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Request for information, May 1, 2006

Please let us know if [free wireless internet in the park] needs a permit, or if there's a problem with it.

response from Tino, May 3, 2006

The wireless internet may be an issue. I believe the city is working on a provider for all parks.

What kind of commitment have the friends of the park made?????I do not recall us agreeing on this.

response from Jutta, May 4, 2006

Great to hear that the city is working on a provider. This free wireless provider is only for one year. Do you think the city's would be ready next May so the park can switch over?

As for a commitment -- none. The service is a donation and it's located at the edge of the park, not inside, so it doesn't actually come under the park's jurisdiction I think, even if it's available to park users.

We've also found a donor for a park computer. That means the staff can finally do some record-keeping at the park. Will you be able to get them connected into the city's system?

Response from Tino, May 6, 2006

I am not sure if the city will be ready by next May.

- The City will not support computers not purchased through the city. So the cost to get Dufferin Park hooked up would be about 10-12,000 thousand dollars.

The staff should continue to record manually.

Response from Jutta, May 7, 2006

Can you check these facts for me?

1. the City will not put a computer linkup to the City's system at Dufferin Grove Park. That's not because the park is unimportant but because there's no computer available.

2. now that a donor has offered to donate a new Dell computer, the City will not allow it to link into the city system.

3. the alternative is to spend $10,000 to $12,000 to get a link-up. What would that money be for?

4. are there any plans to get a direct connection for Dufferin Grove Park in future? If so, when?

response from the City's I.T. department, May 9, 2006

1. If the volunteer/community organization has arranged for their own hot spot courtesy of someone who lives on the fringe of the park, there is no issue from our point of view and this will have no impact or risk on our network.

2. The use of donated computers on city property from a technical point of view is not an issue unless there is a request to put them on the city network. This is definitely a "thou shall not" because of security/risk/hacking issues. An outsider might think this is ridiculous, but we are already susceptible to attempted intrusions by many rogue hackers whose sole intent is to illegally access, alter or divert data and information on the city's network. The City is proud of the measures it takes to protect the personal and financial information that exists on the myriad of inteconnected sytems.

3. Only city staff and authorized contracted staff are eligible for access to the city network and computing services for a number of reasons. First of all, we are already challenged to provide support with the small handful of existing staff and limited resources. Secondly, all City Staff are obliged to abide by the City's Acceptable Use Policy which has serious penalties if contravened.

see http://insideto.toronto.ca/itweb/policiesstandards/acceptable_use.htm. The risks here are more legal and audit related.

Having said that, if a community organization wanted to set up their own donated PC with ISP access on City property , it could be done but would probably cost them around $2,000 for the install/setup and $300 a month for the ADSL service. I believe that some of the larger telecom companies have community access programs and incentives such as:

response from Jutta May 10, 2006

The I.T. writer who wrote this response got the idea that non-staff want to use the city's system, but of course that was never the suggestion -- it was a question about whether the City rec staff could have access to the city's system from Dufferin Grove Park. And as you said, they can't.

Of course a $2000 internet initial connection fee and a $300 a month for internet service is so wildly out of line with household internet fees that no community group would ever touch it. But if that's what the city pays at every one of its locations, that was a very sweet contract for somebody! One can only wonder how much the city computers cost.

action, May 29 2006

Opening celebration of Dufferin Grove Park wireless internet hotspot, sponsored by Kijiji: “Kijiji (www.kijiji.ca) has local sites in 21 cities across Canada including one here in Toronto. Kijiji means “village” in Swahili." The point of entry is at a park neighbour's house, and internet access covers most of the park.

action, June 25 2006

Installation of a new donated computer at the park rink house, a gift from park friend John Culbert. Internet access is included, and park staff begin to post news from there.