As if using Windows is not bad enough....

[dobbin]

Its bad enough using Windows on a Dell all day long, but now my IT dept is going to stop me having pictures of my holidays and family on my screensaver, or having any control over how this stupid machine works. It's supposed to reduce calls to the helpdesk, but I will make a point of calling them to say my screensaver won't work, I can't change the screen resolution, etc, etc and how stupid it is. I hate being treated like an idiot just because some people are too stupid to set up their own screensaver and password.
I don't know why I'm posting this, I just want some sympathy I guess!

I wish I could use my Mac at work.......


As part of the Morpheus project implementation we will apply a desktop management policy to all PCs and laptops. This is a set of technical rules that control how parts of the Windows environment operate. The main effect will be to apply the corporate screensaver, and a screensaver password. The corporate screensaver is the ‘flying flag’ showing the logo. It will be set to operate when the machine has been untouched for more than ten minutes. You will need to enter your password to clear the screensaver to resume work. You will still be able to customise the look of your PC by setting your own Windows colour scheme.

Desktop Management is common practice in most large organisations. We are doing this because:-
1. Loading screensaver programs can cause technical problems that take time and resources to resolve.
2. Screensavers (particularly those downloaded from the internet) can contain spyware and other hidden malevolent features.
3. Screensavers with a password set are a requirement of our ICT Security Policy. They reduce the possibility that someone might gain inappropriate access to systems or confidential information whilst you are away from your PC.
4. The corporate screensaver will improve the consistency of style throughout the organisation and present a more professional image.

Like all the changes associated with Morpheus, we will make exceptions where there is a solid business reason to do so. To request an exception or variation please call our Helpdesk. The desktop management policy will also remove access to some features of the Windows Control Panel. However, these are technical settings that no user should have need to access. By blocking them we will cut down on the number of calls we have to handle that result from inappropriate or accidental changes.

[Sun Baked]

Watch out for the nylon uniforms they'll probably introduce to foster the "consistency of style throughout the organization." :p

[Mechcozmo]

"Please wipe your hard drive so that everyone's is the same. Make sure to zero it, too, so that it may always remind you of the management."

[Blue Velvet]

And then the company song and calisthenics by your desk...

[dobbin]

"Please wipe your hard drive so that everyone's is the same. Make sure to zero it, too, so that it may always remind you of the management."

HA!
You're joking, but I virtually have to do that! Another part of "Project Morpheus" means that I will no longer be allowed to store anything on the hard drive of my PC, and will have only 100Mb on the server to use. So where am I going to put all my photos and video clips that I download while the boss is not looking ;-)

Can they actually technically stop me saving things to the hard disk (C: drive)? That seems unlikely to me, but I guess anything might be possible in the world of BIG BROTHER.

[Veldek]

HA!
You're joking, but I virtually have to do that! Another part of "Project Morpheus" means that I will no longer be allowed to store anything on the hard drive of my PC, and will have only 100Mb on the server to use. So where am I going to put all my photos and video clips that I download while the boss is not looking ;-)

Can they actually technically stop me saving things to the hard disk (C: drive)? That seems unlikely to me, but I guess anything might be possible in the world of BIG BROTHER.

We have exactly this status here at work. I can’t access display preferences and can’t save on the harddisk. So it seems technically possible.

[iGav]

"Project Morpheus"

:rolleyes:

I'd get a new job mate... ;)

[broken_keyboard]

We have a corporate screensaver and an audit program so IT dept. can tell what we install. Maybe they can view our screens remotely but I don't think so.

Remember that as long you have physical access to the machine there's no a lot they can do to prevent you getting full access. With a few hours research on the Internet and a few more hours running a brute force password crack at home I was able to get the administrator password for my work computer. Anyone could do it.

[evoluzione]

sneak an ibook in there

[Baron58]

Another part of "Project Morpheus" means that I will no longer be allowed to store anything on the hard drive of my PC, and will have only 100Mb on the server to use. So where am I going to put all my photos and video clips that I download while the boss is not looking ;-)

Can they actually technically stop me saving things to the hard disk (C: drive)? That seems unlikely to me, but I guess anything might be possible in the world of BIG BROTHER.


Ok, everyone, get a grip.

Yes, they can do that. It's THEIR computer NOT YOURS. It's actually a really good idea for them to do that. The 100MB quota is a bit strange though - is that 'personal' space, aside from where you're supposed to store the actual work that you're being paid to do? If so, that's generous.

BIG BROTHER would be people telling you what to do with *your* computer at *your* home that *you* paid for with *your* money. If you were assigned a company car to drive on client visits, it would be inappropriate for you to take a road trip, pick up a bunch of friends, go bar-hopping, pick up construction materials at Home Depot, etc. It's assigned to you for one purpose, for the benefit of your employer, and that's it. Just because you "know computers" doesn't mean that it's within your rights to do anything but work on the company equipment.

