[...] Same office had to install a secure prototype lab for this top-secret “gaming phone” that was being developed (pre iphone), which included sensors in the walls in case someone tried to… tunnel through, I guess? This was an incredible example of how the company tended to pocket most money and get by with the lowest possible bidder:
- They built it in part of the large open office… directly under the only AC vent in that area of the building. Temp in the prototype lab was generally around 5 degrees C. On the other side of the door? 30+. Computer parts on the outside were melting and frequently releasing the mysterious blue smoke that powers them while people inside had to be rotated out to prevent hypothermia in the middle of summer.
- There had to be a secure, non-connected PC where the phones could be loaded with the SKs. This was accomplished by building a tiny, airtight closet in the prototype lab whose door could only be opened by one of two passkeys in the building. The manager had to go in, close the door, load the phone, and then –
- Oh, did I mention they forgot to install a passkey reader on the INSIDE of the auto-locking door?
- And that the only other person who had the passkey was out that day?
- Because AIRTIGHT and COMPUTERS go together well, right?
- And the fire department set off the wall alarms when they broke down the security door to rescue the manager.