|
I was on call for about two weeks on a project when the usual support person wasn't available.
The thing is that they can call you any time, so it limits you - you might have to not go out with friends or at the least take a laptop with you in case you need to handle a call.
Being called (waken up) in the middle of the night to resolve an issue isn't fun. It depends on what kind of person you are, but it can influence you in that you don't sleep well because you are expecting to be called.
I did get paid for the overtime though, so that was nice, but I wouldn't want do it again and definitely not for an extended period.
|
|
|
|
|
As a freelancer, I'm usually the only contact my clients have with any technical knowledge at all (certainly regarding applications, sometimes regarding hosted websites etc too). Therefore, if there's a problem - I'm the only one who can fix it. That means effectively being permanently on-call not only for my "current" (active) clients but all my clients still running my software.
That means you might not have dealt with someone for 2 or 3 years, but if their hard-disk suddenly gets full, or a d/b gets corrupted, you either choose to deal with it, or you effectively write off any chance they might come back to you for future work. (as well as having to live with the knowledge you may have just caused their business to fail).
In fact problems are often a trigger for them to re-contact you, remember how f***ing awesome you are, and decide that they can't put off that enhancement project any longer.
I make sure all my clients fully understand I'm a one-man band, and simply can't be available 24x7x52, but that I will always do my best to get them out of whatever tight spot they get into, support-wise. Knowing that you're the go-to person for any problem really helps to focus the mind during development, too, as you need to account for those "once-in-a-year" edge cases; if you don't, you can bet they occur at the most inopportune time for you to fix.
You have to factor in "lifetime support" when billing for development; with a client who doesn't know you, that can seem expensive so you need good referrals and reputation.
Most importantly, you simply need to love doing what you do; then when you get called away from your favourite film, or some other thing you were really happy to be doing, it's not that big a sacrifice. The hard bit is being as equally "on-call" to family and friends. If a system goes down, get it back up and running a.s.a.p. and fix the root cause at a more convenient time.
|
|
|
|
|
I hate using phones as a result...
Steve Naidamast
Sr. Software Engineer
Black Falcon Software, Inc.
blackfalconsoftware@outlook.com
|
|
|
|
|
I'm probably the only geek in the room that doesn't have a cell phone. Others may not be able to function without one. But I hate phone with a vengeance.
|
|
|
|
|
I have turned down a lot of 24/7 - 365 stuff.
But I "am" on call because of my consulting work. I have been called in at all hours, and remember a few years ago a 10pm call in, I left at 7am and slept the entire day.
I focus on having things setup so I am not needed like that.
(Fail to backup, start the restore. Or fail to backup, and WAIT until I wake up, LOL)
Nowadays with workers across the globe, hire some bloke in Australia or vice versa.
We have a few Russians to help cover the nights if we need it.
But we work to LIVE, not the other way around. Or at least we shouldn't.
|
|
|
|
|
Getting paid for off hours work is an expected bonus. Working off hours for free and especially where you have to get up at the middle of dinner or 3 am just to solve an issue is a pain. I did it when I was younger, now getting up really takes some effort.
|
|
|
|
|
on call here too 24/7+ my normal working hours, but mine is on site trips, sometimes I can call into a customer's computer and fix the issue, but 9 times out of 10 it's a hardware issue and I'll have to travel to the customer. all that for $65k a year.
I dream of quitting this job for the last 17 years. 3 more and my kids will have moved out might be time for a change then.
|
|
|
|
|
|
ie, not SCSI/USB, like the UGreen cables. I need just plain bulk, ie, the cable doesnt need any kind iof set up.
