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So today I was in Toronto proper for a quarterly meeting with our funder (Legal Aid Ontario) with a group of other clinics to discuss IT related issues.

The Chief Information Officer (CIO) of Legal Aid is chairing the meeting this go around and is acting in his usual high handed manner, trying to run roughshod over any and all opposition to his "vision" (I swear if I hear him say one more time that he'll take an item "offline" to deal with it, I'll cane the idiot) This is including nearly driving a woman to tears by repeatedly bringing up something she posted on a mailing list that he felt was inappropriate.

Then he brings out his newest pet project, trying to replace "at least one" of our quarterly meetings with video conferencing (at least he admitted this was a purely cost driven exercise)

Then I drop a nice little grenade into his lap... seems not a day before another committee announced that they had received $5k in funding to pilot the exact same thing! Weasel CIO says "He's heard nothing about this, it's different than what the IT department will be doing, IT's version is at no cost"

His excuses fail on several levels:

One: Video conferencing using PC's (one of the options this other committee is committed to exploring) requires the approval of guess who? IT to use their resources. So therefore weasel CIO knows *exactly* what options the other group is looking at.

Two: No cost? So everyone is going to work for free on their own time and the equipment is going to be brought by fairies at midnight? Right... and I can drive a manual transmission <_< (Hint: I CAN'T)

Needless to say a lot of sputtering was involved by him and the meeting was dissolved thereafter...

Quothe Forrest Gump: "Stupid is as stupid does"

NefCanuck

hahahaha....nice one man...

Doesn't surprise me. The execs always want it to sound like they're idea.

Guess you sorta torpedo'd his idea. Good on ya for speaking the truth.

Video confrencing is great if your long distances apart it's cheaper than paying travle expences BUT it seems as though this isn't your case

I am working on a contract to set up video confrencing for BP right now..

Remember what I told you earlier... synchronous bandwidth, one way or another. It's the only way to really guarantee as seamless a picture as possible.

I just finished rolling out our North American stage of our videoconferencing system. It's nice, but it has also been a serious pain in my ass for a few months now.

habmann,Mar 28 2007, 09:00 PM Wrote:Doesn't surprise me. The execs always want it to sound like they're idea.

Guess you sorta torpedo'd his idea. Good on ya for speaking the truth.
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If not outright torpedo'ed at least put him on notice... AGAIN in front of witnesses :lol:

He's real piece of work, seems he was the CIO at the Bank of Montreal before moving over to Legal Aid (Now whether move was a shove out the door or leaving on his own terms, I dunno) and boy does he have that "lock all the computers down" mentality down pat :rolleyes:

Frankly, when he goes, I'll be in line to piss on the remains of his career :censored2:

NefCanuck

NOS2Go4Me,Mar 29 2007, 06:32 AM Wrote:Remember what I told you earlier... synchronous bandwidth, one way or another. It's the only way to really guarantee as seamless a picture as possible.

I just finished rolling out our North American stage of our videoconferencing system. It's nice, but it has also been a serious pain in my ass for a few months now.
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Yeah, I wouldn't mind if you could PM me some of the "lowlights" of your adventures trying to get things working. I mean I already know we have only ADSL connections to a number of our more remote locations so that's red flag #1. The more I know ahead of time, the more I can be ready for the storms (While laughing at village idiot CIO)

NefCanuck

question.. you guys have a need for video conferencing? It's not just a 'see the faces' thing is it?

I work mobile 100% of the time, and video conferencing doesn't ever phase in... however, we've had the occasional netmeeting or sametime meeting over conference calls to host whiteboards and screen saring and whatnot.

darkpuppet,Mar 29 2007, 12:53 PM Wrote:question.. you guys have a need for video conferencing?  It's not just a 'see the faces' thing is it?

I work mobile 100% of the time, and video conferencing doesn't ever phase in... however, we've had the occasional netmeeting or sametime meeting over conference calls to host whiteboards and screen saring and whatnot.
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It's actual conferencing including the virutal "whiteboards" etc.

What's driving this is Legal Aid's new CEO who's motto is "do more with less" in fact that the meeting yesterday the CIO indicated that the goal was to eventually have 50% of the staff of Legal Aid's head office working from home at any one time in an effort to lower leasing costs (Legal Aid's main office at 375 University Ave. in Toronto consists of several floors of the building totalling 60,000sq. ft. doing the math it looks like the CEO wants that down by 30,000sq. ft.)

No wonder Legal Aid to screwing around with our landlord over our lease :ph34r:

NefCanuck

NefCanuck,Mar 29 2007, 01:43 PM Wrote:

NOS2Go4Me,Mar 29 2007, 06:32 AM Wrote:Remember what I told you earlier... synchronous bandwidth, one way or another. It's the only way to really guarantee as seamless a picture as possible.

I just finished rolling out our North American stage of our videoconferencing system. It's nice, but it has also been a serious pain in my ass for a few months now.
[right][snapback]232367[/snapback][/right]

Yeah, I wouldn't mind if you could PM me some of the "lowlights" of your adventures trying to get things working. I mean I already know we have only ADSL connections to a number of our more remote locations so that's red flag #1. The more I know ahead of time, the more I can be ready for the storms (While laughing at village idiot CIO)

NefCanuck
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Sure thing, I'll cobble some stuff together and send it over today.