs)

    Haha, I wish all my software spoke directly to me like that!

  • (cs)

    The Real WTF is that "Tim" is hard coded and not in the config file.

  • drozhonovich (unregistered)

    unless of course they reference the currently logged in user and use that as the 'Hi <name>,...' value. But then again, probably not the case.

    captcha is 'slashbot', how fitting.

  • (cs)

    Hi undefined, please make sure...

  • Worf (unregistered)

    Said software couldn't be for the Tektronix DSA7xxxx series 'scopes and serial analyzers, could they?

    http://www.tek.com/products/oscilloscopes/dpo70000_dsa70000/index.html

  • Wha? (unregistered)

    "What do you think you're doing, Tim?"

  • (cs)

    to bad he wasn't called Dave.

    I'm Sorry Dave, I'm afraid I can't do that Until you hit Ok

  • Anon Fred (unregistered)

    I've written software with the customer's name embedded right into it lots of times.

    You'd be surprised how well it cuts down on the privacy.

    (And, yes, it was encrypted.)

  • gabba (unregistered)

    Yeah, so I guess the wtf is that they didn't extract a big NRE charge out of Tim and promise to deliver the software 12 months from next Tuesday.

  • w00t (unregistered) in reply to Worf
    Worf:
    Said software couldn't be for the Tektronix DSA7xxxx series 'scopes and serial analyzers, could they?

    http://www.tek.com/products/oscilloscopes/dpo70000_dsa70000/index.html

    Well, the screenshot says 'TEKTRONIX,DSA70804 found.', so I'm guessing that's a yes. Have fun finding Tim's feature!

  • (cs) in reply to Michael
    Michael:
    That's what I call personal service!
    When I have developed a relationship with a customer, based upon frequent calls for add-this, change-that, or whatever, as a favor to a good (spelled p-a-t-i-e-n-t) customer, I will often give them a temporary hack like this to get them going until the properly implemented feature is released, but the title bar of the app is usually changed to something like "Version 1.2.3.SpecialFavor#1ForTimAtXyzInc".
  • Anonymous Coward (unregistered)

    HORRIBLE UI!

  • Gedoon (unregistered) in reply to morry
    morry:
    to bad he wasn't called Dave.

    I'm Sorry Dave, I'm afraid I can't do that Until you hit Ok

    One of our webservers is named HAL-9000 :) I mean... how cheesy you can get! On the other hand, it was me who came up with the name...

  • (cs) in reply to Anonymous Coward

    But you know, I might could live with a horrible UI if it was designed specially for me...

  • Anon Fred (unregistered) in reply to Anon Fred
    You'd be surprised how well it cuts down on the privacy.

    Lord, I meant "cut down on the PIRACY."

    But maybe the two go hand-in-hand...

  • Dude (unregistered)

    What the hell...you gotta be kidding me!!

  • Eli (unregistered)

    Hmm, I'd love to see the build management system behind that thing...

  • (cs)
    strangly-worded buttons
    Yeah, I've choked reading a few of those myself.
  • Joe (unregistered)

    If it solves a very specific, narrow engineering need, then UI definitely comes in a distant 2nd. Not saying what I see there would get the approval of Don Norman (The Design Of Everyday Things), but still.

    Captcha gygax - what one of the buttons probably has as its caption.

  • mjp (unregistered) in reply to w00t
    w00t:
    Worf:
    Said software couldn't be for the Tektronix DSA7xxxx series 'scopes and serial analyzers, could they?

    http://www.tek.com/products/oscilloscopes/dpo70000_dsa70000/index.html

    Well, the screenshot says 'TEKTRONIX,DSA70804 found.', so I'm guessing that's a yes. Have fun finding Tim's feature!

    It's probably 3rd party software that connects to the DSA70804 via the GPIB bus.

  • Kuba (unregistered) in reply to Eli
    Eli:
    Hmm, I'd love to see the build management system behind that thing...

    I don't think it's too hard. I administrate a couple aegis-based projects, and we routinely brand the software with the name/artwork of a reseller/distributor.

    In the end, the result of a release branch integration build is a bunch of .iso files. A technician can then burn those using a web interface on a linux machine (a drop down list of available CDs, and a "burn" button). As soon as a new release branch is integrated, it automatically appears in the "cd burner" interface. Adding a new customization/branding is a 15 minute job, from creation of the change to availability in the production area.

