[OPLINTECH] iTunes/iPods on public computers

[Brenda Fisher]

Mary Beth,  
 
We had a request for iTunes to be installed on a public PC at one of our 
branches several months ago.
We weren't sure what was involved so we tried it on a couple of PCs at 
that branch.   I believe we explained about
restarting the PC if they put in personal information.  (We use 
Centurion Guard and the Shared Computer Toolkit on those PCs.)
  It was a novice user who didn't have a PC at home, so perhaps not the 
best test case.   However, she eventually gave up on it as it soon began 
requesting and then I guess, requiring an update of the iTunes software. 
 
Shane raised some great points about the ability to support the 
software.  I'm not an iPod owner either.

 Two Other questions I'd want to think about before I installed software 
like that on our Public Computers:
    1. Are we going to commit to checking for upgrades for this 
software, as we do for Adobe Reader, Flash Player, etc.?
    2. Are we providing an unfair market advantage to one vendor or 
group over another?  If we download the iTunes software are we also 
going to provide equal access to other online music vendors by 
downloading their software or providing links to their sites? And then 
updating those regularly.

This question goes way beyond just iTunes.  We generally bend our rules 
on adding software a bit  if the patron is taking an online class, but 
we don't have the staff to be adding custom software to each PC every 
time a patron asks.  And it would have to be added to Each PC as the 
requesting patron can't always plan to have the same PC each time in our 
system.  We did do this for a plug-in for some online homeschooling 
resource on request.  And I have no idea if it is still in use, but it 
still gets added to each new computer, just in case.

Brenda Fisher
Computer Services Librarian
Highland County District Library
Hillsboro, OH
   




Shane Ian Hoffman wrote:
> We don't install ITunes for patrons to use, but do allow them to install it
> themselves.  We use Compugard Cornerstone and Envisionware.  Cornerstone
> makes sure that any changes a patron makes to the harddrive are wiped out at
> reboot, and Envisionware has a setting that allows us to make sure the PC
> reboots every time a patron ends his or her session.  
>
> I haven't tried to install ITunes on our PCS as part of the image for two
> reasons. 
> 1. I'm not familiar with the software not having an iPod, so I don't know if
> the personal data MUST be done during the install(if not, it would be
> trivial to install the software and just not configure it.  Then each patron
> would have a fresh install to configure each time they start)
>
> 2. I feel that if I install it, I have to support it.  I don't have the
> manpower to answer everyone's ITunes/iPod questions.
>
> Shane Ian Hoffman
> IT Coordinator
> Pickaway County District Public Library
> 1160 N Court St
> Circleville, OH 43113
> 740.477.1644 232
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: oplintech-bounces at oplin.org [mailto:oplintech-bounces at oplin.org] On
> Behalf Of Mary Beth Seith
> Sent: Saturday, December 15, 2007 10:31 AM
> To: OPLINTECH
> Subject: [OPLINTECH] iTunes/iPods on public computers
>
> Hi everyone,
>
> With the holiday gift-giving season upon us, we're starting to receive 
> patron inquiries about the availability of iTunes on our public/lab 
> computers so they can make use of all the iPods they're buying. 
>
> Given the considerations with Apple's requirement that you "authorize" a 
> computer to an iPod/iTunes account, how are other libraries handling 
> this?  Right now, we don't have the iTunes software installed, but we do 
> allow patrons to plug in MP3 (or other USB) devices that don't require 
> special software.  I have no problem with adding iTunes/iPods, except 
> for these issues with maintaining the software installation as being 
> generic, privacy considerations, etc.  We don't currently have plans to 
> make our music collection available this way, but are simply looking to 
> accomodate those patrons who want to use it for their own tracks.
>
> For those of you who make use of a program like DriveShield or 
> DeepFreeze, do you simply make the patrons responsible for unauthorizing 
> the workstation they're using before departing?  Otherwise I can see 
> people ending up with zombie registrations when the system rebooted... 
>
> Thanks!
> Mary Beth
>
>