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I'm with Joe on this. There used to be a thing called "gator"
something or other that was just horrible. Anything having to do
with buying stuff that wants to install on your computer is
spy/malware, as far as I'm concerned (I know, means just about the
entire Internet).<br>
Librarians generally don't like to say "No" to patrons, no you can't
do this, no you can't have this. But they don't understand the
technical challenges involved as we try to preserve and protect
public computers so that everyone has a consistent experience. Plus,
there's this whole thing about what is a public library computer
for? Users see the computer as "theirs" during the time they're
using it, just like checking out a book for the time they have it,
and I get that. But modifying the computer for their particular
needs should be approached in the same way we'd react when someone
returns a book all marked up, dog-eared, underlined and highlighted
for their particular needs but basically trashed for the next
person. <br>
<br>
Daniel Nixon<br>
Wilmington Public Library of Clinton County<br>
268 N. South St., Wilmington, OH 45177<br>
937-382-2417 x25<br>
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Date: Thu, 05 Jun 2014 15:49:21 -0400
From: Joe <a class="moz-txt-link-rfc2396E" href="mailto:knuevejo@oplin.org"><knuevejo@oplin.org></a>
To: <a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="mailto:oplintech@lists.oplin.org">oplintech@lists.oplin.org</a>
Subject: Re: [OPLINTECH] Coupons.com
Message-ID: <a class="moz-txt-link-rfc2396E" href="mailto:5390C9C1.5030808@oplin.org"><5390C9C1.5030808@oplin.org></a>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"; Format="flowed"
We take the same position as Chad stated: if you physically can do it,
you're generally allowed to, and I have occasionally gone back and
installed software on all of our computers if there was a demand for it
and it was free and it was generally harmless.
In this case, I've actually used coupons.com's printer outside of work,
and from my experience I would discourage you from installing it.
it's primary purpose is to limit each computer to two printings of any
given coupon. So you'd get a situation where the patrons wanting to use
it would find that the coupons they want would be randomly unavailable
on a computer by computer basis at any given time.
That said, I've never tried to use it on a computer with something like
deepfreeze or another application that restores a computer after
logout/reboot/etc. I know it's partially depended upon cookies or some
other form of locally stored information and, from some of the reading
I've done, it seems that the printer also "calls home" to help avoid
people trying to get around the code. One writer described it as working
rather like a virus in that manner, if I recall correctly.
Also, from what I saw the code once in a while will tell the user that
it printed their coupon, and neglect to share that information with the
printer.
So I would say no it. Though, I am genuinely curious as to whether it
would work at all on a locked down machine, and if it did if it would
successfully remember how many of a given coupon that machine had
already printed..
Best of luck.
Joe
Joseph Knueven
Director
Germantown Public Library
51 N. Plum St.
Germantown, OH 45327
937-855-4001
<a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="mailto:knuevejo@oplin.org">knuevejo@oplin.org</a>
On 6/5/2014 2:31 PM, Chad Neeper wrote:
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<pre wrap="">All patron computers I work with are frozen. General rule of thumb is
that if the patrons <span class="moz-txt-underscore"><span class="moz-txt-tag">_</span>can<span class="moz-txt-tag">_</span></span> do something, I don't really care (as long
as it's not illegal or damaging to the library in any way). Whatever
they do gets wiped upon reboot. So if they can find a way to install
the coupon program with the privileges available to them and without
rebooting...go for it!
______________________________
<b class="moz-txt-star"><span class="moz-txt-tag">*</span>Chad Neeper<span class="moz-txt-tag">*</span></b>
Senior Systems Engineer
<b class="moz-txt-star"><span class="moz-txt-tag">*</span>Level 9 Networks<span class="moz-txt-tag">*</span></b>
740-548-8070 (voice)
866-214-6607 (fax)
<i class="moz-txt-slash"><span class="moz-txt-tag">/</span>Full LAN/WAN consulting services -- Specialized in libraries and schools<span class="moz-txt-tag">/</span></i>
On Thu, Jun 5, 2014 at 2:22 PM, Mohamed Ragheb
<<a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="mailto:MRAGHEB@cuyahogalibrary.org">MRAGHEB@cuyahogalibrary.org</a> <a class="moz-txt-link-rfc2396E" href="mailto:MRAGHEB@cuyahogalibrary.org"><mailto:MRAGHEB@cuyahogalibrary.org></a>> wrote:
Hello all,
Recently we have been getting more customers asking/ wanting to be
able to print coupons from coupons.com <a class="moz-txt-link-rfc2396E" href="http://coupons.com"><http://coupons.com></a>, it's
an issue as this site require an installation and admin privilege
for a coupon printer before you can print them out.
Do you allow your customers to print from this site or not? And if
you do allow how do you handle the installer?
Thanks for your input!
/Mohamed A. Ragheb, M.Tec./
<i class="moz-txt-slash"><span class="moz-txt-tag">/</span>Software and Applications Manager<span class="moz-txt-tag">/</span></i>
<i class="moz-txt-slash"><span class="moz-txt-tag">/</span>Cuyahoga County Public Library<span class="moz-txt-tag">/</span></i>
/2111 Snow Road/
/Parma,Ohio 44134/
/Office: 216-749-9389 <tel:216-749-9389>/
/Cell : 216-407-4154 <tel:216-407-4154>/
/Fax : 216-749-9445 <tel:216-749-9445>/
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