[OPLINTECH] public software foundation

[Ed Liddle]

If I checkout a dvd or a book, bring it home and come down with an
illness that I feel I caught from the dvd or book, does that make the
library liable for my medical bills or loss of income from my missed
days at work? Would I have gotten sick if I didn't go to the store on
the way home from the library? In this scenario there are many variables
that could have made me sick and several things I could have done to
prevent myself from getting sick like wash my hands before I ate.  

For example try brining up an unpatched copy of SQL 2000 on a machine
> and see how quickly you have sasser on your network. And it isn't just a
> windows thing. There are plenty of vulnerabilities in all flavors of
> linux if they are not patched. 
How safe is your network? Do you have a firewall? Do you run as root? Is
your windows user an admin user? Could you prevent sasser from entering
your network from the internet by using a firewall? Even in this
scenario there are several things a computer user can do to prevent
their computer from getting a virus or from being hacked due to
vulnerabilities in any type of software. Is the library liable for t
hosed computer because you decided not to properly protect your network,
or because of the decision made to install the software that was checked
out from the library?

I personally don't see how a library can be liable for bad things that
can happen to a computer by lending software. 

That is my opinion about it.

-Ed Liddle



  
On Thu, 2008-05-29 at 15:40 -0400, JKENZIG wrote:
> The problem with lending out software even if it is open source is that
> versioning changes so frequently that by the time you get it set up and
> lend it out you are lending an obsolete and potentionally hazardous
> unupdated release of the product. There could be numerous
> vulnerabilities out there that a user could get infected with on their
> computer as soon as they install such software. Does that make the
> library liable if their PC is trashed? 
> For example try brining up an unpatched copy of SQL 2000 on a machine
> and see how quickly you have sasser on your network. And it isn't just a
> windows thing. There are plenty of vulnerabilities in all flavors of
> linux if they are not patched. 
> 
> I think if it was such a great idea you would see video stores and
> bookstores doing it (charge for cost of cd or something I don't know)
> I just don't think it is a service the library should offer because
> there are so many other resources for software.
> 
> Jim Kenzig
> Network Manager
> Cuyahoga County Public Library
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: oplintech-bounces at oplin.org [mailto:oplintech-bounces at oplin.org]
> On Behalf Of Ed Liddle
> Sent: Thursday, May 29, 2008 3:32 PM
> To: Nathan Eady
> Cc: OPLINTECH
> Subject: Re: [OPLINTECH] public software foundation
> 
> 
> On Thu, 2008-05-29 at 12:42 -0400, Nathan Eady wrote:
> > Wouldn't you get a steady stream of
> > requests for Microsoft Windows installation disks, from people who
> > have lost their OEM ones and need to reinstall, not to mention MS
> > Office and Symantec AV and such?
> 
> We get patrons in our library from time to time who want to check out
> microsoft office to install on their computers at home. For some reason
> they assume that since it is loaded on our public computers that we must
> lend it out. In my opinion it would be nice to have an open office CD
> cataloged that you could point them to instead of a piece of scrap paper
> with the address http://openoffice.org scribbled on it, or give them the
> information that microsoft office sells for about 400 or 500 dollars at
> a retail location.
> On occasion I will download and burn some open source software to a CD
> for a patron who has a computer at home but has either no or slow (dial
> up) internet access. We have a few patrons who don't have broadband
> internet available where they live.
> We haven't gotten many requests for windows installation media or open
> source operating system installation media from patrons. I suspect it is
> because media like this is typically included with their PC purchase.
> Sadly it is often housed on a hidden restore partition on the hard drive
> with instructions in the manual to burn a copy of it to cd/dvd media and
> don't lose it because only 1 or 2 copies are allowed to be made of it.
> If the hard drive failure rate exceeds the computer replacement rate
> there may be one day frequent requests for such media.   
> 
> 
-- 
-Ed Liddle
 
Technology Assistant

Marysville Public library
231 S. Plum Street,
Marysville, OH  43040

      * Phone: 937-642-1876 ext.45
      * Fax: 937-642-3457