Not anonymous enough.

Indeed one of python's problems is the GIL, but that only applies to multithreaded apps. In contrast, multiprocess apps are unaffected. The python standard library "multiprocessing" module makes it trivial to spawn child processes and messaging through pipes & queues, so the whole GIL thing really becomes kind of a non-issue.

From http://www.issi-us.net/ "Per our previous communication we continue to work the key procedures to restore Skyterra 1 to service. Based on our current progress we now estimate that we will return customers to service by 1200 EST (1600 UTC) on Sunday."

Did anyone even read TFA?

The prior suggestions to just get a 2nd laptop or netbook for your own personal use may be the most ethical. But from your original post I gather that that is not your concern. So...

Assuming that laptop does in fact have tracking software that can report on the applications that are running and/or be used to send screenshots back to your employer, your ideas to run standalone apps from a USB drive would only land you in "trouble" because the screenshots would still show "rogue activity". The other idea of imaging the whole HDD, re-installing, and imaging back sounds like more hassle than it's worth. But at least from this I know that your BIOS isn't locked down to the extent that you can't boot from external media. So...

What I would suggest is to run a standalone OS from a USB thumb drive or CD / DVD. In doing this, you can run the alternate OS of your choosing, while sidestepping the considerable hassle of creating the backup image, installing the other OS... Here is a rather comprehensive list from which you can choose. Knoppix, Ubuntu, or Mint are the ones I would try first.

Let's not forget about the obnoxious deaf person with all of those hand gestures!

And how exactly is a NASA scientist an expert of Chinese spy satellite technology? Just wondering.

Editor lag was not a problem for me, I'm running with lesser hardware... Hmm.

2 years ago I used eclipse & got sick and tired of the installation "eating" itself & needing re-install on a monthly basis.

1 year ago I used eclipse & got sick and tired of it just being too damn slow. As others have mentioned the start-up time sucked but I didn't care much about that. The real deal breaker for me was how slow it is during regular use. If you've ever tried to work with a large "enterprise" project (with 1000s of individual files), you'll know what I mean.

Today, I use IntelliJ / IDEA. It rocks. Still not as snappy as VS, but hands down a better experience for me then eclipse. I'm not going back.

http://www.aosabook.org/en/index.html (And no, I'm not affiliated - just a fan)

...give that guy a raise!!

Look, I can defeat the lock by kicking the door in! It must be an insecure design.

You're kidding, right?

Turn the contrast up and the brightness down on your monitor. I think that would be pretty close.

Tell that to AT&T.

Quoting the summary, "unofficial tethering methods like MyWi and PDANet"... Through apple, AT&T knows what apps you have installed. If you have MyWi or PDANet installed, and you're using a larger-than-normal amount of bandwidth, then they'll claim you are tethering.