[iDC] Undermining open source: IT Wars

[Patrick Lichty]

For reference, there has been a long-standing tension between Bowling Green 
State's ITS department and the Digital Arts group.  

For example, the tech is not part of the School of Art but ITS.  Last year, 
Digital Art's Silicon Graphics webserver (bought by the department, running 
a version of Linux/Unix) was pulled offline because the there was an 
equipment failure, although no one from the department was able to inspect 
the machine before it was taken.

The result is that the file serving and web serving was relocated to a 
Windows server in the CS/ITS building (for security), all off-site FTP was 
blocked for a time (for security, now opened again), administrative access 
is to all DA faculty, no non-BGSU approved disk image software can be 
installed on any machine (and if you manage it, the machine re-images on 
shutdown), and intranet firewalls were set up between every workstation in 
the PC lab, which I also believe has been rectified.  Also, there was 
resistance to our being able to move the installation Mac Mini's throughout 
the building, which is what they were for.

This is as it stood last semester, and I've been busy on a project and have 
not heard much mroe on the subject in the last 2 months.  I imagine that 
some progress has been made, but the 2005 acrtions created a lot of 
tensions.  There's a rumor that some of this started when ITS learned we 
were using Carnivore for installations, but I have no concrete evidence.

We've had meetings on this subject, and ITS has been willing to work with us 
as long as we keep the server there, use their tech, etc.  There have been 
solutions, as we've gotten off-site commercial hosting for server-side art 
projects   

I share this information because I think it shows a totalitarian stance 
towards academic IT management, and wanted to get the community's take on 
this.  

Has anyone else had issues like this?




---- Doran Massey <ddm227 at nyu.edu> wrote:
>
> I was a software test engineer/lead in the Windows Div. of Microsoft, 
> 1997 - 2003.  We tested application compatibility as we developed new 
> versions of Windows & I never noticed FLOSS apps having more bugs.  In 
> fact, sometimes I was surprised when they were more robust than similar 
> commercial apps.  The only security reports I remember seeing were 
> statistics on the rates of success of attempts to break into various OS 
> systems.  If I remember right, Linux (not sure which distro's) was at 
> least as secure as Windows XP.
> 
> Simon, I'm surprised IT has any role in your space other than providing 
> access to WAN.  If your students can reasonably be expected to develop 
> software or be expert users of software, then I think they need the 
> experience of setting up & maintaining their machines.  Ideally they 
> would live with them so the machines become an extension of themselves.  
> I've worked at a few computer co's & their tech people did all of their 
> own tech support except for WAN.  That was also what I observed students 
> & faculty doing at tech art/music dept's at Stanford, UWashington, NYU & 
> I think Columbia.
> 
> -Doran
> 
> Trebor Scholz wrote:
> 
> >Thanks, Tiffany, Liam, and Simon (and all others) for your
> >contributions. 
> >
> >I was positively surprised that all our FLOSS packages passed the
> >security check of the tech administrators at our university. Faculty and
> >staff should have these packages installed on their machines so that
> >they are able to speak to them. I think it is our duty to make that
> >extra ongoing effort.
> >
> >Several programs across the US are discussing labs that only include
> >screens and keyboards. But students in these settings would be equipped
> >with mini-Macs or similar hardware (rolled into their tuition). The
> >machines would be registered to enable network access. Another
> >development that I noticed is that of labs that are conducive to
> >collaboration. Instead of the factory-like rows of lined-up computers
> >there are several smaller units with three or four workstations. PCs and
> >Macs should coexist in one room. We have separate labs. This causes the
> >situation that some PC-using students do not get to meet Mac-equipped
> >fellow learners.
> >
> >Trebor
> >
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