I have a 'minimal personal use' policy at work. It means that I/we don't care if you order stuff from Gap or Amazon on your lunch break, or if you want to print out your thesis on a laser printer. However, if you consistantly do things like overflow the toilet, torch the microwave or break chairs, you may find that you don't last long as an employee. The same goes for computers - you dork it up, cause work delays, spend too much time surfing friendster.com or doing personal email, we have no tolerance for that.

[StarbucksSam]

Tell Big Brother I said hello. Unbeliveable. Why do they treat you people like laboratory RATS? What a load of bullocks.

[AmigoMac]

Can't you sue them?? That sucks...

[makisushi]

I agree with Baron58.

Obivously there was a problem large enough for them to devise and implement a solution.

Its their equipment, their internet connection and they pay your salary.
I say, if you don't like it, find a new job.

[dobbin]

Its their equipment, their internet connection and they pay your salary.
I say, if you don't like it, find a new job.

Interesting replies guys.

I can see both sides of the argument, and I agree that of course they can do whatever they like on their computers if they want to. I also agree that if I really don't like it then I can find a new job. Its not anywhere near as bad as that though, of course I'm not going to look for a new job. Its still annoying though, and organisations shouldn't do things that annoy their employees, the org will lose out in the long run.

Working for an organisation should involve both sides giving and taking in my opinion. I do a lot for my organisation that is outside what I am contracted to do. Likewise they cut me some slack if I need to leave 10 minutes early for something. Sometimes I work a few minutes or hours later than I have to. This weekend I am working on a special project that means I will give up Friday evening, Saturday morning and all day Sunday (I will only receive 1 days leave and no extra money for about two extra days work). I don't mind doing this because I enjoy my job, and I am happy to do what it takes to get the job done. It annoys me that the thanks I get for my commitment is that I am no longer allowed to have my holiday pictures on my screensaver that my colleagues and I like to look at. I'm also not allowed to store anything on the 20Gb hard-drive which will be 80% empty. Its dumb.

I think its the company who will lose in the long run. For example, next time I get an informal call from my boss on a Sunday asking for advice on something I will only be able to say, "I'm sorry I can't help you, I no longer have any of my work on my laptop... its all on the server". They will have to go down the official route of calling the out of hours emergency line, which may or may not be able to help them.

Incidently if I did choose to leave, I believe the organisation would suffer more than me. Before I started here, my job was vacant for a year despite 2 attempts to recruit people.
They need to make it a nice place to work, so that good workers are more likely to stay.

I bet the geeks in the IT dept get to store stuff on their PCs!!!!!

[dobbin]

sneak an ibook in there

I wish I could do this. I love my iBook. If I am away for a couple of days on a business trip then I will take my own iBook rather than my work Dell laptop. The IT dept has disabled the modem in the Dell, but everyone else at work is glad that I still answer my emails while I'm away.

They soon plan to stop me saving anything on the hard disk. Well whats the point in giving me a laptop then!!!?? I will soo have a £1500 Dell typewriter and not much more. No modem, no media player, no permament storage, no games, no nothing.

Why should I have to use my own computer to do my job, just because IT are not able to keep the PCs in shape without crippling them?

[winwintoo]

For a long time our company *special ordered* our desktop computers without CD-ROMs in them (they were afraid we'd use them to play music and besides a CD-ROM must cost more right?) So the supplier took a truckload of desktop computers, paid some dork to rip the CDs out of them, billed our company for the time and trouble, sold the CDs somewhere, and then our company had to pay a guy to walk around with a portable CD unit to install software 'cuz there was no other way to do it.

Saved a whole bunch of money.

They also took the radios and air conditioners out of the company trucks and vans that the outside plant workers had to use in the stifling summer heat, but head office was nicely air conditioned because the computers wouldn't work without air conditioning, and everyone knows you can't run a company without computers.

Big Brother might be watching, but he's not the brightest bulb on the old Christmas tree.

Margaret

[edesignuk]

Get over it. It's the same any large firm with a half decent IT dept. Group Policy is a hugely powerful tool, and locking the desktop down with these policy’s can save a lot of work from idiotic users who install crap and then wonder why their machine is running slow.

[Savage Henry]

I understand the argument that the property and policy belongs to the company, but we have had similar draconian rules in the past. And say in the past because they seem to change depending on the ebbs and flows of managent power.

Web access used to be for the priveliged few, until the World Cup was on 5 years ago and managers loved keeping track of the scores at the desk.
Once we were limited to 100mb of mail on the servers, regardless of size of server. But until a major player kicked up the fuss about having to regularly trim his mail box every time he turned his lap top on, policy changed.
Also there used to be only one PC with CD-write capabilites, and permission was needed to copy data. Then a new big manager came onto the scene and not unreasonably wanted her staff to have such capabilites. Now we all can order such write capabilies on our new PCs and eyelids are not battered.


