[Server-devel] Server-devel Digest, Vol 64, Issue 8

[Tony Anderson]

Hi,

Peru has the advantage that it and OLPC know the origins of the 
computers. The 100 XO-1.5s at Saint Jacobs are of unknown (to us) 
origin. I have tried to find someone who might have the original 
manufacturer's spreadsheets, but no one seems to know anything about them.

What I am hearing is that the best solution may be to convince the 
school to allow the laptops to be unlocked and taken home. This approach 
has worked in Nepal and has avoided a lot of these difficulties. Nepal 
also gets the community involved and has a 'contract' approach with the 
parents.

However, I think there is some merit in the antitheft system provided 
that it is well publicized (and locally manageable!). A serious thief 
expects to resell the XO. If the potential buyers know that the XO will 
be a brick, there is going to be no market.

Tony

On 08/27/2012 04:47 PM, server-devel-request at lists.laptop.org wrote:
> Send Server-devel mailing list submissions to
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> When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific
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>
> Today's Topics:
>
>     1. antitheft:: avoiding the need (jbalcomb at laptopstolesotho.org)
>     2. antitheft:: avoiding the need - cont.
>        (jbalcomb at laptopstolesotho.org)
>     3. Re: antitheft (Tony Anderson)
>     4. Re: antitheft (Yannick Warnier)
>     5. Re: antitheft:: avoiding the need - cont. 2
>        (jbalcomb at laptopstolesotho.org)
>     6. Re: antitheft:: avoiding the need - cont. (Sameer Verma)
>     7. registering an xo for second time (vanessa ramos da cruz)
>
>
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Message: 1
> Date: Sun, 26 Aug 2012 10:53:28 -0600
> From: jbalcomb at laptopstolesotho.org
> To: server-devel at lists.laptop.org
> Subject: [Server-devel] antitheft:: avoiding the need
> Message-ID:
> 	<225ff2cdf074f8052572a4edc8f5e7c5.squirrel at server504.webhostingpad.com>
> 	
> Content-Type: text/plain;charset=iso-8859-1
>
> We got around the need for antitheft measures with a community-based
> approach.  This may not work in all communities, but it has worked very
> well for us.
>
> BEFORE distributing any computers for student use, we held meetings with
> all participants, including teachers, students, parents, and the
> community.  After getting their input, we guided the teachers and school
> administrators in developing a written set of rules and regulations for
> the project, with four sets of contracts that the students, parents,
> teachers, and school administration had to sign in order to participate in
> the project.  We did this by posing a series of "what if" scenarios, and
> then requiring the local educators to come up with answers that best
> suited their school and community's culture, needs, and economic
> situation.
>
> Included in the contracts that resulted from this were "fine schedules"
> and clearly defined consequences for any damage, loss, or theft of a
> laptop.  Because we work in very poor communities, "work in lieu of fines"
> for parents was included, with a very detailed schedule of hours and type
> of work required.
>
> One critical stipulation that we required to be included in the governing
> documents was that, if a laptop goes missing (lost or stolen), the project
> comes to a complete halt until there is a satisfactory resolution.  What
> constitutes a satisfactory resolution is clearly defined in the documents.
>
> Since deployment, within the school and immediate community, laptops can
> be left unattended in classrooms and the school yard without worry.  This
> is because they aren't ever really "unattended."  The entire community is
> hyper-vigilant about keeping an eye on them.  When students or teachers
> who live in other communities take laptops home, they are hyper-vigilant
> about taking care of the laptops and protecting them, to the point that
> one teacher who lives in an unsafe area will not even take his flash drive
> home with him, let alone a laptop.  Their protectiveness is so strong that
> one school paid to put burglar bars on the classrooms and storage room,
> and another school hired a security guard for off-hours.
>
> The result has been that 2? years after deployment, we have not had a
