Somewhiteguy

Before the last few years, I was on a lot of torrenting sites. Really before a lot of software became what we now know as FOSS, it was the way we traded software. So, there was a potential much higher then than now. I’ve been doing this computer thing for closer to 30+ years, so my habits come from headaches and other learned lessons.

due to corporate IT policies

I think that answers your question right there. If you got the device outside of that realm, you’d probably have no issues. Talk to your security and IT people about why that is. There are huge security risks for people being admin over their systems.

For context, I run my home computer as a non-admin user most of the time, unless I need to make some deep changes, which is not often. Maybe once a month. This saves me from accidentally installing a rootkit or other software. I run my children and wife under the same context so they don’t need to worry either. Yes, it takes me a bit of time to go through and approve some updates, but that’s worth it to not need to worry as much about viruses and keeping data secure.

The amount of time it takes your IT department to do something is another complaint that should be directed at them. We get those kinds of complaints constantly, but it’s the fact we have everyone asking the same things or completely meaningless ones. You’re in the queue, please give us patience.

When getting into a new project or hobby, I tend to go to HF for the tools first. The tools are inexpensive, and I’m probably going to be dropping the hobby or thing soon after my hyperfixation dies off. So, that means I didn’t spend a lot of money on this thing that I’m not going to keep going on. If the tool dies, and I’m still into it, it’s not just hyperfixation and I can get a better tool, but now I understand what I’m looking for. Sometimes, the tool from HF is just fine for the long term, and honestly this happens more than you’d think. I have some drills that aren’t the best, but get things done for near a decade, and some yellow, teal, and reds that have died within 6 months.

My wife bought me a HF (Port Cable) pancake air compressor for a father’s day. It wasn’t the best, but it was from her and what she could buy without pinging the account in a way that alerted me. It’s just now starting to die off and it’s nearly 12 years old.