    This leaves very little room for error, and is pretty internal-user-friendly.

    I'm now working on porting our manuals from Word (UGH) to LyX and having autogenerated PDFs out of them. It will become a part of the build process. Thanks to wine, the build server is able not only to compile both linux and windows releases (into RPMs and .isos, respectively), but is also able to take automatic screenshots for the manual. That's why integration with LyX (ultimately LaTeX) makes so much sense..

    Cheers!

  • Matt (unregistered)

    Love how the "Go" icon is an octagon just like "Stop" (but hopefully green, at least?)

    Reminds me of when I was doing icons on the side for a formerly somewhat-known tech company and they wanted an icon for a toolbar button that toggled a process on or off, but they didn't want to go to all the trouble of changing the icon or making the toolbar button pressed to indicate the current state. So they just asked me to come up with an icon that means both start and stop.

    That kind of thing (also "Let's buy an old browser and compete with Internet Explorer!" and "Let's buy this page description product and compete with Adobe!") are why it's a FORMERLY somewhat-known company.

    Captcha is muhahaha. Now I wish this post was more sinister.

  • (cs) in reply to Anon Fred
    Anon Fred:
    You'd be surprised how well it cuts down on the privacy.

    Lord, I meant "cut down on the PIRACY."

    But maybe the two go hand-in-hand...

    Why hello there Doctor Freud! Whatever are you doing sprawled on the floor?!

  • (cs) in reply to Michael
    expected the user to know what strangly-worded buttons did

    strangly-worded? I expected to see buttons labeled with "Choke", "Suffocate", "Wheeze" etc....

  • mexi-fry (unregistered)

    I wish the company that made my Dual WAN router was so responsive. I sent in a feature request into them, and got an autoresponse 3 days later.

    Dear (Prospective)Customer, We have received your feature request and forwarded it to the appropriate parties. Please check in for updates.

    -- Xin[...REMAINDER OMMITTED FOR OBSCURE REASONS...]

    Captcha...riaa (sounds nasty)

  • (cs) in reply to Kuba
    Kuba:

    I'm now working on porting our manuals from Word (UGH) to LyX and having autogenerated PDFs out of them. It will become a part of the build process. Thanks to wine, the build server is able not only to compile both linux and windows releases (into RPMs and .isos, respectively), but is also able to take automatic screenshots for the manual. That's why integration with LyX (ultimately LaTeX) makes so much sense..

    Cheers!

    Huh? LyX is a front end to TeX/LaTeX. Still, smrt move.

  • John (unregistered)

    That is, without question, the most awesome thing I have ever seen.

  • Mr. Eleganza (unregistered) in reply to Dustin_00
    Dustin_00:
    The Real WTF is that "Tim" is hard coded and not in the config file.

    I think we can safely take Tim's name out of quotes here.

  • Kuba (unregistered) in reply to poopdeville
    poopdeville:
    Kuba:

    I'm now working on porting our manuals from Word (UGH) to LyX and having autogenerated PDFs out of them. It will become a part of the build process. Thanks to wine, the build server is able not only to compile both linux and windows releases (into RPMs and .isos, respectively), but is also able to take automatic screenshots for the manual. That's why integration with LyX (ultimately LaTeX) makes so much sense..

    Cheers!

    Huh? LyX is a front end to TeX/LaTeX. Still, smrt move.

    Sure, it's a front end, which is what the tech writers expect. Try convincing people used to Word to write in plain LaTeX. LyX makes it way more palpable, and pretty customizable (you expose only needed styles). LyX->LaTeX conversion is done from command line (without firing up the front-end). Tech writers will edit documents in LyX and use the same change tracking process as our software uses (aegis).

    Cheers!

  • (cs)

    "I'm sorry Tim, I don't think I can do that"

    • Initech 9000
  • irokie (unregistered) in reply to Gedoon

    We have 3 racks called "I", "Like" and "Cake". Originally, it was a joke - CD pen on yellow tape - but when the network points going to the cabs were labelled I/01, L/01 and C/01, I started to get worried.

    Then I realised that at least some of the people I work with might actually have a sense of humour! :o

  • Badger (unregistered)

    Looks like the UI designers were playing Tetris when they positioned those buttons.

