UT School of Information

Where is the IT Lab? [ back to top ]
The IT Lab is located in the Sanchez Building (SZB, which also houses the School of Education), located at MLK and Speedway, room 451. The ground floor of SZB is actually the second floor, so go up two floors on the escalators, walk toward the back of the building, and turn right to find our hallway. If you see a bunch of mailboxes at the end of the hall, and some tables and chairs, you're in the right place. The IT Lab consists of the main Lab (a group work area) and the annex (a quiet work area) - the annex is sometimes used for short courses and small presentations, but otherwise is available for your use.

Where can I park to use the IT Lab? [ back to top ]
If you just need to drop by the IT Lab, you can leave your car in the lot on the west side of the Sanchez Building, for up to 30 minutes, with your hazard lights on. Otherwise, parking is the same as it is for any other building on campus. For a list of parking areas on campus, click here.

Who are all the people in purple shirts? [ back to top ]
The teaching assistants who staff the Lab wear purple shirts (sometimes sweaters, cardigans, or smocks) and are often refered to as Purpleshirts. Every TA in the Lab is also a graduate student in the School of Information, and they are there to answer any question you might have, no matter how minor, so don't be shy!

When is the IT Lab open? [ back to top ]
The Lab is open Monday through Thursday (8:30 a.m. to 10 p.m.), Friday (9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.), Saturday (12 p.m. to 6 p.m.), and Sunday (1 p.m. to 5 p.m.). We are closed for winter break, spring break, and during most intersession periods. Signs are usually posted around the Lab in advance of scheduled closings, and an email is posted to the-insider email list. You can also check the IT Lab Web site.

Why are there twice as many computers as monitors in the IT Lab annex? [ back to top ]

Each monitor is hooked up to both a PC and a Mac. A converter box is attached to each station. When the dial on the converter box is on "A", the computer is a Mac. When the dial on the converter box is turned to "B", the computer is a PC.

Four Macs are located on the right-hand side of the Lab as you enter. If you'd like a little more privacy, feel free to use one of the 12 Macs located in the annex.

I don't have a wireless card in my laptop. Can I connect my laptop to an Ethernet port? [ back to top ]

Unfortunately, for security reasons, we do not have any Ethernet ports available in the IT Lab. Ethernet ports are available for laptops at the Perry-Castaneda Library (PCL). More information can be found on the PCL Web site.

Certain members of the Lab staff occasionally find themselves overly sensitive to fluorescent light. If it's too dark for your liking, feel free to turn the lights on. The light switch is located next to the Emergency Exit.

I logged off my machine, and when I logged back in, the files I saved on the desktop were missing! [back to top ]

Any files saved to hard drives of most of these computers are erased as soon as you log out. Don't learn this lesson the hard way! Make sure to save all of your work (such as on a disk, in your iSchool server space, or on Webspace) before logging out.

It's a good idea to lock your workstation if you're taking a break. However, if you're going to be gone for longer than 20 minutes, please save your work (such as on a disk, in your iSchool server space, or on Webspace) and log out of the computer. If you do need to leave the workstation locked for a longer period of time, you MUST tell the Lab staff.

Can someone teach me how to use this computer/scanner/external device? [ back to top ]

Of course! That's what the TAs in the Lab are for. Feel free to ask them any question. The TAs can get you started using the program, answer specific questions, and point out any reference works that are available in the Lab. They cannot offer suggestions on how to do the assignment, sit with you for hours teaching you the software, or do any part of the assignment for you. If you or your classmates feel the need for extended instruction in a particular software program, you may wish to request a short course or a one-on-one session, or ask your professor to cover it in more depth in class.

I want to use a computer, but there's a login prompt. Now what do I do? [ back to top ]

The PCs in the IT Lab require you to log in with your UTEID and password. If your UTEID and password are not accepted (and you're sure that they're correct), ask a Purpleshirt to log you in as a guest. We occasionally have problems with the software, but it usually clears up within a day. Your UTEID and password should work the next time you log in.

I want to use an application that is not installed on the Lab computers. Can I download and install it? [back to top ]

If you require the use of software not found on the computer, please contact a member of the Lab staff. In many cases, you will be allowed to install it. Keep in mind that the PCs will delete the software when you log off the computer.

