Just one more reason to use Mozilla Firefox

My company launched a brand new corporate intranet site this week.
In an effort to let everyone know about it, they did the following:

1. Gave a preview of the site at our last quarterly company meeting
2. Held a “name the new intranet site” contest. (Won by chutta incidentally)
3. Sent a multiple email messages out talking about some of the stuff you’ll be able to do on the new site
4. Added a countdown clock for the launch of the new intranet site on the old intranet site.
5. Brought in a photographer to take pictures of everyone for the new site.

We all knew it was coming. On launch day they also did the following:
1. Handed out mouse pads with the new intranet site name printed on them.
2. CHANGED THE CORPORATE LOG-ON SCRIPTS SO THAT INTERNET EXPLORER LAUNCHES THE NEW INTRANET SITE EVERY TIME AN EMPLOYEE LOGS INTO A MACHINE – REGARDLESS OF WHAT IS SET AS THE HOME PAGE, WHETHER IT US SET AS THE DEFAULT BROWSER OR NOT.

If you think I sound annoyed, you’d be right. I use Firefox at work for one very specific reason. (okay more than one, but stay with me on this…) I can configure multiple tabs to open when it launches. I have 4 tabs set up – one for the web monitor app for each lab that I work in, and one for the new “error monitor” app that is currently being developed to help us track down problems and prioritize which lab needs the most attention at any given time. It’s a very efficient way for me to work. IE can’t do this, but I do have each of monitor tools bookmarked.

The only time I ever even launched IE was when I needed to access something on the old intranet site. And that was only because parts of the old site ONLY worked with IE! (don’t EVEN get me started…) This no longer appears to be the case with the new site. (I haven’t found anything on it that breaks in FF yet.)

Wait, I also use it when I’m in the lab, because I don’t have authorization to install FF on the 300 or so servers that we are running. (tangent: I don’t have authorization to install BOINC either, but it would be awesome if I could. 300 machines crunching numbers for SETI@home??!! drool.)

Anyway, there is a “suggestion box” link on the front of the new intranet site. I’ve expressed my displeasure with this new “feature”. And in the mean time, I’m just going to lock my screen when I leave for the day instead of logging out. That way I won’t have to deal with IE launching when I log in any more.

Edited on Aug 20th 2005, 15:05 by Hooloovoo

Update: They’ve turned off the logon script that resets my IE homepage for me. Never did receive a reply to my feedback. I wonder if it was planed that way all along…

Edited on Sep 24th 2005, 01:40 by Hooloovoo

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Robert

Robert Belknap has been writing online sporadically since 2001. See the colophon for more details.

6 thoughts on “Just one more reason to use Mozilla Firefox”

  1. Bah humbug.

    Isn’t it possible to have the logon scripts launch the .url instead of launching iexplore? I notice that – some apps launch whatever’s the default browser to load their page, some explicitely use IE (and piss me off).

    But even then I’d be pissed off that the log-on script is forcing me to do things a certain way. That really smacks of “we think our team are idiots, and have to be hand-fed what we want”; and what does that say about the company? That the management think its fine to hire idiots and have the managers baby them. Big black mark against the company for bringing down the team. 🙁

  2. @2 it probably would be possible, but that would still be about as bad (for me) because I have no need to visit the front page of the intranet site every morning. And its not even forcing me to do things in a certain way. I really think its them wanting to make sure that everyone sees the new portal, and how nifty it is, so they can feel good about the months spent working on it. or something.

    @3 not bloody likely.

    the thing that really bugs me is this: The new site is great and all, and really is a huge improvement over the old one, but when I get to work and turn on my computer, I actually want to start working. The front page of the intranet site popping up when I log in is just getting in my way.

    Typical first few minutes after sitting down at my desk:
    Log in
    Launch Firefox which bings up the 4 monitoring tools, so I can quickly get an overview of what the labs look like right then.
    Launch Outlook to read the previous night’s shift report and to check for any other important info sent via email since I was last there.
    Take a couple of minutes to prioritize the items/machines that need my attention based on the monitoring tools and what I’ve just read in my email.

    I don’t need the intranet portal for ANY of that.

    meh.

    okay I’m done complaining about this now.

  3. I think you’ll find, in the tradition of corporate intranet sites, that no-one needs the internet portal for anything that they do; rendering it ineffective, unhelpful, and a waste of money. If they don’t shove it down your throats, no-one will ever see/use it, and their money/time spent on it will be wasted.

    The question is: did they consult with everyone to see what they needed? Or did they just decide “we need an intranet site where we can publish company news”, and then it grew from there…?

  4. @5

    I don’t know, exactly. I know that I was never asked what I need ( but then again I’m a relatively low-level worker.) For what its worth, they do provide links to the monitoring tools that I use – but they are 4 or 5 clicks deep, and technically – they’re in the wrong section…

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