Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP
Posting-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utcsrgv.UUCP
Path: utzoo!utcsrgv!mason
From: mason@utcsrgv.UUCP (Dave Mason)
Newsgroups: net.micro
Subject: Micros for universities. (Libraries vs. Teaching)
Message-ID: <3740@utcsrgv.UUCP>
Date: Wed, 4-Apr-84 17:32:47 EST
Article-I.D.: utcsrgv.3740
Posted: Wed Apr  4 17:32:47 1984
Date-Received: Wed, 4-Apr-84 20:16:53 EST
References: <410@sri-arpa.UUCP>
Organization: University of Toronto/Ryerson Polytechnic Institute
Lines: 38

Ryerson Polytechnical Institute is trying to do exactly what ron@Brl-Tgr
suggests: treating micros as a library resource.  Every student in the
institute has paid an extra $25 for the last 2 years to buy a microcomputer
facility which is in the library.  We have 60 IBM-PCs, 25 Apples, 25 CP/M
machines (Zenith-89s and NEC-8000s) more or less connected to 2 20 meg
winchesters over Omninet (less right now, more when I finish the network
install) with our own network software.

This having been paid for out of student funds other than tuition is
not allowed to be used for teaching, but is a student resource.  Students
use it for word processing, computer literacy, learning to program,
game playing.  We had our doubts in the first year, but it seems to be
well used now.  I can answer technical questions, and can direct anyone
who is interested in administration type questions to the proper person.

This is one type of computer resource that I feel is needed.  Here the
need is UNQUESTIONABLY for existing software, and note that we have
the machines that support 90+% of the available software.  This is a
very important kind of resource to have available for non-computer types
(as well as the computer types).  At Ryerson we have programs including
Fashion, Photo Arts, Radio-Television, Theatre, Business, Engineering,
as well as Business Computer and Applied Computer Science.
Only about 10% of the students are in one of those last 2 programs.

HOWEVER, that is not what is required in a Computer Science program.
I have already expressed my opinions on the 8086 vs. 68000 vs. 16032
question, so suffice it to say that I think computer science students
need computer systems available with sufficient power and elegance that
they can attack and solve interesting, real, problems, and operating
systems and development software that make that possible.  It is
difficult (though perhaps not impossible) to do that on processors
with archaic architectures.
-- 
Usenet:	{dalcs dciem garfield musocs qucis sask titan trigraph ubc-vision
 	 utzoo watmath allegra cornell decvax decwrl ihnp4 uw-beaver}
	!utcsrgv!mason		Dave Mason, U. Toronto CSRG
CSNET:	mason@Toronto
ARPA:	mason%Toronto@CSNet-Relay