Lab Resources & Equipment

What other resources besides computers are available in the IT Lab? [ back to top ]

pen	Yes, borrow one, but please return it.
stapler	Yes. Please return it when you're done.
paper cutter	Yes, on the laptop bar (the nook by the front desk).
paper clip/binder clip	Check the silver container on the front desk - it's usually stocked with paper clips and binder clips.
piece of scrap paper	Check next to the Lab Staff ‘s Mac machine or in the blue recycle bins.
pair of scissors	Yes. Please return them when you're done.
hole punch	Yes. In the small room by the computer resource books.
telephone	Yes. Dial 9 to get an outside line.
dictionary/thesaurus	Yes, on the shelf by the emergency exit.
computer resource book	Yes, on the bookshelf next to the front desk.
cataloging materials	Yes, on the bookshelf next to the front door and also on the tall bookshelf in the main room of the lab.
copy machine	No. There's one down the hall in the Learning Technology Center (SZB 438), but it's only open during office hours (9-5, M-F). Also try the University Duplicating Service in SZB 322. Otherwise the closest one is at the Perry Castañeda Library (PCL), right next door.
diskette/Zip disk	No, we don't keep disks around.
Zip drive	A zip drive can be checked out for in-Lab use, in exchange for your student ID.
scanner	Scanners are available in the Lab on a roving basis (see below).
multimedia equipment	Multimedia equipment can be checked out for in-Lab use, in exchange for your student ID.

As of Spring 2008, the IT Lab has 17 Dell PCs with Windows XP, 1 Dell PC running Ubuntu (a Linux OS), 5 Apple G5s with OS X. In the Lab Annex, there are 11 Dell PCs and 12 Apple G5s. Each computer is equipped with headphones, CD and DVD burning drives, and can be connected to in-Lab scanners, audio-visual conversion stations, digital cameras, and more. There are also 2 additional Macs and 2 PCs available for use in the Scannex (the small room by the computer resource books). These computers are equipped with podcasting mics for recording sound in media projects like tutorials.

The following programs are availabe on both the PC and Apple computers: Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, Adobe InDesign, Adobe Acrobat (Professional), Adobe Dreamweaver, Adobe Fireworks, Adobe Flash, Open Source Software (Open Office, the Gimp, Mozilla), and Microsoft Office.

The following programs are available only on the PCs: Microsoft Access, Camtasia Studio, SnagIt, SSH Secure Shell, and Visio. There is also one PC with SPSS.

The following programs are only available on the Apples: iPhoto, iMovie, iDVD, GarageBand, Toast, Safari, Fugu, Fetch, and Omnigraffle.

Software requests are considered on a request-by-request basis and can be made by emailing support@ischool.utexas.edu. Please include information about how the software could be used for academic purposes and how soon you would require the software.

Scanners are available in the Lab, on a roving basis. Simply find one that is not occupied, plug it in an available outlet, and attach the USB cord to the appropriate port on the computer. To scan an item, open Photoshop (File/Import), Adobe Acrobat Professional (File/Create PDF/From Scanner), or Epson Scan and choose the Epson Perfection 4990.

Our scanners have a slide attachment that can be used to scan slides. Please speak to the Lab staff about using it.

This is the IT Lab Scannex, where Lab staff work on tutorial construction. Students are welcome to use the area as well for group work, multimedia projects, or general computer use.

Do you have an audio workstation that I can use to digitize old cassette tapes? [ back to top ]

Do you have a video workstation that I can use to digitize old VHS tapes? [ back to top ]

Why yes, we do. We have a converter box hooked up to a VCR, that, when connected properly to a computer, will digitize your old VHS tapes. Ask a TA for help if you'd like to do this, and be sure to check out our iLife tutorials (iPhoto, iMovie, and iDVD) for more information on the process of editing your video, adding music and photos, and burning a DVD.

Printing

To print, simply go to File and then Print within the application that you are using. The default printer (that is chosen automatically) is the HP LaserJet 9000 PCL, which prints in black and white. To print in color, choose Suburban (or Dell Color Laser on a Mac). All printouts are sent to the printers located behind the Lab staff desk. You are responsible for paying for every printout that you make, even ones that are made in error.

Print cards are sold in $1 denominations, and may be bought from the stamp machine, located beside the Lab scannex, directly across from the Lab staff desk. If you have four quarters, insert them into the slots provided, and retrieve the print card. The cardboard containers for the print card are recycled - please leave them in the wooden box on the shelf behind the tutorial handouts spinner. Lab staff cannot handle the money or provide change, so please plan accordingly. A change machine is located on the second floor.

Black-and-white prints are approximately $0.08 per print (or one mark on the print card) and color prints are approximately $0.16 per print (two marks on the print card). Double-sided prints cost the same as single-sided ones. Each print card contains 13 marks.

Unfortunately, the print cards in the IT Lab are School of Information specific. We do not accept the print cards sold in PCL or elsewhere on campus. However, the printouts are cheaper here ($0.08 versus $0.13).

