I work in a noisy cube farm that is often distracting. I've been unable to correct the noise problems at their sources and I don't want to wear headphones or earplugs, so it appears that using a white-noise generator is my other option (as recommended in this answer to a related question).

How does a Noise Generator work and what do I need to know to properly set one up in my office? Does the type of noise matter? Is under my desk a good place to set it up? I haven't found any sources that discuss mitigation for different types of office noise.