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   pettter (pettter@mastodon.acc.umu.se)'s status on Friday, 02-Jun-2023 20:05:24 JST pettter

   in reply to

   • Charles 𝄢 H

   @celesteh My uni is also a Microsoft shop to an embarrassingly large (and increasing) degree. I'm just happy that we've managed to keep a separate IT support and sysadmin team for the CS department so we can have _some_ useful stuff.

   • Embed this notice
     Charles 𝄢 H (celesteh@post.lurk.org)'s status on Friday, 02-Jun-2023 20:05:25 JST Charles 𝄢 H

     My favourite part of British University IT departments is "Microsoft says no".

     Like, I get that social engineering was a massive weak point of these systems, but:

     1. Microsoft is not even consistent. One of my unis is fine with this wifi network, but the one with the nearer deadlines isn't.

     2. [Side gig] is a big believer in security through obscurity and to some extent, so is MS. Will the lock on my account actually be lifted in 45 minutes? Probably not. I'll have to commute to my studio and hope for the best. I could also go to campus, but I'm trying to self-isolate. There's a good chance I'll wait for 45 minutes and then bicycle for 45 minutes and then still need to go to campus , which will be another hour of cycling. I have deadlines.

     3. Student fees are paying taxes to an American corporation. If the unis can't do this inhouse, I feel like a CIC or NGO could do this without skimming a profit for shareholders. Surely the whole "Brexit Spirit" the Tories campaigned on involves us building our own infrastructure instead of becoming a vassal state to the US?