Inform the Lab staff that you want to print on your own paper and they will assist you. Please note that we do not operate like a copy-center and our printers will only handle certain types of paper. If you're printing something elaborate (i.e. for a multimedia class) you may want to consider a commercial copy center.

If you're using a PC and Internet Explorer, highlight the area you want to print, go to File, then Print, and choose "selection" under print range. You may be able to copy and paste certain portions of a Web page into an office application program such as Microsoft Word or Open Office.

No, your laptop is not connected to our print server. You will need to use the computers in the IT Lab in order to print.

Lost & Found

I've lost a (diskette/book/some other small item). Have you seen it? [ back to top ]

The IT Lab staff delivers all lost and found items to the School of Information office, located on the fifth floor of the Sanchez building. If it's not there, chances are it's gone forever. Remember to check the floppy/Zip drive and around the computer for your belongings before you leave the Lab. More expensive items are placed briefly behind the staff desk. Please ask a Lab staff member for assistance (see next question).

Ask a Lab staff member - anything of value is kept behind the desk or turned over to the School of Information office.

Other Facilities

I need to finish a paper, and the School of Information IT Lab is closed! What do I do now? [ back to top ]

The University of Texas campus has a variety of computer Labs that are available to all students. A list of facilities are available here.

What other facilities does the School of Information IT Lab offer? [ back to top ]

The IT Lab Staff can support activities in rom 546, the digitization lab in the Sanchez building. We also have a new advanced lab in the PCL for digitizing audio, images, and film. This lab is currently under restricted access; ask a Purpleshirt for information.

Working on Home Computers

BevoWare provides the software you need to protect your computer from viruses, improve the security of your connections, browse the Web, read and send e-mail, use the campus printing system and more. A variety of software is offered to you on the site - everything is freely available to University of Texas students, staff, and faculty, and you only need your UTEID and password in order to access it.

Where can I get student versions of Microsoft Office, Adobe Photoshop, etc.? [ back to top ]

The Campus Computer Store offers a variety of hardware, software, and peripherals at discounted prices to current UT students. The Campus Computer Store is located at FAC 109, on the first floor of the Flawn Academic Center, on the West Mall across from the Tower.

Students in the Classroom

My professor (or I) need some equipment for a class presentation or School of Information event. Can you help? [ back to top ]

Obtain permission from the instructor to make a reservation in his/her name. You can make equipment reservations online - from the School of Information home page, go to Computing Resources, and choose Equipment Reservation on the left-hand navigation bar. Choose Reserve Computer and AV Equipment. Using this form, you can reserve equipment (computers, overhead projectors, TVs, VCRs, slide projectors, and camcorders) for a particular class. Follow the instructions to fill out the form, and submit it using the "Submit Query" button.

Reservations may only be made for times in which the Lab is open for business. If you need equipment for other times, speak with the Technical Manager (support@ischool.utexas.edu). PLEASE MAKE SURE THAT YOUR RESERVATIONS ARE MADE AT LEAST 24 HOURS IN ADVANCE.

To view existing reservations, click on the Current Reservations link which appears on the Equipment Reservation Form. This should connect you to the IT Lab Equipment Reservations page.

Please note that equipment can be borrowed only by students, faculty, and staff affiliated with the School of Information.

Accounts and Passwords

Go to the New Accounts page. Follow the instructions on the form, and submit it using the Submit Query button. The user name you choose will be your email address and the name of your Web site, so choose carefully.

You can check to see if it's active after 24 hours. You can check it by opening a browser window, going to the main Accounts page, and clicking on the "Check Account Status" link. This should connect you to the Account Status page. Your name will be listed on this page if your account has been activated.

In order to access your iSchool account, you need to connect using a secure telnet client. From a PC, a common secure telnet client is the program called SSH/Secure Shell Client. This program is available on all the PCs in the IT Lab, or can be downloaded for free from UT's software site, Bevoware. Browse the programs for SSH/Secure Shell Client, and double-click on the SSH Secure Shell Client icon. Click the Quick-Connect button. In the dialog box that appears, the host name you will use is login.ischool.utexas.edu. The login name is the one you provided on the account sign-up form. Your initial password will be the last four digits of the student identification number you provided in your account sign-up form - this should be the 16-digit number from your UT ID card. You will automatically be asked to create a new password - this password must be at least 6-8 characters long, and cannot be a dictionary word. It may take you several attempts to create a suitable password. The system will only allow you five tries to change your password before it disconnects you; you must then re-login. Once you've changed your password, don't forget it! For more information, check out the full How to Use Your School of Information Accout tutorial.

