In a recent installment of The Register's On Call column, a reader known as "The RF Guy" recounts a humorous tech support experience. He investigates a glitching taxi dispatch system where human operators managed calls through a Unix controller. While the controller functioned correctly, he discovered unexpected interactions between dispatchers and a taxi. Concerned about handling this sensitive information, he involved the customer's technician, leading to a comical speech about system maintenance that aimed to keep the dispatchers on track despite the surprising circumstances.
As he entered, he noticed a room full of busy taxi dispatchers. His attention then focused on the Unix machine, which seemed to be working just fine – it happily picked up messages from the dispatch system and squirted them out to terminals.
The RF Guy decided to apply a packet tracer, which meant he was seeing decoded packets. And those packets revealed an intimate encounter passing over the airwaves between the pool of dispatchers and one car in the fleet.
I called in the customer's techie and showed him what was going on. He ID'd the driver and dispatcher, then assured me he knew how to handle this.
On this occasion, he explained that The RF Guy was here to do some system maintenance, and for a short time, those involved would need to keep things professional.
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