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Equipment in Public Labs
Computers installed in public labs are configured to be "refreshing" computers, which simply means that, upon logout or restart, they remove any changes made during a particular login session and revert to their original configuration. This has several benefits for a shared use environment such as a public computer lab: it preserves privacy by eliminating any possible personal data, browser history, etc.; it guarantees a clean, functional environment for the next person to use the machine; it offers protection against accidental malware infections.
The computers installed in most public lab spaces are dual-boot iMacs, which means that the offer both MacOS and Windows operating systems. As of summer 2022, however, this is changing due to hardware changes in Apple's equipment (the move from Intel based processors to their own Silicon processors eliminates the ability to run Windows on the hardware). As equipment ages out in these spaces, ITS will consider how the equipment is replaced.
Finally, public lab computers offer a great many software applications in order to support our students in their class work across the curriculum. No one lab has every piece of software available on campus (with over 250 applications in use across the curriculum, this just isn't a practical possibility), but appropriate software is installed in targetted spaces (e.g. Chemistry software installed in Anders 327 next to the Chemistry department).
Here is a complete list of refreshing computers, including their software Include Page
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List of Labs
The ITS helpdesk supports 14 lab spaces, and a few additional machines. These labs are comprised of refreshing dual-boot machines, meaning they provide both mac OS and Windows, and any changes are removed on logout or restart.
CMC
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- Smart Board on 4th Libe (and Mac Pro)
- Silver Screen on 3rd Libe (and Mac Pro)
- Microfiche & Microfilm Stations on 4th Libe
- Assistive Technology Machines
Maintenance
Full article: Public lab maintenance /wiki/spaces/TAR/pages/26470467