Wednesday, February 16, 2005

Big brother is already here.

My work has recently installed on all of our computers, a coffee-break type software which monitors every single keystroke, every single application you use, and how long you spend on the computer. Supposedly for OH&S purposes, it is surprising how much it really picks up. Like 'oh, did i really spend 2 hrs today checking emails?'. Hmm. I mean what it is supposed to do is go - uh oh, you've been working really intensely for 10 minutes, time to take a break! And then it suggests exercises for you to do whilst it has taken over your computer, and forces you to do something else. It is quite scary. And quite embarrassing how much you come to *ahem* rely on it.

I was looking at the application monitoring bit for the past week or so, just to make sure I wasn't spending _too_ much time on email. Before it got installed, I even went so far as to write the most enormous sign to stick on my monitor so I didn't keep compulsively clicking on outlook to check my mail (& finding, disappointingly, that nobody loves me). And now? After so many complaints about email monitoring, computer usage monitoring, and how none of this crap was part of our contracts, they've disabled it. So I have no idea how much time I have spent frittering away on the 'net, on the email. And now I'm back to
compulsively clicking on outlook, every 2 minutes, even if I've just closed the application. I guess I have an addictive type personality.

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