Working while I work.

[Yorick]

So at my job I'm technically in my office for about 35 hours a week, and during most weeks I have less than 10 hours of actual work. I've been loading up a flash-drive with portable applications so that I can mess around with my own things. I've got an ebook reader, a copy of google chrome, a notepad editor, stuff like that.

What I would like, is to be able to do webdesign while I'm at work. I cannot, however, get a copy of Photoshop to work off of the flash drive, or even a CD. I imagine it's because I don't have Admin privileges on the computer.

In the meantime I've been using Gimp Portable, but I really don't like it. Even with the plugin to make it more like Photoshop, there are just too many slight differences that I don't like.

So my question is two-fold. Is there a solid way I can bypass the Admin rights, just to get Photoshop working, preferably without getting into trouble, or failing at that, is there another really solid image editing program that I might be able to use?

 

[Dinnesch]

Install windows on the flash drive. Wouldn't that be the easiest way without messing around with your work computer?

EDIT: or just try installing virtualisation software on your drive so you don't have to mess with boot options. From my (short) experience Virtualbox is pretty good.

 

[Vegeta897]

Y no rike gimp

 

[Yorick]

Install windows on the flash drive. Wouldn't that be the easiest way without messing around with your work computer?

EDIT: or just try installing virtualisation software on your drive so you don't have to mess with boot options. From my (short) experience Virtualbox is pretty good.

Well, if I installed Windows on the Flash-Drive, and launched from that, wouldn't it affect my ability to use my native Windows and likely my network?

The virtualisation software might be something that works, though, if it does what I think it does. With my luck, I'll need Admin Permissions to launch that, though. I'll try it right now, thanks!

Y no rike gimp

Moving layers with the move tool, how easily a single click on the canvas switches you between layers, stuff like that. It's not to say that there is anything "wrong" with Gimp, I just feel so awkward with it because it's not what I'm used to.

 

[Vegeta897]

Nah I understand totally. I'm so stuck on using Flash for vector art when I should really get into Illustrator.

(Not saying you are stuck on photoshop and that you should really use gimp of course. Though photoshop is kind of bloated for just web design)

 

[Yorick]

Nah I understand totally. I'm so stuck on using Flash for vector art when I should really get into Illustrator.

(Not saying you are stuck on photoshop and that you should really use gimp of course. Though photoshop is kind of bloated for just web design)

It's definitely bloated.

The VirtualBox installed fine, but I need to have an operating system on-hand to make it work. I'll give it a try tomorrow and report back.

 

[Krynn72]

I don't like Gimp because of its name. I mean, it was designed by a person who thought the word "gimped" should be associated with his software. How good could it actually be?

 

[Yorick]

Virtual Box is giving me errors when I try to install Windows 7 on it, so I'm going to try to dig up my old copy of XP. This is frustrating.

 

[No Limit]

How big is the network at your work? Edit: also, what is your operating system?

 

[Yorick]

How big is the network at your work? Edit: also, what is your operating system?

I don't know, maybe 50 computers? I'm running Win XP Pro Service Pack 3.

 

[No Limit]

With that many systems I doubt the people that set you up are idiots, but worth a try anyway.

Right click any exe file and select run as administrator. If you don't have the option you need to Crtl + right click, you will see it then. In the username box enter this:

YOUR_EXACT_COMPUTER_NAME\Administrator

leave the password blank. Do you get an error?

If you don't know your computer name you can right click my computer and it should tell you or you can run the command systeminfo from the command prompt.

If this doesn't work for you then there isn't much you can do short of hacking system files which if they catch you doing will probably cost you your job. And this is something that would require you to remove the hard drive so if you have people around you not really much of an option.

I like to use remote desktop at work to connect to my home computer. But unless you have a fast connection on both ends photoshop might not run all that well remotely. If I do simple things it works pretty well but when you start using brushes then it lags quite a bit (my work connection is 1.5Mbit down 760Kbit up DSL and my home connection is a 16 Mbit down 2 Mbit up cable connection)

You also need to have XP pro/Vista Business/win 7 pro on your home computer to set up a remote desktop server, home versions of windows dont' allow you to do this.

If you need an XP disk for the virtual machine method I can send you an ISO of one of my legit disks.

 

[Yorick]

With that many systems I doubt the people that set you up are idiots, but worth a try anyway.

Right click any exe file and select run as administrator. If you don't have the option you need to Crtl + right click, you will see it then. In the username box enter this:

YOUR_EXACT_COMPUTER_NAME\Administrator

leave the password blank. Do you get an error?

If you don't know your computer name you can right click my computer and it should tell you or you can run the command systeminfo from the command prompt.

Yeah, I had tried that, it didn't work. I work at a tiny school campus and the president is the IT guy and he keeps things locked up pretty tight.

If this doesn't work for you then there isn't much you can do short of hacking system files which if they catch you doing will probably cost you your job. And this is something that would require you to remove the hard drive so if you have people around you not really much of an option.

I like to use remote desktop at work to connect to my home computer. But unless you have a fast connection on both ends photoshop might not run all that well remotely. If I do simple things it works pretty well but when you start using brushes then it lags quite a bit (my work connection is 1.5Mbit down 760Kbit up DSL and my home connection is a 16 Mbit down 2 Mbit up cable connection)

You also need to have XP pro/Vista Business/win 7 pro on your home computer to set up a remote desktop server, home versions of windows dont' allow you to do this.

If you need an XP disk for the virtual machine method I can send you an ISO of one of my legit disks.

Ugh I was afraid that would be the case. The remote desktop is a solid idea, but I don't think my connection in either place is solid enough to make it feasible.

I was doing a website for a company that refurbishes laptops and they were going to hook me up, but the friend who got me the job was subsequently fired, and it looks like the entire thing is going down the drain, which is a huge bummer.

I actually have a copy of XP Pro at home, I just have to dig it up, but thank you for the offer and suggestions. Hopefully XP will actually work.

 

[No Limit]

What kind of connection do you have on both ends?

 

[Yorick]

Cable, but it's not super strong on either end.

I think I'm just going to have to get a laptop. -_-

 

[xcellerate]

depending on how corporate your office is, if you complain enough to the IT guys they might give you admin privileges. And by complain I mean tell them you want them to update this or install that or change this, and they'll probably get tired of coming to your desk just to make a quick change. So you could use that opportunity to say something like, "is there no way to set this up so I can do this stuff myself?"

 

[Ennui]

I have a 100% portable install of Photoshop, but it needs to be run as admin to work.

Using Photoshop remotely seems like the most frustrating process in the universe.

 

[Yorick]

depending on how corporate your office is, if you complain enough to the IT guys they might give you admin privileges. And by complain I mean tell them you want them to update this or install that or change this, and they'll probably get tired of coming to your desk just to make a quick change. So you could use that opportunity to say something like, "is there no way to set this up so I can do this stuff myself?"

In theory that might work since my local IT guy is the President and he certainly doesn't have enough time to keep running over to deal with me, but I don't have things that need to be installed or updated. We took care of that all when I started with the company in October, so I'm kind of shit out of luck there. And I don't think the company that owns the college would take kindly to an outsourced employee having that kind of access.

I have a 100% portable install of Photoshop, but it needs to be run as admin to work.

Using Photoshop remotely seems like the most frustrating process in the universe.

Yeah that's what I have too, which is why I can't use it. And you might be right on that, but I feel like I might still prefer it to using Gimp.