Social Security IT Department can't be worse than your IT

After the previous post and some real life experience, I just want to say that I know believe IT is the failure of an organization. In this case it is the government.

I was going to file my W-3 forms online. For those non-tax people (My MBA is in International Tax) out there or non-US people, a W-3 form is the version of the W-2 filed with the IRS, Internal (some say infernal) Revenue Service. A W-2 is one's wage statement at the end of the year.

So as I was filing ours the password had expired, so naturally I click on reset password. A nice popup(wish I had screen shot of it) says I will receive my new temporary password, not via email, not on screen, but ...in...the...mail! Wait, it gets better. It says to let 2 weeks pass before contacting them.

Now the very nice and patient woman who answered my call to the 800 number pointed out that if I file electronically I have till March 31. Only if filing by paper is it due Feb 28.Okay, saved by the bell, but ...huh?!

The site asks me to validate I am me, Social security number, birth date etc. and still doesn't trust me? I have ALL of my company docs so what question could they ask that I can't answer? None. They do not provide an challenge answer system. Today.

The nice woman explained  that there will be a new solution coming to change this in the future. Wanted to ask if this was using Microsoft time or government time, not sure which is shorter. She also let me know that the password I used expires anyway after 90 days. WHAT?! Something I enter once a year has a password expiration and after 90 days? It doesn't even make it to next year? So EVERYONE on Earth who filed this has to wait 2 weeks to get their password in the mail? This is a MASSIVE failure of IT at it's worst.

The President wants to clean up excessive spending, I suggest they look at the Social Security Administration. So we have who knows how many letters, envelopes and postage wasted because someone in IT was overly security minded? Trade off here is what? And to who's benefit?

Talk about not being part of the organizations direction, goals or targets. This is not President Obama's fault, this has been going on for years but in the past, the password used to last 1 year(or so the paperwork I have claimed this a few years ago).

It is not IT that dooms your business always, the crazy paranoid security people also cause the problem to get worse. Did no one in the room at the time not ask, why 90 days if people log in once a year?

On the bright side, what genius thinks we need no IT? So this whole IRS filing online thing would just happen mysteriously and magically because some monkeys on typewriters wrote the code?

Installing a Fixpack and Interim Fix for Domino and Quickr Installs

Packt also included more parts of the chapter on installation but I will include it here as well so new admins or people afraid of fixpacks or interim fixes have no need to be any more. Again, buy the book, make your life easier. The IBM special ends Feb 28. Or if reading this post afterwards, you can get it form the link on the top right side of the blog.

Installing Fix Pack 3

Once Domino 8.5.1 has been installed, the next step is to install the Fix Pack. The required Fix Pack for Quickr 8.5 is Fix Pack 3.

1. The Fix Pack should have already been downloaded from the IBM Fix Central site (http://ibm.com/support/fixcentral) and accessible on the network or the server.
2. Locate the file and double-click on it to run it. You will see the following window popup, verifying the Fix Pack file is 100% ready to be installed and downloaded fully.
   
   
3. Once verified, the Fix Pack Installer will provide a window, as seen in the following screenshot, asking you to accept the End User License Agreement or EULA. Click on I accept and then click on Next to continue:
   
   
4. The following screen prompts you for the location of your Domino program files and Domino data directories. Once verified click on Next:
   
   
5. The installer will now check the files to be updated and ensure that everything is set in place before asking you to select Next to start the update.
   
   
6. During the update the installer shows a progress bar to let you know how much more needs to be completed. Do not worry about it saying you are Updating Notes, it is a typographical error:
   
   
7. Once completed, the following screen will appear and you can click on Close to complete this installation.
   
   

You should now start the Domino Server and make sure it recognizes the update you just applied to it.
If you wait for the server to complete its startup routine and then type sh ser from the server console, you should see something that looks like the following:

You can now tell the server to stop by typing quit at the server console. Once the server is shut down, you can move on to installing the Interim Fix 2.

Installing Interim Fix 2

The requirements for Quickr 8.5 state that a Domino Server version of 8.5.1 FP3IF2 is required. If you have previously downloaded the Interim Fix 2, locate the file and run the executable.

1. You should see a window similar to the following screenshot, asking for you to accept the EULA. If you do accept it then click on the Next button:
   
   
2. You will be asked to verify the location of your Domino program files directory and the Domino data directory. Once verified, click on the Next button:
   
   
3. The verification screen will appear and check whether you have the required version of Domino installed, 8.5.1 FP3 and to continue click on Next:
   
   
4. The Interim Fix is now being installed. Again as before, ignore the Upgrading Notes reference:
   
   
5. Once completed, the following screen will appear letting you know you have upgraded your server and you can click on Close:
   
   
6. At this point start the Domino server again and when it has finished loading, type sh ser at the console and see if you have something similar to the following listed. If so, you are ready to start installing Quickr 8.5.
   
   
7. Shut down the Domino server by typing quit at the server console and wait for it to completely finish before moving to the next section on installing Quickr 8.5.