Ask MetaFilter posts tagged with client

VMWare: Web server on guest OS, accessed from Host?

weston — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 10:40:26 -0800

VMWare Fusion as dev server: How can I set things up so I can access a web server running under the guest OS (Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5) from the host machine? Bonus points if it can be done without plugging into an ethernet network. I've got a web app that will eventually be deployed under Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5, and the client sent me a VMWare image of the production machine so I could test in an environment as similar to theirs as possible (I usually just run the AMP stack under OS X, but they're using older versions of each piece of software, and are unlikely to upgrade soon because of some legacy apps, and we all know php installations vary wildly anyway, so this seems to make sense).

Since I've got VMWare Fusion, I figured this'd be a snap, but there appear to be two challenges:

1) Red Hat Enterprise Linux appears to be expecting an wired Ethernet connection by default. I'm primarily doing work on a MacBook Pro with connectivity done by WiFi. Having to plug in would suck... but this might be the part where getting WiFi to work under Linux would suck more.

2) I'm not sure what tack to take for the general network settings for VMWare (probably "Bridged" or "Host Only"?) and corresponding appropriate TCP/IP settings for the guest OS.

I'd love it if someone could post or point to a comprehensive explanation for making this work, but if you can help with either point #1 or point #2 (or offer any other advice), that'd be great too.

Thanks!

How do I get a deadbeat client to pay their invoice?

zzztimbo — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 14:29:00 -0800

Company still hasn't paid my invoice, what recourse do I have? I worked for a small startup as a software engineer for about a month's time. One day they decide to tell all of its employees that they will shut down for a week because of financial difficulties.

The company is open again but with about a 75% reduction in head count. They are now not paying my invoice for the work that I did before the shut down.

What can I do? Some one told me to file a complaint with the labor board. How do I go about doing this? What is the best way get remunerated for my time and energy spent doing work for them?

Also, I'm assuming the reduction in workforce has left a lot of empty Aeron chairs and computers. Should I asked to be paid in chairs and computers instead? I could use a new Mac right about now.

Why is Gmail (through Mac Mail) not sending some email messages?

airguitar2 — Mon, 12 May 2008 20:34:29 -0800

Help! Why is my Gmail, accessed through my Macbook's Mail application, occasionally not sending emails, even though they're listed as "sent"? I recently learned that a prospective employer never received an important email I sent using Gmail through Mac's Mail-- I chalked it up as a fluke. Now I've learned that another person never received an email. I know that most of my emails have gone through without a problem. Three questions:

a) What is going on? All my messages are listed as "sent" in the Gmail "sent" folder-- but apparently some never *actually* got sent/received?

b) Is there any way to know which messages have/ have not been sent? I'm paranoid that many other emails have never been sent/received, but I have no way of knowing which ones.

c) Is there anything I can do to prevent this from happening in the future? Should I email everyone I've tried to email recently and ask if they've received my messages?

Thanks.

Invoice? Receipt? Help me bill my client properly.

Null Pointer and the Exceptions — Tue, 06 May 2008 17:14:07 -0800

I offered a client a preferred rate for a block of hours and they agreed, so I sent an invoice. Things went great and now they want more, how do I arrange this on paper? Here's the short and simple:
- A client asked me if they could get a preferred hourly rate if they booked a certain number of hours at a time (40 hours)
- I gave them a rate, they accepted, so I sent them an invoice for 40 hours
- They have now used used up those 40 hours, so what do I send the client?

Do I send them a receipt detailing how the hours were spent? Do I resend them the original invoice, or maybe create a new one? Collection is not the issue as they are paying on time. I just want to make clear that the 40 hrs have been spent, how they were spent, and provide whatever is necessary so they can start using the next block of 40 hours.

I'm new to this so any suggestions are appreciated. Oh, this is software dev related if it matters at all.

