Keeping a PC Personal At School? 695
Berto Kraus writes "As one of the most tech-oriented students in my art-oriented institution, I'm usually the one with the laptop. This causes frequent requests from other students to read mail, check some site, or connect it to the projector to display a file from their Flash drive. For the sake of my privacy, the health of my laptop, and my own peace of mind, I'm reluctant. But telling my compatriots to go to our building supervisor and ask him for a desktop-on-a-cart, as they should do, is considered rude and unfriendly. Now, I could dual-boot Ubuntu, or carry around a Linux-on-a-stick. Or I could embed the computer in my skull. For many reasons, none of these solutions is ideal. So I'm asking you, insightful and funny Slashdotters, what would you do to keep your PC personal at school?"
Its all about the wallpaper (Score:5, Funny)
Use Dvorak Simplified Keyboard... (Score:5, Funny)
art school (Score:5, Funny)
VM (Score:5, Funny)
Virtual Machines suggest themselves. Do everything school-related in a VM and reset it from time to time. Also, in my experience, art-oriented institutions are choked full of hot chicks, so stop complaining and try to see this as an opportunity. Computer malware is not the only think that you can interchange with a dumb coed, you know.
Re:Its all about the wallpaper (Score:5, Funny)
This may prove to have the opposite effect you'd expect. We *are* talking about an art school, after all.
*ducks*
Virtual Terminal (Score:5, Funny)
Switch to a VT and tell them that only paying customers can use X.
Re:Uh, how about just different accounts? (Score:2, Funny)
Don't remember if XP Home enforces seperate directories
It does but file permissions options are normally hidden [tweakhound.com].
Also, pr0n belongs in a separate account with an encrypted $home directory on external harddrives encased in a printer which, when not in use, goes into an airtight box buried in a hole under the waterfall in the backyard. Shit! now I have to find a new hiding place.
Sticky keys (Score:4, Funny)
Open up a bunch of porn sites, and then hand it over to them, but warn them that the keys might be a bit sticky.
Re:recent documents and browser history (Score:2, Funny)
Make sure that there's always goatse, cupchicks and tubgirl in your history, and some random porn images (bonus points for noodies of yourself) in the recent documents. Wait for the embarassed moment when the poor sucker stumbles over it. Shrug and say "well, it's my machine, what'd you expect", when they start gouging their eyes out. Should teach them the lesson nicely.
Re:Art school or no... (Score:5, Funny)
Who needs laptops when they have desktops on a cart! When I was young all we had were mainframes on a horse. We had to go down to the stables every time we wanted to check our email. Kids these days...
Seriously though, wtf. Tell them to get their own laptop and teach your art school about laptops too. Tell them they are kind of like desktops on carts but a lot more convenient.
Re:Use Dvorak Simplified Keyboard... (Score:3, Funny)
When they can not find the @ key, they usually give up.
How do you type an email address in Iceland?
Re:Sharing is bad (Score:3, Funny)
Remember, this is an _art_ school...
Re:Guest account with Fast User Switching. (Score:1, Funny)
Will you buy adobe creative suite licences for them?
Re:Use Dvorak Simplified Keyboard... (Score:5, Funny)
*ducks*
Re:Sharing is bad (Score:1, Funny)
my roomate used to always get up and look at my screen whenever I watched something.
I found this really annoying so one day I started watching some really nasty horse porn and sure enough when he realized i was watching something he got up to see what it was..
he stopped after that.
Re:Just say no (Score:3, Funny)
Re:art school (Score:3, Funny)
Re:Just say no (Score:3, Funny)
Why, if they're really careful (like friends always are, right) and observe some simple rules, it is.
Re:Sharing is bad (Score:3, Funny)
That image is still burned into my... err... his retinas.
Re:Sticky keys (Score:3, Funny)
Correction: It turns off ~90% of the boys quickly.
Re:easy. (Score:2, Funny)
EASY ANSWER (Score:1, Funny)
"You wouldn't ask if you could fuck your girlfriend with my cock, now would you??"