In order to access your iSchool account from a Mac, open the application Terminal, which can be found in the Utilities folder of your Applications folder. At the prompt, type ssh your_user_name@login.ischool.utexas.edu (your_user_name is the login name you provided on the account sign-up form). Your initial password will be the last four digits of the student identification number you provided in your account sign-up form - this should be the 16-digit number from your UT ID card. You will automatically be asked to create a new password. You will first be asked for your "(current) UNIX password" - this is the same password you just entered, the last four digits of the student identification number you provided in your account sign-up form. Then you will be asked for your "new UNIX password" - this password must be at least 6-8 characters long and cannot be a dictionary word. Remember your password! It may take you several attempts to create a suitable password. The system will only allow you five tries to change your password before it disconnects you; you must then relogin. Once you've changed your password, don't forget it! For more information, check out the full How to Use Your School of Information Accout tutorial.

Now that your account has been activated, you can check your email (your_user_name@ischool.utexas.edu) and use your server space to store files or upload a Web page (http://www.ischool.utexas.edu/~your_user_name). For more information on how to do that, check out the How to Use Your School of Information Account tutorial.

If you think you have extenuating circumstances, you can beg for mercy from the Systems Administrator, but there are a number of reasons why such a change may by impossible or unwise.

Why am I required to change my password? I like the password I have; I use it for everything. [ back to top ]

You are required to change your password as a security measure in the hopes of preventing your account from being hijacked. Requiring you to change your password on a regular basis will hopefully prevent automated hacker systems from cracking your password. Also, using different passwords for different programs will prevent someone who has found one password from obtaining access to all of your accounts.

A TA told me that my account would be "on Fiat." What does that mean? [ back to top ]

When you get a School of Information computer account, it is created on one of our servers (called Fiat). A School of Information account gives you a School of Information email address (yourusername@ischool.utexas.edu), 100 MB of mail storage space, and 150 MB of file storage space on Fiat. This storage space is "on the network," so if you are capable of accessing our server over some network connection, you have access to those files.

I'm not in the School of Information, but I have an account because I'm taking a course in the department. What happens when I finish the course? [ back to top ]

About three weeks after the course is over, your account will be shut down and the file space you have been using will be reclaimed. Please make arrangements to have your files removed from Fiat by the last day of the semester.

So, I have 150 MB of file storage space. How do I check how much space I have left? [ back to top ]

To see how much server disk space your account currently occupies, log in to your School of Information account with either SSH Secure Shell (on a PC) or Terminal (on a Mac). At the $ prompt, type "quota -v". This will give you the number of kilobytes (KB) currently used in your School of Information account, as well as your quota and limits for those directories. For instance, you might see a display such as:

"dev/home_volume" refers to the user's home directory and all its subdirectories. In this instance, the user has 152460 KB of disk space in that directory. The quota is 150000 KB; therefore, the user has seven days from the point he/she went over quota to bring it back under 150000 KB. The five days under "grace" indicates how much time is left until the seven days is up. No matter what, however, the user cannot exceed 160000 KB (as specified under "limit").

"/dev/mail_volume" normally refers to one file and one file only: your mail Inbox. If this entry shows that you are over quota, the only remedy is to remove mail from your Inbox. Saved messages are counted as part of your home directory quota because they are not stored in your Inbox; therefore, removing saved messages will not affect your mail quota. If it appears you have very few messages in your Inbox, check for attachments to your email. Email attachments often take up large amounts of disk space.

I want to protect my Web pages with a password. How do I do that? [ back to top ]

You will need to set up a program called htaccess in your home directory. For more information on how to do that, check out the tutorial on How to Password Protect Your Web Space.

My Internet service is provided through the university. What happens when I graduate? [ back to top ]

If you have a Telesys account from ACITS, this will expire almost immediately upon your graduation. Telesys is the name of the dialup system offered by the University. If you use another Internet Service Provider (ISP) for Internet access, you have nothing to worry about, but if you use Telesys, you should begin looking for another ISP as soon as possible.

I've just graduated. What happens to my School of Information account? [ back to top ]

Your School of Information account will remain active for up to a year after you graduate. When the time comes for that account to be deactivated, a warning email will be sent to that account about a month prior to termination. If you have any questions about this, please contact a member of the IT Lab staff.

Why does my email address sometimes say fiat.ischool.utexas.edu? [ back to top ]

Fiat is the name of the mail server for the School of Information and is also the server that hosts your account. What may have happened is that your email program is using the actual computer name that the e-mail protocols IMAP and SMTP are running on, rather than the generic address "mail.ischool.utexas.edu." Don't worry - regardless of whether your email address says "fiat.ischool.utexas.edu" or "mail.ischool.utexas.edu" or "ischool.utexas.edu", it's all leaving or going to the same place.

