IT Horror Stories with Jack Smith

Jack Smith
  • 5.0 (1)
  • TECHNOLOGY
  • UPDATED MONTHLY

We delve into the bizarre and often cringe-worthy world of IT mishaps, glitches, and the horror stories that come with it. With a sarcastic twist we recount the tales of those who somehow manage to create chaos out of the simplest tasks. We strike a balance between relatable frustration and dark humor that gets even the most cringe-inducing stories entertaining and you will find yourself laughing, cringing, and shaking their heads in disbelief as we take a wild ride through the chaotic world of IT, where every glitch is a ghost story waiting to be told.

  1. 3D AGO

    Raspberry Mistery

    A few hundred field engineers. Real humans. With vans. And jobs. All coordinated by a device roughly the size of a coaster and powered by something suspiciously similar to a phone charger. For months, it runs slow but flawlessly. Tickets dispatched. Routes optimized. Managers happy.  The tiny silicon hero hums along in its noble plastic case, bravely pretending it's not one 'apt upgrade' away from a crisis. Join us as we unravel the mystery, debate the true definition of "production-ready," and ask the question no one wanted to say out loud.   00:00 Welcome Back 01:23 Shadow IT Chaos 05:18 Major Outage 12:04 Data Center Discovery 17:59 Where's the Server? 19:58 Raspberry Pi Reveal 25:13 Migration Success 30:36 Closing Thoughts

    32 min

  2. FEB 10 · BONUS

    Jack's Rants - Batch Job Blues

    Jack's Rants dives into the world of banking mainframes and the batch jobs that quietly keep everything moving — until one of them doesn't. What starts as a routine overnight run turns into a multiple transactions on thousands of accounts that didnt happen in the real world, but the mainframe says something else. 00:00 Rant Kickoff 01:23 Transaction Glitch 03:14 Batch Job Drama 05:23 Mainframe Pros 07:33 Wrap Up

    9 min

  3. SEASON 1 TRAILER

    Welcome to IT Horror Stories with Jack Smith

    IT Horror Stories with Jack Smith

    1 min

  4. FEB 2

    Surviving the Anonymous DDOS

    This episode we unpack what a DDoS attack actually is, using the specter of Anonymous as a cultural touchstone rather than a how-to villain. We talk about why high-profile groups target services, what it feels like in real time when traffic spikes and systems start gasping, and how panic can make things worse. Instead of glorifying attackers, we center on mindset: staying calm, recognizing early warning signs, and understanding the difference between noise and a true outage. The takeaway isn't technical bravado; it's preparedness. By the end of the episode, "surviving" a DDoS means knowing how to keep your service, your team, and your reputation intact when the internet decides to stress-test you all at once. 00:00 Hello & Introduction 00:51 The Anonymous Attack 06:19 Unprepared Response 13:52 DDoS Solutions 16:08 Smart Attacks 25:06 Evolution of Protection 33:11 Risk & Insurance 34:52 Podcast Wrap-Up

    36 min

  5. JAN 7

    Shadow IT Reports

    We dive into the familiar chaos of Shadow IT created by the sales department — well-intentioned, fast-moving, and completely invisible until something breaks. A "quick tool" turns into a critical system overnight, contracts appear after go-live, and IT is asked to secure, integrate, and support something it never approved or even knew existed. It's a story about speed versus control, good intentions with bad outcomes, and why Shadow IT doesn't start with malice — it starts with urgency.   00:00 Podcast Kickoff 01:11 What is Shadow IT 02:44 Sales Server Disaster 12:57 Data Migration Drama 23:45 Luck and Lessons 25:15 Common Shadow IT 26:58 Management Irony 28:02 Final Thoughts

    30 min

  6. 12/01/2025

    The DevOps Royale With Cheese

    In this episode, we return to Finland, where an international burger chain suddenly found itself cut off from the one thing every fast-food operation needs to function: real-time operational data. A third-party data supplier pulled the plug without warning, leaving kitchens blind, dashboards empty, and the entire workflow stuck on "please wait." What followed was a truly Nordic-speed DevOps rescue mission — rapid troubleshooting, frantic config changes, un-authorized workarounds, and a race to restore data before the lunch rush turned into a customer revolt. From vendor surprises to emergency pipelines, this episode serves up a full stack of DevOps chaos... with cheese.

    28 min

  7. 11/03/2025

    Y2K vs Y2K38 - The Rematch

    We revisit the original digital apocalypse — the year 2000 - looking back at what Y2K really was, how an army of COBOL coders saved the world before midnight, and why most people never even noticed. But the clock is ticking again: Y2K38 is coming, and this time it's 32-bit. Different date, same panic waiting to happen as UNIX time doesn't heal — it overflows into a negative. 00:00 Banter & Introductions 01:40 Y2K Breakdown 10:16 Fallout & Fixes 13:31 Enter Y2K38 18:18 Future Risks 28:09 Wrap Up

    29 min

  8. 10/06/2025

    SAP Happens

    SAP sits quietly at the heart of most global businesses, running everything from payroll to procurement, logistics to finance. It's the system nobody brags about, but everybody depends on. And when someone says "just check SAP," you know you're in for more than a click or two. In this episode, we explore how SAP became the invisible backbone of enterprise life, why it inspires equal parts respect and frustration, and the strange comfort of knowing it's always there whether you want it to be or not. Because in the end, no matter the industry or the project… SAP happens. 00:00 Welcome Back 01:20 SAP Explained 17:05 Migration Madness 23:22 Digital Twinning 28:31 Real World Stories 33:38 Can You Escape? 41:18 Final Thoughts

    43 min
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Trailer

About

We delve into the bizarre and often cringe-worthy world of IT mishaps, glitches, and the horror stories that come with it. With a sarcastic twist we recount the tales of those who somehow manage to create chaos out of the simplest tasks. We strike a balance between relatable frustration and dark humor that gets even the most cringe-inducing stories entertaining and you will find yourself laughing, cringing, and shaking their heads in disbelief as we take a wild ride through the chaotic world of IT, where every glitch is a ghost story waiting to be told.

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