Yeah, I have an added trick to that one. I use Firefox for surfing and IE for work related stuff. I dislike IE, but I already have to use it for many work related things, as I have to use a bunch of ActiveX based tools.
So, the effect is that when anyone of importance comes by, I pick an IE window, any window, and I'm set. If I need to hide the evidence, I close Firefox entirely, and lose all the unrelated stuff at once.
Since I had no idea what a "boffin" was, I figured I'd help out my other fellow Americans.
http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=boffin
Apparently it's Brit slang for research (usually military) scientists. From the Brit and Aussie readers, is this a fairly accepted term?
Seriously, this article is light on details, and I'm even more skeptical when the headline is using slang terms. Hopefully someone can enlighten me.
Oh yeah, and since it's/., the obligatory jokes and knee jerk reactions.
OMFG! Zombie dogs!
I wonder if the Umbrella Corporation is involved!
Oh no, here come the Resident Evil jokes.
I, for one, welcome our grit covered zombie Natalie Portman overlords.
In Korea, only old dogs get zombified.
In Soviet Russia, dogs zombify you.
Robotic zombie dogs! In Japan!
>>Wow, I can't wait till I start seeing DoubleClick's razor blade Flash ads, with wrists getting cut in different directions every time you hover the cursor over the ad.
Rippy the Razor says, it's down the block, not across the street!
A bit more on topic, though, not everyone with an LJ or similar as a poster child for emo. I've had one since about 2000, mostly for personal use and to keep up with long distance friends (generally folks from college). It proved easier to reply to and archive than a mailing list.
This also isn't the first time web journals have been used as a marketing tool. I've seen spam comments for well over a year now, and it only makes sense that "legitimate" marketers would target them as well.
Don't we already have the selective service system for this? I remember those "it's the law" commercials making damn sure you filled out that card when you turned 18.
Do we really need yet another system for this? Privacy issues aside (and there are *tons* of those), this seems redundant.
I guess it does start earlier, but do we need to be tracking 16 year olds while they're still in highschool? Ridiculous.
* Netcraft confirms BSD is dying. * Mozilla Browser Now Called "Steve's Bakery" Due to Trademark Battle * Star Wars Christmas Special UltraMega Gold Collector's Edition Released on MindDisc * Disney/RIAA/MPAA Sue 13 Year Old for Watching Videos of the Mickey Mouse Club on archaic technology without a license
I'll second that, from having grown up in Michigan. During highschool and college, my friends and I were more than happy to grab leftover pop cans and bottles. It was happily turned in to gas money, as we were all broke.
When I moved to Maryland and started seeing soda remnants everywhere, I realized just how much of a difference it makes. Personally, I make sure to put all that in my recycling bin, but it's just not the same.
Amen! As a geek guy who's grown up and "gotten it" after a few relationships, your advice couldn't be more dead on.
Especially #4, which I'm sure many geeks learn the hard way.
#5 is my life's motto right now. Sure, "scientists don't get invited to those sorts of parties", but well, get yourself in there anyway. It's not as hard as one would think.
I've learned the hard way that this advice is very, very true. And well, I'm sure my girlfriend is very thankful.;)
Many companies, either out of bandwidth concerns, virus concerns, or simple "All your time are belong to us" concerns tend to block webmail access. That, and while it's on a 3rd party server, most webmail is submitted via a plaintext form, which means it can still be read on the proxy server.
I do tend to agree that using work email as a personal contact isn't the brightest idea. Unfortunately, not everyone can set up their own *nix server at home or get a PDA/Net enabled cell phone.
One solution is to find something not blocked for at work communications (blogs with comment features, Yahoo Groups, etc.) that are personal. Again, that option hits the plaintext problem, and potentially is more open and longer lasting, so the second is better.
So, as much as it sucks, I find the best option is to do personal mail at home, and use the phone for daytime personal communications. Not the easiest option, to be sure, but it sure gives me incentive to get my work done and be gone after 8 hours, instead of dawdling around longer.
Slashdot Mirror
Yeah, I have an added trick to that one. I use Firefox for surfing and IE for work related stuff. I dislike IE, but I already have to use it for many work related things, as I have to use a bunch of ActiveX based tools.
So, the effect is that when anyone of importance comes by, I pick an IE window, any window, and I'm set. If I need to hide the evidence, I close Firefox entirely, and lose all the unrelated stuff at once.
It's worked so far.
~EEE~
In this case, wouldn't you mean penguins?
If IBM gets involved, that sure gives new meaning to Norwegian blue.