> single laptop damaged, lost, or stolen. This is especially impressive
> considering that I was told repeatedly before we started about cases of
> computer theft and vandalism at other computer projects in the country.
> We were told this would be a major impediment, but we proved them wrong.
>
> Our approach was a long, grueling process, but by bringing the
> participants into the process, allowing them to customize the governing
> documents to meet their needs, and giving them complete control over the
> outcome, we have not had to deal with any theft or vandalism.  That's not
> to say it can't happen someday, or that it will be as effective in all
> countries and communities, but I think it is essential to long-term
> success to incorporate community involvement in the design,
> implementation, and operation of any computer project.  The time invested
> in laying the groundwork pays huge dividends in the long run.
>
> Janissa Balcomb
> Laptops to Lesotho Inc.
> www.laptopstolesotho.org
>
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 2
> Date: Sun, 26 Aug 2012 11:32:37 -0600
> From: jbalcomb at laptopstolesotho.org
> To: server-devel at lists.laptop.org
> Subject: [Server-devel] antitheft:: avoiding the need - cont.
> Message-ID:
> 	<298d4475d7ae60ff90a3043d1902867d.squirrel at server504.webhostingpad.com>
> 	
> Content-Type: text/plain;charset=iso-8859-1
>
> I plan to attend the OLPC conference in San Francisco in October.  I will
> be available there to anyone who wishes to discuss our Laptops to Lesotho
> model in more detail.
>
> You can see the Rules&  Regulations, Contracts, and Fine Schedules written
> in December 2010 for Nohana Primary School on our blog at:
> http://olpc2010-lesotho.blogspot.com/p/2011-rules-regulations-contracts-fee.html
>
> Janissa Balcomb
> Laptops to Lesotho Inc.
> www.laptopstolesotho.org
>
>
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 3
> Date: Sun, 26 Aug 2012 20:14:46 +0200
> From: Tony Anderson<tony_anderson at usa.net>
> To: server-devel at lists.laptop.org
> Subject: Re: [Server-devel] antitheft
> Message-ID:<503A6796.5010108 at usa.net>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed
>
> Hi,
>
> The Saint Jabob school in Kigali where I am providing deployment support
> is not currently allowing the students to take laptops home
> because the antitheft capability is not implemented.
>
> The laptops were donated by WCE in Stuttgart. The laptops are locked.
> The software version installed (852) does not allow the screen to be
> rotated (a real problem for pdf reading). Recently, OLPC Germany has
> helped provide the school with some additional laptops, also locked, but
> with a 860 build.
>
> So essentially, there are two problems. One, being able to install a
> custom XO and second, to enable the XS-0.7 server to provide
> activation-leases.
>
> The os-build documentation (http://wiki.laptop.org/go/OS_Builder)
> suggests that it is possible for a deployment to 'sign' a custom build.
> If I knew how to do this, it would be possible to install an identical
> build on all of the schools laptops.
>
> The description of the 'antitheft howto'
> (http://wiki.laptop.org/go/Antitheft_HowTo)
> implies that this can be done by a deployment based
> on the serial-number and uuid.
>
> Somehow I need to get this resolved by Jan. 7 when the new school year
> begins so that the students can take the laptops home.
>
> Naturally, all of this must be done without internet access.
>
> Tony
>
>
>
>
> On 08/26/2012 06:00 PM, server-devel-request at lists.laptop.org wrote:
>> Send Server-devel mailing list submissions to
>> 	server-devel at lists.laptop.org
>>
>> To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit
>> 	http://lists.laptop.org/listinfo/server-devel
>> or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to
>> 	server-devel-request at lists.laptop.org
>>
>> You can reach the person managing the list at
>> 	server-devel-owner at lists.laptop.org
>>
>> When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific
>> than "Re: Contents of Server-devel digest..."
>>
>>
>> Today's Topics:
>>
>>      1. antitheft (Sameer Verma)
>>      2. Re: antitheft (Yannick Warnier)
>>
>>
>> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
>>
>> Message: 1
>> Date: Sat, 25 Aug 2012 12:41:43 -0500
>> From: Sameer Verma<sverma at sfsu.edu>
>> To: XS Devel<server-devel at lists.laptop.org>, 	"Devel's in the
