Portable copy of Win 7 to be used every day. Does your Windows license cover that usage? Seriously, I'm not a licensing guru so I'm just asking the question just in case you haven't considered i the possible legal issues.
I had a rescue disk that had a stripped down version of XP that ran from a CD so I'm sure a USB drive would be sufficient as a once in a while rescue disk solution. Sure, USB 3.0 because why not.
Yes... what @jaredBush said. Your bottleneck is going to be the connection between the flash storage and the motherboard. USB will be slower that a standard SATA SSD. You can also get flash storage on a PCIe card just to toss in another option to look at.
Just for clarification... Are you asking what the difference between a usb flash drive and a solid state hard drive?
@JaredBusch said:
@lhatsynot said:
Has pricing been set yet? I'm also looking to see what sessions will be offered before so i can justify the 900mile drive.
@Minion-Queen said after the first of the year.
ok... i must have missed that. thanks
Has pricing been set yet? I'm also looking to see what sessions will be offered before so i can justify the 900mile drive.
@JaredBusch said:
@scottalanmiller said:
Never bring an offer from another company to a current one. That's a poisoned well situation. Even if they match the offer without hesitation - it means you had to threaten them to get the deal and they are not happy (or they would have offered you that much in the first place.) It's time to walk. That's a horrible situation to be in.
Basically he is trying to trick you into burning your bridges by getting good offers, he matches it temporarily or promises to, and you don't take a good, healthy job while getting stuck where you are and either they increase their leverage to keep you or they just resent you and things go badly.
It's a standard best practice to never go down that road. If you feel the need to do this, it means you know that the situation has deteriorated to the point that you should be out as soon as you can be.
One time when I left one employer for another, it was a $30k salary increase. The first employer offered to match it without blinking. I got so pissed that I was seeing spots. I managed to get my temper under control and not burn the bridge behind me.
This was a good thing as I ended up consulting back for them through my new employer.
Maybe that's an idea depending on what offers I get. Contract back with them to help for tons of $$.
Do the have a Scotch trail? 
Well new twist. I talked to my bosses boss and he brought up that he knows I have not gotten an offer worth really considering from the new company and also knows that I have my resume out there (I told him that i did) so he stressed to me how much he wants me to stick around until the merger date (April 29th 2016). He then asked me to bring him any offers that I get and give him a chance to match it. He implied that he will be looking into improving the retention bonus (he's the one that told me it should be $20K). My concern is that he will not be around long after the merger so any salary match he gives will only put me in a worse spot with the new company. Guess we will see what happens.
@JaredBusch said:
Hmm, which way to go. Also, Google failed to give me a route via Canada. That can be decent if immigration is not crowded.
Need a road trip buddy?
@scottalanmiller said:
several via attrition brought on by lowering their compensation (through increases in work requirements without equivalent compensation.)
Unfortunately the more I think about it... I think this is me. They essentially already have one of me who is the new bosses right hand man. Bonus just to get through the merger and no salary increase talks. Well f[moderated]!
The data center services a bunch of smaller community banks so they will just do what they are doing. Losing our business isnt really big in their world.
One will not make the move or commute. One will move. My boss will probably retire early after sticking around for a while since his title is already taken so he will no longer be my boss. Then me who will not move but
I am willing (just not happy about it) to commute.
I dont get your math (and were getting off topic a bit).
They have 7. We have 4 + our data center takes care of some systems so you say that were essentially at 7 too.
Our two banks merge effectively doubling assets ($1.2 B + $1 B = $2.2 B ), users (250ish + 200ish (after we drop about 50 operational staff that aren't needed) = 450ish), and devices (500ish + 500ish = 1000ish) to support except for servers because we will really move onto their systems but they will need to be expanded to handle the more users. Take their 7 and add in our 2 or 3 that are being kept and you end up with 9 or 10 IT staff. Am I understanding it wrong?
No, they are not doubling staff. They currently have 7 on their team and we have 4. They are willing to keep all 4 of us but in reality they will end up with 2 if I stay (maybe 3). We organized our department differently than they do and they have systems that we "outsourced" to our datacenter that they have in house so the staffing levels makes sense.
Not doubling IT staff... doubling in assets, branches, total users, and computers. Servers aren't necessarily doubling but migration to more robust software and hardware is.
@Dashrender They retain staff if possible before hiring new people is what I meant. Naturally there are people who dont want to make the transition or relocate so the over staffing kind of takes care of itself. They've just about doubled in size with each acquisition with our merger being no different.
They've acquired quite a number of other banks (that's how they've grown so fast in their 15 years of existence) and they retain staff if possible, even in the IT department.
Thanks Scott. This is my first merger or acquisition that we aren't the surviving managing entity so it's all new to me. It's going to be a long stressful 5+ months if I stick this out.
I haven't spent enough time with the new boss for him to know me and my work ethic or for me to know what kind of boss he is and how he deals with wages. I will be meeting with him and their team at least weekly so I'm hoping that he has time to see the value I bring. Can they survive without me? Absolutely, nobody is unreplaceable. My knowledge of our network and systems is more what they need to get through the merger, then after that, who knows. When they get me something in writing I guess I will start the negotiations.
I have my resume out there and have one very interesting job I'm hoping to get a call back on soon. I guess I will get more ambitious in searching. I'm willing to travel, work remote, and possibly move (myself, not my family) for the right price.