Thin client terminal hardware problems

Tawita — Sun, 02 Mar 2008 17:59:00 -0800

I am looking to replace some thin-client terminals on our W2K Small Business server running terminal services over RDP. We haven't had much luck with our existing terminal hardware (Compucon Phoenix - the power supplies burn out far too often) so I am looking for something simple, hardy and (of course) not too expensive. We have a 15-terminal, single location set up, connected to a single server running W2K SBS. We are situated in a developing country - hot, humid, dusty, with dirty power and extremely inquisitive ants, and little (if any) IT budget. We are happy with the server set-up (stable and running largely problem free for four years), but it is the terminals that are letting us down. The proprietary (?) power supplies for the Phoenix terminals give up the ghost on a regular basis, and I am sick of spending AU$150 each time to replace them (plus the hassle of having them shipped from Australia - no easy task). We currently have five terminals out of action, and I am weighing up whether we might be better off moving to different brand of terminal. Old technology is fine, but fewer moving parts might be better. Perhaps an external power supply (as for laptops) would be a good idea, so the terminal could be sealed to prevent ant and dust intrusion. Re-purposing old PCs might be a short-term option, but they are likely to have much greater issues with component failure.

I am not an IT person, although I am (unfortunately) the IT person. I assume (hopefully correctly) that it is okay to mix-and-match a different brand of terminal with our existing set-up. We have little money to spend.

Any assistance/suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

If I work out of my apartment, will I be my only client?

pantheON — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 20:54:21 -0800

Can I run a criminal law practice out of my apartment? I'm in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. I'm currently articling (for my American friends, that's a mandatory one-year apprenticeship I have to complete to get called to the bar) at a mid-sized insurance defense firm. I've concluded that I want to get out of this area of the law and I'm interested in pursuing a career in criminal defence. I've been told that I'll likely have to take legal aid cases almost exclusively until I gain some more experience and can establish a full practice. My question is a narrow one: What are the practicalities of working out of my apartment until I can build a practice that can support office space. My apartment is in the business district of the city and about a 10 minute walk from the courthouses. Could I, for example, work out of my apartment, store my files there, and meet clients in public places?

Instant message help

mr. creosote — Tue, 01 Jan 2008 07:00:36 -0800

Need help finding a quick and easy instant messaging (IM) program. Which IM program is best? I currently use Trillian but am a bit distressed over its bloat issues, which makes me concerned over security and CPU consumption issues. It also has a very confusing interface. Are there bloatless alternatives out there that are not loaded with malware? Payware is ok. I plan on using YIM and maybe AIM.

Also I want to start leaving my IM client up 24/7. Are there security issues I need to be aware of, such as payloads someone could send over IM, or a vulnerability with my IM port being open constantly and visible? I already know not to run executable programs.

Thunderbird May Go

southof40 — Sun, 25 Nov 2007 13:52:31 -0800

Help me make HTML email composition in Thunderbird work for me or choose a replacement email client I use the Thunderbird mail client (2.0.0.9 on Win32).

In general I like T'Bird a lot but I've become increasingly unhappy with HTML Email composition. I want help either fixing the problems or finding an alternative.

1. Font drop down contains every font installed (100+) - I want it to show three fonts of my choice or at least modify the ordering so that I can easily see the ones I want. Have asked in TB forums. No response. Anyone know a work around for that ?

2. Whenever I start using bullet points I lose the font formatting (it reverts from what I was using to Times Roman).

3. Pasting text in from clipboard maintains font/sizing of source text. I never want this to happen I want the pasted text forced into the current face/size.

So my question is : anyone know of plug-ins / config options which make TB HTML Email composition work more like I want ; OR anyone recommend a Win32-non-Outlook mail client which does HTML Email composition in a grown up manner ?

Suggestions needed for holiday gift for a great client

SampleSize — Wed, 14 Nov 2007 08:21:27 -0800

I do freelance graphics and have one client that has been a monthly, consistent paycheck for most of the year. I've billed them for about $15,000 since March. Most of my clients will be getting a card this holiday season, but I thought it would be a good idea to do something a bit more for this particular client. Suggestions? I'd like thoughts on both price range and specific items. Also, I have two contacts at the company: The big boss (male), who I speak to only occasionally, and the associate (also male) who is my main contact. The boss can be a bit demanding and has very high standards, but is generally respectful. The associate is a very sweet guy who I like on a personal level. He has also gone to bat for me a few times when the boss was being unreasonable. So: Gifts for boss, associate, or both? Thanks!

