Pissed, pissed, pissed.

[coolohoh]

Ok, I have less than 10 mins before I head to the lab so I'll make this quick.

Got an email this afternoon from one of the higher ups... Asking if the lightcycler needs offline processing because they are going to hardware lock it.

Basically, they are forcing everyone to use their stupid online booking system. And things just doesn't work that way with experiments because things may crop up last minute during the plate preparation and stuff... You can't know exactly how long it's going to take. Doesn't help that there's practically no one using this equipment anyway, why force people to book it? Really, they just want to force users to pay. And pay up indeed. The cost of using the equipment is ridiculously high. Even though that thing has been around for so many years... They certainly don't know this term called 'equipment depreciation'. Really. Sure, the LC480 isn't very cheap, but after so many years of owning it...? By usual standards the equipment depreciation would be depreciated the value to about 0 now. And nope, they are going to install a lock that'll black out the computer screen once your booking time is up. So if you want to run your plate overnight? Great, you now have to book the equipment just to retrieve your data the next morning.

Meh. You know what? I can very well just book it at the start for the shortest block, start the run, then leave going and book it again only after it ended. Well... Provided they don't shut down the computer and only the screen. I don't think the lock shuts down the computer though. Sudden shutting down of PCs would cause hard disk failure.

Basically, this just motivates me even more to find a new job. They are just making things harder and harder for researchers. I've had enough of this shit. I'm out. Well. Once I get another job.

Comments

[perkyandproud.livejournal.com]

They charge the users...in such a stupid way??

Man, if I were them I'd set up a logging algorithm that tracks usage and bills the researchers once a month. Pre-booking discourages use...they're kind of shooting themselves in the foot.

And may I ask why they're charging in the first place? Aren't you doing the research for them? I can understand needing to keep tabs on something from an accounting point of view (and my suggestion would work well for that, as well), but this seems contrary to good business if you are in the business of producing results!

[coolohoh]

I know right! It's ridiculous! Of course, the money for the equipment usage comes from the project funding, or the center funding... But it's still a really stupid system. Just thinking about it makes my blood boil. With experiments things are fickle! I might end up taking way more photos on the confocal, or way less, depending on how the results turn out! I can't predict it! I can't predict my experimental results!

Even more stupid is how... If an equipment is bought with the project funding, after the project ends, the center takes over the equipment and they start charging users for it! It wasn't even purchased with the center funds! Ridiculous! Sure the center needs money for the upkeep of the machine - preventive maintenance contracts and what not - but certainly not at the rate they are charging the equipment! If the argument is that there isn't enough users for a particular equipment, then why was the equipment purchased in the first place? And they should be trying to get projects that use the equipment instead. Increasing prices does no good! The center is really really rich anyway. They are buying new equipment like there's no tomorrow. And most of the equipment aren't even utilised. Some machines have sat there for years (literally!) before anyone started using it. And even then the usage averages out to less than once a month. All the hardware, but not the software. Nor project sophisticated enough to need the hardware. Stupid, stupid, stupid.