I appreciate big business needs rules and policies, but I don't have any faith in the policy makers. Mind you we've only ever had an IT director for 14 months. He left last year after making such a pigs ear of the job. So I'd say we are more of the exception to a real-world company that everyone else on the thread describes.

[Maxicek]

I work in the automotive business. We have the same screensaver setup as described. A program audits our PCs for installed software and sends it back to a central server. Our internet access is logged. Everyone, from the MD down, wears a uniform (red trousers, white polo shirt, red sweatshirt).

I know corporate IT are a real pain, but does it really matter? I still look at MacRumors at work. I use my PowerBook at home for everything else. It's more about how the organisation treats you as an individual, not about your screensaver. If I was working to 8pm every night with no recognition, then I would worry.

[Batesie1]

we have the same policy here at a fortune global 500 co. BUT, they make us buy our own computers (don't ask), so i feel a bit more restricted when they get to control many aspects of my system.
i wouldn't recommend it to everyone, but registry hacks have been quite fun and successful thus far (1+ years). i eliminated an annoying bootup disclaimer screen, got rid of other startup applications i rarely use, and got my screensaver tab back up in the display properties control panel. their network software seems to reapply some of their settings from time to time, but it's nothing a quick visit to regedit won't fix.
as long as i don't get in over my head my PC should be fine. take that windows!

[edesignuk]

i wouldn't recommend it to everyone, but registry hacks have been quite fun and successful thus far (1+ years).
Your IT people must suck big time. Any rule should be reinforced through group policy with regular refresh intervals (exact interval can again be set by the admins). Even if you did change the reg entry to over ride a policy, it should only be a matter of time before it sets itself back again.

[Batesie1]

Even if you did change the reg entry to over ride a policy, it should only be a matter of time before it sets itself back again.

yah, i've noticed the time period changed pretty recently. before, it was maybe once a day or so. now, it's more like once every couple of days. instead of updating it manually everytime the settings reset, i just import the latest registry settings i saved previously. this gets to be a minor hassle everytime i install new software, corporate or otherwise. annoying? yes. worth it- damn skippy.

[edesignuk]

yah, i've noticed the time period changed pretty recently. before, it was maybe once a day or so. now, it's more like once every couple of days. instead of updating it manually everytime the settings reset, i just import the latest registry settings i saved previously. this gets to be a minor hassle everytime i install new software, corporate or otherwise. annoying? yes. worth it- damn skippy.
LOL, most places should have the refresh set to something like 30-90mins.

[daveL]

Standardized, locked down desktop and server builds are the centerpiece of cost effective IT in any organization. If it's not being done where you work, your management are idiots, and I'd suggest looking elsewhere for a job.

As for the poster that suggests that you follow their lead and hack the admin password: That's immediate grounds for termination in most organizations. In addition in violates the hacker laws in a number of US states, and you can be prosecuted, if your company chooses. There was a very high profile case in Oregon several years ago where Intel prosecuted a very well known software engineer for cracking internal passwords. He was trying to put together a case to take to management to prove that they needed to a serious security audit; Intel didn't see it that way.

Why on earth would you want to put your job in jeopardy for the sake of a screen saver or other such nonsense?

[Raid]

Its bad enough using Windows on a Dell all day long, but now my IT dept is going to stop me having pictures of my holidays and family on my screensaver, or having any control over how this stupid machine works. It's supposed to reduce calls to the helpdesk, but I will make a point of calling them to say my screensaver won't work, I can't change the screen resolution, etc, etc and how stupid it is. I hate being treated like an idiot just because some people are too stupid to set up their own screensaver and password.
I don't know why I'm posting this, I just want some sympathy I guess!

I wish I could use my Mac at work.......

I feel your pain man. The computers at work were updated about six months ago and with the update came the "Managed Desktop Environment".

Now the computers are leap years ahead of the old ones (at least they don't crash when I run macros on large files) but they put in GUI restrictions that drive me nuts. For example I have my own appearance settings to take it easy on my eyes, and I use the pipes screen saver (because it's so common everybody ignores it) and I remove their picture on the desktop (basicaly a styized logo telling me to call tech support if I have a problem) and just use a black desktop (again easier on my eyes). But every time I shutdown and log back in the GUI settings revert!!! There's nothing I'm doing that violates their useage policy (maybe except for posting here :cool: ) and I'm not downloading any screen savers or wallpapers but they still for some reason revert the gui settings to their own default. :mad:

My solution is to lock the computer at night and only shutdown my computer on Friday night. That way I'm spared resetting my prefs (which are still thankfully saved on my computer) except for Monday's and I still get the updates that they send down the pipe. Not the most secure option I agree, but it's better for my sanity... which is suffering as it is. :D

To top it off if I need to use any additional programs not supported by IT, they will charge me $40 a month for admin access, and $75 an hour if anything goes wrong with my computer there after... that's what we get for outsourcing our IT.... but at least I get to go home to my Mac, it's paradise compared to what I get paid to deal with!