Which news client should I use?

PowerCat — Tue, 23 Oct 2007 13:22:18 -0800

Which news client should I use? Most of the ones I used are slow. Also it seems when I download mp3s, it shoves them all in the same folder- that's pretty annoying as I have to manually sort them. Which client should I use?

Should I stay or should I go?

Anonymous — Fri, 28 Sep 2007 16:41:39 -0800

Should I fire my freelance client? If so, how? I've maintained a client's web site under the same contract for about five years. Basically I get a $300/month retainer for up to 10 hours of work (my client and I are both based in the Bay Area), including CSS, HTML, JavaScript, and PHP/MySQL coding.

I set up the site in Movable Type in 2002. The client's needs outgrew Movable Type's capabilities (at the time) so I did a lot of complementary ad hoc PHP coding, so managing the site involves a confusing mix of Movable Type and a custom Admin section.

That combination soon got unmanageable and limited, so I proposed replacing it with a CMS (pMachine) over four years ago. They're basically too cheap to pay for the additional hours or buy CMS software, so nothing's ever happened.

Their communication style makes it difficult to do quality work. Every request is last-minute ASAP! and every e-mail is marked urgent and has "URGENT" in the subject line, so I do things the quick way, not the right way. When I told them this made mistakes more likely and made it difficult to do good work they understood but didn't change their behavior. (They complain about the hours if I try to redo the work correctly later.) They don't review my work, which is especially helpful when you're working under emergency conditions, and they recently complained about something I missed two years ago which they hadn't caught.

Early this year they said they wanted to a redesign in Spring 2007 and convert to a CMS (great idea, boss!). I recommended ExpressionEngine and I offered to spread the work out over several months so there wouldn't be additional cost for my time and to let them use a license I'm not using so there wouldn't be an additional cost for the software. A month or so later they said they wanted to use Mambo, so I did some research and said ExpressionEngine or Drupal would be a better fit for them. No response. (I don't have to have people do what I say, but what's the point in having a consultant when you don't use their consultation or even respond to it?)

Guess what? Still no redesign or CMS. When I asked for an update in June they said they were expecting to make a decision in July.

I'm thinking about telling them I'm canceling the maintenance agreement effective the end of 2007 because I can't provide them with the quality of work they need under these conditions and offering to set up ExpressionEngine before then. It sucks because I've put a lot of time into their site but I'm ashamed of the quality of work I've been able to do under the circumstances and I don't list them in my portfolio.

Is it time to cut them loose? How do I do it?
(I tried to keep this relatively short so I left out the many examples where I've disappointed them.)

p.s. Movable Type is great for a lot of people, but it's not a good fit for me and this client, so please refrain from recommendations on how to make it work.

p.p.s. I wouldn't be surprised if they're already working with another developer because they recently added some new pages to the site that I didn't work on.

How do I get potential clients hooked?

schwa — Wed, 08 Aug 2007 20:40:20 -0800

I'm a software development consultant and am getting frustrated at the number of potential clients slipping through my fingers. I get a good number of interested leads through my website or through referrals (thanks guys) but the ratio of potential clients to paying clients is too low. What might I be doing wrong and how can I help gain these clients? The sequence generally goes like this: I get an email from a lead introducing themselves and the problem they want help with and asking about my availability. I email back and explain that I am available, and that the project sounds interesting and would love to talk more with them about it. At this point one or two more emails go back and forth, with them describing the problem in more detail and me describing my relevant experience and skills. Frustratingly, more often than not this process dies when I don't hear back from the client.

I'm an experienced developer, with good skills in my field and a good track record behind me. I don't think my rate is unreasonable (in fact I think it might well be low for a developer with my experience). I understand sometimes the client isn't ready to hire a consultant and was just looking fore ballpark rates that he can budget for. I understand that there can be a tonne of valid reasons for a client abandoning the process. Its always possible the client has found a better developer elsewhere, and so forth. But I'd like to know what I can do to help prevent this from happening and what I could do when a potential client goes cold on me.

