Proposal for funds for tech committee

[Todd]

The following is a proposal for requesting funds from the GA for the tech committee.

Tech is requesting 6 thousand dollars, We know this seems like a lot, however this is to cover things that haven't been paid for that tech has been using for the last 3 months (like site hosting) as well as to cover 3mo into the future of the same items. While that is only $1500 of the $6k, It highlights some of the most important parts of this proposal. The remainder is to both increase the impact of the tech committee (like additional software licensing for live streaming), as well as buy items for other committees to utilize that tech will maintain, such as a large format printer and supplies, which alone is another $1600, for printing out posters for occupy and related events (large posters, not just flyers). As well as the hardware related to the internet at the new location (routers, wifi). The reason this is not a fully itemized list is that things may come up that we did not anticipate needing to buy, that will need to be bought. This is especially true for the items needed for the buildout of our indoor location. We look forward to making the indoor location a fully functional base, not just for occupychicago but any of the local occupations.

[marymcmahon@clear.net]

Like the copier idea especially

[Bearhair]

Todd, I'm very glad to see someone from Tech requesting permission before they spend money (although I recognize that part of your request is for reimbursement). I've heard that quite a bit of money has been spent by some people on behalf of OC, without ever getting GA approval.

In order to support your proposal, I need to see an actual itemized list of known expenditures (past and future), and a budget outlining further anticipated expenses.

If someone has already fronted money on our behalf, then I need to see some form of proof of payment, like a receipt, statement, etc.

For a future expenditure, I would like to see that some price comparison shopping has occurred.

Since the majority of OC is not technical, I recommend that you be prepared to explain the vision of the tech environment (rather than explain what each component does). For example, you may be planning to put in a closed-circuit camera system indoors, but the GA may decide that it is not a necessity.

You make mention of components you'll need for the build-out. I'm trying to get an update, but as far as I know, our application hasn't yet been approved (after which we negotiate the terms of the lease, etc.). I urge you to not move forward with your plans until we have the keys to the space. Remember also, the lease is a month-to-month, so I can't support too much of an expenditure for build-out.

Lastly, it seems that we've been livestreaming from cellphones for a long time now - who has the HD camera that was purchased from our cash funds?

[Todd]

Let me first list the current IT environment, and you may begin to see why this is not an itemized list
There Is the webserver, application proxy, backup server and mail server. these are 4 completely separate servers in geographically disparate locations for security reasons, that may sound vague, but if people really care, they can look up what proper security entails as well as fault tolerance, noone even noticed the website was down on news years day save for maybe 7 people, and it was due to the datacenter where the server is kept, accidentally deleting all the data (reformatted the wrong server). but because of this robust system, mail continued to function normally and the site was restored in mere hours.

So for expenditures, there are those 4 services, and then the software licensing of the software currently on the server, like cpanel, which manages the hosting.

The servers are from different companies and the licensing are from different companies, none of which print out receipts, due to the remote, monthly and online nature of the products. As for "shopping around", this is one of the primary issues facing tech is that, these are fairly specific and uncommon products (except for the standard server and cpanel) so there is not a whole lot of choice in the market, and you can't shop around for monthly licensed software, only singular companies sell them. As for the hardware, shopping around is also limited when the goal is to keep as many services offshore as possible, once again for security reasons.

For the build out, most items we buy, can be used regardless of weather we have this specific indoor location or not, other then the wires and connectors etc... everything can easily be moved to a new location or to multiple locations, even if we only have this indoor location for 2 months, we still need things such as a large format printer, weather it remains at cermack or is moved to a new home because the cermak lease is ended, does not negate the necessity of having it, like wise with the internet situation, its going to the the beginnings of a mesh wireless network which if testing works out can be setup to not reside in cermack at all.

None of this money will be used for physical security, that will be up to the housing committee to procure funds for as that is expensive in of itself and there is no reason for it to be taken out of the tech budget.

As was itemized generally, solely the website "stuff" is about $1500 per 6mo, the large format printer + ink and paper supplies is another $1600, the wireless mesh networking equipment will likely be another $900-$1200, that is already $4k-$4.2k out of $6k, on top of that, and thank you for pointing it out, is things like the livestream software, has a $200 licensing tag attached to use the HD camera for live streaming as apposed to shitty cellphone footage. So to ask for an itemized list, and then grant only money for a very small range of items is false economy as if there are any snags, which as anyone familiar with IT knows happens all the time, the whole process is halted and then I have to go through this whole process again, which I really don't want to as evidenced by taking this long to even write this proposal. instead paying these things out of pocket. Which is not something we should be expecting of individuals, it defeats the whole purpose of having a community.

[Bearhair]

Okay, what you just wrote is exactly what I was looking for - something more than "tech needs $6k to cover past and future expenses for stuff, including a printer and stuff for Cermak."

I work/ed in IT, so I'm not talking about shopping for services or licenses, but I do want to see that we're buying the printer, routers, etc. from an economical source (but not Walmart!). I won't support a line-item veto of your request, I promise. I would, however, like a high-level understanding of a mesh wireless network, and why we might need it.

