'This is what you asked for': IT guy drops ~$18,000 on company phones after his technologically illiterate boss bans the largest operating system in the world, learns a lesson in malicious compliance

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Jesse Kessenheimer • Writer and Editor
Nov 1, 2024 1:00 PM EDT

This IT guy wouldn't stand to be pushed around by his technologically illiterate boss, so instead of attempting to explain his entire department, he let the boss's willynilly actions speak for themselves–to the tune of almost $20k.

CEOs never actually know anything about the products they sell. Half the time, they're just corpo baboons waiting around for their assistants to put together 3 completed business plans so they can proudly toss a dart at a rotating project wheel to select the right course of action for the company. Well, when the Head of the IT department at this company was approached by the boss, his work was immediately questioned. Although it's legitimate for a CEO to tour the facilities of their business, it's not in anyone's best interest for them to be meddling in other people's specialties. This IT guy certainly taught his boss a lesson in malicious compliance after spending a fortune on company phones after his boss outlawed one of the largest computer operating systems in the world. 

And in today's lesson about electronics, a tech-stupid boss learns that phones are also computers.

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    Cheezburger Image 10422170368
    via Elnur

    This image is for illustration only, and the subjects are models; the image does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • 02
    Boss bans Linux? S I was the IT head of a medium sized company. I was configuring an Apache server on Ubuntu when my boss walked past and asked me what that weird 'skin' was. I told him that I was running a server on Ubuntu. My boss told
    via Many_Examination955
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    me that we don't use that Linux stuff here and told me to use Windows. I had quite a bit of control over the finances of the company with a company credit card. Most of us were issued with a company managed Android phones.
    via Many_Examination955
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    Now, Android OS is a Linux distribution, and this was during the 2022 tech boom when you could walk into a new tech job within a week. I bought 20+ new iPhone's to comply with my bosses disdain for Linux. He questioned me a
    via Many_Examination955
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    couple of weeks later, after I had already opened and configured the iPhone's. I told him, frankly, that Android phones actually use a Linux kernel like Ubuntu. He told me that he "enacted a policy exempting Android phones" and made the intern list those iPhone's on eBay. He had to take quite a hit on the sales as we had to list it as used.
    via Many_Examination955
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    fsweetser Just wait until someone tells him that all of your wireless access points, and probably most of your switches and routers, all run Linux.
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    iced maggot You should have bought 20+ ancient Nokia Lumia windows phones instead OP.
    via iced_maggot
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    KeviRun So when do you take the company's web services offline? Many Examination955 OP I didn't hate my boss that much.
    via KeviRun
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    PrelectingPizza "Hey, boss, since you said to not use Linux, here is a proposal to convert all Linux based OSes over to Windows where possible. Are you OK? You seem to be sputtering and gasping for air and have trouble breathing? You are turning really red too. This is what you asked for, wasn't it?"
    via PrelectingPizza
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    Academic Nectarine94 Sounds like a real genius of a manager LOL. Wittusus Most likely your usual boss being a control freak and not being able to control something he doesn't understand, Linux in this case
    via Academic_Nectarine94
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    Many Examination955 OP He just wasn't technologically literate and probably thought we were just goofing around. with Linux for the lulz, instead of using a "practical" solution like Windows.
    via Many_Examination955
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    Cley Faye Make a listing for licensing cost for switching to Windows, including *more* resources to operate the same way as before, and factoring some more proprietary stuff in the middle. If he still insists this go
    via Cley_Faye
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    through, add potential certifications and formations, that have to be renewed. If this still gets through, just use WSL on the shiny windows boxes. Malicious compliance to the max.
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    abitmean The boss of the head of IT just casually telling the head of IT to change operating systems. He's lucky that the only expense was some iphones.
    via abitmean
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    EnthusiasmWorried496 I mean... as head of IT, I'd have at least put up a little bit of a fight. It sounds like you acted like a "yes man" to be deliberately spiteful, but I could be wrong assuming there was more "back-and- forth" involved.
    via EnthusiasmWorried496
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    In any case, to your credit, I always find it completely asinine when I hear about higher ups who push for an all-microsoft environment.
    via EnthusiasmWorried496
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    Individual Dingo9455 This is precisely why I left the IT industry and never returned. The internal conflict caused by knowing perfectly well the answer to whatever IT problem was noisy at the moment, but having some idiot decide against it became too great. My business requires no IT infrastructure. But, if it did, it would all be linux.
    via Individual_Dingo9455

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