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* Write a driver for my scanner that only ran on XP so that it runs on Linux.
* Make ANY tool or program I am using run on Linux.
* SAP -- the chaotic GUI of this piece of SW is making me mad.
* Windows -- make it slim and simply working without the need to buy a new computer together with all the peripherals with each new version; make it even more safe to use; improve the garbage collection of the system itself (so that it's not inflating to tens of GB just because of the updates); remove that stupid file sorting method from the system.
* Create a piece of SW to track down all those SPAM nonsense and those ransomware guys so their websites are put offline by the executives and the guys themselves are locked away for a long time.
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SAP is chaotic by design.
About a decade ago, someone pretty high up the chain, who was a couple of months away from retirement, started to do odd jobs in his fade out period. One of those jobs was in-school recruitments.
Having had no specific training for the role, he opted to simply explain how they make money, in broad strokes.
The highlights were:
- make sure the stack, from DB and up, is not trivial to work with; training needs to be essential AND cost-prohibitive.
- make sure none of your components interop with anything, so you lock-in your customers from the start.
- the point is not to sell software, but to make the customer dependent on your services, indefinitely, without being able to afford in-house specialists.
- litigate any threats to profit.
- we like money, so come work for us if you like money.
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You say that like it's a bad thing.
New management is wanting the various pieces to work together better. At least that's what I hear.
I’ve given up trying to be calm. However, I am open to feeling slightly less agitated.
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+1 for Windows and Spammers
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I did paperwork and software for medical devices for 12 years for the fda and it was not fun.
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True - the paperwork alone scares many people away. I've worked in medical devices for 16 years now and yeah it's not going away either with new items that come up. It also depends on the company too.
"Computer games don't affect kids; I mean if Pac-Man affected us as kids, we'd all be running around in darkened rooms, munching magic pills and listening to repetitive electronic music."
-- Marcus Brigstocke, British Comedian
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No, no, maybe slot machines.
Or maybe beer taps, yeah, beer taps.
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Well companies that use brewers yeast do have the best culture. 
Did you ever see history portrayed as an old man with a wise brow and pulseless heart, weighing all things in the balance of reason?
Is not rather the genius of history like an eternal, imploring maiden, full of fire, with a burning heart and flaming soul, humanly warm and humanly beautiful?
--Zachris Topelius
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Game developer I am.
Game developing me likes much.
Games for life.
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It's just wetware and "code", right?
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And here's the original code...
Human DNA as C code
Freedom is the freedom to say that two plus two make four. If that is granted, all else follows.
-- 6079 Smith W.
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Love the "Removed for debugging purposes" ...
"I have no idea what I did, but I'm taking full credit for it." - ThisOldTony
"Common sense is so rare these days, it should be classified as a super power" - Random T-shirt
AntiTwitter: @DalekDave is now a follower!
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HMI-Software for Machine Visualisation
Customized Applications
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None of the above?!?!? 
Anything that is unrelated to elephants is irrelephant
Anonymous
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The problem with quotes on the internet is that you can never tell if they're genuine
Winston Churchill, 1944
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Never argue with a fool. Onlookers may not be able to tell the difference.
Mark Twain
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Wouldn't that be "something else"?
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Not if the answer is None at all... 
Anything that is unrelated to elephants is irrelephant
Anonymous
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The problem with quotes on the internet is that you can never tell if they're genuine
Winston Churchill, 1944
-
Never argue with a fool. Onlookers may not be able to tell the difference.
Mark Twain
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Just to see for myself what kind of mess it really is 
I mean, they tracked COVID cases using Excel (and the thing reached maximum rows).
The software the police uses was so bad it reached the news.
I recently had to send in a form and online wasn't even an option (I had to buy an envelope and stamp and everything  ).
And it's not just the Dutch government, I remember people in Iowa couldn't vote because of some new voting system.
I hear people from around the globe complaining about government and IT, so it must be a special kind of bad.
I briefly worked for a semi-government instance and that one wasn't so bad, but everything (and I mean everything) was written by external developers because the internal ones were masters of procrastination.
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(Local) government worker here (non-ICT) - we're buying reporting software from a private sector company and it's not ... 'optimal'.
In fact, the SQL (while producing results) is referencing the wrong tables...so guess what the results are worth?
But Management think they're (the company) are the bees-knees so.... 
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Not so that it recorded less usage, though that would be tempting.
But so I could access usage on a regular basis from an app and better monitor what costs money.
Especially since the price appears to be rising with no sign of a slowdown in the rate of climb ... 
"I have no idea what I did, but I'm taking full credit for it." - ThisOldTony
"Common sense is so rare these days, it should be classified as a super power" - Random T-shirt
AntiTwitter: @DalekDave is now a follower!
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Yes, smart means it only works with the original provider, change to another and it has to be read manually. As usual another proof of government incompetence with all things involving software, even a monkey might have thought of enforcing a common standard, but no that would have stifled enterprise and cost slightly more.
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That's only the case for the early ones - SMETS1 devices.
All suppliers should now be fitting SMETS2 which work seamlessly with the new provider. Apparently, I haven't moved since I got it due to the number of UK suppliers going bust in the last 12 months.
"I have no idea what I did, but I'm taking full credit for it." - ThisOldTony
"Common sense is so rare these days, it should be classified as a super power" - Random T-shirt
AntiTwitter: @DalekDave is now a follower!
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Have you checked there is not a port somewhere?
My Dutch meter should be OK - didn't get around to it yet, but as far as I know I just need to cut an old phone cable, hook it up to an ESP-8266, flash the prebuild firmware and hook it up to the DSMR port in the meter to get MQTT readings every few seconds - and then feed that to Home Assistant.
Got a vacation house in Denmark, I am afraid that meter predates the time they had to provide HAN (home area network) ports - but any newer meter should have a port that can be used. Anyone having any ideas on how a meter could accidentally get in a state where it needs replacement? 
Or maybe they will replace it if I just keep replying to every bill with "oh, that was an unexpected low consumption, it is as if it does not measure the power going to my weed farm under the roof".
Also trying to get the wM-Bus key out of the district heating. It is a very small village, so I am not convinced they are used to dealing with people wanting the key...
After that the water company is on the list to try to get a wM-Bus key... the meter has a nice alarm if it suspect a leak. It will then display a small icon on a hard to read display in the corner of a dark room 900km away. Could be handy with something a bit more noticeable. Hmm, there is a joke somewhere here with notice posted far away and water needing a towel - but can't quite work it out.
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