paper -
39 From VTs to iMacs: Moving public computing access into the 21st century
Patrick
Jensen, Bowdoin College
Robert Denton, Bowdoin College
In a Collegiate setting, technology must be functional,
effective, and visible. In the fall of
1999 the CIS department at Bowdoin College saw the need for a greater number of
publicly available computers. A
"Technology Kiosk" was needed where members of the community could
have walkup access to e-mail, the Internet and other applications in an easily
accessible non-lab setting. The existing stations represented a mixture of VT
Terminals and older Macintosh computers. The proposed upgrade of systems
allowed not only for hardware replacement but also rethinking the entire
paradigm. Cutting edge technology such as thin client and wireless could be
considered, and the design of Kiosk spaces themselves could be reworked in the
process.
There were a number of factors that need to be considered in this Kiosk, including cost, security, speed, manageability and ease of use. This paper will follow the decision process from start to finish. We will discuss how each of the factors were analyzed and weighed in our decisions concerning platform, location and software suite. Our decision to implement iMacs running OS 9 Limited user security functions will be discussed in depth as well as the various other competing platforms and technologies.