The test lab at work continues to grow nicely, a sure sign that testing as an activity is being taken ever more seriously. This is good as having the right tools for the job means we can be more proactive and increase our coverage of any software build we are given to test. It also means we are amassing an ever increasing amount of packaging, mostly cardboard from the boxes it all comes in. I'm beginning to think that there is a relationship between the number of cardboard boxes, the number of mugs of coffee drunk I drink during the day (far too many) and our overall testing efficiency;)

I just wanted to share my pain of having to clear up yet another 2 dozen computer boxes last week (complete with enormous quantities of packing tape and SHARP industrial staples) - why can't there be a collect and return policy? Surely Mr Dell or Mr Jobs could collect their old computer boxes when they deliver new computers, and reuse them to package the items we buy on our next spending spree?

The one that really got me was a new hard disk that came in it's little Seagate branded box (fair enough) which was inside a cardboard box large enough for a mini tower (even though we only ordered the hard disk), which then was placed in a box almost big enough for a large server by the courier company. Well at least the drive arrived undamaged!