[dundee] Installing a Free WIFI Hotspot at the DCA
Martin Habets
errandir_news at mph.eclipse.co.uk
Fri May 2 19:09:35 BST 2008
If it turns out there is a need for a contract with an official
organisation, the UKUUG is in place to provide that kind of
backing for the local LUGs.
Martin
On Fri, May 02, 2008 at 01:26:16PM +0100, Rick Moynihan wrote:
> 2008/5/2 R J Ladyman <it at file-away.co.uk>:
> > I was not really emphasising the money, just the expectations of the user
> > <scratches previous bite-marks and old scars>. If it stops working, who do
> > they call, that sort of thing.
> >
> > RJL
>
> Absolutely! The conundrum is that the more you involve money, the
> greater the users expectations! Hence why I feel it might be better
> to de-emphasise that aspect.
>
> This said I suspect that ZoneCD and the members of the LUG could do a
> reasonable job here, which fingers crossed wouldn't require too much
> support. But what happens when the router dies, or their broadband
> connection is down? The expertise to diagnose these things might not
> exist within the DCA.
>
> There's a lot to consider.
>
> R.
>
> > On Friday 02 May 2008 12:43:16 Rick Moynihan wrote:
> > > 2008/5/2 R J Ladyman <it at file-away.co.uk>:
> > > > I would make a suggestion here - if you are going to contract to look
> > after
> > > > it, an annual fee paid to the LUG (or the charity, or whatever) is a
> > better
> > > > idea: you might find that the system requires maintenance in future, and
> > that
> > > > the original installers have perhaps moved on. If the 'contract' is with
> > the
> > > > LUG then there is continuation for the customer: plus, new members get to
> > be
> > > > trained on an existing system. You might also want to state what the LUG
> > is
> > > > and is not prepared or capable of doing.
> > > >
> > > >
> > > > RJL
> > >
> > > Agreed. I don't know anything about how the LUG/DCA are setup to
> > > handle such things though. After my brief discussions with Clive it
> > > seemed that he was primarily just concerned with setting the thing up,
> > > we never spoke about support.
> > >
> > > I have a feeling that a recurring contract may be more than the DCA
> > > are willing to commit to; particularly with an adhoc organisation like
> > > the LUG. If they had the budget and were willing to contract for such
> > > things, wouldn't they just seek a commercial organisation to do this,
> > > rather than look at free alternatives?
> > >
> > > Anyway, as far as I'm concerned the main point isn't the money. The
> > > point is to build a mutually-beneficial relationship between the LUG
> > > and the DCA. The DCA could conceivably do a lot for the LUG,
> > > providing more exposure, etc... By helping them use free software we
> > > further the agendas of both the LUG and the DCA.
> > >
> > > So it might be easier to enter into an informal agreement, where
> > > perhaps the DCA negotiate a small donation each time their is a need
> > > for another body of work.
> > >
> > > Anyway, this is all just speculation. If we can discuss each of these
> > > possibilities openly here, then I can refer Clive to the thread and
> > > see what sort of arrangement (if any) he thinks would best suit them.
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > > On Friday 02 May 2008 11:45:08 Rick Moynihan wrote:
> > > > > Hi, everyone
> > > > >
> > > > > After Magnus and Arron's presentations at the DCA Upgrade event on
> > > > > Wednesday; I spoke briefly to Clive Gillman (Director of the DCA).
> > > > >
> > > > > It seems that Clive wishes to provide free wireless internet access at
> > > > > the DCA as part of their role within the community.
> > > > >
> > > > > Being an institution in a public space however their is a requirement
> > > > > that they ensure (or at the very least strongly encourage) responsible
> > > > > usage by their customers.
> > > > >
> > > > > Hence they want to:
> > > > >
> > > > > 1) Ensure connecting clients are first directed to a DCA splash page,
> > > > > informing them of events at the DCA etc...
> > > > > 2) Provide a level of content filtering
> > > > > 3) Ensure fair use of a limited resource (by time/download limits)
> > > > >
> > > > > The main concern here though is to provide open access.
> > > > >
> > > > > Clive had mentioned taking a look at ZoneCD ( http://www.publicip.net/
> > > > > ) which is a Linux LiveCD for doing precisely this. I'd agree with
> > > > > his assessment that it looks like a near ideal solution for this
> > > > > problem, being both low cost and easy to deploy.
