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From: dnebing@bgsuvax.UUCP (David Nebinger)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.misc
Subject: Re: Tips for Macs on a student network
Message-ID: <7621@bgsuvax.UUCP>
Date: 18 Jun 91 17:22:09 GMT
References: <13187@uwm.edu>
Organization: Bowling Green State University B.G., Oh.
Lines: 89

From article <13187@uwm.edu>, by datta@vacs.uwp.edu (David Datta):
> In article <1991Jun17.165139.575@groucho> martyz@idui1.csrv.uidaho.edu (Marty Zimmerman) writes:
>
>   Be ready to re-install about 2-3 machines a week unless you hide and
>   rename the system folder. If the lab is in a public access area,
>   things will be erased on a regular basis.
> 

Some applications need things to be in the system folder.

>   Lock all of the files in the system folder that you don't want messed
>   up, (I.E. EVERYTHING) put gatekeeper and gatekeeper aid on all of
>   them and lock out the disable buttons.
> 

The Macintosh is a computer that is made to suit the user.  A lot of work has
been done to make the Macintosh one of the best computers there are.  Don't 
make that work worthless by destroying the very things that make the Mac
popular.

>   Modify the control panel so that none of the settings will work.
>   (Leave the buttons for the values you want things to be active so you
>   can re-set them if someone boots from their own floppy.)
> 

Modifications to the control panel further destroy the Macintosh's appeal.

>   Don't install neat things such as kolor. You will find that wise-ass
>   students like to change EVERYTHING to the same color so you can't see
>   anything.
> 

Why hold the actions of a few against the many.  Some bad apples (excuse
the pun) do exist.  Instead of not baking the pie because you have one
bad apple, just remove that apple.

Our computer lab has tried many things to "lock" down the Macs that we have.
The fact is that there is no good way to do so.  Anyone who has a boot disk
can overrun almost any security that you might set up.

Our lab uses MacTools to do many things with the systems; they must not
understand that it is available to anyone who wants to buy it.  MacTools
can do a lot of good things to a personal hard disk, but if one wants to
totally screw things up, it is an easy matter.  The soft partitions 
created by the Partition DA can be made visible, unlocked, and then
deleted.  

And to try and "hide" the system folder is also a worthless idea.  Apple
File Exchange can see the hidden folder, and once again, if you have a 
bootable floppy, you can put working versions of the system back for those
that were locked before.

What everything boils down to is that the typical sys-admin person will try
to make the machine "quasi-untamperable".  This is typically the wrong
approach to setting up a lab.  Any defaults you set can be changed by
a student who really wants to do so.

A much better approach would be to teach everyone about the Mac.  Not just
how to run MacWrite or some other applications, but also the finer points.
There is a big argument right now about the help balloons in System 7.  It
must be obvious to the developers that even though people can be taught about
there favorite applications,  they would miss out on the really nice things
that go along with the Mac.

If time were spent showing the novice user how to handle a Mac no matter 
what it looks like or how it is configured, the argument dealing with the
protection of the Mac from the novice would disappear.  It is not a request
that is far-fetched, either.  Most of the computers in our labs are Macs;
more students use them than the Big Blue.  If they can be shown the Mac to
it's fullest now, the Mac will eventually start to look better to the
business world than it does right now.  The Mac can be a very capable 
business computer.  It's ease of use far outweighs that of the IBM.  If the
students were educated in it's finer qualities now, they would carry the
desire to use the Mac to their future carreers.

At this point you can take this other man's advice and lock everything down,
condemning yourself to reconfiguring the "tampered" machines every week,
or you can spend a short period of time now educating your student users
about the Mac's through and through.  The first may seem easier, but the
latter will save a lot of time later.

You will still have to do the reformatting occasionally, but if you can find
your bad apples, pluck them off the tree before they can infest others.

This is logically the best solution.  Though I can not make the decision for
you, I hope you will take heed to some of the things I have said.

David Nebinger
dnebing@andy.bgsu.edu