Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP
Posting-Version: version B 2.10.2 9/18/84; site dartvax.UUCP
Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!cbosgd!ihnp4!zehntel!dual!amdcad!decwrl!decvax!dartvax!betsy
From: betsy@dartvax.UUCP (Betsy Hanes Perry)
Newsgroups: net.college
Subject: Re: Free and Unrestricted Computer Access
Message-ID: <2590@dartvax.UUCP>
Date: Sun, 25-Nov-84 09:49:14 EST
Article-I.D.: dartvax.2590
Posted: Sun Nov 25 09:49:14 1984
Date-Received: Tue, 27-Nov-84 04:15:11 EST
References: <6613@nlm-mcs.ARPA>
Distribution: net
Organization: Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH
Lines: 40

> I first learned about computers in high school through a connection
> to the Dartmouth Time-Sharing System.  It was an excellent system to
> learn on, and I have many fond memories of it.  One of the things that
> impressed me was that every undergraduate was automatically given an
> account (I don't know if it was unrestricted though).  Does anyone know
> if this is still the policy?
> 
> Bob

I've been biting my tongue during this discussion; since the information's
been asked for, I'll let loose.
Yes, Dartmouth has a large Honeywell mainframe running a student-written
and maintained operating system.  It also has free access for all Dartmouth
students,faculty, and staff.  The two goals of systems experience and
free access are by no means incompatible; we get around the problem
of "when do you test software?" by having clearly defined experimental
time in which new software is tested.  
 
There are more than 200 terminals on campus, all of which can connect
to any of the computers on campus (that I know of); students who have
Macintoshes (about 75%) can connect to our LANs from their rooms and
get access to the mainframes.  Everybody gets a substantial account on the
Honeywell for free; if you show cause, you can also get access to various
Vaxen, Primes, et cetera.  (This message, obviously, comes from one such.)
 
When I, an innocent pre-freshman, went touring campuses, I saw an interesting
contrast in philosophy.  At Dartmouth, I asked about computing access;
I was given the same spiel I gave you.  My tour leader capped it with
how useful she'd found the computer in non-computing courses.
At Yale, the tour guide said "It's really great!  Only CS and Math
majors get access to the computer, so we have enough spare time to
do anything we want!"
 
Betsy Perry
Dartmouth '81
-- 
Elizabeth Hanes Perry
UUCP: {decvax|linus|cornell}!dartvax!betsy  
CSNET: betsy@dartmouth
ARPA:  betsy%dartmouth@csnet-relay