> > > > >
> > > > > Clive's a busy guy however and doesn't have time to set this up
> > > > > himself, though he has already provisioned the hardware. Having
> > > > > spoken to Clive over the years, he asked me whether I would be willing
> > > > > to do this for him. Though it looks like an easy job and their may be
> > > > > a small pot of money involved, I'm conscious that my free time is
> > > > > limited and that I'd rather not personally be responsible for
> > > > > maintaining and supporting this system.
> > > > >
> > > > > So it occurred to me, maybe a better solution for the DCA would be to
> > > > > have the LUG itself maintain and support this. That way the DCA get
> > > > > some notion of ongoing support and assistance and perhaps some of the
> > > > > younger members of the LUG get some valuable (CV worthy) experience.
> > > > > Plus I think it's good for the LUG to engage with such things.
> > > > >
> > > > > I'm thinking maybe a few LUG members could set this up & perhaps
> > > > > document it on the website.
> > > > >
> > > > > I'm not sure how much money Clive had in mind, but after some thought
> > > > > it seems there are 2 options:
> > > > >
> > > > > 1) Pay the individual(s) who do the work
> > > > > 2) Donate the money to the LUG or another good cause.
> > > > >
> > > > > I personally have a preference for (2) but I'd be happy to see what
> > > > > other people think of this. I don't know yet what the implications
> > > > > are for the DCA or the LUG, but it seems like it's a discussion worth
> > > > > having.
> > > > >
> > > > > Interested in your thoughts,
> > > > >
> > > > > --
> > > > > Rick Moynihan
> > > > > rick.moynihan at gmail.com
> > > > > http://sourcesmouth.co.uk/blog/
> > > > >
> > > > > _______________________________________________
> > > > > dundee GNU/Linux Users Group mailing list
> > > > > dundee at lists.lug.org.uk http://dundee.lug.org.uk
> > > > > https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/dundee
> > > > > Chat on IRC, #tlug on dundee.lug.org.uk
> > > > >
> > > > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > > > --
> > > >
> > > > Robert Ladyman
> > > > File-Away Limited, 32 Church Street,Newtyle
> > > > Perthshire, PH12 8TZ SCOTLAND
> > > > Registered in Scotland, Company Number: SC222086
> > > > Tel: +44 (0) 1828 898 158
> > > > Mobile: +44 (0) 7732 771 649
> > > > VOIP: 7714336 at sipgate.co.uk
> > > >
> > > > http://www.file-away.co.uk
> > > >
> > > >
> > > > _______________________________________________
> > > > dundee GNU/Linux Users Group mailing list
> > > > dundee at lists.lug.org.uk http://dundee.lug.org.uk
> > > > https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/dundee
> > > > Chat on IRC, #tlug on dundee.lug.org.uk
> > > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > --
> > > Rick Moynihan
> > > rick.moynihan at gmail.com
> > > http://sourcesmouth.co.uk/blog/
> > >
> > > _______________________________________________
> > > dundee GNU/Linux Users Group mailing list
> > > dundee at lists.lug.org.uk http://dundee.lug.org.uk
> > > https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/dundee
> > > Chat on IRC, #tlug on dundee.lug.org.uk
> > >
> > >
> >
> >
> >
> > --
> >
> > Robert Ladyman
> > File-Away Limited, 32 Church Street,Newtyle
> > Perthshire, PH12 8TZ SCOTLAND
> > Registered in Scotland, Company Number: SC222086
> > Tel: +44 (0) 1828 898 158
> > Mobile: +44 (0) 7732 771 649
> > VOIP: 7714336 at sipgate.co.uk
> >
> > http://www.file-away.co.uk
> >
> >
> > _______________________________________________
> > dundee GNU/Linux Users Group mailing list
> > dundee at lists.lug.org.uk http://dundee.lug.org.uk
> > https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/dundee
> > Chat on IRC, #tlug on dundee.lug.org.uk
> >
>
> _______________________________________________
> dundee GNU/Linux Users Group mailing list
> dundee at lists.lug.org.uk http://dundee.lug.org.uk
> https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/dundee
> Chat on IRC, #tlug on dundee.lug.org.uk
--
Martin
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30 years from now GNU/Linux will be as redundant a term as MERT/UNIX is
today. - Martin Habets
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