Any advice?

How To Admin my Home Mac from Work Windows! Proxies and Firewalls Everywhere!

ZakDaddy — Sat, 14 Jul 2007 11:14:26 -0800

I need a little help setting up remote admin (VNC) access for Mac OS X 10.4.10 from a Windows client at work. Firewalls on both ends, significant port restrictions at work, and FYI, I've googled this into the ground. The closest I've come to something useful is this post, this post, and this one on MacOSXHints.com, but a lot (read: most) of the crucial concepts are just not sinking in for some reason. Hope Me!

Here's my setup:

1 - Mac OS Tiger computer (acting as a file server) in my home router's DMZ with SSH and Remote Access turned on in the Preferences. Complicating note: I'm presenting SSH over both port 22 and port 443 for reason listed below.

2 - Windows XP Pro desktop at work with local system admin privileges in place. I have both Putty and UltraVNC installed and running. Our proxy only allows outbound connections from ports 80 and 443, hence the complication at home. No big deal, only took about 2 hours and much hair pulling to figure out.

3 - Have successfully set up a DynDNS.org account pointing to my home IP, no problem.

Right now, I can connect from work with a Putty session via myurl.blah.blah:443 (to get through my proxy) and it works fine. W00t! I'm badly stuck at the next step, though; how do I then successfully connect with a VNC client from work to port 5900 on the home Macintosh?

Other notes: I have remote access to my desktop at work via RDP using a Java implementation of a Citrix client, which works fine, so I can accomplish all of my config and testing from home. Which is pretty cool, if you ask me.

Thanks in advance, all.

(I know I ask a lot of questions, but my life is so much better thanks to ask.me. Y'all rock.)

IRC Client for Dummies

Jimbob — Tue, 22 May 2007 02:34:27 -0800

IRC for dummies - what's the best client to reccomend for serial Internet Explorer users, that supports irc:// links? I manage a forum for my better half, and we've been looking for a way to include real-time chat functionality. After having found PHP browser-based chat scripts to be slow and clumsy, and some of the new flash-based chat options (like Meebo Rooms) to be unconfigurable, I've decided that good old fashioned IRC might be the best way to do things.

A certain percentage of members on the forum would probably get frustrated by installing and configuring a separate IRC client, particularly if they have to configure the server and room options (clients tend to come packed with dozens of IRC networks built in). For Firefox users, I'm going to send people a link to install Chatzilla, then provide an irc://... URL for them to click on to enter chat, and that works great. My problem is with IE users - I can't find any add-on for Internet Explorer with the equivalent functionality as Chatzilla.

So, my question specifically is:
- Is there an IRC add-on for Internet Explorer available, that works with irc:// URLs?
- If not, what's the simplest free Windows IRC client that reliably supports being opened by irc:// URLs?
- Failing that, any other ideas? I've ruled out a browser-based IRC client, like PJIRC, on the grounds that all the ones I've tried have pretty much sucked - have been slow, and buggy, and haven't worked for a certain proportion of users.

MUD client for Windows Mobile? Converting Windows software to Windows mobile.

jruckman — Tue, 08 May 2007 12:52:26 -0800

A MUD client (used for text-based role playing games) for Windows Mobile. Is there one? How easy would it be to make one or convert an open source version? A MUD client is essentially a terminal so it should be pretty easy to implement on a Windows Mobile device. I haven't seen any in the wild, so I'm wondering if I've missed it -- and if not, how easy it would be to write one, or to convert an existing open source client into something usable on Windows Mobile.

Are there any tools for converting regular Windows software to Windows Mobile? Any emulators?

Any other insight?

