| 3.7 OFFICE OF
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
The Office of Information Technology (OIT) is responsible for
delivering state-of-the-art computer, network, telecommunication,
and consulting services to the University of Alabama community.
Faculty, staff, and students can turn to the OIT for access to and
assistance with e-mail, websites, voice mail, and much more.
E-mail Accounts
Upon registration, accounts are automatically created for all
students on the central academic computer, bama.ua.edu. These
accounts are primarily used as the students' official University
e-mail addresses, but they can also be used to publish personal
websites or for direct login to a Sun Solaris system with
programming languages and other tools.
Telephone Service
Students living on campus receive their telephone service from
Telecommunications, a department of OIT. Basic service includes
unlimited local calls, a long distance calling card, voice mail,
caller ID, call waiting, three-way calling, and local last number
redial. For more information, see the Telecommunications website at
http://telecom.ua.edu.
Internet Access
Another service for on-campus living is ResNet, a high-speed
Internet connection available in many residence halls and
small-group housing units. For information about which halls are
connected to ResNet and how to connect, go online to
http://ResNet.ua.edu. High-speed
Internet access for non-ResNet halls is provided by Comcast.
Students living off campus may be able to subscribe to either cable
or DSL high-speed Internet service. All students may opt to use a
dialup Internet service. More information about Internet connection
options is available online at
http://helpdesk.ua.edu/internet.
Computer Labs
Students who do not own their own computers should be able to
complete their coursework in the many computer labs on campus. Some
departments have special labs with the software needed by their
students, and there are also many general-purpose labs that are open
to any University student. For details, see
http://pclabs.ua.edu.
Resources for Research
Those students who need computing resources for their research are
also served by OIT. As noted previously, bama.ua.edu accounts are
given to all students and can provide a Unix platform for
programming, statistical computing, or Web development. The
University of Alabama is also a member of the Alabama Research and
Education Network (AREN), which provides high-speed network access
to the Cray XD1 supercomputer and other network facilities. For more
information about AREN local access and support, visit the Alabama
Supercomputer Authority's website (http://www.asc.edu).
The University is also a charter member of the Internet2 project,
which connects schools and universities with a dedicated high-speed
network for research. More information about the local Internet2
connection is available at
http://internet2.ua.edu.
For Assistance
The Network and Computing Support HelpDesk provides a central call
center and solution provider for faculty, staff, and students'
computer and network problems. For assistance, or for more
information about the services offered by the Office of Information
Technology, call (205) 348-HELP (4357), send e-mail to
Help.Desk@ua.edu, visit the
HelpDesk at A-203 Gordon Palmer Hall, or check out the HelpDesk
website at http://helpdesk.ua.edu.
|