2004-08-22-2329Z


You may notice a lot of postings missing until my own server comes back online; I hadn't updated the freeshell.org site for a while, and when my server went down I had to switch, since I'm not in Rosarito to diagnose and fix the problem. I suspect the power got turned off.

The SF public library, at least the main branch, has an excellent system for sharing the open-access computers. Better than any other I've seen, it's self-maintaining and doesn't require any intervention from the staff, at least from what I've seen so far. There's a queue of chairs next to the 8 computers downstairs. People sit at the end of the queue and slide up, musical-chair style, as people leave the terminals; a built-in timer enforces the 15-minute limit, and few attempt to double-dip since it's so obviously noticeable. You can go back in line after your 15 minutes are up, all day if you want. It works great!

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