Just so that there is some balance against my last post, Microsoft isn't all bad. I just read an Ars Technica story, where Microsoft is arguing that the modern worker requires unfiltered Internet access. I couldn't agree with Microsoft's point more. In fact, one of my reasons for leaving EDS (as I stated in my exit interview), is that I felt very strongly that I required fast, unflitered, and unmonitored Internet access in order to do my job effectively.
EDS, on the other hand, believes in putting all of their employees behind a proxy, that watches what you do, and blocks certain sites. This is wrong on so many levels - the primary being that the employee/employer relationship, at some point, has to be all about trust. Throughout the course of my employment at EDS, the company trusted me to do a good job, and do right by our customers. So, why couldn't they trust me to use my Internet connection properly as well?
I think that the line between "work time" and "personal time" has irrevocably blurred. I check my personal e-mail at work, and my work e-mail at home. So, why do some companies persist in trying to block "inappropriate" use of the corporate Internet connection? It boggles my mind, and is one of the many reasons why I'm happy that I don't work at such a closed-minded company anymore.
-Andy.
Technorati Tags: EDS, Microsoft, Ars Technica