Article: 179100 of talk.bizarre
Newsgroups: talk.bizarre
From: ceej@netcom.com (C J Silverio)
Subject: repost: new building 3
Message-ID: <ceejD0DLor.G4y@netcom.com>
Sender: ceej@netcom.com (C J Silverio)
Reply-To: ceej@netcom.com (C J Silverio)
Organization: Lettery Pompous Ink
Date: Tue, 6 Dec 1994 06:22:03 GMT
Lines: 50
Status: O

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|From: ceej@genmagic.com (C J Silverio)
|Newsgroups: talk.bizarre
|Subject: new building 3
|Date: Thu, 01 Dec 1994 19:33:15 -0800
|Organization: Rabbits from a Hat
|Lines: 43
|Message-ID: <ceej-0112941933150001@dyn-n2-14-6.genmagic.com>

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The thing that's most interesting about Magic's new building
is the new way the Magic Cap team has laid out its cubes. For
the purposes of this discussion, I count as a member of the
Magic Cap team.  Though my slot on the org chart is in the
marketing division, I sit with the Magic Cap team and my job 
is Magic Cappy to the core.  The Magic Cap developer support 
people also count.

The Magic Cap team talks a lot.  We talk all the time.
Sometimes we talk about the best word for a baby ferret 
(we decided on "ferrette").  Sometimes we talk about the
ways Unix sucks. Sometimes we talk about Magic Cap.  But
the talking is near-continual.  The only way to avoid it
is to pop on headphones.  I wear my headphones a lot.  
People who do their best work collaboratively, like Darin,
don't.

To facilitate all this talking, most of the Magic Cap cubes
have half-height walls.  Just by swivelling my chair, I can
see ten people.  If I scoot over a few feet, I can see an
eleventh.  My cube has just one full-height wall in it.

My first reaction to this cube was to tremble in horror.
I'm a writer.  I need to hole up sometimes.  I need to sit
and think hard for long uninterrupted stretches.  This cube
is so open that it's a continual invitation for people to
stop by and talk.  Or so I thought.  My second reaction is
that this is pretty good.  People don't bug me if I wear the
headphones.  I don't bug them if they're typing intently.
And the team is more in touch with itself.

Plus we can beam Scramble games to each other without leaving
our cubes.

Half-height cube walls.  Your HR department's next big
TEAM BUILDING project.

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C J Silverio      ceej@[netcom.com | well.sf.ca.us | genmagic.com]
<a href="http://wiretap.spies.com/ceej/ceej.html">cj's home page</a>