Has anyone come across this kind of thing?
|
|
|
|
|
No - but can I suggest that should you decide to Google it you check "Safe search" is on first
|
|
|
|
|
Already searched of course, but the detials of the USB interface arent advertised.
|
|
|
|
|
Or to quote Cosmo Kramer, "Look, I'm not judging you. In fact, we here at PBS, we have many programs celebrating your lifestyle."
|
|
|
|
|
Maybe I did not understand the request. But here, not realy a cable only (Atmel Pdf) : USB Host CDC Demonstration
modified 19-Jan-21 21:04pm.
|
|
|
|
|
Yeah, tried those, there is something bespoke in the chip thats only set by the driver that ships with the product. Changing it for my generic CDC-ACM driver results in no throughput.
|
|
|
|
|
so you're looking for an extension cable? This is what I googled: usb male to male cable[^]
came right up.
#SupportHeForShe
Government can give you nothing but what it takes from somebody else. A government big enough to give you everything you want is big enough to take everything you've got, including your freedom.-Ezra Taft Benson
You must accept 1 of 2 basic premises: Either we are alone in the universe or we are not alone. Either way, the implications are staggering!-Wernher von Braun
|
|
|
|
|
Which one consists of just bulk pipes?
|
|
|
|
|
In this context, what do you mean by "bulk pipes"? Is this to be used like a network cross-connection would be used between two PC's, for instance? USB-A port on machine X to USB-A port on machine Y?
#SupportHeForShe
Government can give you nothing but what it takes from somebody else. A government big enough to give you everything you want is big enough to take everything you've got, including your freedom.-Ezra Taft Benson
You must accept 1 of 2 basic premises: Either we are alone in the universe or we are not alone. Either way, the implications are staggering!-Wernher von Braun
|
|
|
|
|
USB, bulk pipes. You know, not ISOCH and not interrupt, but bulk.
The ones I have got are in fact SCSI disks (USB sticks) and the hardware needs to be initialised with a sh*t load of SCSI commands, which I dont want to have to replicate in my driver.
If the device were just bulk pipes then its a simple matter of throwing data down one end and reding it out the other.
It could be run as a network, if you had an NDIS-USB driver, that could spoof the Mac address, I have written one of these before, and could use it, if I had just bulk pipes on the hardware.
Anyway, just ordered two 'Windows Easy Transfer' cables. Perhaps they wil do the trick.
--edit--
And this is just to test some basic architecture while the real hardware is being developed.
|
|
|
|
|
So you want no signal processing to be done on the wires? Hmm, what you ordered may work. Not sure.
#SupportHeForShe
Government can give you nothing but what it takes from somebody else. A government big enough to give you everything you want is big enough to take everything you've got, including your freedom.-Ezra Taft Benson
You must accept 1 of 2 basic premises: Either we are alone in the universe or we are not alone. Either way, the implications are staggering!-Wernher von Braun
|
|
|
|
|
Signal processing? You dont understand USB I think. The USB hardware takes care of the low level protocol, the bus negotiaion, SOFs, NAKs, ACKs etc etc etc.
All it has to do is when connected to the host is present two bulk pipes, out and in respectively at each end so a very simple URB write and read can move data from one end to the other.
|
|
|
|
|
LOL. Yes, I know that. But your "bulk pipes" thing and the other comments you made confused me. Whatever. The Windows transfer cables that I've seen have a little box in between. I don't know what it does, maybe it absorbs/blocks the power output from either end.
#SupportHeForShe
Government can give you nothing but what it takes from somebody else. A government big enough to give you everything you want is big enough to take everything you've got, including your freedom.-Ezra Taft Benson
You must accept 1 of 2 basic premises: Either we are alone in the universe or we are not alone. Either way, the implications are staggering!-Wernher von Braun
|
|
|
|
|
Without the box the comms is, supposedly, ineffective.
|
|
|
|
|
How long does it take the Tourettes Society to swear in a new member?
Bad command or file name. Bad, bad command! Sit! Stay! Staaaay...
|
|
|
|
|
How the h*ll should we f***ing know?
Anything that is unrelated to elephants is irrelephant Anonymous
- The problem with quotes on the internet is that you can never tell if they're genuine Winston Churchill, 1944
- I'd just like a chance to prove that money can't make me happy. Me, all the time
|
|
|
|
|
First they need to stop swearing at the applicants.
Sin tack ear lol
Pressing the any key may be continuate
|
|
|
|