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SCSU students try new HUSKY desktop
By Adam Johnson
The stress and frustration of using and operating campus computers is becoming a thing of the past. At least that is the hope of those who have implemented the new Campus Desktop system, a login system that allows students to maintain their own personal account that can be accessed at various locations across campus.
Philip Thorson, director of Information Technology Services, said that the University had identified the need for a new computer system for some time.
"Based on frustrations from the standpoint of both students and faculty, we wanted a system that was more user-friendly," Thorson said.
With Campus Desktop, students log in to their account, and from there they can customize their computer the way they want it, including saving files, bookmarks, and browser settings that will be available whenever the user logs in.
"I really like that you get your own settings," junior Andrew Messner said. "It makes it just like your computer at home."
The software programs available to students have not changed dramatically from those previously available on campus computers. The biggest change is that students are now provided with the full Outlook client instead of the old web version that had been available before.
Thorson and his staff did extensive testing this past year to ensure that this program was both cost-effective and beneficial to students, whose Student Activity Fees funded the upgrade. A pilot version of the Desktop program was offered last November on the second floor of the Miller Center to see how students would respond. According to Thorson, that area soon saw a significant drop in student complaints regarding computer services.
Thus, what started as a handful of terminals ballooned to dozens, and by the end of the year an estimated 1,300 students had logged on to the system.
Campus Desktop is currently in use on most computers in the Miller Center, as well as at a dozen other sites, including the Atwood Memorial Center and several open labs across campus.
Feedback about the new system has been mostly positive, but few find the changes confusing.
"What I don't like is that I've been here for four years, and all of a sudden I don't know how to get online," Senior Rick Hruby said.
Accessing saved files on computers that don't yet have the Campus Desktop program is also an issue. These computers are supposed to feature an icon labeled "HuskyNet File Space," but some have not yet been outfitted with this feature.
"When I tried to save a file to my account, I couldn't open it again (in a Mass Comm lab), which was really frustrating," Senior Kory Ellingson said.
One issue that came up early in the testing of this system concerned those who are not students at SCSU, as the Miller Center was designed to provide library services to the entire community.
"We grappled with the question of 'how are we going to provide outside access as well as student access?'" Dean Kristi Tornquist said. "So we have set up 11 stations [in the Miller Center] that provide access to the library directory."
In addition, anyone over the age of 18 with a valid ID can receive a Community Patron ID, which will provide the user with internet and printer access, as well as Microsoft Office. However, unlike students, community members can only use the terminals in the Miller Center itself.
Campus Desktop can be accessed by any SCSU student with an active HuskyNetID. For those who have not activated their ID, it can be done online at http://huskynet.stcloudstate.edu, or it can be activated at both the Miller Center Help Desk and at the Second Floor East Open Lab.
Training sessions for the new system are also going to be offered to interested students. Information is available on the second floor of the Miller Center.
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