I'm forced to change my password every #?!?# six months? Why? [ back to top ]

Requiring passwords to be changed on a semi-regular basis is one of several methods used by the School of Information to decrease the possibility that someone could maliciously hijack your account and gain access to your personal space. Also, using different passwords for different programs will prevent someone who has found one password from obtaining access to all your accounts.

I received an email saying that I needed to change my password. How do I do that? [ back to top ]

In order to change your password, you will need to log into your account through SSH Secure Shell (on a PC) or Terminal (on a Mac). You can not change your password through your current email program (Webmail, Eudora, Outlook, etc.). Once you have logged in, you will be immediately prompted to change your password. First, you will enter your current password. Then you will enter your new password. If the system accepts your new password, you will need to enter it once again. Congratulations! You have successfully changed your password. Don't forget your new password! For more information on this process, check out the How to Use Your School of Information Account tutorial.

I'm trying to change my password, but nothing happens. It rejects every password I choose! [ back to top ]

Any new password is checked several ways to make sure that it is not easily guessed. Passwords must be at least six (6) characters long, and should include a mixture of alpha and numeric characters as well as uppercase or other symbols. It should not be based on a dictionary word or proper name.

I get an error that reads "password required but no TTY available." What do I do?[ back to top ]

This problem usually occurs when a user attempts to connect to the server using the Secure Shell File Transfer Client and their password has expired because the account is new or because it has been 180 days since the user's password was last changed. In this situation, users should use the Secure Shell Terminal client to change his or her password prior to using the Secure Shell File Transfer Client.

Forgotten passwords cannot be recovered, only reset. You will need to complete a "Password Reset Request" form. They are available in the IT Lab. This can only be done in the IT Lab; it can not be done over the phone or via email. You will need to show a picture ID. Passwords are not reset automatically. If your password reset form is turned in by 10 pm Tuesday night, it will be reset by Wednesday at 12 pm; if your password reset form is turned in by 10 pm Thursday night, it will be reset by Friday at 12 pm.

I'm trying to login to Webmail or an ftp client with a password I KNOW to be correct, but it keeps getting rejected. [ back to top ]

The most likely situation is that your current password has expired and you need to select a new one. You can only change the password from the command line on the School of Information server (using SSH Secure Shell on a PC or Terminal on a Mac) - try following the instructions on changing your password and see if that solves the problem. If you change your password and the problem still occurs contact the IT Lab Staff for more assistance.

How do I forward my email from my School of Information account to another account? [ back to top ]

You will need to set up a file called .forward ("dot forward") directly on your account on the server (Fiat). You cannot do this from within Eudora or any other email program. Before continuing with these directions, you will need to connect to Fiat (by opening a remote session, either with SSH or with Terminal, and specifying the host as: login.ischool.utexas.edu), then log in (by entering your user name and password).

Security

How can I protect my computer from viruses and other malicious attacks? [ back to top ]

The best way to protect your computer is never to use it. Otherwise, you should make sure that you have firewall, anti-virus, adware and spyware programs installed and updated. As a student at the University of Texas, your tuition and fees pay for the programs you can freely access at the Bevoware site.

Whether you have a firewall or not depends on the software packages that came with the purchase of your computer. You could check and see if some common firewall software programs are installed on your system. Some common firewall software programs are made by Norton, Symantec, and Zone Labs, among others. As a student at the University of Texas, you can download firewall software programs free of charge from Bevoware.

My computer is running a lot slower than normal. How do I find out if it's infected with viruses or spyware? [ back to top ]

Run your spyware remover program and antivirus programs. If you don't have these programs, download them from the University of Texas ITS Bevoware site, which has programs for these purposes free of charge to students.

It depends on your personal preference. You can use a command line interface like Pine, Web-based interfaces such as Webmail, or programs like Outlook, Mozilla Mail, or Thunderbird. Check here for information comparing and contrasting different email programs.

Why do I keep getting emails that say {Virus?} in the subject? [ back to top ]

The antivirus software running on the mail server is letting you know that a message that was being sent to you appeared to have a virus attached and has been quarantined. This message tells you who it appears it was coming from and gives you some instructions to access the message in case you feel you received the message in error. (Note: Many viruses will pretend to be coming from someone other than the actual sender.)

The School of Information currently uses Spam Assassin to tag software that is likely to be spam. You will need to configure your email client to recognize these tags in order to delete the messages or move them to a spam folder (recommended). See our email tutorials to learn how to do this with your email client.

