Support tech for this appli=
cation service provider is trying to help a customer in another city connec=
t to the ASP's servers, but he's getting nowhere fast, says IT pilot fish o=
n the scene.

"The guy's job title w=
as systems administrator, but he was completely clueless about how to confi=
gure a virtual private network," says fish.

It's not really a complicat=
ed problem. And the tech can't see running up a big travel bill that the cu=
stomer will have to pay if someone travels to the customer's site to get th=
e VPN working.

But then he remembers an op=
en-source program called VNC, for "virtual network computing," th=
at will let him see the customer's console screen.

Tech tells the customer whe=
re to download the program. The customer installs it, and soon the connecti=
on problem is solved.

Not long after, tech's boss=
-- who has heard about the problem -- drops by to ask whether it was solve=
d.

Tech explains -- and the bo=
ss hits the roof.

"The boss's face becam=
e red, and he started yelling that we were not a charity house," says =
fish. "He said the tech should have downloaded the VNC code and recomp=
iled it, adding our company logo -- and then charged the customer for somet=
hing that is freely available."

Tech points out to the boss=
that what he's demanding is unethical. But the boss doesn't seem to care.<=
/FONT>