Off the Record

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Have a real-life story from the front lines of IT? Send it in, and we'll publish the best -- anonymously, of course -- in the Off the Record blog. If we publish yours, we'll also send you a $50 American Express gift cheque.

All clues point to fraud o'clock at the steel mill

A fledgling programmer tracks down the answer to a nagging question, to the old guard's displeasure

11/12/14

3 terrible tales from the tech cleanup crew

Turnabout is fair play as a veteran techie shares stories of slackers, liars, and amateurs in IT

11/05/14

A bad contract comes back to haunt the team

A tough negotiation over a software contract stretches over months, but the drama extends after the ink is dry

10/29/14

We didn't nuke your files; we, er, mislaid them

A rookie technician snatches salvation from the jaws of destruction, all while running on too little sleep

10/22/14

You don't need tech support ... you need a marriage counselor

An irate wife staunchly believes porn on the PC is the problem -- when she should be taking a closer look at her marriage

10/15/14

The executive bonus plan: All for us, none for you

Employees at one company are doubly disrespected when they discover the fate of their holiday bonuses

10/01/14

You messed up, junior -- now take a break

The new kid on the IT team braces for a teachable -- and teasable -- moment when a system reboot goes awry

09/24/14

Danger, danger -- the robot arm has gained sentience!

The day's routine is livened up with a tape silo with a robotic arm, a tool to automate tasks, and a tech staff with a sense of humor

09/17/14

When servers go silent: An admin's nightmare

Amid a routine cleanup, a tech is confronted with the deafening silence of servers gone offline

09/10/14

Slackers in the office? Must be the boss's kids

Nepotism rears its ugly head when a new timekeeping system reveals two workers' lazy, cheating ways

09/03/14

Back to basics: 5 baffling tech support tales

Kill this key! Use your bionic vision! Play family counselor! These requests are all in a day's work at the help desk

08/27/14

Are you experienced? Not for this IT job

Good luck to the IT manager and assistant separating fact from fiction as they try to fill a networking position

08/20/14

A do-nothing CFO gets the upgrade he deserves

A CFO more interested in golf than in work gets the biggest, baddest machine IT can provide -- but don't look under the hood

08/13/14

Overpromised, underdelivered -- and the joke's on them

Mishaps and misfires pile up when a vendor miscalculates badly on an IT project's scope and cost

08/06/14

Company Casanova leaves trail of broken hearts, busted servers

The office Lothario is the most popular person in the company until his favors go too far -- and catch the president's attention

07/30/14

Office tyrant: My way or the highway -- hey, come back!

Enough is enough for an IT contractor working under a tempestuous boss who terrorizes the employees

07/16/14

Our fault? Read the project audit and weep

A wise development team brings in the big guns against accusations of mismanagement on a troubled software project

07/09/14

What! Porn in the office? Oh, never mind

A tech pro is charged with monitoring Web use at a family business, but gets an unexpected response when the worst offender is revealed

07/02/14

Paging IT: Please report to the emergency room stat!

A techie rushes to the emergency room when critical equipment goes down -- and uncovers the most basic problem of all

06/18/14

No boss? No problem! An ERP upgrade done right

When a messy ERP transition hits rough waters, one tech pro relies on know-how, grit, and luck to right the ship

06/11/14