How do I forward my email from my School of Information account to another account? [ back to top ]

Using Pine as Your Email Client

I received an email with an attached file in Pine. Pine says it cannot view the attachment. How can I look at it? [ back to top ]

Since Pine is a UNIX-based mail application, it can only read attachments that are in text (ASCII) format. You must save the file to your School of Information account, and then use an FTP program (such as SSH for the PC or Fetch for the Mac) to transfer the file to your desktop or a diskette. To save the attachment to your School of Information account, follow the steps below:

First, you must save the file to your School of Information account, by using either SSH Secure Shell (on a PC) or Fetch (for a Mac).

Choose Printer Setup from the File menu in the Telnet window. The resulting dialog box should display a printer name. This is the active printer. To choose another printer, pull down the menu, and choose another printer from the list. Display the email you wish to print, and type "%" to print it.

My Pine inbox is read only and won't let me delete messages. [ back to top ]

Chances are that you have another Pine process already running. Whenever you run Pine, it locks your inbox so that other programs cannot alter the contents while Pine is running. Unfortunately, if Pine is exited in an improper fashion, it refuses to relinquish its lock on the inbox. Thus, the next time you start Pine, it can only open your mail read-only. To remove the lock, you will have to kill the Pine process. In order to do this, you must first telnet into your account on the School of Information server (PC | Mac). Once at the UNIX prompt, type: ps -ef |grep login, where login is your login name. That tall skinny character in the middle of that line is called the pipe. In general, it is located just above the return key on your keyboard. So, for instance, if my login name is shanew, I would type:0 ps -ef |grep shanew at the prompt. That would return something resembling the following:

	shanew   29461      1     1   12:32:03    ?           0:00    pine

				shanew   5515     5512    0    14:21:22   pts/14    0:00    -bash

Your results will undoubtedly vary, but as long as it looks similar to this, you've probably done the right thing. Now, this display can be more than a little intimidating, so let's explain what all that stuff is. The last column is the name of the process being described. Appropriately enough, the first column is the user name of the person who ran that process. Those two are relatively obvious, the rest are not. Each process running on a Unix machine has a unique process id so that the operating system can easily identify which process is which. This is confusing for humans, but much easier for computers. The second column lists the process ID (or PID) of the process named at the end. The third column indicates what other process is in control of, or responsible for, the listed process. The next columns tell us whether the process is currently running, when it was started, which terminal it is currently displaying on, and how much processor time it has used.

So, how does all this relate to getting our inbox back to normal? Well, in order to get things back to normal, we have to kill the Pine process that won't let go of the lock. In the example above, we can see that the first line lists a Pine process with a PID of 29461. You will also note that its controlling process is 1, which means that the operating itself has control of the process. This, in addition to the fact that it lists no display terminal (note the ?), tells us this is the process we need to get rid of. In order to do that, type:

kill
-9 PID

where PID is the process ID listed in the second column. Thus, in our example, I would type: kill -9 29461 at the bash$ prompt.

Just to make sure we really got rid of the process, we can retype the first command,

ps
-ef |grep login

, where login is your login name. Now, we should have one less process listed (and probably only one left):

NOTE: Misbehaving Pine processes are often caused when your connection to the School of Information server is unexpectedly interrupted, but it can also happen if you accidentally hit Ctrl-Z and suspend your Pine process. If this has happened, there are two things you can do. First, right after you hit Ctrl-Z, you should get a bash$ prompt. If you type fg at this prompt, you should be immediately returned to Pine. In addition, when you first start Pine, you can type 'S' to change your setup, type 'C' for the config screen and receive a list of options you can set. If you page down several screens you will see an option that reads:

If there is as X between the < >, you should hit 'X' to unmark that option, type 'E' to exit setup, and type 'Y' to confirm your change. This should prevent Ctrl-Z from throwing you out of your Pine process in the future.

Software Questions

My instructor wants me to use an "HTML Editor." What's that? [ back to top ]

An "HTML Editor" is a program that assists you in writing HTML code either by proofing your HTML or providing the ease of a WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) environment in which you can quickly assemble and edit certain HTML elements.

Dreamweaver is a Web development tool available on all IT Lab computers and available for purchase for about $100 from the Campus Computer Store. For creating a simple web page, it may have more functionality than you really need. For large sites, however, the many features of Dreamweaver are invaluable. Check out the Introduction to Dreamweaver MX tutorial, the Introduction to Dreamweaver MX2004 tutorial, and the Even More Dreamweaver tutorial.

Need to create a simple Web page, anxious about learning HTML, and without a lot of cash? Mozilla Composer may just be your answer. Mozilla is an open source suite of applications used for Web browsing, email, or creating html pages, which can be downloaded for free from the Internet (http://www.mozilla.org/). All of the IT Lab computers have Mozilla Composer, and it is very easy to download it on your home computer. For more information about how to use Mozilla Composer, check out the Creating a Web Page Using Mozilla Composer tutorial.

