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Resident Life Brings Wireless Access to Resident Halls

OIT Staff Spotlight: NEThics and Security

Meet the security people who protect our university from the latest viruses and the NEThics people who guide students toward responsible computer use from resolving illegal file-sharing issues to solving harassment problems.

With the weather warming up, why not do some of your work outside? By taking advantage of UM’s approximately 500 wireless network access points, you can access the Internet while sitting by the fountain on McKeldin Mall, at the tables on Hornbake Plaza, or at the amphitheater next to the Union. Access is also available in common areas in classroom buildings all over campus, as well as everywhere in the Union, Engineering Building, Van Munching Hall, A.V. Williams, and the Benjamin Building. For more information on access point locations, visit www.oit.umd.edu/mam.

This spring, Resident Life responded to a request by the Residence Hall Association to expand wireless access to residence halls. Resident Life installed access in common areas in 12 dormitories, which cost $13,000. A survey will determine whether the department will add access to additional dormitories.

To connect, you need a wireless access card, often built into newer laptops. Many cards are available for $50-$100 at an electronics store such as Best Buy or Circuit City.

Wireless cards must be 802.11b compliant and WiFi certified. OIT supports the following cards:

• Cisco 340/350 Aironet PCMCIA card
• Orinoco cards (formally Lucent)
• Macintosh AirPort cards
• Dell and Gateway OEM cards

With a wireless access card, most computers can automatically connect to the Internet. To use the Internet, open an Internet browser and enter the Directory ID and password that you use for e-mail.

If your computer does not automatically connect and you have a wireless
access card, you need to configure your card or make sure that it meets the requirements described above. To configure your card, go to www.oit.umd.edu/nts/noc/access.html.


Left to Right: Anja Santiago, Robert Maxwell, Amy Ginther, Gerry Sneeringer, Kevin Shivers

My typical day at OIT includes: • Hearing the crunch of infected computers under my boots. – Gerry Sneeringer • 2-3 Double Gulps. Diet Coke. Not that other stuff. – Robert Maxwell One to three Items I can’t live without: • Slurpees, slurpees, slurpees! – Gerry Sneeringer • Cat hair on my clothes. – Amy Ginther Food I most commonly eat: • PB&J sandwiches. It must be Skippy peanut butter and raspberry jelly! – Anja Santiago • Dairy: I’m originally from Wisconsin, so call me Cheesehead! – Amy Ginther My guilty pleasures include: • General Hospital. – Anja Santiago • Working on my Web site. – Kevin Shivers When I was a kid, I wanted to be a: • Cowboy. – Gerry Sneeringer • Comic book artist. – Kevin Shivers		Favorite technology: • USB key memory device. Love those things! – Amy Ginther • Despite the cool things I can do with my cell phone, HTPC, and PDA, people seem more impressed when I can turn on lights all over my house from my truck in the driveway. – Robert Maxwell • Massive hard drives. – Kevin Shivers Last great book I read: • Alton Brown’s “I’m Just Here for More Food.” – Robert Maxwell • Roddy Doyle’s “A Star Called Henry.”– Anja Santiago What's in my CD player: • Tunes for Toddlers. – Gerry Sneeringer • Verdi’s Requiem (for a performance in May). – Robert Maxwell • Last Train Home: a Washington/Nashville-based roots rock band. – Amy Ginther One thing I’m proud of: • Completing my first marathon a couple weeks ago. – Anja Santiago • Getting to DJ at clubs all over the DC area. – Kevin Shivers • My son. – Gerry Sneeringer