The Gervais Principle, Or The Office According to “The Office”. Warning: link may evoke baleful despair!
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 on Oct 16, 2009 - 56 comments

One more for the stationery fetishists: Office Supply Geek
posted by tylerfulltilt on Jul 26, 2009 - 27 comments

Microsoft Office 2010 - for free, on the web. Yeah, you heard me right. [more inside]
posted by Muddler on Jul 13, 2009 - 106 comments

The Museum of Forgotten Art Supplies
posted by Miko on Jul 2, 2009 - 38 comments

An interview with Elmo and Ricky Gervais. (SLYT)
posted by hifiparasol on Mar 12, 2009 - 28 comments

Mitch Haile's office requires some explanation.
posted by odinsdream on Feb 25, 2009 - 29 comments

Not all of us need, or want, $10,000 worth of Adobe and Microsoft software to be creative. So, here's some alternatives, each available on every major platform:

GIMP, for all your drawing and photo-editing needs. (Windows and OSX.)
Inkscape, for vector graphics creation.
Scribus, for incredibly powerful document creation.
FontForge, if you want to make your own fonts.
OpenOffice, the old standby for word processing, spreadsheets, and all those other office needs. [more inside]
posted by cthuljew on Feb 20, 2009 - 189 comments

Hey! You got your Office in my Battlestar! You got your Battlestar in my Office! Wait a minute...
posted by Navelgazer on Jun 27, 2008 - 10 comments

Video of a man going totally beserk in a Russian office. Cellphone video here, w/ audio.
posted by loquacious on Jun 3, 2008 - 168 comments

Talk about a sexually uncomfortable working environment. Oh my.
posted by miss lynnster on May 21, 2008 - 89 comments

I recently posed the following statement to my fellow, walled-off employees:
"True or False: Cubicles reduce office sociability by 100%"
I received no answer.
[more inside]
posted by yoyoceramic on Apr 24, 2008 - 52 comments

The Last.fm guys really wanted a ballpit, inspired by the xkcd blog. Pictures.
posted by nthdegx on Jan 16, 2008 - 33 comments

Pictures of offices and desks of video game designers, journalists and celebrities. Includes Dan Hsu, the guys from Penny Arcade, the guy who made Ultima Online and Boing Boing?
posted by phyrewerx on Jan 13, 2008 - 14 comments

Never in History Have Generals Revolted Against a War Like They are About IRAQ. "I (insert name), having been appointed a (insert rank) in the U.S. Army under the conditions indicated in this document, do accept such appointment and do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic, that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter, so help me God." Unlike the enlisted folks, officers only swear an allegiance to the Constitution.
posted by augustweed on Sep 26, 2007 - 50 comments

A new video by Jed Davis' Hanslick Rebellion. A meanspirited, though easy to identify with, piece about office small-talk. A feel good summer song for those of us tied to desks. Warning: Loud swearing.
posted by JBennett on Jun 7, 2007 - 12 comments

An office worker loses it one day, jumps over the table and mercilessly beats his co-worker. The action is spectacular, but is it real or staged? You decide.
posted by Second Account For Making Jokey Comments on Mar 20, 2007 - 69 comments

Steve Carell may be hilarious in the office, but how much would his jackass behavior cost in real-life? clips (youtube)
posted by tylerfulltilt on Feb 13, 2007 - 47 comments

Avoid office party lawsuits: buy insurance and distribute the rules in advance; don't let them drink; no flirting; bring a recording device; no religious stuff; don't dance with staff members.