So here's what I see as an immediate request:

A. Server hosting (Web, proxy, backup, & mail). $xxx per month.
1. Reimbursement of $aaa to Techie1 for October - January.
2. Pre-approval and set aside for reimbursement to Techie1 each month until & including Dec. 2012, upon presentation of proof of payment to Finance Committee. You have to have some way to show a bill and that you paid it, even if it's a credit card statement.

B. Software licensing for same servers. $xxxx per year.
1. Reimbursement of $aaa to Techie2 for October 2011 - September 2012.

C. Livestream license. $200 per ??
But now I'm pissed that an HD camera was purchased, w/o GA approval, that we can't use for its intended purpose because we didn't factor in the total cost. Grrr.

I think items A through C should be requested and granted ASAP.

I think the purchase of the printer should be done with more oversight - we may even have someone with the expertise and/or connections to get a great deal. I'd really like to see a real-cost estimate, which includes purchase, maintenance contract, supplies (ink, paper, etc.), and its duty cycle, alongside a reasonable estimate of the cost of having the same amount of stuff printed for us (I'd really like us to network with more people & see if we can get free or discounted printing). I'd also like to see the cost of buying a used printer and leasing.

I think the GA will be able to decide whether the mesh network is worth the cost or not, if given an understandable explanation. I can help you with that.

One last thing to consider in expending money for hardware of any kind - the Housing proposal was only for the winter, and some of OC still seem intent on creating an encampment. The more tech stuff we acquire, the more it may be wasted, because it can't be operated in the elements or w/o sufficient, clean power.

I really don't mean to be a pain!

[Todd]

All the initial stuff for the printer is:

*http://www.amazon.com/Designjet-2400x1200-Standing-Format-Printer/dp/B0029L1YCQ/ref=sr_1_3?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1321363548&sr=1-3

*Paper http://www.amazon.com/HP-Coated-Paper-I ... 74&sr=1-48

*Adhesive backed paper, perfect for DA flyering http://www.amazon.com/Avery-Self-Adhesi ... 74&sr=1-39

*Ink http://www.echostore.com/continuous-ink ... hp130.html


I don't have a comparison to how much getting a standard 2x5ft poster is, the last time anything like that was printed was way in the beginning when we had the tech tent, and the people who made the 2 2'x4' signs said they spent over $100 on getting them printed, and I did do research into the printers before hand which includes the cheapest ink method while not sacrificing quality. We can wait on the printer if someone wants to form a printer comparison working group but I have too much other stuff to do atm to do that.

For livestream it's a once time licence for a single instance of their software,
http://www.ustream.tv/producer

For the hosting items, its mostly paid via paypal through a company I run, I can give a paypal statement but most of it will need to be blacked out as I don't want the internal details of my company out there. I can do it at request but would rather not.

The software being licensed is cpanel and soon litespeed.

A mesh network definition is here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mesh_networking

The point is, we need a non-government controlled method of communication in general, but specifically for the G8 to prevent something like the BART fiasco from occurring. This proposal would only cover enough for the cermak space and so we can proof of concept it. If it works, THEN we can request additional funding to expand it across Chicago/burbs. And as you can see from the wikipedia article, most of the mesh network, if enlarged, would not be dependent on an indoor location at all. So the investment is not lost when we move out of cermak, same with the large format printer, it can be moved to grace or someones home or anywhere else. The only parts that we would not be able to re-use when we leave cermack, are the wires we lay. Everything else can be.

[Todd]

Also, I am maintaining a article that will have the progress of the wifi mesh network here: http://wiki.oatt.net/index.php?title=Ci ... or_chicago
It includes a high level overview.

[marymcmahon@clear.net]

Paper in large format printing is another major expense and a cost control to consider. Also monitoring the use (counting copies) and budgeting to determine the appropriate use (doing something in house or contracting out) is essential.

[Todd]

I am not saying you are wrong, but what I am saying is, our primary goal is to reach out to the public and increase awareness, The change we want, cannot be had without that first step. Lets not skimp on it.
We are still a young movement and mistakes will be made, that is inevitable. However the difference between this and a job is, people are here because they want to be here. So they are going to at least try to take these things into account, no one is here because they don't care. That is why I don't think we need to worry as much about people wasting resources. Contracting out is only ever cheaper in mass quantity. Something we are unlikely to do in a large format because it is cost prohibitive.

We will not be able to develop a "printing budget" until we actually have the printer and people think of ways to use it. Any budget created before that happens, is useless because it will contain no real world data on usage.

[marymcmahon@clear.net]

I outsource a lot of printing because it gives me a great deal of flexibility in the kinds of material and the size up to bill board size.

As a discipline it is always good to have some metric to determine how much to spend on printing for any giving project. Especially in a setting where everyone sees their project as the most crucial priority.

Let's simply be realistic, and plan for the cost, and requisition the $ for maintaing this aspect of the movement. If you want it to be a utopian situation with unlimited expenditures and no maintenance and monitoring, then be prepared for the inkwells to be dry or the paper supply empty when you want to do a run.

I'm trying to support you in this, and want to see it managed properly.