... composing HTML by hand?
Notepad (on a PC), TextWrangler (on a Mac), or Pico (through SSH Secure Shell or Terminal)

... creating Web pages with an HTML editor?
Dreamweaver or Mozilla Composer
(we do not recommend or support Microsoft Frontpage)

... creating XML files with an XML editor?
Dreamweaver, oXygen, or XML Cooktop (PC only)

... creating XML files by hand?
Notepad (on a PC), TextWrangler (on a Mac), or Pico (through SSH Secure Shell or Terminal)

... uploading Web pages, image files, and other file formats?
SSH Transfer Client (on a PC), Fugu (on a Mac), or Fetch (on a Mac; free UT download from Bevoware)

... creating PDFs from electronic files?
Adobe Acrobat Professional (available in the IT Lab)
(recent versions of Microsoft Word allow you to "Print" to PDF files)

... creating PDFs from files I need to scan?
Adobe Acrobat Professional (available in the IT Lab)

... scanning photographs or images to put online?
Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Photoshop Elements, or The Gimp

... creating OCR files of pages of text I've scanned?
Adobe Acrobat Professional

... editing images for the Web or print?
Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Photoshop Elements, Macromedia Fireworks, or The Gimp

... creating vector graphics or images for the Web?
Adobe Illustrator, Macromedia Freehand, or Macromedia Fireworks

... capturing a screenshot?
SnagIt (on a PC), the print screen key (on a PC), or Grab (on a Mac)

... transferring and editing digital video on the computer?
iMovie (on a Mac) or Windows Movie Maker (on a PC)

... editing audio files?
Garageband (on a Mac), SoundForge (on a PC), or Audacity

... checking my email?
Webmail, Mozilla, Thunderbird, Pine, Apple Mail (on a Mac)

How do I put a screenshot into my presentation/Web site/paper? [ back to top ]

On a Mac, use Grab. Find Grab by looking in the Utilities folder of the Applications folder. Use the tools to select your entire screen, a selection, a window, or a timed shot.

On a PC, there are a number of tools and shortcuts you can use. SnagIt is a program that allows you to quickly and easily capture screenshots as well as perform mark-up tasks such as adding arrows, highlighting and text. There is another option for PC users which is very helpful -- the print screen key (located to the right of the Function keys). By pressing the print screen key once, a shot of the entire screen is captured and copied to the clipboard. What does this mean exactly? Well, if you were to open any image editing program (Adobe Photoshop, etc.,) or a Microsoft Office Program (Word or Powerpoint), and go to Edit --> Paste, an image of your screen shot would be pasted in from the clipboard.

Web Development

What kinds of code can I use in my Web pages on the School of Information servers? [ back to top ]

How do I publish Web pages to the School of Information Web server? [ back to top ]

To "publish" or upload Web pages (or any other type of file) to the iSchool server, you will need a File Transfer Protocol (FTP) program. PCs users will use SSH Transfer client and Mac users will use Fugu or Fetch (free UT download from Bevoware). Remember that you will need to have a public_html folder in which you will place all files to be publicly available online. Learn more details about this process in the How to Publish Web Pages tutorial and Creating a Digital Resume.

Once I've uploaded files online, how can I open a Web browser and find those files by typing in a Web address? [ back to top ]

It's really quite simple: Think of your iSchool account as a tree: the root is always

What does the ~ [tilda] mean? Remember when you created your public_html folder? The ~ [tilda] is shorthand for your public_html folder.

After the trunk, there are branches and leaves. These can be directories (folders) or files. For example, I could have three items in my account: one Word document named "city.doc" that is located just inside my public_html folder and a directory named "website" with two HTML files named "homepage.html" and "resume.html." Here is how I would locate these files online:

If you added a directory titled "images" to your "website" directory, within which were two images named "me.jpg" and "home.gif," the exact address of those images would be as follows:

The Lab has several scanners available for use -- feel free to ask a Purpleshirt for assistance! Scanning an image for a Web site is much different than scanning for print purposes. You will need to consider your input versus output size, resolution, and the type of material you are scanning. In general, you want to scan in a higher quality image than you will necessarily use on your Web site, so while you will end up with a Web-ready image (an RGB color image, 72 dpi, and proportional to a computer screen's size, which is usually 800x600 pixels to 1280x800), you will want to scan at a higher resolution if you are planning to resize or alter your image. There are many factors, so check with a Purpleshirt if the options seem daunting!

A JPEG (or jpg -- pronounced "j-peg") file is a format used for images that are photographs or complex pictures. Generally, these images have more than the normal palette of 256 colors. Most images you scan will need to be saved as .jpg files if they are going to be placed online.

