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Comment by zeepzeep | Hacker News Reader

> That said.. why would a person use the corporate computer for their (allow me the use of the word) 'hobby'?

Because my work computer is around 100 times faster than my personal one.

I have the opposite situation: My personal computer is faster .

Assuming both are laptops and you don't have some insane personal computer - you should seriously examine why your workplace is skimping on a few hundred dollars extra on a machine that might save you, an employee with a salary in the tens of thousands (or higher) a few days of waiting for things to load, render or compile a year.

There certainly is a logic around not wasting money where it'd do no good - but companies that are tight with employee capital expenditures make me really nervous. It's a thing I've avoided consciously in employers since my thirties - if you don't value me enough for a decent keyboard, a chair, and a sufficiently performing computer - then you don't have anyone who is sane at evaluating RoI at your upper echelons.

No, both are desktops; and I work at computer engineering department of a (not so research-focussed) state university as an academic, with my specialisation being low-level software engineering; not at a software company. Even lab computers are not so better than my personal computer, except for the supercomputing lab.

My work computer and personal computer may be roughly on par as far as the spec sheet goes, but my personal computer does not have McAfee, so it's at least 100 times faster.

I really wish I could use my personal laptop at work, but now it is hard, because GDPR laws mandate that I would need to take additional security measures and could be held responsible for any data leak. Using company issued laptop avoids the problem - all responsibility rests on my employer's shoulders.

Even if the work machine has comparable specs to personal computer, it's much slower. Every machine is fast, but put antivirus software on it, backup solution, 10 "corporate security" products which monitor and log every move and even the strongest machine slows to crawl.

My work computer would be substantially faster than my personal computer if it wasn’t bogged down by so much IT crap. In practice my personal computer substantially faster to get anything done because I have to fight it so much less.

And having two computers is just annoying. I dislike when companies prevent me from using my computer for personal stuff (esp web surfing). But if I was in charge, I also think I wouldn't take that risk and prohibit use outside work. The risk just doesn't justify the benefit for the employee.

Then buy a faster personal computer? The resources I have freely available at work are infinitely more than I have at home, but that doesn’t mean I can set up my own Netflix competitor on it.

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