Re:Slasshdot or Dear Abby? (Score:1, Funny)
Dude.. Can I borrow your girlfriend for about 10 minutes?
wait.. nevermind this is /.
Re:Guest account with Fast User Switching. (Score:3, Funny)
Seriously though, as someone else pointed out, just create a guest account, and prohibit execution in that account.This is known as Using protection!
Re:Trade! (Score:4, Funny)
He's at an art school. More appropriate advice is likely "Ask for sexual favors from both."
Re:Just be paranoid. (Score:3, Funny)
He's an artist. A fairly techy one but an artist nonetheless. Therefore, acting like a rabid dog every time anyone glances at his computer is probably not a valid option for him, because in his quality matrix, interacting with other people has a decidedly positive weight.
Are you kidding? Have you hear how much money goes for paintings by batshit-crazy artists???
This would be a brilliant move!
Re:VMWare Workstation (Score:3, Funny)
It's similar to a Vista license, just less sucky.
So wait a second (Score:5, Funny)
So you're basically saying that you're at a school full of girls that you don't know how to say "no" to but you're afraid that they might accidentally open up your pron folder?
Is that about right?
Re:So wait a second (Score:3, Funny)
Girls in schools don't give the niki-wiki to the pushovers and "nice-guy" types. They give it up to the assertive assholes.
If you want use your laptop to make headway with the girls, refuse (mostly politely) to let them use it.
Then you (and your laptop) will become the forbidden fruit and every one of those heifers will want a nibble.
Re:Sharing is bad (Score:3, Funny)
the real question is: did you finish watching the nasty horse porn?
Re:easy. (Score:3, Funny)
Make it so they don't want to use you computer. (Score:3, Funny)
Install Linux with FVWM remove all the menus except for xterm and run all apps threw the terminal. For your own sanity make a bunch of cryptic commands symbolic links and shell scripts to do what you want but you will be the only one who really know and cares to remember the scripts.
So when they use you computer they will be so perplexed on how to use it as nothing will be intuitive that they just won't ask you to use it.
Re:easy. (Score:5, Funny)
Better yet. Set up your screen saver with a short delay to show porn.
Then when the porn shows up during their presentation blame them.
They will NEVER ask to use your computer again.
Re:Guest account with Fast User Switching. (Score:1, Funny)
Yeah, like the guy with the $1000 suit is going to let anyone borrow his laptop... COME ON!
Re:Guest account with Fast User Switching. (Score:3, Funny)
All of ye have given good technical answers, and they would most-likely work, but I think ye overlooked the most practical solution:
"No."
Except he went to an "art-oriented institution" to get laid. Yelling "No." at all the pretty girls won't further that goal.
What he really wants but is to embarrassed to ask to a way to make the laptop hypnotize females when he lets them use it.
Re:art school (Score:3, Funny)
Re:Guest account with Fast User Switching. (Score:3, Funny)
>>>The most practical solution probably won't get you many friends, commodore64_love.
I learned long ago that real friendships are not based-upon giving material goods. Back in school I had one of those portables that played videogames, and I shared it with everyone who asked, and then one day the battery died. All my so-called "friends" stopped talking to me. You see... they were just USING me not really developing a true bond. Same situation applies with the laptop.
>>>Since you seem like a black and white sort of dude
Wrong. I see shades of gray as well. Like I said before if they want to do a quick check of wikipedia in class, fine I'll share rather than be anal-retentive, but I still wouldn't loan-out my laptop for major work like presentations. That's not a black-and-white viewpoint as you falsely claim, but instead a realistic one.
>>>If it sounds harsh, sorry. I'm just trying to engage with you on the level and tone you did. Maybe it will help your social life.
Well I'm sorry but this is clearly an insult against nerds, and I'm taking it as such. I happen to be one of the most-popular persons at my workplace, but that doesn't mean I'm a sponge to be used either. Been there; done that; see my first paragraph.
Re:easy. (Score:2, Funny)
Re:Guest account with Fast User Switching. (Score:5, Funny)
So a gay porn screen saver with a short delay would be great... The wanna be macho guys would leave it alone and the girls would "trust" you :-D