Section 13-2: Technical Issues: Local Setup

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In order to access a computer which is shared by others, the method of choice is to use a name which identifies your personal area in the computer. It will define your disk space, privileges to do certain things and also allow for security, as you are not expecting others to read your private data. The name given to you is the so-called account name. You might have several accounts on a single computer, or use the same account on different computers.

The cheapest and most widely used equipment in the past was a vt100 - type of terminal. This is a text screen which allows you to type in commands. No mouse was required, and the required amount of data to be sent from and to the terminal is low. Many colleagues still use this type of access using so-called terminal emulators which run a program locally on the PC or Macintosh, and simulate that the PC will behave as if it were a terminal. Capabilities of the PC or Mac, then, become that of the terminal emulated, which means that you will most probably not use the mouse or local hard disk.

Usage of X One common way to share resources over the network is to use the X-Windows system. This allows a larger computer to open a window on your local screen even if it is not using the local CPU to do so. To achieve this, you must run a program on your local desktop which will allow the remote computer to send the window. If your local desktop is a PC or Macintosh, you need to ask your local experts where to obtain this software. Be warned, however: The use of the X-Windows system takes a lot of resources and might not perform as fast as you are expecting it to run. You also should take into consideration that a large screen is required if you want to display many windows simultaneously.