[edesignuk]

To top it off if I need to use any additional programs not supported by IT, they will charge me $40 a month for admin access, and $75 an hour if anything goes wrong with my computer there after... that's what we get for outsourcing our IT.... but at least I get to go home to my Mac, it's paradise compared to what I get paid to deal with!If you alter the windows enviroment your contractors have agreed to support you deserve to be charged when it goes wrong, regardless of what the changes are.

Some won't balls up their PC, but there are many others that will. Making every desktop uniform and controlled makes support a hell of a lot easier.

IT depts always take a knocking no matter what they do, we just can't win with you people (users :p).

[rueyeet]

Sorry, but I agree with edesignuk and daveL. Desktop management is a given at most large corporations. For every person like you who can tweak your appearance settings with no reprecussions, there's a dozen more idiots downloading screensaver programs from fly-by-night websites, or putting other personal-use software on their machines. Those same idiots then call tech support and wonder what's wrong with their computer when they've either mangled the settings with their installations, or infected their Windows with malware.

And those CD drives? I'll bet they wouldn't have cared if employees had brought in their entire CD collections to listen to; more likely, the drives were removed to prevent users from installing goodness-knows-what on their machines.

User-installed non-standard software is the bane of IT departments the world over. No, being treated like a clueless luser is never fun when you do know better, but it's a case of the idiots ruining it for the whole class.

[Batesie1]

As for the poster that suggests that you follow their lead and hack the admin password: That's immediate grounds for termination in most organizations.

hmm... my IT dept must be more inept than i thought. (i was using my powerbook 1.25 and virtual PC for much of the beginning of the year :D) we pretty much have admin access for our entire OS, save for a few minor details incl screensaver, antivirus software, etc. of course, i wouldn't recommend hacking and getting admin PW's- no amount of customization is worth that... even if it is a computer they made you buy.

[daveL]

hmm... my IT dept must be more inept than i thought. (i was using my powerbook 1.25 and virtual PC for much of the beginning of the year :D) we pretty much have admin access for our entire OS, save for a few minor details incl screensaver, antivirus software, etc. of course, i wouldn't recommend hacking and getting admin PW's- no amount of customization is worth that... even if it is a computer they made you buy.
It depends, of course. If your employer has you using your own laptop, they can hardly dictate what you have on it, for instance. Another situation would be a development lab environment, although this should be on a completely separate network with firewalls, etc.. I was addressing the more common business situation where everyone has a desktop system for email, calendar, etc. along with normal office suite stuff and any app they need to do their daily tasks.

[Mechcozmo]

I can see where you have the morons messing up computers...

...but why can't you just limit screen savers to the built in? Like OS X can? Just choose a Picture folder, voila! Insta-saver! But you can't add the screen savers because you cannot modify the Library folders...

Oh well. At my school you can change permissions for the entire student file server. :eek: So I can give everyone read/write access to everyone's stuff. And so can anyone else.

[herr_neumann]

This is why I use my iBook at work, takes like 2 min to transfer files via my flash drive (just can't use it for classified stuff, obviously). That way I can prove I work when someone wants to look at my computer, but for me big brother IS watching everytime I log onto my "work" computer. Gotta love the army....

[stubeeef]

curious, I'm no IT pro, much less an apple pro-(that'w why I like'm), but with all the cost saving issues, how does the x serve stack up? Does it take less staff? and therefore people don't want it?

I have been enjoying this discussion. I have begged for a 12" pb for work, they say I'm getting a dell x300?, anyway I'm removed from the plant and have card blanche with the thing, but I hate'm.

[sebisworld]

Why do you worry about the Screensaver? It pretty much should not pop up, since you are always working, am I correct? :-)

Anyway, why don't you gus create a registry file with all your screensaver settings and background pictures, so that you only have to import that file into the registry to have all the settings back the way you want them. If you have Internet Explorer on the PC, you can even do it remotely, just make sure you pick a big enough security hole :-)

[Raid]

IT depts always take a knocking no matter what they do, we just can't win with you people (users :p).

:p Well I think there should be a test designed by the IT department that would wave the admin fees if an employee passed. I'm kind of the unofficial (read unpaid skilled labour) IT person on my floor, and I see what some people do ... for example getting spyware on their machine by downloading "Smilies" off the internet ... on a managed machine no less.... :rolleyes:

I just want to assure my IT people that I'm not a PEBKAC case, and can manage my computer without thier "all users are morons" settings.

Be kind to us users, we call angry cause part of our frustration is using windows!
;)