Second Life on Corporate PCs?
Wednesday, August 20, 2008 | 
~
Ari Blackthorne™
Second life on corporate computers? Absolutely, though nowhere near as many as anyone might think. It is not so easy to quickly 'hide' the SL viewer application when the boss walks by. However, there are cases where one can 'get away' with it. Is this what Information Technology professionals want? Highly unlikely.
It's a known fact that there is 'software creep' on corporate computers and it started a long time ago, even before the Internet was so prevailent. People who had computers at home tended to bring some software in and install it without asking first, but that was a rarity. Then, as the Internet increasingly became a part of the workplace, the war has been slowly prculatiing between the user and the I.T. department ever since.
It really kicked-in when Instant Message software became hugely popular. People were fired over the issue: not only for downloading an installing the software such as America Online Instant Messenger (AIM) or ICQ (I Seek You) onto their work systems, but for wasting so many hours on-the-clock in messaging friends and family. Now, think: what exactly is Second Life, but for glorified, beautiful-to-look-at 'instant messaging' software'?
It became such a productivity drain that companies outright banned the software. However, bad for I.T. departments everywhere, the software companies are making it harder to prevent new software being installed onto these systems with auto-updates and other payloads included with intended updates and other installed software.
Too many applications are beginning to actually require Internet access to properly function, and in that requirement - to have certain ports open to allow data to flow through corporate firewalls, etc. Then, there is the evil Linden Lab whom have created the evil Second Life client that connects to the Second Life virtual experience that has become so addictive to so many, even the Second Life viewer software is finding its way onto these computer systems.
InfoWorld has a pretty good article about software creep all by itself. The article isn't specifically about Second Life or Linden Lab, but does mention it.
No, simply mentioning Second Life isn't the reason I chose to focus on this article at all. Rather, it more or less reminded me of the issue, and no doubt Second Life is installed on a lot of systems it probably shouldn't be installed on.
I have it on the corporate Macintosh I use - but I sorta, kinda have a slim excuse: It was installed to show it to the company owner as something to evaluate with regard to online training. Never did get a chance to pull him to my machine to see it yet. But, that also gives me reason to leave i there. Even though it's not really necessary as I rarely ever go in-world during RL productivity time.
So,I am really curious: do you have the SL viewer installed on your employer-owned computer workstation? And, if you do: do you actually login to Second Life while at work (even if on a break or lunch period)?
Tell me - I am really curious to know.
It's a known fact that there is 'software creep' on corporate computers and it started a long time ago, even before the Internet was so prevailent. People who had computers at home tended to bring some software in and install it without asking first, but that was a rarity. Then, as the Internet increasingly became a part of the workplace, the war has been slowly prculatiing between the user and the I.T. department ever since.
It really kicked-in when Instant Message software became hugely popular. People were fired over the issue: not only for downloading an installing the software such as America Online Instant Messenger (AIM) or ICQ (I Seek You) onto their work systems, but for wasting so many hours on-the-clock in messaging friends and family. Now, think: what exactly is Second Life, but for glorified, beautiful-to-look-at 'instant messaging' software'?
It became such a productivity drain that companies outright banned the software. However, bad for I.T. departments everywhere, the software companies are making it harder to prevent new software being installed onto these systems with auto-updates and other payloads included with intended updates and other installed software.
Too many applications are beginning to actually require Internet access to properly function, and in that requirement - to have certain ports open to allow data to flow through corporate firewalls, etc. Then, there is the evil Linden Lab whom have created the evil Second Life client that connects to the Second Life virtual experience that has become so addictive to so many, even the Second Life viewer software is finding its way onto these computer systems.
InfoWorld has a pretty good article about software creep all by itself. The article isn't specifically about Second Life or Linden Lab, but does mention it.
InfoWorld sez:
"Apple iTunes, various media players such as RealPlayer and Adobe Flash, and virtual reality environment Second Life are rampant on corporate PCs. Take Flash, a player that Web pages download for users automatically when Flash content is on a page. Thanks to that automatic downloading, Adobe has found that new versions get widely adopted, even behind corporate firewalls, in a matter of months."
Source: IT heresy: Invite those unsanctioned applications in!
No, simply mentioning Second Life isn't the reason I chose to focus on this article at all. Rather, it more or less reminded me of the issue, and no doubt Second Life is installed on a lot of systems it probably shouldn't be installed on.
I have it on the corporate Macintosh I use - but I sorta, kinda have a slim excuse: It was installed to show it to the company owner as something to evaluate with regard to online training. Never did get a chance to pull him to my machine to see it yet. But, that also gives me reason to leave i there. Even though it's not really necessary as I rarely ever go in-world during RL productivity time.
So,I am really curious: do you have the SL viewer installed on your employer-owned computer workstation? And, if you do: do you actually login to Second Life while at work (even if on a break or lunch period)?
Tell me - I am really curious to know.
Categories:
Socially Disgraceful
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