The long reach of the Internet will go a little farther now that Tisch Library administrators have activated Internet ports in select study carrels around the library. This technological step forward, called nomadic computing, allows individuals to use their own computers to connect to the Web.
Twenty-eight ports on the main level of the library were activated last Monday. To log on to the Internet, students must have a laptop with an Ethernet card and plug in a cable from the computer to the yellow-labeled jack in the carrel. Cables will be available for check-out at the Tisch circulation desk.
Once they are connected, students will have full access to all the resources that they normally utilize from their personal computers. Although the library already features computers with access to the Internet, in addition to eight "e-mail only" stations, library administrators say the new Internet connections will be a great convenience to students.
"This gives students who have portable PCs more flexibility," Tisch Library Director Jo-Ann Michalak said. Students may now use a word-processing program while doing research on the Web and save their work to their hard drives.
The implementation of nomadic computing has been in the works for years. When Tisch was constructed in 1996, the building was wired to accommodate Internet connections in study carrels. But due to procedural and security concerns, the ports were never activated. Library administrators worked with Information Technology Services (ITS) and Tufts Computing and Communications Services (TCCS) Telecom to put security measures in place.
Computers must be registered with the campus network in order to access the Internet from Tisch, which ensures that the Internet access will only be utilized by members of the Tufts community. Students who are connected to the Internet from on-campus housing and are registered to use the campus network from their dorm rooms should be able to access the Internet in Tisch immediately. Students living off campus can register by going to Eaton computer lab.
This semester will be a test period for nomadic computing and, if it proves successful, the technology could be expanded in the future.