GIF files (pronounced "gif") are usually line drawings or graphic images with fewer than 256 colors. GIF files support animation, which means that the file can display multiple images in sequence, as well as transparency, which means there can be areas of no background behind an image to allow screen color to show through. Learn more about this topic in the Digital Imaging Basics Tutorial.

What permissions do I set for my Web pages/directories and why? [ back to top ]

You must set permissions for your Web pages to prevent other computer users from potentially browsing through, changing, or corrupting your files.

At the UNIX prompt in your School of Information account, type the following commands:

The first command makes your home directory group and world executable. The second command makes your public_html directory group and world readable and executable. All files that you put in your public_html directory must be group and world readable. To make them this way, at the $ prompt in your School of Information home directory, type the following command:

Each time you add new files to your public_html directory, reissue this command.

If you look at the list of files in your public_html directory, you should see the permissions for each file like this:

The first character indicates whether or not it's a directory: directories have 'd' as the first character and files have '-' as the first character. The next three characters are the read (r), write (w), and execute (x) permissions for yourself. The last six characters are the permissions for your designated group (essentially School of Information account holders) and then the permissions for the rest of the world. So, this means that foo.html is a file, which only you can read and change, and which everyone else can read.

You can also check your permissions within your secure file transfer program. Using SSH Secure File Transfer, right-click on a file, choose Properties, and make sure that each "Execute" column is checked. Using Fugu on a Mac, right-click on the file, choose "Get Info", and ensure that each "Execute" column is checked.

What is a CGI script and how do I set one up for my Web pages? [ back to top ]

CGI stands for Common Gateway Interface and is a technology that allows a Web browser to interact with a Web server. A CGI script is a small program that you can run from your server space to retrieve data or perform other tasks on the server. A common CGI programming language is Perl. In order to run CGI scripts on the School of Information server, you will need to use a program called CGI Wrap. Visit our tutorial on CGI scripts to learn more about it!

I want to restrict access to my Web pages with a password. How do I do that? [ back to top ]

To password protect pages, you will need two tools: SSH Client (if you're on a PC) or Terminal (if you're on a Mac) and our password protection tutorial.

Media

First, there is always your iSchool account space, which provides you with 150 MB of virtual storage space that's available anywhere you can connect to the Internet. Additionally, you can bring in your own CDs or DVDs. USB ports on the PCs and Macs allow you to use portable USB "flash" drives, but use of these is at your own risk -- be certain to properly connect and disconnect these drives according to manufacturer's recommendations. If you have your own USB or Firewire external hard drive that you would like to use in the Lab, please let a Purpleshirt know before you do so. For approved class projects, the IT Lab has several Firewire External Hard Drives available for in-Lab use (you'll need your student ID).

I have a zip disk, but these computers only have floppy drives. What is this, 1991? [ back to top ]

For those of you with zip disks, we have a USB zip drive available for use. Please have your ID and ask a Purpleshirt in order to check one out for in-Lab use.

Unfortunately, we do not sell disks or Zip disks; you can buy those at the Campus Computer Store or at the Co-op.

I tried to open my diskette and the computer says that it's not formatted. I know I saved files to it. What happened? [ back to top ]

PCs can only read files on a PC formatted disk, so if you saved your files originally on a Mac, you'll need to use a Mac to open your files. Macs can read some PC file system types, so your disk may read and/or write using a Mac, but it is best to generally use one type of computer with any particular disk.

I put a diskette into the machine, and now I can't get it out. Help! [ back to top ]

Please step away from the machine and ask for the assistance of a Purpleshirt. With good karma and a paperclip, we can usually get most diskettes out of a machine without hurting either our computers or your disk. On a preventative note, if you are not certain whether a disk drive will be able to read your disk, it is always ok to ask.

The machine I want to use is displaying a black screen with the words "Non-system disk or disk error." Now what? [ back to top ]

This message could mean a number of things. It could mean that the computer is trying to boot from a 3.5 disk or a CD/DVD. Remove all media and restart the machine. It could also mean that there has been some kind of hard drive failure. You'll need to contact a Lab staff member if it continues to occur.

Working in the Lab

General Information

Lab Resources & Equipment

Printing

Lost & Found

Other Facilities

Working on Home Computers

Students in the Classroom

Accounts and Passwords

Security

Email

Using Pine as Your Email Client

Software Questions

Web Development

Media

General Information

Lab Resources & Equipment

Printing

Lost & Found

Other Facilities

Working on Home Computers

Students in the Classroom

Accounts and Passwords

Security

Email

Using Pine as Your Email Client

Software Questions

Web Development

Media