SmallClaimsFilter.

disillusioned — Wed, 31 Jan 2007 01:21:05 -0800

ClaimsCourtFilter: A web design client of ours had a verbal contract with us, approved both the design and the logo, and then reneged due to a "misunderstanding," after most of the work had been completed. (This is ridiculously long because I'm also wondering if we're out of line or insane here, or if we're in the right. Basically: Verbal contract with client, did work, she reneges at very end to go with someone else. Click here to skip to the details and hit the real question. [If named anchor links work...]

Here's the long-winded breakdown: Met client through a networking group we're a member of. The member who referred us did so to his boss, whom we met with twice and spent several hours discussing things with. After meeting a second time and further fleshing out their requirements, we presented a physical contract which she opted not to sign at the time, so we could perhaps drop a feature and save some money. (We determined it would be a negligible savings for her and told her so. She still wanted the "new" contract.)

During this time, because we had a rapport through the networking group, we wanted to streamline this production, sent it off to our designers and had them crank out a complete logo and site design pretty rapidly. She approved (in email) the logo AND the site design and effectively gave a go ahead and a "what's next."

Upon reviewing our contract again, she questioned (at 10am) the following clause:

Authorization. The above-named Client is engaging [us], as an independent contractor for the specific purpose of designing a website to be published on a [us-owned] server.

She asked if she'd be required to host with us, or if she could continue using her existing host, and closed with: "Once I hear back from you I will get this signed and cut the check."

In meetings all day, we replied at 4pm:

The reason we push our clients to use our servers for hosting is because we can guarantee a level of service that we cannot when using another host. There is frequently a number of settings or applications not installed or properly configured, and it stands to impede us and slows down our development time while we wait for their support to make the necessary changes.

(This is completely true and our basic philosophy since we charge an almost-negligible amount for hosting, but we had discussed this earlier in person, and she seemed to understand and be okay with it, so I didn't think I was coming on strong here.)

She replied at 5pm:

I understand why you want to host the site what I am asking as I asked in the first meeting is it absolutely necessary? I can find out what they will or will not support prior to any work being done. I need to find out how long I have paid for and I don’t want to just throw it away and I am not 100% ready to move again. Both times I have moved my hosting it was a nightmare. I need to know if you are still wanting to proceed even if we do not move our hosting right away?

We replied within the hour stating that, since their site used ASP, we knew they were not on a PHP (which we required) package, and thus, didn't know if they could switch within their current provider. We closed with:

As we have mentioned during our discussions, you will not have to host with us but you will need to use a host that provides PHP and MySQL. We currently have the new site running in one of our development servers to work out a few more design tweaks so that the site matches a bit better with the logo/color you selected. Let me know how much time is left on your contract with 1and1 and when/where/if you would like to re-launch the site on a different server or not.

This is where it gets weird. She responds three days later with a letter from her hosting company saying she can jump to a PHP server no problem, but that:

It is my understanding I would just need to convert my 1&1 package to linux should we use your content management design. Due to this set back I have decided to interview a couple other web design companies that do not require us to have our site hosted with them. Should I decide to use the logo you have created what would this cost be?
I will wait to hear from you in regards to the logo.

From here, she continued with the interviewing of other clients, accused us of not being ethical, and further stated that we were clearly not connecting with her expectation of customer service. Within about two days. We made several calls to our point man, the guy who initially referred us and was there throughout all emails and meetings. She complained that we hadn't called her, despite the fact that we did last week (she wasn't there) and that our phones also ring. (They don't just dial.)

This is all by way of saying that I think she's being unreasonable, and trying to back out by latching on to the smallest chink she could find. She went on about how "this isn't about the money, it's about customer service," and how "other web design companies knew the ins and outs of 1&1's hosting plans, and I would expect you to know the same."

Clearly, there's a lesson learned in not performing work without a completed, signed physical contract and a retainer check in hand, but again, there were extenuating circumstances, and we figured they were good for it, so to speak.

Our course of action is as such:

Invoice for work completed anyway. Since most of it is done (and not just the logo), and was authorized, I'll attach the emails wherein she granted authorization, highlighted, and send it certified mail.
Have lawyer (friend) draft letter demanding payment.
Bring to small-claims court. (It's at the upper level of the small claims side of things.)