>> 	Details"<devel at lists.laptop.org>
>> Subject: [Server-devel] antitheft
>> Message-ID:
>> 	<CAFoGK8FkBifthYSTk1btg9s9oznAvQ+fP-N=MwitTszXqh7Qkw at mail.gmail.com>
>> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1
>>
>> Hello!
>>
>> I'm looking to get a sense of how widely antitheft is being used and
>> to what level of success. There was a post recently where Bruce Baikie
>> came across 500 XO-1s in Ethiopia, that were locked, but the server
>> was dead/gone/missing/ so these were unusable. On the other hand, when
>> XOs are not set up for antitheft, there is attrition (we have some in
>> one of our Jamaica projects, although its fairly low).
>>
>> 1) Does antitheft work as advertised?
>> 2) What are comfortable parameters for it to work? How many hours
>> should the lease be?
>>
>> Not looking for very specific answers...more like a conversation around it.
>>
>> cheers,
>> Sameer
>
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 4
> Date: Sun, 26 Aug 2012 14:02:44 -0500
> From: Yannick Warnier<ywarnier at chamilo.org>
> To: server-devel at lists.laptop.org
> Subject: Re: [Server-devel] antitheft
> Message-ID:<1346007764.10091.9.camel at sai>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="UTF-8"
>
> In Peru, after around 2 years of regular contacts with the people in
> charge of the deployment of the laptops in the government, the
> constitution of an hack-tivism group and a document approved by OLPC
> (US), they have allowed on person to have access to the secret key
> allowing for the signature of a build.
>
> The person they've allowed access to is Sebastian Silva (icarito on IRC)
> and he's working on a localized build right now (which is only available
> for XO's 1.5 at this point while a huge majority of laptops in Peru are
> XO's 1.0).
>
> In this regard (and this is the antitheft method I was talking about,
> not the teachers-students-parents compromise from Lesotho), it has been
> a huge brake for the improvements of the local implementation.
> That's what I meant.
>
> Tony, I'm not sure who's got the build-signing key in your case, but I
> would recommend you try finding out, as this might unlock your
> situation.
>
> As we were discussing here, it is very unlikely that anyone with bad
> intentions would take the time to try to produce a new build in order to
> hack laptops that can only be updated in physical presence, yet this
> seems to be why the anti-build-update mechanism was created in the first
> place. I hope this can be improved in the future.
>
> Yannick
>
>
> Le dimanche 26 ao?t 2012 ? 20:14 +0200, Tony Anderson a ?crit :
>> Hi,
>>
>> The Saint Jabob school in Kigali where I am providing deployment support
>> is not currently allowing the students to take laptops home
>> because the antitheft capability is not implemented.
>>
>> The laptops were donated by WCE in Stuttgart. The laptops are locked.
>> The software version installed (852) does not allow the screen to be
>> rotated (a real problem for pdf reading). Recently, OLPC Germany has
>> helped provide the school with some additional laptops, also locked, but
>> with a 860 build.
>>
>> So essentially, there are two problems. One, being able to install a
>> custom XO and second, to enable the XS-0.7 server to provide
>> activation-leases.
>>
>> The os-build documentation (http://wiki.laptop.org/go/OS_Builder)
>> suggests that it is possible for a deployment to 'sign' a custom build.
>> If I knew how to do this, it would be possible to install an identical
>> build on all of the schools laptops.
>>
>> The description of the 'antitheft howto'
>> (http://wiki.laptop.org/go/Antitheft_HowTo)
>> implies that this can be done by a deployment based
>> on the serial-number and uuid.
>>
>> Somehow I need to get this resolved by Jan. 7 when the new school year
>> begins so that the students can take the laptops home.
>>
>> Naturally, all of this must be done without internet access.
>>
>> Tony
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> On 08/26/2012 06:00 PM, server-devel-request at lists.laptop.org wrote:
>>> Send Server-devel mailing list submissions to
>>> 	server-devel at lists.laptop.org
>>>
>>> To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit
>>> 	http://lists.laptop.org/listinfo/server-devel
>>> or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to
