A dose of reality
Okay, now that I've gotten a post about my virtual existence out of the way, it's time for some reality.
The newspaper I work at is about to make some changes. In an effort to offset some of the increase in newsprint costs, we're about to start printing on narrower paper. Many papers are already doing that, so we're not exactly trend setters here. While we're at it, most of the type styles will change too.
People will notice, and that's okay. When I saw the product of a test run, it struck me as "cute" somehow, but I had to look at it for a bit before really seeing the difference in size. What most people won't realize is the sheer amount of work involved in something like that. Then again, end users in any sense rarely understand how much trouble a seemingly minor change can be to those who have to implement it.
In our case, every single template we use to produce the paper has to be resized and restyled. Databases must be changed for the new sizes, prices, and styles. Worst of all, some "old dogs" around the office will need to learn a few new tricks. I've seen computers do some pretty strange things, but rarely have they matched the the simple, stubborn habits of human beings.
Ultimately, though, I think I lucked out this time around. Someone else got stuck with the style redesign. The changes to our system are ready to go, we just need to modify and replace the appropriate files over the next few days as deadlines allow. Between now and Tuesday, I have to remain on call (as the other tech here is leaving on vacation today), but it doesn't look too bad. All I really have to worry about at this point are unforeseen problems that may crop up.
... ... ...
Of course, those could be famous last words. Here's hoping all goes smoothly.
The newspaper I work at is about to make some changes. In an effort to offset some of the increase in newsprint costs, we're about to start printing on narrower paper. Many papers are already doing that, so we're not exactly trend setters here. While we're at it, most of the type styles will change too.
People will notice, and that's okay. When I saw the product of a test run, it struck me as "cute" somehow, but I had to look at it for a bit before really seeing the difference in size. What most people won't realize is the sheer amount of work involved in something like that. Then again, end users in any sense rarely understand how much trouble a seemingly minor change can be to those who have to implement it.
In our case, every single template we use to produce the paper has to be resized and restyled. Databases must be changed for the new sizes, prices, and styles. Worst of all, some "old dogs" around the office will need to learn a few new tricks. I've seen computers do some pretty strange things, but rarely have they matched the the simple, stubborn habits of human beings.
Ultimately, though, I think I lucked out this time around. Someone else got stuck with the style redesign. The changes to our system are ready to go, we just need to modify and replace the appropriate files over the next few days as deadlines allow. Between now and Tuesday, I have to remain on call (as the other tech here is leaving on vacation today), but it doesn't look too bad. All I really have to worry about at this point are unforeseen problems that may crop up.
... ... ...
Of course, those could be famous last words. Here's hoping all goes smoothly.
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