Have a safe holiday.
posted by Meatbomb on Dec 4, 2006 - 28 comments

Today is a big day for Microsoft with the launch of three key products - Windows Vista, Office 2007 and Exchange Server 2007. User groups are already up-and-running. Vista and Office have been available for some time. But maybe this is just clever viral marketing? In spite of lots of new and improved features, Vista has not been well received by reviewers. But this has been true of every Windows version since Windows 95. One thing is certain, these versions will be the last releases that focus on the desktop rather than the Internet.
posted by bobbyelliott on Nov 30, 2006 - 109 comments

Surviving office work: 2006. Surviving office work: 1853. The more things change......
posted by lalochezia on Oct 20, 2006 - 16 comments

Beauty in bitmaps- Some artists work in watercolors, some oils, and some with clay. The 'artists' at tacoholic express themselves in the universally accessible medium of really bad MS Paint drawings. Its public so you can submit your own masterworks.
posted by AVandalay on Aug 18, 2006 - 7 comments

Payback is a B**** Someone played one too many practical jokes and/or pranks on some IT guys who had too much time on their hands. Impressive results ensue.
posted by FlamingBore on Aug 8, 2006 - 52 comments

LOOK AT ME BEING SERIOUS (nsfw: language, video)
posted by loquacious on Apr 21, 2006 - 48 comments

Feeling frustrated at work? This little flash game lets you be Joe IT, avenger of the oppressed in offices everywhere. Best of all, you can't lose ... unless you actually try this at work.
posted by pyramid termite on Feb 25, 2006 - 16 comments

Fired by New York's Mayor for playing a game of solitaire, former $29,000 a year clerk Edward Greenwood IX is sure to become the new parton saint of office politics. Whether one views Greenwood as a hapless Everyman or another poster boy for workplace diversions, the question still remains: what would Ricky Gervais do?
posted by Smart Dalek on Feb 11, 2006 - 15 comments

New invention: A computer-based drum machine. In Microsoft Excel.
posted by loquacious on Dec 21, 2005 - 31 comments

"At Ceiling Scenes, we believe the ceiling has a fundamental right to take part in the ambiance of any interior space." -- From their catalog (.pdf). Personally, I think tin ceilings are much more nifty, but I can see how these photographic tiles could really brighten up a dull office or classroom. Too bad they're so cagey about actually telling you how much they cost...
posted by Gator on Dec 14, 2005 - 20 comments

Office guns. At last, a good use for a laser pointer.
posted by mr_crash_davis on Aug 1, 2005 - 12 comments

The common desk. [huge quicktime movie]
posted by gwint on Jul 18, 2005 - 22 comments

How do you make a “trusted system”? A planning and organisational system which can be relied upon to contain your events, tasks, projects and thoughts?... One of the biggest obstacles for many people is how to create a system that is always there, at the ready, and worthy of your trust.
posted by ColdChef on Apr 11, 2005 - 18 comments

Remember that film which spread like wildfire across the net in '98 nicknamed "Bad Day at the Office". It showed an angry office worker bashing his computer? Well the computer is back, and he ain't happy...
posted by claus on Mar 4, 2005 - 18 comments

Got a Secret? (Discussed briefly previouslyhere) The idea behind Frank Warren Artomatic exhibit was simple: distribute 3,000 post cards asking the public to share a secret with him anonymously by reply mail, and sit back and wait for the replies. Some of the post cards are now on display at the Anne C. Fisher gallery, but if you can't make it to the Georgetown show don't worry, Warren has created a "Postsecret" blog where you can see some of the most interesting replies. (via DCist)
posted by indiebass on Jan 27, 2005 - 13 comments

Ugh... As if working in an office isn't enough. This is one toy I will NOT be buying for my kid. I get the irony, but man, how depressing would it be to see this under the xmas tree?
posted by mountainmambo on Dec 16, 2004 - 44 comments

Office Olympics.
posted by srboisvert on Dec 15, 2004 - 9 comments

Using the toilet facilities more than twice a day is forbidden. And so it should be. And moving around the office should be prohibited. And don't bring your own stuff to work. Oh yeah - and refurbished elephants. (some of those are links to PDF's). Maintain Silence at all times.
posted by mattr on Nov 12, 2004 - 16 comments

Catch and Release As I find this nearly impossible I have great confidence that the mefites will quickly master this. It beats working. Fun Flash Friday
posted by geekyguy on Aug 20, 2004 - 18 comments

The Office as training video? "The staff had just returned from lunch and all the managers were in a training room, sitting in a semi-circle and looking really pleased with themselves. Then one of them blurted out 'Mahna Mahna' at us without warning. We just stared blankly back at them."
posted by rory on Aug 12, 2004 - 24 comments

