By ROB PELKEY
Online Editor
 

However, students must now purchase their own network cards before connecting a new machine to the network.

In an effort to make student networking more convenient, Information Services held a series of afternoon installation sessions in Chase Hall during the first week of classes, to which students could bring their computers to have network hardware and software installed in them. About 140 students took advantage of the new installation sessions to have their computers networked.

The new installation sessions are an experiment which Information Services said will hopefully make it easier for students to fit the installation procedure into their schedules.

While the diversity of student schedules makes it next to impossible to find a single solution that satisfies all students, staffers said that the options available this year will come close to doing just that.

"The aim is to create a system that works, that gets the job done, without creating a bureaucratic nightmare," said one Information Services staffer who declined to identify himself.

Most of the 140 students whose computers were networked in the afternoon installation sessions waited in or just outside Skelton Lounge while their machines were being worked on.

A line of students waiting to be served formed outside the room; waiting times varied widely, from over two hours during the busiest periods on Friday to immediate service at times Tuesday and Wednesday.

A smaller number of students, with schedules constrained by classes and athletic practices, dropped off their machines and picked them up at a later time, usually the following day.

While a large number of student computers were networked, the sessions did not take care of all demand for network connections.

Information Services staffers made an estimated 300 "house calls" to student rooms last year to network computers, and have plans to make another series of house calls - albeit a smaller number - this year.

The other major change in policy is that students will no longer receive free network adapter hardware from Information Services.

As of August 1, Information Services has stopped making new network hardware loan agreements with students.

All students bringing new computers to campus must now purchase their own network adapters. Returning students who presently have network adapters loaned to them may continue to use them until they graduate.

Two primary motivations exist for this new requirement. First, over time it became clear that the aging pool of loaner equipment would not be able to keep pace with continuing advances in computers and system software.

"It's not new technology," said Susan Nattress, the Information Services staffer in charge of student networking. She added that it would be prohibitively expensive to purchase the new types of network adapters, like PCI and PCMCIA cards, required by late-model student computers.

Second, large numbers of graduating seniors failed to return their network cards before leaving Bates. Since students are billed the fair-market used price of the equipment, the College incurred a financial loss for every card not returned.

Students may now purchase "supported" models of network adapters through the Computer Sales division at 110 Russell Street. The equipment was also available for sale at the Skelton Lounge installation sessions.

Adapters from the loaner pool that would have been given to students this year are now being sold as used equipment; used adapters are available for as little as $10.

According to Nattress, Bates' policy of loaning network cards to students was rare, if not unique, among other colleges and universities.

Equally rare are Bates' network installation policies, under which students may either bring their computer to a central location to be networked, or have a consultant pay a "house call" to service their machine.