Information Technology Services
GENERAL INFORMATION



Information Technology Services is in the University Computer Centre, located on the south end of the CAW Student Centre. Information Technology Services provides a full range of facilities and services for students, faculty and staff. The Helpdesk, Computing Consultants and Operation staff are located on the main floor of the building. The lower level houses the Computer Lab and the Computer Classroom.

The Computer Lab is open from 8:00 a.m. to 2:00 a.m., seven days a week, during the Fall and Winter terms. During the summer and Christmas holidays, the Lab operates on a shorter schedule. The Lab is always staffed by a Student Consultant to provide assistance.

The Servers typically used by students, namely the UNIX SGI server and Novell servers, operate from 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 a.m. They can be accessed from the Computer Lab and other locations on campus. The SGI can be accessed from home using the dial-up services.

The Helpdesk is staffed between 8:30 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. during working days. Consulting support is available during normal business hours. Documentation on various services is available from the HelpDesk.

A Userid is required to use the UNIX and other servers: students can activate their userid at a microcomputer located in the Computer Lab for this purpose; faculty and staff can obtain a userid by filling out a form indicating their employee number. The personal computers in the Computer Lab can be used by simply producing a student card.

Facilities

The following is the list of major facilities available to students:

UNIX Server (SGI): The UNIX server can be accessed using X-terminals, microcomputers (with appropriate software) from various locations across campus and through via Telnet. Fortran, Java, IMSL, C, SPSS, SAS, SAS/GRAPH and MAPLE are some of the over 80 applications available on the server. The SGI is also used by students for e-mail.

Computer Lab Facilities: The Computer Lab has 73 microcomputers on a Student Novell network, 40 X-terminals accessing the SGI, two Macintosh computers and 8 ethernet laptop docking stations. The microcomputers access Corel WordPerfect and other popular software such as SPSS for Windows, MAPLE, CorelDraw, QuatroPro and Paradox. The X-terminals access the software on the SGI. The Macintosh computers run System 7 with Word and Excel software. There are dot matrix and laser printers available to all workstations.

Dial-up Access: Students can use our computing resources from home and residences using the student dial-up system for a nominal charge.

Internet Access: Students have access to many Internet services such as e-mail, WWW access, Telnet, FTP and many others. These are available from the Computer Lab, most microcomputers on campus, some residence buildings as well as off campus through the student dial-up service.

Services

Information Technology Services offers the following services to students:

Helpdesk: Offers problem solving for computer related problems through telephone, e-mail or walk-in contact. Solutions requiring longer or multiple contacts will be referred to the Computing Consultants.

Consulting: Consulting is available on computing related issues for graduate students and faculty members. Undergraduate students can use this service for specialized, non-assignment related problems. Student Consultants are always available in the Computer Lab.

Training: Computing Consultants offer non-credit seminars and workshops on a variety of topics during the term. The seminars are open to all students at no cost. The schedules are posted in the Computer Lab and are published in the electronic "Daily News", the "Lance" and "Insight".

Documentation: An extensive HELP facility and on-line PUBLIC files are available on the WWW to provide detailed information and help. Information Technology Services publishes a bi-monthly newsletter called "Insight", which contains technical information for the active computer user. It is placed in the Computer Lab, at the HelpDesk and in other campus computing facilities. Handouts on various topics and services of interest to students are available at the Helpdesk.

Databases: Information Technology Services, in conjunction with Leddy Library, maintains a large collection of databases that are available for student and faculty research. These databases, available on the WWW by registered students and faculty, include the Canada Census, General Social Surveys, CANSIM and many others.

SOCR: Information Technology Services also works closely with SOCR ( Student Organized Computing Resources) which provides students with the opportunity to host their own WWW pages.

Further information is available at Information Technology Services' WWW site at: http://www.uwindsor.ca/computing/