This is why it takes so long to "fix bugs" in code.
August 07, 2013
For 3 days now I've been going back/forth with a client over a tech issue. The new "Bootstrap Menu Bar" I added to their app wasn't appearing on her screen...but JUST her screen. All the other employees could see and use it just fine. But on HER computer, it never showed up, just blank space. The REST of the web app appeared just fine, but the navigation in the upper-left corner was gone. Didn't matter if we tried different web browsers, they were all the same.
She's in transit, staying in hotels while traveling to Minnesota, and was on a different-than-normal computer; so I'm thinking there is some sort of security/proxy setting that's messing with her internet connection. We tried everything we could think of, the problem was still there.
I made "test" pages to try 2 or 3 different variations of the Bootstrap code, seeing if I could narrow it down to a particular feature (or more likely, a particular piece of legacy code that their app still depends on). No changes. It was always broken for her...but for everyone else, it worked fine.
Today I scheduled a GoTo Meeting with her, so I could see her screen, and also take a look at the code that was rendering in her web browser (as well as possibly try a few network settings, if need be). As soon as we started up the GoTo Meeting, the Menu Bar worked! There it was on the screen, both of us could plainly see it, and no code changes had been added to the app. We both agreed that was weird, I told her to call me if it vanishes again, and we hung up.
Five minutes after the phone call, I received this email from her:
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I am a weapons-grade moron...
So, I'm working at this hotelpartment off my husband's nice 27" monitor, splitting the screen in half so it feels like two screens. Keeping both email and internet screens in their half of the screen, the toolbar is missing....but when I make the internet window full screen - kablam, there it is!!
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Three days of my BILLABLE time sending her test files, trying to get more info and fix the issue. The "fix" ended up being "rearrange how the windows are displayed on your screen".
The next time someone asks "why does it take so long to fix bugs in code?"...I give you Exhibit A. :)
-nolan
She's in transit, staying in hotels while traveling to Minnesota, and was on a different-than-normal computer; so I'm thinking there is some sort of security/proxy setting that's messing with her internet connection. We tried everything we could think of, the problem was still there.
I made "test" pages to try 2 or 3 different variations of the Bootstrap code, seeing if I could narrow it down to a particular feature (or more likely, a particular piece of legacy code that their app still depends on). No changes. It was always broken for her...but for everyone else, it worked fine.
Today I scheduled a GoTo Meeting with her, so I could see her screen, and also take a look at the code that was rendering in her web browser (as well as possibly try a few network settings, if need be). As soon as we started up the GoTo Meeting, the Menu Bar worked! There it was on the screen, both of us could plainly see it, and no code changes had been added to the app. We both agreed that was weird, I told her to call me if it vanishes again, and we hung up.
Five minutes after the phone call, I received this email from her:
-----------
I am a weapons-grade moron...
So, I'm working at this hotelpartment off my husband's nice 27" monitor, splitting the screen in half so it feels like two screens. Keeping both email and internet screens in their half of the screen, the toolbar is missing....but when I make the internet window full screen - kablam, there it is!!
-----------
Three days of my BILLABLE time sending her test files, trying to get more info and fix the issue. The "fix" ended up being "rearrange how the windows are displayed on your screen".
The next time someone asks "why does it take so long to fix bugs in code?"...I give you Exhibit A. :)
-nolan