Portable Zip Codes "Every year millions of Americans are on the go: People who must relocate for work or other reasons. Those people may have been quite attached to their original homes or an adopted town or city of residence. For them this innovative measure will serve as an umbilical cord to the place they love best."
posted by cmicali on Apr 2, 2004 - 13 comments

Are you being bullied at work? Would you like to fight back? Finally, a site "dedicated to advancing the understanding of workplace bullies and providing the tools to defeat them." (Testimonials too!) WARNING TO USERS: While kickbully.com is intended to guide you to a better life, we take no responsibility for anything bad that happens as a result of applying the attitudes and techniques provided in this web site.
posted by thatweirdguy2 on May 4, 2003 - 13 comments

Personal Computing Environments - Herman Miller, eat your heart out. Personal Computing Environments has what has to be the strangest piece of office furniture ever made. There's no denying the interesting and unique design, but with prices ranging from $4,000 to $9,000 and up and the economy in somewhat dire straits, is there a market for this? I mean, I could almost buy a couple of these for that kind of dough.
posted by phong3d on Feb 21, 2003 - 30 comments

So that's why the economy is so bad. The USPS is looking for $65 million dollars worth of white mail postal tubs. If you work in an office or deal with a mailroom, you know exactly what I'm talking about. The penalty for not coughing them up? 3 years imprisonment and a $1000 fine. (I read it on the side of one of the boxes I have by my desk).
posted by gwong on Dec 10, 2002 - 24 comments

kiddie art If you work in an office with lots of people, chances are that you work with a person who hangs pictures up that their kids have drawn. The pictures are always of some stupid flower or a tree with wheels. These pictures suck; I could draw pictures much better. In fact, I can spell, do math and run faster than your kids.
posted by batboy on Oct 18, 2002 - 39 comments

Word 97 Users Abandoned by Microsoft? "Microsoft's flagship word processor has for years had a security flaw that could allow a criminal to steal computer files by "bugging" a document with a hidden code." Microsoft will fix the problem for newer versions of Word, but those of us who use Word 97 are more or less out of luck. As it turns out, the Microsoft Corporation page doesn't seem to have any easily accessible information on this issue.
posted by Joey Michaels on Sep 13, 2002 - 40 comments

Would the Mac platform collapse without Microsoft? BusinessWeek questions the conventional wisdom.
posted by kirkaracha on Aug 7, 2002 - 42 comments

Globe software just released globeProductive for Windows for an introductory price of $75. The software offers a basic office suite with a single file format. In addition, Sun has announced plans to aggressively market StarOffice 6 for $100 and reach out to foreign government agencies. Sun donated their product to the Chinese Ministry of Education for deployment in schools with the obvious benefits of growing your own loyal market by the millions. Neither of these packages includes an e-mail client at this time, but there is always Mulberry and Mozilla.
posted by KirkJobSluder on Mar 28, 2002 - 11 comments

Forbes.com suggests you IT people use shareware or freeware office packages instead of that expensive Microsoft stuff.
posted by jhiggy on May 2, 2001 - 14 comments

Clippy dead - news at 11. Anyone who has had to deal with "Clippy" in Microsoft's Office products will appreciate this new spin Microsoft is placing on the animated character.
posted by milnak on Apr 11, 2001 - 29 comments

Microsoft announces the product names for the next version of Windows and Office. They'll be called "Windows XP" and "Office XP", respectively.
posted by milnak on Feb 5, 2001 - 20 comments

MacOS X comes of age. Microsoft has just announced that Microsoft Office will be released for the new Apple OS in the fall. "Analysts had warned that without a version of Office, or similar productivity suite, running natively under Mac OS X, Apple would face problems getting businesses to switch to the new operating system. "
posted by Brilliantcrank on Jan 10, 2001 - 0 comments

Microsoft's latest security loophole involves the much-hated animated paperclip "Office Assistant". Despite its ability to create or delete files, someone chose to mark it as "safe for scripting", allowing it to be controlled by script on a web page.
posted by harmful on May 17, 2000 - 2 comments