[UCIMC-Tech] IMC public PCs Ubuntu-ified - and IMC communication

[Stuart Levy]

Oh OK - that's fine.   I feel much less confused then.

I'd still be interested in who might have admin access to the computers, 
or at least, what to do if we want additional packages installed.   (Is 
it simplest if I just make myself an admin account?   I can do that 
easily enough - is there any reason not to?)   And whether anyone would 
mind if I replace an internal DVD-ROM drive with a CD/DVD writer.

On 10/9/15 11:35 AM, Barry Todd wrote:
>
> Hi Stuart I apologize for not letting you know I asked one of the guys 
> at work at the help desk to install Ubuntu on it yesterday have been 
> little bit under the weather so I didn't get back to you
>
> On Oct 8, 2015 10:44 PM, "Stuart Levy" <stuartnlevy at gmail.com 
> <mailto:stuartnlevy at gmail.com>> wrote:
>
>     /A non-fictional fable about some things happening in the IMC
>     follows, with lessons at the end./
>
>     About ten days ago, I'd asked imc-tech list + some makerspace
>     people whether anyone had a plan for the (then-unusable) IMC
>     public PCs - I was offering to install ubuntu on them if nobody
>     did.   Nobody responded.   I guessed that meant that nobody felt
>     ownership of them.
>
>     Last weekend, I learned - thanks to Sophia! - that Barry Todd had
>     been feeling responsible for them.   Barry and I traded notes, and
>     one or the other of us would go install some usable software,
>     either Ubuntu or Windows 7, on them in time for the bulk of this
>     weekend's festivities.   Great.
>
>     This afternoon, I had some time, and went over to the IMC. A
>     meeting was in progress next to the PCs, so I hung out and waited
>     for that to end, about 40 minutes.
>
>     While I was there, Chris Ritzo came by, we chatted, he showed me
>     some of the great stuff he's been doing toward WRFU streaming -
>     even to the point of trying it out.   This is wonderful!
>
>     When the meeting ended, I went to check out the PCs, and found:
>
>        (a) They were plugged into a switched outlet, which had been
>     switched off at the breaker.
>             So anyone pressing their On buttons would get nowhere.
>             I moved them (/for the second time/) to a non-switched
>     circuit.  (How should this be communicated? See below.)
>
>        (b) Someone had already installed Ubuntu on them, just this
>     morning around 11am.   It works nicely.
>
>        (c) Sophia had not heard of (b) and was not sure who would have
>     done it.
>
>     *For better and worse,* this is typical of how things work at the IMC:
>
>         - The IMC can a neat place to hang out.   By hanging out
>     there, I met by chance with Chris, a valuable meeting as well as a
>     pleasant one.
>         - People see needs and fill them.  That what you'd hope for.
>         - People too often DON'T TELL OTHERS WHAT IS HAPPENING OR WHY.
>
>     Because of this,
>        I lost about 75 minutes I could have used better elsewhere.
>
>        I don't know who set up Ubuntu.   I'm guessing it wasn't Barry,
>     who would likely have installed Windows (as he previously had on
>     the other similar machines in the office) and would likely have
>     let me know he'd gone in to set them up.
>
>        What if someone wants additional Ubuntu packages installed
>     besides the default ones (a media editor, mplayer, cd burner,
>     Chrome browser, ...)?   Who has an admin password to the machines
>     to make that possible?   Who would even know who might have it?  
>     Should I just break in and create an admin account?
>
>        This last is not a theoretical question.   I would like to
>     install a CD/DVD-burner on at least one of those computers, and
>     then let people know it's available.   This would involve hardware
>     and probably software.   (Hardware? Should I buy a CD writer
>     drive, or is one lying around?)
>
>     *What I wish, for a start:*
>        The imc-tech at lists.chambana.net
>     <mailto:imc-tech at lists.chambana.net> list could be a good place to
>     trade this sort of information.   Not just "such-and-such is
>     broken, please help", but a place to log plans and actions.   I
>     know Barry has been finding surprising changes made to things he's
>     been feeling responsible for keeping up - not a good way to
>     maintain morale.
>

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