Are we crazy? Or did we have authorization to proceed?

What can we expect from small claims court? A tame form of Judge Judy style justice? I know we file through our court and they're served a notice to appear. Are we liable for anything if we lose? What can we do to be prepared? Any idea what our chances might be with a verbal contract? (In Arizona)

We are talking to some lawyer-folk, but I want to know if we're just insane from an outsiders perspective, or if she's trying to weasel out here. And more, for personal experiences with small-claims court.

Thanks for reading (skimming) this sojourn of a post. And for your experiences/take on things.

Looking for website chat client

wile e — Sun, 03 Dec 2006 14:09:44 -0800

I run a web design company, and want to set up a website based chat client so I can see when someone is perusing my site and pop up a chat window to help them with any questions... My hosting service offers this service now. Problem is the free version is quite limited and the pay version is $10/month. I probably would pay for this, but I don't see why it needs to be a pay per month expense, as opposed to a one-time fee or free software install.

So I've searched the web and the only other one I've found to do what I am looking for, is http://www.boldchat.com/ But I run into the same problems, the free version is too limited and the pay service is minimum $30/month. Anybody know of a free version that I can customize and host on my own server? Or even a purchasable version that I can customize and host myself?

Any help is greatly appreciated.

PS Not looking for an embedded IM client or chat room. Looking for personal chat client that will pop up on an end users computer screen w/o the need of any downloads, for product based support.

How to deal with a nightmare client?

Botunda — Wed, 22 Nov 2006 06:30:36 -0800

How to deal with a nightmare client? I am developing a flash app should not be too big of a deal to develop; A collection of documents that a user can download off of a CD and then use and/or edit. Now, that being said;

The client asks for it to be white, but then again black. The client says that the document we are basing the navigation on are correct, except for the things that are not correct. The client changes documents and architecture and does not tell us about it and then accuses us of using the wrong documents. The client has focused on cosmetic changes while we could've been spending time on getting the code correct. The client makes changes to changes before we've had a chance to make the original changes. The list goes on. Names have been changed without us sitting in a meeting and the client going, "well that's not in there anymore" in an accusatory tone. Like we are trying to put the wrong thing into our work immediately.

Everyone who has worked on this project has either tried to quit (other outside resources) or get transferred to a different job.

How do survive this hell without:
1). Losing my mind
2). Losing my job. Because if you look at the Seven Stages of a Project, we are, or almost about to be into Phase 5: Search for the guilty.

How can I easily get info on our networked computers?

criticman — Mon, 02 Oct 2006 07:00:17 -0800

What is the best enterprise quality software & hardware inventory solution? I have been looking all over trade journals, Google, etc to no avail. The solution needs to be as follows:
-"Server" that can run on non-server OS...preferably WinXP pro, but if it needs to run on Linux or Win2k3 Server, that will be fine.
-Client needs to run on Win2k, WinXP Home (don't ask) & Pro

It needs to provide the following info:
-Machine name
-MAC address
-IP address
-Full OS version (w/ key used)
-hardware specs: processor, ram, video, hard drive, etc
-hardware system ID (such as Dell support code/#)
-software installed (w/ license keys)

The goal is to be able to have a good picture of our company's computers and software. That way we can see what hardware needs to be replaced first, what OS's need upgrading, what software needs to be upgraded, and to see if we are compliant with our purchased software license keys.

Although I could setup a database to house the info and could use something like the free Belarc Advisor to go to each machine and gather info, I am faced with a large work load, so going to each machine and manually inputing data is not an option.

Our network consists of approx. 30 "clients", 5 "servers", plus a handful of networked printers.

And since I do have a long list of links to products, I am looking for info from users who have actually implemented and used a solution to give me examples of how it worked and whether or not you would suggest I try it.

Much appreciated in advance!

How do I handle this difficult client situation?

pallen123 — Sat, 09 Sep 2006 12:16:16 -0800

Software product manager: How do I handle this difficult client? Need advice...

