Coronavirus: General discussion (see opening post for rules)

[paulkerton]

I see the numbers went up over the weekend due to some lost data, of course they blamed IT

Track and Trace IT glitches, brought to you by the management that saw TalkTalk lose 157,000 customers data.

Anyone who was aware of that, knew what was coming.

[sonofsanta]

...

 

 

Words fail. I'd expect a disciplinary if I failed to notice basic tech problems like this.

 

[source]

[paulkerton]

...

 

[ATTACH=CONFIG]59316[/ATTACH]

 

Words fail. I'd expect a disciplinary if I failed to notice basic tech problems like this.

 

[source]

 

Of course the problem with reporting it as "PHE's central system" is that it isn't PHE's central system. It is a system built by Serco for PHE to use.

 

Which is why the PHE and LA testing couldn't initially generate codes to add to the Covid-19 app. It could only handle codes from Serco's testing.

 

Serco, made almost solely responsible for testing the country to make sure a deadly virus is contained... and also emptying ya bins.

[LeMarchand]

Did the weekly shop Friday and it was a surprise to see someone NOT wearing a mask.

 

I did get annoyed enough to have to point out to someone else that he was not a metre away, which caused a reluctant slight shuffle away, so I pointed out that he must have been telling his wife that "this much" (small gap between finger and thumb) was six inches for too long. Heard a snigger from a lady; pretty sure it was his wife!

[PyROm]

...

 

[ATTACH=CONFIG]59316[/ATTACH]

 

Words fail. I'd expect a disciplinary if I failed to notice basic tech problems like this.

 

[source]

 

Why, in my mind, does this translate to, the file was too big to attach to an email.

[caffrey]

Why, in my mind, does this translate to, the file was too big to attach to an email.

 

Because that was probably the reason.....

[sonofsanta]

Oh f*&! me--you're close with the email attachment theory, but not quite. Apparently the Excel spreadsheet they're using to track these things hit the maximum number of columns [Twitter]

 

 

I love an excuse to use a good VLOOKUP as much as anyone, but maybe a global pandemic requires a slightly more robust solution

[Norphy]

Not a damned IT error then, is it? It's ":censored:wit using the wrong tool for the job" error.

 

Seriously? Tracking potentially millions of infections across a country of more than 65,000,000 people and they're using Excel????

 

Dollars to doughnuts, it's a old version of 32 bit Excel at that...

[DJ-1701]

Oh f*&! me

 

I'll leave that to your wife.

 

you're close with the email attachment theory, but not quite. Apparently the Excel spreadsheet they're using to track these things hit the maximum number of columns [Twitter]

 

 

I love an excuse to use a good VLOOKUP as much as anyone, but maybe a global pandemic requires a slightly more robust solution

 

Reminds me of a time when I found a user managing all their saved files within the File Open section of Word...

[Katy]

Reminds me of a time when I found a user managing all their saved files within the File Open section of Word...

I didn't know that specific user here used to work in your school!

[the_quick]

How can system that allegedly coste £12 billions, uses excel to transfer data, was it at least encrypted, password protected etc? What next? Notepad or maybe go directly to paper sticky notes. Incompetence of those people running it, is just staggering. In normal situation no one would accept it and blame it on "IT glitch". Who ever designed it, clearly had not a clue.

[sonofsanta]

Don't worry, apparently they've fixed the problem now: they've broken the data up into multiple files!

[jthompson]

It's running the risk of giving poorly-executed government IT projects a bad name. Edited October 5, 2020 by jthompson

[Andrew_C]

executed government

RIBBIT!

[paulkerton]

It's running the risk of giving poorly-executed government IT projects a bad name.

 

Well they're Government in the same way that if I pay for a private contracted plumber to fix my boiler, it's "my" project.

