[iDC] Undermining open source: iTunes U

[Simon Biggs]

IT run the network with a robust firewall. For any machine to connect to the
network it has to be registered (Ethernet ID) and also connected to a
specific allocated port on the network. Students and staff can work with any
computer and software they wish, but if they want to be on the network,
which these days is pretty essential, then they have to fulfill the above
requirements.

This allows IT to control which machines are used where as well as disallow
unregistered software from launching (work around - disconnect from the
network). The network will only talk fully to PC's and partially to Mac's.
Most of the intranet works on the Mac in so far as it is web based. Non-web
based components are less likely to be Mac compliant. Linux boxes have
similar problems to the Mac plus a few more.

I run a Windows server in my office to support a number of my installations
and web based artworks that run outside the University network. I have been
allocated a port that allows TCP/IP to pass transparently through the
firewall. Some students recently did a show where they were streaming
multiple live surveillance video streams from the college gallery to an
external website. IT helped them set this up, after they were asked to by
myself (as if they would listen to a student). In this respect there is some
support for non-standard implimentations, however it is the usual story -
the technical staff regard students as a source of problems that are
designed to annoy them, rather than as a raison d'etre for their job.

With 28,000 students and how ever many staff across a number of campuses I
understand that IT have to have a pretty standard setup and expect one size
to fit all. My University is pretty good in that there is almost one
computer for every student, with dedicated machines for post-grad's. That is
quite generous provision (so long as it is all the same colour, etc).

Best

Simon


On 10.03.06 17:01, Doran Massey wrote:

> 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.



Simon Biggs

simon at littlepig.org.uk
http://www.littlepig.org.uk/

Professor of Digital Art, Sheffield Hallam University
http://www.shu.ac.uk/schools/cs/cri/adrc/research2/