Computer upgrade in the works

Terminals to be replaced over the summer

The main computer labs on campus will be upgraded over the summer. The computers in Mudd 212, Mudd Level A and the Biggs computer lab in Stevenson will be replaced with Power Macintoshes 8600.

The computers which are removed will be installed in places where there are older terminals or Macroterminals. As a result, some of the machines which were only available for e-mail use will be available for students to work on. Director of Computing John Bucher said that some of the older computers cannot run the software the newer computers do, and so he hesitates to say that they will all be available for work. But he added that the Computing Center intends to "raise the lowest end of computers" and plans to provide the e-mail computers with access to the World Wide Web so students can surf the Internet from other computers on campus.

Bucher said that this upgrade marks the first time all the labs have had the same kind of Macintosh computers. As a result, the new computers will be easier for the computing staff to maintain, but also easier for students to use. "It makes life easier for us and it makes life easier for the student," Bucher said.

Bucher said he hopes all the computer replacement can be done over the summer. The labs need to be stocked by Aug. 15, but this date does not to apply to the other terminal locations on campus.

The computer upgrade has a purchase value of $350,000. Bucher said the College will probably attain the computers through a leasing arrangement. "It makes sense to do this since we turn over equipment so quickly. A lot of campuses are turning to this method to get lab computers upgraded," Bucher said.