As I was waiting for my flight back to Shanghai at Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 2 in Manila, I noticed five PCs set up on one side of the boarding area for free Internet access courtesy of Citibank. The airport has an available free Wi-Fi service provided by Globe Telecom, which I had already accessed using my openSUSE laptop. However, the fifth public PC on the right caught my eye due to the familiar wallpaper anyone from the Linux community would recognize. Could it be an Ubuntu machine?
I shut down my new Toshiba netbook (proudly installed with 12.2 KDE) and went to the terminal. Surprisingly, the fifth PC was sporting Ubuntu's bright default wallpaper. However, unlike the four Windows XP-powered PC's flanking the Linux PC, this one was restricted for use to access an online poker site which I wasn't familiar with. All of the desktop components were disabled save for that single browser window where gamblers can play online (I personally never understood the pleasure of gambling, much less online). Whoever set up the machine knew enough to disable ALT+F2, access to the console/virtual terminals, and restrict sudo access. However, the Ubuntu version was the somewhat aged Oneric Ocelot release.
Since I can't take photos inside an airport, here's a screenshot of Windows XP from The IT Crowd.
Seeing an Ubuntu machine at work at an international airport triggered mixed feelings. For one thing, it was for online gambling - the IT guy probably figured a Linux machine would be more secure for such a "risky" online task. However, wouldn't it have made more sense to use Ubuntu for the same purpose as the four other PCs? I mean, how hard is it to launch Firefox or Google Chrome regardless of the OS?
It was 3:30 am and my flight was at 6:45. There were hardly any security guards around. It took all my willpower not to pop out my Knoppix LiveUSB (don't leave home without it) and cause some mischief - leave a message for the sysadmin, update the Ubuntu version, dual-boot the XP machines, loop porn over Wi-Fi on the whole airport, or even access the airport's network. I have a suspicion they installed that Ubuntu machine just to tempt guys like me to mess with their setup.
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