[mikeprice]

If they are using an old version of excel - and I would guess - making it 'secure' by password protecting it

 

 

 

then I used to have a macro that could crack any excel password in a few seconds

 

mind you it would be difficult to find it - I had to use a special tool - I think it was called Google

 

 

(for those who are interested - I needed it to unlock a kids spreadsheets - he had password protected them all to stop his mates messing with them

and - naturally - then forgot the password he used)

[paulkerton]

If they are using an old version of excel - and I would guess - making it 'secure' by password protecting it

I worked in one LA where their answer to sending "secure" safeguarding documents to them was to save them in the pre 2007 Office format rather than the 2007-265 XML format, and password protect it - I kid you not - by using the school's LAESTAB number!.

So, it was protected by a publicly available 7 digit number. Oh and you had to put the name of the school on the file too.

 

Then you just emailed it over. Email! This was less than 8 years ago! Email!

 

So not only did you have the same pattern across every school, but you already know the first 3 digits of said pattern, leaving just 4 to solve... and solving the password for one school would break it open for everyone instantly, as the password was publicly available information you can get from a Government website and the files had to be named with the name of the school. Then emailed so it sat on every server between yours and theres.

 

Let alone a 7 digit number as a password is calculated to be secure for 0.0002 seconds by howsecureismypassword.net

 

I was absolutely furious when I found out what they were doing, but the head was not happy that I was stomping down on it.

[Ditto]

Oh f*&! me--you're close with the email attachment theory, but not quite. Apparently the Excel spreadsheet they're using to track these things hit the maximum number of columns [Twitter]

 

 

I love an excuse to use a good VLOOKUP as much as anyone, but maybe a global pandemic requires a slightly more robust solution

Seriously? Each new case is added to a COLUMN!!! Surely, they would know to add each to a row - I mean, it's not like we are asking them to understand 3NF.

[RalphG]

if you believe the Guardian, which I would

 

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2020/oct/05/how-excel-may-have-caused-loss-of-16000-covid-tests-in-england

 

they exported as a CSV file - probably plain txt and then uploaded this into excel!

so they have one csv file with 1 million rows and this has all our contact details on.

 

What could go wrong...

Edited October 5, 2020 by RalphG

[jthompson]

I guess the moonshot is going to need to use Access.

[ICTDirect_Dave]

Oh f*&! me--you're close with the email attachment theory, but not quite. Apparently the Excel spreadsheet they're using to track these things hit the maximum number of columns [Twitter]

 

 

I love an excuse to use a good VLOOKUP as much as anyone, but maybe a global pandemic requires a slightly more robust solution

 

This is what happened when too many edugeeks ordered wetherspoons food via the app after the conference in salisbury last time out.

It was too many rows that time and two meals were missed off after dropping off the bottom of the screen.

 

I didn't know the government had given the test-trace programming deal to 'Spoons...

[6Foot2]

Overheard, but definitely NOT amusing!

 

Students walking past an open office door (I was sitting in said office)

 

...and then he spat on my face...

 

I didn't hear any more than that, but it was that 'snippet' that caught my attention. It probably shouldn't still surprise me, but it does, that this sort of thing goes on especially at a time like this.

 

I didn't see who it was and the corridor was crowded, so I couldn't report it.

 

[sonofsanta]

This is what happened when too many edugeeks ordered wetherspoons food via the app after the conference in salisbury last time out.

It was too many rows that time and two meals were missed off after dropping off the bottom of the screen.

 

I didn't know the government had given the test-trace programming deal to 'Spoons...

 

 

Tim Martin's a big supporter of Brexit, why wouldn't he be given a contract for an area of public health in which he has absolutely no expertise?

 

 

Less politically (please don't frog me): email from the government today that we're eligible for more devices now that students are in self-isolation! We... can't order them until we're in local lockdown? Which, as our Head pointed out, means we can't get them until no-one can come in to collect them. Brilliant.

[mikeprice]

This is what happened when too many edugeeks ordered wetherspoons food via the app after the conference in salisbury last time out.

It was too many rows that time and two meals were missed off after dropping off the bottom of the screen.

 

I didn't know the government had given the test-trace programming deal to 'Spoons...

 

I thought the problem was caused by something @ZeroHour typed in when someone made him order a salad??

[ICTDirect_Dave]

I thought the problem was caused by something @ZeroHour typed in when someone made him order a salad??

 

Now THAT is an entirely different problem!