Michael Brown wrote:
Not being able to install software (business environment), not being able to save work because the floppy has run out of space and there is no access to the hard disk, not being able to diagnose faults because Start-Run was disabled, not being able to configure networking even with the administrator password (RM WindowBox), not being able to put in the *correct* proxy settings when the proxy server changed, not being able to shut the machine down cleanly because only administrators can shut down the machine, not being able to do *anything* because Win2K decided that the local administrator did not have administrative privileges (and simultaneously refused to allow domain logons)...
This is good stuff. Of course I lock down the desktop! Everyone does - right? Well, it seems not... I'd never put any hard thought into _whether_ I needed to lock down the User Interface, just exhaustively thought about _how_. I will of course tread carefully, but may think about releasing some of the tight controls that cause users annoyance. I've always imagined (and I have no evidence of this) that, for example, icons will get swept into the recycle bin with some inaccurate clicking, and then I will be called upon to fix that child's (read adults's) desktop because 'Acrobat Reader has been completely wiped off my machine'. Of course, this sort of thing could happen, but could it be perhaps, that it causes less hassle than the lock down. Perhaps I might have a test by releasing the interface for one year group, and seeing what happens. It would be very easy to put back by enforcing the mandatory policy again (yes, it's Windows (I typed that word very quickly indeed - no one saw, right?)). It's certainly food for thought. Incidently, I get a lot of help and information from this list. I, for one, feel that the technical and political discussions are relevant to me (and I'm a Primary school ICT coordinator). I do feel that some of us should take a deep breath before replying. The tone can be too personal at times. I don't think there's room for insults in the community. And certainly no room for "but he started it". One of the huge thing that attracts me to a list like this, and to software like Linux, is the community. Most important of all: I have received a _lot_ of help from folks here, and our school has cost-effective, professional network services because of it. There's no way I would have got this far without the "which network card driver do I use" style questions I've posted (and I'm fairly sure no one could accuse those sort of questions, by a newbie ICT coordinator, off topic). -- Matt __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Buy the perfect holiday gifts at Yahoo! Shopping. http://shopping.yahoo.com