[Printout | Contents | Search ]

Announcements

Penn to host EDUCOM'96

The annual conference of EDUCOM, a consortium of universities and colleges concerned with applications of information technology, will be held at the new Pennsylvania Convention Center in center city Philadelphia, October 8-11, 1996. The largest higher-education- computing conference, EDUCOM attracts over 2,500 university computing specialists, faculty members, computing vendors, and government representatives from around the world.

As host institution, Penn will be invited to showcase innovative uses of computing and networking - in instruction, research, administration, patient care, and public service - in an exhibit area at the Convention Center, via the Internet, or by hosting campus tours. A committee will soon be formed to organize Penn's participation in the EDUCOM conference.

To volunteer for the committee, or for further information about EDUCOM and the 1996 conference, contact local arrangements chair Daniel Updegrove, Associate Vice Provost for Information Systems and Computing, danu@dccs.upenn.edu, 898-2883, or 898-9348 (fax).

ISN to be discontinued

The ISN network service ("DIAL" prompt) will be discontinued December 26, 1995. Users now attached to PennNet via DIAL prompts must migrate to either terminal server asynchronous access ("Annex" prompt) or a direct Ethernet connection. Departments are urged to begin planning this migration as soon as possible, since user training, desktop software, and desktop hardware must all be considered - and built into budgets. Consulting on migration strategies is available from Data Communications and Computing Services (DCCS).

ISN users are strongly advised to migrate to higher-speed Ethernet connections to take advantage of desktop software clients with graphical user interfaces. Such software is already widely used on campus in popular clients such as Netscape and Mosaic (World-Wide Web browsers) and Eudora (e-mail). Moreover, new administrative systems being developed as part of Project Cornerstone will require Ethernet access.

Asynchronous services are of declining value in a client-server environment, have increasingly prohibitive maintenance and support costs, and divert resources required to test and deploy emerging technology.

Departments with older desktop computers unable to support an Ethernet interface, or with applications that use proprietary asynchronous interfaces may elect to migrate from ISN to terminal server connections during 1995. Although this may be easier and cheaper in the short run, it is important to note that general-purpose terminal server access will be discontinued at the end of 1996 (as approved by the Network Policy Committee at the recommendation of DCCS).

For assistance with migration planning, or for any other question about asynchronous and Ethernet connection to PennNet, please contact the PennNet Help Desk (help@dccs.upenn.edu or 898-8171).

DCE conference, June 1-2

"OSF DCE: Implementing a Distributed, Networked Computing Environment" is the theme of a conference to be held at the Penn Tower Hotel on the campus and hosted by the Office of Information Systems and Computing (ISC). The regional conference on June 1-2 and an accompanying in-depth workshop on May 31 are sponsored by CAUSE, the association for managing and using information resources in higher education. Penn, a long- standing member of CAUSE, also hosted last year's regional conference on "Networked Information."

The CAUSE Board of Directors recently endorsed the Open Software Foundation's Distributed Computing Environment (OSF DCE) standards and is encouraging all CAUSE member colleges and universities to consider adoption of the standards as part of their information resources architecture. The conference focuses on benefits, trends, and issues surrounding DCE, from the varied perspectives of speakers from Boston College, Michigan, Ohio State, Penn, Penn State, NASA, OSF, and Transarc Corporation.

The conference is co-chaired by Daniel A. Updegrove, Associate Vice Provost, ISC, and Samuel Plice, Chief Operating Officer, Information Technology Division, University of Michigan. Chris Shull of ISC, leader of Penn's distributed computing task force, is also on the program committee.

Further information on the conference and workshop programs, including an online registration form, is available at http://www.upenn.edu/CAUSECNI/conferences.html, by sending mail to conf@cause.colorado.edu, or by calling the CAUSE office, (303) 939-0315. The University of Pennsylvania, as host institution, receives a reduced rate for the two-day conference.

New Media Center

The University of Pennsylvania, along with 29 other colleges and universities from around the world, has been added to the New Media Centers program, an innovative non-profit organization that teams industry and academia to improve higher education. Penn joins 22 of our peer institutions, who were charter members of the program, along with a growing number of corporate members, including Adobe Systems, Apple Computer, Eastman Kodak, FWB/Hammer, Korg USA, Macromedia, Oracle Corporation, Prentice Hall, Radius, and the Times-Mirror Company. Corporate members provide campus-based centers opportunities to develop special relationships and industry contacts, as well as institutional access to advance testing and new technologies, including acquisition of hardware and software at significantly reduced prices.

Information Systems and Computing (ISC) will keep you informed as it learns more about the New Media Centers program and the benefits to Penn. If you have any questions in the interim, please contact Donna Milici, Director of Academic Computing Services (donna@acs.upenn.edu or 898-0426) or John MacDermott, New Media Specialist for Academic Computing Services (macderm@pobox.upenn.edu or 898-3046)

Modem pool plans

During the summer, DCCS will establish a second modem pool, dedicated to higher speed (28,800 bps, or "v.34") and lower contention (i.e., a higher ratio of modems to users). Access to this pool will require a fee, currently anticipated to be $200 per year. Users considering a modem purchase or use of a commercial provider should take into consideration the availability and price of this new modem pool. The Computer Connection will soon be stocking the recommended U.S. Robotics 28,800 bps modems.

Also, departments sponsoring PennNet "guests" will be assessed a fee, effective immediately for new accounts and upon annual renewal for current accounts. The fee will be $100 per year for access to the 14,400 bps pool, and $300 per year for access to the 28,800 bps pool. As is currently the case, guest accounts are limited to those engaged in cooperative research, teaching, or public service projects of a non- commercial nature.

For further information, please contact the PennNet Help Desk, 898-8171 or help@dccs.

Maintenance vendors

The Purchasing Department and the task forces for microcomputer and UNIX maintenance recommend the following companies for computer maintenance services for fiscal 1994 and 1995.

For microcomputer maintenance:

Computer Fixer          Janice Cuthbert      
                          215/629-5700
INTEC                   Mike Miller          
                          800/225-1187
                          609/427-0900
System and Service Pros Gregory Fecca        
                          215/878-3778

For UNIX maintenance:
Workstation             Recommended vendor 
DEC                     DEC, SUN
SUN                     SUN, DEC
SGI                     SGI, DEC
IBM                     DEC, SUN
HP                      DEC, HP
NEXT                    DEC

UNIX maintenance vendor contacts:
DEC                     James Ingraham       
                          609/273-2067
Hewlett Packard         Leslie O'Brien       
                          215/666-9000
Silicon Graphics        Jerry Allen          
                          215/638-3707
SUN/Bell Atlantic       Atul Wadhwa          
                          609/231-5731
                        Steve Waldman        
                          609/235-7619

For futher information or assistance, please call Abe Ahmed, 898-2482, or Gail Lindsey, 898-2313.

University policy on unauthorized copying of copyrighted software

The University of Pennsylvania does not condone or tolerate the unauthorized copying of licensed computer software by staff, faculty, or students. The University shall adhere to its contractual responsibilities and shall comply with all copyright laws, and expects all members of the University community to do so as well. Members of the University community who violate this policy may be subject to discipline through standard University procedures. An individual or University department engaged in the unauthorized copying or use of software may also face civil suit, criminal charges, and/or penalties and fines. Subject to the facts and circumstances of each case, such individuals or departments shall be solely responsible for their defense and any resulting liability.

The above policy, adopted in August 1992, is republished as a reminder to the University community. If you have questions about this policy, please contact Dave Millar, University Information Security Officer, at 898-2172.