>>> 	server-devel-request at lists.laptop.org
>>>
>>> You can reach the person managing the list at
>>> 	server-devel-owner at lists.laptop.org
>>>
>>> When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific
>>> than "Re: Contents of Server-devel digest..."
>>>
>>>
>>> Today's Topics:
>>>
>>>      1. antitheft (Sameer Verma)
>>>      2. Re: antitheft (Yannick Warnier)
>>>
>>>
>>> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
>>>
>>> Message: 1
>>> Date: Sat, 25 Aug 2012 12:41:43 -0500
>>> From: Sameer Verma<sverma at sfsu.edu>
>>> To: XS Devel<server-devel at lists.laptop.org>, 	"Devel's in the
>>> 	Details"<devel at lists.laptop.org>
>>> Subject: [Server-devel] antitheft
>>> Message-ID:
>>> 	<CAFoGK8FkBifthYSTk1btg9s9oznAvQ+fP-N=MwitTszXqh7Qkw at mail.gmail.com>
>>> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1
>>>
>>> Hello!
>>>
>>> I'm looking to get a sense of how widely antitheft is being used and
>>> to what level of success. There was a post recently where Bruce Baikie
>>> came across 500 XO-1s in Ethiopia, that were locked, but the server
>>> was dead/gone/missing/ so these were unusable. On the other hand, when
>>> XOs are not set up for antitheft, there is attrition (we have some in
>>> one of our Jamaica projects, although its fairly low).
>>>
>>> 1) Does antitheft work as advertised?
>>> 2) What are comfortable parameters for it to work? How many hours
>>> should the lease be?
>>>
>>> Not looking for very specific answers...more like a conversation around it.
>>>
>>> cheers,
>>> Sameer
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> Server-devel mailing list
>> Server-devel at lists.laptop.org
>> http://lists.laptop.org/listinfo/server-devel
>
>
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 5
> Date: Sun, 26 Aug 2012 15:49:38 -0600
> From: jbalcomb at laptopstolesotho.org
> To: server-devel at lists.laptop.org
> Subject: Re: [Server-devel] antitheft:: avoiding the need - cont. 2
> Message-ID:
> 	<5d668251e8d6bc969c0af3bae30fe547.squirrel at server504.webhostingpad.com>
> 	
> Content-Type: text/plain;charset=iso-8859-1
>
> p.s. One anti-theft thing that I forgot to mention in my previous list
> serve response was that we label and ENGRAVE all the laptops with big bold
> numbers and codes in various locations on the laptops so anyone can tell
> exactly who they belong to.  It?s pretty obvious they are from a school or
> organization, not individually owned.
>
> Through public outreach, contact with the local police, and local
> word-of-mouth, most everyone in the region knows about our project.  So
> anyone seen with one of these laptops who isn?t a student or teacher at
> one of our schools would be reported to the authorities.
>
> Even communities with schools that don?t have computers want to cooperate
> and "stay on our good side" because they know we are gradually expanding
> to other schools in the area.   We find that if we give them incentive to
> cooperate and keep them invested, they?ll bend over backwards to help.
>
> Janissa Balcomb
> Laptops to Lesotho Inc.
> www.laptopstolesotho.org
>
>
>
>
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 6
> Date: Mon, 27 Aug 2012 07:11:32 -0500
> From: Sameer Verma<sverma at sfsu.edu>
> To: jbalcomb at laptopstolesotho.org
> Cc: server-devel at lists.laptop.org
> Subject: Re: [Server-devel] antitheft:: avoiding the need - cont.
> Message-ID:
> 	<CAFoGK8HeQ5LvJC3=qtkGOtEkU8ukiWRbDiyCzndaACaoPu4hmQ at mail.gmail.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1
>
> On Sun, Aug 26, 2012 at 12:32 PM,<jbalcomb at laptopstolesotho.org>  wrote:
>> I plan to attend the OLPC conference in San Francisco in October.  I will
>> be available there to anyone who wishes to discuss our Laptops to Lesotho
>> model in more detail.
>>
>> You can see the Rules&  Regulations, Contracts, and Fine Schedules written
>> in December 2010 for Nohana Primary School on our blog at:
>> http://olpc2010-lesotho.blogspot.com/p/2011-rules-regulations-contracts-fee.html
>>
>> Janissa Balcomb
>> Laptops to Lesotho Inc.
>> www.laptopstolesotho.org
>>
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> Server-devel mailing list
>> Server-devel at lists.laptop.org
>> http://lists.laptop.org/listinfo/server-devel
>>
>>
>
> Excellent! Can you submit a proposal, if you haven't already, to
> discuss such issues?
>
> http://olpcsf.org/summit
>
> cheers,
> Sameer