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Keeping a PC Personal At School?
Berto Kraus writes "As one of the most tech-oriented students in my art-oriented institution, I'm usually the one with the laptop. This causes frequent requests from other students to read mail, check some site, or connect it to the projector to display a file from their Flash drive. For the sake of my privacy, the health of my laptop, and my own peace of mind, I'm reluctant. But telling my compatriots to go to our building supervisor and ask him for a desktop-on-a-cart, as they should do, is considered rude and unfriendly. Now, I could dual-boot Ubuntu, or carry around a Linux-on-a-stick. Or I could embed the computer in my skull. For many reasons, none of these solutions is ideal. So I'm asking you, insightful and funny Slashdotters, what would you do to keep your PC personal at school?"
create a guest account.
"For the sake of my privacy, the health of my laptop, and my own peace of mind, I'm reluctant."
As you should be.
"But telling my compatriots to go to our building supervisor and ask him for a desktop-on-a-cart, as they should do, is considered rude and unfriendly."
But you aren't the community PC guy, are you? You are being /used/. Not even mentioning your privacy or possibility of OS infection, what if someone simply drops the machine? I suspect you won't be able to get anyone to pay for the repair or replacement, as they are unwilling to get their own. If this keeps going on, you are going to have a broken computer /and/ a lot of resentment aimed at your so-called friends. This might sound harsh to you, but it is reality.
There is a solution to this, however. If your group is cohesive enough, maybe each can contribute to the acquisition of a "group computer." This is how the real world works, especially if you are acquainted with the concept of the "office group owned coffee pot and coffee kitty." Same concept. Those who contribute get to use the computer/coffee pot/whatever.
But if you continue on the current path you are on, it can only end badly.
--
BMO
Or tell them to go fuck themselves.
Honestly, if they need to use it that much why have they not bought their own?
A laptop costs almost nothing compared to most art supplies, if they complain they don't have the cash... ask them how much they paid for their last photo enlargements? In this day and age not having a laptop is like not having a pen. Sure, once in a while when you forget the tool it's cool to borrow, but not having one and always using others is not acceptable.
One thing I usually find most annoying from art students is the attitude that "art supplies" are more important than the tools they use to learn with. I feel it's more about being able to say "I spent $500 making that artwork, respect it!" than actually creating art. Then again, maybe I'm either too cynical, or my priorities are different.
I've been unemployed for extended periods of time (years), but haven't been without a computer since I was 16 (I bought my first computer myself too) - I'm 29 now. I've always considered being connected with the world at large as a vital part of being human, others don't, then again, why are they asking to borrow your laptop?
Goes back to telling them to fuck off... or harden the fuck up. Which ever is more appropriate.
He's an artist. A fairly techy one but an artist nonetheless. Therefore, acting like a rabid dog every time anyone glances at his computer is probably not a valid option for him, because in his quality matrix, interacting with other people has a decidedly positive weight.
Rampant carbon sequestration destroyed the Dinosaurs' tropical paradise. I'm here to help repair the damage.
He's an artist. A fairly techy one but an artist nonetheless. Therefore, acting like a rabid dog every time anyone glances at his computer is probably not a valid option for him, because in his quality matrix, interacting with other people has a decidedly positive weight.
This is perhaps the most insightful comment on this thread.
And it leads to the real issue: the OP, out of his or her own good heart, is sharing a valuable resource with others. Kudos to them. But the burden of this altruism is becoming worrisome. Fundamentally, this person is providing a service that the institution provides, but badly. The OP needs to speak not with Slashdot, but with the host institution to work out an equitable solution, likely including more readily available institution-owned hardware that resists physical attack (read: theft).
I had a similar situation when in college, as I had a van. One of those huge full-sized vans without windows, a big sliding door, and nothing in the cargo compartment but a thin carpet on the floor. Everyone wanted to borrow my van. Refusing wasn't a morally acceptable option for me. So, what I did was to charge a nominal fee that benefited me, was not onerous to the borrower, and was well below market rates, so I could still feel good about being nice to my friends. For the van, the rate was either one case of beer, or a full tank of gas upon return (depending on the gas level and anticipated travel involved).
If the OP cannot convince the institution to pony up to provide a necessary service for its students, then he should start charging some nominal fee for use of his laptop. Better if it is a barter-based fee, rather than a monetary one. Say, lunch the next day. Or the price of a couple of beers after school. Or a dollop of some important art supply (guache or something). My advice to the OP is to be creative in figuring out what to charge, but charge SOMETHING for the service they are providing, even if only a nominal, token amount.
Finally, since someone is borrowing something of value, the OP also needs to be entirely explicit about the rules surrounding what happens when something goes wrong and the item returns broken. For my van, it was simple: the borrower agreed to cover all costs of repair or damage, period, fully understanding that it was an old van with a relatively high probability of failure. For a laptop, repair usually means replacement, so the borrower needs to understand the liability they are undertaking when borrowing a delicate and expensive bit of kit and explicitly acknowledge it. If not on paper, then verbally, in front of witnesses.
Put my fist through my alarm clock with its ding-dong death inside my ear. - The Blackjacks.
All of ye have given good technical answers, and they would most-likely work, but I think ye overlooked the most practical solution:
"No."
It's the same answer I give if someone asks if they can drive my $15,000 car, or if they can borrow my $5000 diamond ring, or if they can wear my $1000 suit. No, no, no. A laptop is not a toy; it's a huge investment in both money and time (approximately 1.5 months of hell, err work). And I would explain that to the asker: "If it breaks, are you willing to give me two thousand dollars to get a new one?" Probably not. If it's something trivial like checking wikipedia.com then sure I'll share my laptop, but for something major like doing a presentation on the projection screen, forget it. Let them use the school-provided resources and/or buy their own laptop.
"I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it." - historian Evelyn Beatrice Hall
That was a hilarious couple of sentences, rebutting in the first one the assumption you make in the second...
"I think it would be a good idea!"
Gandhi, about Internet Security