~EEE~
Since I had no idea what a "boffin" was, I figured I'd help out my other fellow Americans.
http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=boffin
Apparently it's Brit slang for research (usually military) scientists. From the Brit and Aussie readers, is this a fairly accepted term?
Seriously, this article is light on details, and I'm even more skeptical when the headline is using slang terms. Hopefully someone can enlighten me.
Oh yeah, and since it's /., the obligatory jokes and knee jerk reactions.
OMFG! Zombie dogs!
I wonder if the Umbrella Corporation is involved!
Oh no, here come the Resident Evil jokes.
I, for one, welcome our grit covered zombie Natalie Portman overlords.
In Korea, only old dogs get zombified.
In Soviet Russia, dogs zombify you.
Robotic zombie dogs! In Japan!
~EEE~
Other than producing Sen. Orrin Hatch, Poster Boy For the RIAA, Utah doesn't do much for the rest of the country's blight.
~EEE~
Oddly enough, just after reading this, I noticed the Slashdot fortune was:
And now for something completely different.
Eerie.
~EEE~
>>Wow, I can't wait till I start seeing DoubleClick's razor blade Flash ads, with wrists getting cut in different directions every time you hover the cursor over the ad.
Rippy the Razor says, it's down the block, not across the street!
A bit more on topic, though, not everyone with an LJ or similar as a poster child for emo. I've had one since about 2000, mostly for personal use and to keep up with long distance friends (generally folks from college). It proved easier to reply to and archive than a mailing list.
This also isn't the first time web journals have been used as a marketing tool. I've seen spam comments for well over a year now, and it only makes sense that "legitimate" marketers would target them as well.
~EEE~
Don't we already have the selective service system for this? I remember those "it's the law" commercials making damn sure you filled out that card when you turned 18.
Do we really need yet another system for this? Privacy issues aside (and there are *tons* of those), this seems redundant.
I guess it does start earlier, but do we need to be tracking 16 year olds while they're still in highschool? Ridiculous.
~EEE~
And let's also not forget:
* Netcraft confirms BSD is dying.
* Mozilla Browser Now Called "Steve's Bakery" Due to Trademark Battle
* Star Wars Christmas Special UltraMega Gold Collector's Edition Released on MindDisc
* Disney/RIAA/MPAA Sue 13 Year Old for Watching Videos of the Mickey Mouse Club on archaic technology without a license
~EEE~
I'll second that, from having grown up in Michigan. During highschool and college, my friends and I were more than happy to grab leftover pop cans and bottles. It was happily turned in to gas money, as we were all broke.
When I moved to Maryland and started seeing soda remnants everywhere, I realized just how much of a difference it makes. Personally, I make sure to put all that in my recycling bin, but it's just not the same.
~EEE~
Amen! As a geek guy who's grown up and "gotten it" after a few relationships, your advice couldn't be more dead on.
Especially #4, which I'm sure many geeks learn the hard way.
#5 is my life's motto right now. Sure, "scientists don't get invited to those sorts of parties", but well, get yourself in there anyway. It's not as hard as one would think.
I've learned the hard way that this advice is very, very true. And well, I'm sure my girlfriend is very thankful. ;)
~EEE~
Not only do we have lots of finger control, but soft hands due to all the hand lotion use when we don't have girlfriends.
~EEE~
What's to stop employees from just logging into a private webmail account over HTTPS and sending information out that way?
Blocking the webmail sites at the proxy. It's pretty common, especially in larger corps.
Now, if you'd said "putting stuff on a USB thumb drive and walking out the door", then you'd be on to something.
~EEE~
Many companies, either out of bandwidth concerns, virus concerns, or simple "All your time are belong to us" concerns tend to block webmail access. That, and while it's on a 3rd party server, most webmail is submitted via a plaintext form, which means it can still be read on the proxy server.
I do tend to agree that using work email as a personal contact isn't the brightest idea. Unfortunately, not everyone can set up their own *nix server at home or get a PDA/Net enabled cell phone.
One solution is to find something not blocked for at work communications (blogs with comment features, Yahoo Groups, etc.) that are personal. Again, that option hits the plaintext problem, and potentially is more open and longer lasting, so the second is better.
So, as much as it sucks, I find the best option is to do personal mail at home, and use the phone for daytime personal communications. Not the easiest option, to be sure, but it sure gives me incentive to get my work done and be gone after 8 hours, instead of dawdling around longer.
~EEE~
>>I would rather not help people who do things like that. Says the man with a gmail address. . . ~EEE~