I have quite a few years experience working in product management and marketing roles -- working w/products teams in large companies and startups. I was retained as a contractor several months ago to manage development of an ambitious new educational product for a new company. It's sort of a CTO/lead-product-designer position. The new company had some general ideas what it wanted, but no experience or organized process for building a product from A to Z.

My problem is this: The CEO hired to run the company has very little experience using and developing software products. He comes from a consulting background. Right now there are only the two of us working for the startup, and I'm finding his desire to be involved in micro-decisions concerning product development to be extremely frustrating. Specifically, despite my efforts to document conversations, conclusions, consensus, use cases, and product features, and to begin to establish realistic timelines for completions of features that have been discussed and locked-down, the CEO continues to try to insert himself in the product design and development process -- by soliciting input from stakeholders on his own, and then designing new features in his head, and deciding that those features are extremely high priority and trivial to include in the product. In this quasi-product-design role, the CEO rarely applies much discipline or consistency when evaluating new stakeholder requests. Every new urgent 'nice to have' becomes an essential feature or product requiring urgent meetings and explorations. In and of itself this behavior would be maybe tolerable. The bigger problem is that the CEO's design instincts are so consistently poor, and his recollection of previous discussions concerning priorities and features so inconsistent, I spend most of my time explaining, re-explaining, and defending why we're doing what we're doing. It's really frustrating. I also feel like I'm on shifting sands because his notion of priorities is so out-of-step with nuanced market and user realities AND his overall understanding of the product we're building, the state of the art, design, is so immature.

Recently I told him directly that I felt he should focus on more CEO-like responsibilities (of which there are numerous) and let me do my job -- or find someone else to do my job whose judgement he can better trust. He says he does trust my judgement. Maybe the guy just really enjoys being in the mix.

By all accounts I do my job very well. All parties involved in the product development and stakeholders that will be using the product feel I understand their needs and how to translate them into elegant, highly-usable product.

The CEO is an otherwise good guy, and he seems competent to handle the business side of things. I just want him to stay the hell out of the kitchen when it comes to product design, development, and soliciting feature input from product collaborators. There are already a lot of other 'personalities' involved in this project, and I just feel it doesn't have a chance of success if I can't focus the majority of my energies on moving forward -- not taking a step back, then moving forward, then taking a step back...

After we discussed my comment about his focusing on CEO role more, he asked me to give it more thought and send him an email with suggestions, ideas, ways we could work together so it's less frustrating for me.

I've got some obvious ideas, but any suggestions would be *greatly* appreciated.

Getting rid of a bad client

Doofus Magoo — Wed, 23 Aug 2006 12:29:49 -0800

How do I gracefully get rid of a client with whom I don't want to work any more? I do a bit of consulting work for a client with whom I would like to terminate our business relationship. We've been working together for roughly three months, and the problems are severalfold:

He refuses to consider that the environment he's chosen is completely inappropriate for the job and necessitates a lot more coding than should be necessary (he's having me build a database -- in Excel);

The rate he's paying me is shockingly low. To be sure, this is all my fault, but he was one of my first clients and I lowballed the price just to get the work. I'm now in a position where I can be a bit choosy, and frankly, if he came to me as a new client right now offering to pay what he's paying me, there's no way I'd take the job. Increasing the rate mid-job (probably by a factor of 10-15 to get it in line with my normal rate these das) seems skeevy to me;

He's got quite a condescending attitude (e.g., "I don't think you're testing this before you send it to me" when he finds a bug); and

If I don't respond to his emails in what he deems a timely fashion, he starts laying on the 'tude (e.g., "I need to know if you're still going to support the code you wrote") -- and this is only a couple of hours after the initial email.

The project on which we're working was released about a month ago, and is stable. He recently came to me proposing some enhancements (at additional cost, of course), and I apparently had either forgotten how awful this job was, or was drinking heavily at the time, because I agreed to take on the first of the enhancements with the rest to be revisited after the first enhancement was complete. The first round of enhancements has been delivered and tested, and he's happy with it. I wouldn't be leaving him high and dry with a half-completed project, but I recognize that he will suffer a burden in having to find someone to pick up where I left off.

