Focus groups help create new computer system

by Sara Bisker and Becca Manning
Staff Writers

Communication Network Services officials installed a new login system to all residence hall computers this summer in an attempt to give students easier access.

Students now are automatically logged on to the Novell system without providing a password when they start up their computers, CNS officials said.

Ohio University spends $100,000 each year on a site license for the Novell system, said Sean O’Malley, public relations manager for CNS.

The change to the login system did not affect CNS's budget, said Dave Steortz, desktop support manager for CNS.

Last year the Novell system provided personal space for students and a maintenance system that protected computers from viruses. The new system provides the maintenance system but has eliminated each student’s personal space, Steortz said.

The home directory, which acted as a personal hard drive on the network server, was eliminated because CNS officials wanted students to have easier access, O’Malley said.

            "This year’s theme is simplicity," Steortz said.

            Privacy is still an important issue, but officials found that students last year were bypassing the login process that protected and updated their computer systems.

"I was never concerned with security because the school took care of that," OU sophomore Mike Mason said.

The new system prevents problems by logging students in.

            "Now students are automatically logged into the maintenance program so they are constantly protected from becoming the victim of a virus," Steortz said.

For students concerned about privacy from roommates, individual files can be protected with a password.

            Students can learn to protect files by accessing the CNS Web site, www.cns.ohiou.edu/student_computers/sce or by double clicking the icon, "Need Computer Help?" on the computer desktop. 

CNS encourages students to back up files on floppy or zip disks as well as password-protecting them, said Thomas Reid, director of CNS.

Officials have used focus groups in residence halls to determine students' needs since computers were installed three years ago, O’Malley said.

Focus group participants said that they cancelled past login menus, needed 24-hour assistance and needed increased network capacity. CNS officials used this data to update their services, Reid said.