Resources > Computing Resources

Computer Resources

COMPUTER AND TECHNOLOGY RESOURCES AND THEIR USAGE POLICIES

The DMS has an array of personal computers available for common use. Several general use printers are also available, including three HP 4200 B&W LaserJets and a Ricoh C411DN Color Laser Printer. For larger jobs (e.g., posters) there is a HP DesignJet 1055CM Large Format Color Printer. In the main printer corral in the northeast corner of Bldg. 1020 there is also an Epson Perfection Flatbed Scanner.

Acceptable Use Policy
Appropriate utilization of our computing resources is defined in the USM Information Technology Acceptable Use Policy. This policy governs usage of the computer systems at all USM campuses.

Printing Etiquette
The DMS printers are a community resource. With a few simple measures, we can keep printing costs down and maintain ready access to all devices.

  1. Double-sided printing: All general use printers have duplexers and it is expected that all multi-page print jobs utilize double-sided printing, which is both economically and environmentally friendly, unless there is a specific need that precludes use of this setting.
  2. Follow up your print jobs: It is important that when you submit a job to a printer that you retrieve your output. If your job does not appear in the output, you should:
    1. Check the print queue to determine its status. Do not assume that resubmitting your job is the solution; this is more likely to exacerbate the problem.
    2. Ascertain whether there is a job preceding yours and check whether it is processing correctly. For Window’s users, the printers and faxes dialogue box will show the print queue. If a job preceding yours is not processing correctly, contact the job’s owner and get them to clear up the issue.
    3. If this does not resolve your problem, either William or Jamie should be
      consulted.
    4. Never leave jobs hanging in the print queues, particularly going into the weekend. A jammed print queue is a major inconvenience for those working at off hours when technical support is unavailable.
  3. Printer Servicing
    1. Please refill paper trays as needed.
    2. Do not refill toner cartridges in any of the printers or change paper rolls/ink in the HP 1055 plotter. For these maintenance tasks, please contact William,
      Jamie or Linda.

Accounts on Coral
All students, staff and faculty are provided with an account on the DMS server (Coral). This is strictly for your convenience to use in carrying out your class assignments and pursuing your research activities. These accounts are not provided for personal use (e.g., storing your digital photography or music libraries) and are subject to monitoring by iTech.

Student Computers
On University-owned student computers, a standard suite of software applications is provided (see below). For those with specialized needs, applications such as Matlab, IDL/ENVI or SEADAS may be obtained with supervisor approval.

Wireless Connectivity

All DMS buildings on the Stennis campus have full wireless capability through the EagleAir network, making the internet and departmental printing resources universally accessible for all wireless-enabled computers.
NOTE: The EagleAir network can be accessed on all USM campuses.

Faculty/Staff:
Access to EagleAir for up to two wireless devices is freely provided. In order to connect, the MAC address of the wireless device must be registered. Registering the MAC address with iTech can be accomplished on SOAR under Self_Service/USM-Self_Service.

Faculty/Staff with more than 2 devices:
Contact the Helpdesk at helpdesk@usm.edu with the MAC address and USM Property number for each device, and with the Employee ID of the primary contact (must be a faculty or staff member) for the devices. This will mean that if that contact leaves the university the MAC addresses will need to be reregistered under a new contact.

Students with USM equipment:
If you have wireless equipment that needs to be registered, inform your advisor or primary faculty/staff contact so that they can take care of registering the device for you.

Students with personal equipment:
Contact the Helpdesk by phone at (601) 266-4357. Please have your Student ID number and MAC address available before calling. You will need to inform the Helpdesk technician that you are a Coast Student to avoid charges. Once the Spring 2010 semester begins, you can also register on SOAR under Self Service/USM Self Service. You will need to re-register these MAC addresses each semester. There will be no charge for Coast Students until July 1st 2010. After this date the charge will be $64.20 per semester. These fees will be prorated if you activate late in the semester.

Campus Visitors without an Employee ID:

Maintenance Request Procedures
For student machines, installation of specialized software and maintenance/repair of hardware must be handled by a representative of USM’s Information Technology (iTech) group. William Stianche is our iTech technician. While it is convenient to drop by and request William’s assistance with technology needs, there is a formal pathway for submitting a work order to iTech that should be followed and which is beneficial for reinforcing our need for an onsite iTech presence.

Work order requests can be submitted via phone by calling the iTech Helpdesk (601- 266-4357). For faculty and staff, work orders can be placed using the internet at the iTech page. All work orders should generate an email confirmation; if this does not appear, follow up by directly calling the Helpdesk to ensure that your work request is logged.

Available Software Titles
In addition to generally available titles noted below, many additional software titles can be acquired through licensing agreements negotiated by USM, or at a substantial academic discount. The iTech site has links to site-licensed titles (i.e., free) and academically priced titles available to students and faculty/staff.

There is also an extensive set of software titles that can be purchased through a statewide licensing agreement with Dell/ASAP. If you determine that a software title you want is available from Dell/ASAP, pricing information can be obtained by contacting Annette Copeland (228-214-3404) at iTech.

 

Standard software installed on University-owned student computers is as follows:

  1. Microsoft Windows 7 (Fully updated) will be installed on all new computers and on existing machines as operating system reinstalls are needed.
  2. Windows XP will remain available if compatibility problems with Windows 7 arise
  3. Microsoft Office 2007 (Fully updated)
  4. Symantec Antivirus Corporate Edition
  5. Microsoft Update
  6. Mozilla Firefox - Web browser
  7. Acrobat Reader 9 - PDF file reader
  8. FileZilla - File transfer client (FTP)
  9. 7-Zip – File compression software
  10. PDF Creator - Print to a PDF file
  11. IrfanView - Image viewer
  12. Java VM
  13. Mozilla Thunderbird - E-mail client
  14. Gimp - Image Editor
  15. JustBasic - Windows version of QBasic
  16. Active State Perl - Windows version of Perl
  17. Real Alternative - Allows playback of Real media
  18. Quicktime Alternative - Allows playback of Quicktime media
  19. SSH Secure Shell Client - Secure terminal client and secure file transfer
  20. Adobe Flash Player - Browser plugin to support some multimedia content
  21. CCCP Codec Pack - Allows playback of many video and audio media formats