I never thought I'd be in a position where I could turn away work, so this isn't something I have the first clue about. If anyone out there can provide any tips on how (or even whether) to let this guy go firmly yet gracefully, I'd really appreciate it.

NB: I've read these three comments, which provide great guidance for taking on future jobs, but don't help much with how to terminate an existing relationship.

How to get constructive feedback on a client pitch?

DCTapeworm — Tue, 22 Aug 2006 10:10:31 -0800

What techniques do you use to gather feedback about client pitch materials before they're presented? Hi there,

I'm employed at a marketing firm, which actively does client pitches for project work. While we base our success on how many pitches are ultimately accepted, I'm wondering how I can improve the pitches that fall short.

Does anyone have any recommendations on getting internal feedback from our own employees (or others) on client pitches before they happen?

I could haul 2-5 people into a room and get their feedback, but I'm wondering if I can figure out a better way...

Please comment if you can spare the time.

New Verizon DSL user: Is their e-mail really this suck?

desuetude — Thu, 10 Aug 2006 08:22:07 -0800

Just got Verizon DSL. A simple question: Is it just me, or is their web-based mail client incredibly, weirdly pokey? It seems to take forever to open up my mostly empty in-box.

Advice for recovering long-overdue debt

allterrainbrain — Wed, 05 Jul 2006 07:07:18 -0800

I'm trying to recover a debt owed to me (currently $1300+) by a client for whom I worked as an independent tech contractor in 2002-03. He's very slowly paid off a lot of the original debt ($5000), but he stopped making the payments almost two months ago with no explanation, and has been completely non-responsive to all my contact attempts ever since. It's a matter of very high personal importance that I recover the full debt in this case (because this is a very slimy guy, and because his company could not have started up or earned money without my work). I also need the money, so this is not something I can walk away from in that sense either. Thank you for reading and for any advice you have... I'm way out of my depth on this one (I've been researching it as much as I can).

The debt started out as $5000, plus 5% APR compounded monthly in the event any of it was not paid, payable in full on August 11, 2003. After an intense amount of pestering on my part (and perpetual claims of having little/no money on his part), the debtor finally started a $74/week payment plan, which he stuck with somewhat consistently, and he's now paid me about $4300, meaning he currently owes $1300+ with interest (I haven't done the math yet -- it'll be complicated due to the erratically timed payments).

There's a good existing thread about a similar issue, but the assumption in that thread is that the creditor cares most about how *much* money can be recovered after commission fees. I care most about the *likelihood* of recovery (for example, I would be okay with the solution that costs much more in commission but has a much higher chance of success).

Finally: the geography is complicated, which might really complicate a court case (I've never been involved in any court case; that suspicion is from my research).
- This guy is the CEO of a small LLC that was incorporated as a "virtual" (web-based) company in Nevada and has had business addresses and operations only in NY and FL.
- My work for him was performed primarily at my home in NYC, secondarily at his offices in western NY and FL.
- We were in FL when we signed our contract re. the payment (although I'm not sure either of us has a way to prove that). His address and mine on the contract are both NY state addresses (mine in NYC, his in Allegany County). Our contract does NOT specify the state in which disputes should be litigated.
- All of his payments to me have been via PayPal and all our documentation/correspondence except the paper contract has been via email. I don't know his current business or home address.
- I do know he's done a very haphazard job of keeping his personal and corporate finances separate (and ALL his emails about why he couldn't pay me referred to his personal finances), so "piercing the corporate veil" should be easy; however, he has mentioned repeatedly (I have no way to know if this was a lie) that he is near personal bankruptcy.

Whew!

Small email client

FidelDonson — Wed, 05 Apr 2006 13:44:46 -0800

I am looking for a small email client i can use in stead of my webmail. It has to do the following: retreive and send mail (without deleting the mail from the server). I dont need it to store the mails - in fact i would prefer it not to. At the same time I dont want it to mess with my already delicate system defaulting to thunderbird and outlook express and i dont want to set up multiple users on my system or in these two clients. I use XP.