  • (cs) in reply to Kuba
    Kuba:
    poopdeville:
    Huh? LyX is a front end to TeX/LaTeX. Still, smrt move.

    Sure, it's a front end, which is what the tech writers expect. Try convincing people used to Word to write in plain LaTeX. LyX makes it way more palpable, and pretty customizable (you expose only needed styles). LyX->LaTeX conversion is done from command line (without firing up the front-end). Tech writers will edit documents in LyX and use the same change tracking process as our software uses (aegis).

    Cheers!

    I'm pretty sure poopdeville was reading "LyX (ultimately LaTeX)" in a chronological fashion: "That's why integration with LyX, and eventually LaTex, makes so much sense." Whereas your reply clarifies that your intent was more "That's why integration with LyX, which is really integration with LaTeX, makes so much sense."

  • (cs) in reply to Matt
    Matt:
    "Let's buy an old browser and compete with Internet Explorer!"

    Worked for some people. :D

  • Jason (unregistered) in reply to tmountjr

    Might could?

    What part of NC are you from? ;)

  • Jason (unregistered) in reply to tmountjr
    tmountjr:
    But you know, I might could live with a horrible UI if it was designed specially for me...

    ^--referring to

  • Michael.H (unregistered)

    thats incredible ahahahahahahahaha I cant believe they actually did that.

  • (cs) in reply to Jason
    Jason:
    Might could?

    What part of NC are you from? ;)

    Oops...PA, actually, but that's what you get for spending the last seven years in upstate SC... :(

  • Jules (unregistered)

    The tool was obviously designed for reimbuing life into bodies assembled out of spare parts. In the words of the immortal Dr. Frankenstein, as discovered by his son, Young Dr. Frankenstein, when reading his lab notes about the 'Eureka' moment, when he discovered the secret to life: "...and then I switched the poles from plus to minus, and from minus to plus!!!".

  • Ian (unregistered) in reply to Matt
    Matt:
    So they just asked me to come up with an icon that means both start and stop.

    Ah, the good old "play/pause" button. Well, it works on VCRs and DVD players. What did you manage to come up with in the end?

    captcha: burned...by a semi-known company ;)

  • anon coward (unregistered) in reply to Anon Fred

    privacy -> piracy ?

  • NotanEnglishMajor (unregistered) in reply to Anon Fred
    Anon Fred:
    I've written software with the customer's name embedded right into it lots of times.

    You'd be surprised how well it cuts down on the privacy.

    (And, yes, it was encrypted.)

    Do you, by chance, work for NSA/CIA/FBI/DHS?

    -Notan

    captcha = gotcha. Indeed!

  • Look at me! I'm on the internets! (unregistered)

    I can haz new WTF plz?

  • (cs) in reply to Jules
    Jules:
    The tool was obviously designed for reimbuing life into bodies assembled out of spare parts. In the words of the immortal Dr. Frankenstein, as discovered by his son, Young Dr. Frankenstein, when reading his lab notes about the 'Eureka' moment, when he discovered the secret to life: "...and then I switched the poles from plus to minus, and from minus to plus!!!".

    The Real WTF is that it wasn't his son, it was his grandson!

    Hey! Where's my "I'm a pedantic dick" t-shirt!?

  • not me (unregistered) in reply to Look at me! I'm on the internets!
    Look at me! I'm on the internets!:
    I can haz new WTF plz?
    Meow.
  • (cs) in reply to tmountjr
    tmountjr:
    Jason:
    Might could?

    What part of NC are you from? ;)

    Oops...PA, actually, but that's what you get for spending the last seven years in upstate SC... :(
    Sounds like you've been influenced by Miss Teen USA South Carolina.

  • Stiggy (unregistered) in reply to mjp

    You're probably right (pdf)

  • Stiggy (unregistered) in reply to mjp
    mjp:
    w00t:
    Worf:
    Said software couldn't be for the Tektronix DSA7xxxx series 'scopes and serial analyzers, could they?

    http://www.tek.com/products/oscilloscopes/dpo70000_dsa70000/index.html

    Well, the screenshot says 'TEKTRONIX,DSA70804 found.', so I'm guessing that's a yes. Have fun finding Tim's feature!

    It's probably 3rd party software that connects to the DSA70804 via the GPIB bus.

    You're probably right (pdf)

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