Secure public access computing: Open source operating systems on a Live CD. Some initial thoughts about this assignment: How would installing the Live CD work in practice? I assume leaving the CD in the drive would be mandatory as it would be a lot of trouble for library staff to reinsert it. In our age of Google-like simplicity, we cannot expect patrons to insert a CD before using the Web. So the Live CD would reside more or less permanently in the drive. How would patrons feel about the open source software? Some might not notice it. The Linux operating system and package do an excellent job of emulating their Microsoft counterparts. Others might be disoriented by unfamiliar aspects of the software. Patrons might need reassurance, for example, that the Abi word processor saves documents in MS Word format. All sorts of habits and expectations are built up from long experience with the Windows environment, software, and features. What could patrons not do? Re-booting would be a problem, as would saving to a CD, unless there were an additional drive (CD or hard drive partition). A general limitation of security measures is that, as one librarian put it, “the more locked down a computer is, the less it behaves like a computer your user might recognize” (West, J. 2006. Securing public access PCs without shutting out users: serve users without sacrificing safety, privacy, or sanity. Retrieved January 26, 2006 from http://www.techsoup.org/learningcenter/techplan/printpage4252.cfm).

Want to find out more about “Library 2.0”? Walt Crawford reviews the blogs that created the buzz and tries to sort out hype from substance. See his full length article in a special issue of Cites & Insights / Crawford at Large 6 (2), midwinter 2006.
http://cites.boisestate.edu/v6i2a.htm