By Jamie Beckwith
Contributing Writer
It
can’t be seen lurking around campus, but it’s there. It’s in the
student center, the libraries and coming to the classroom. It’s
spreading, and it could cover the entire campus by summer.
No,
it’s not some dangerous infectious disease like it sounds. In fact, it
benefits the students and faculty of Wayne State University. Wireless
Internet is just that — wireless. Students who use laptops are now free
to roam about certain buildings without having to find a place to plug
in, unless of course their battery is dead.
Laptop users can
do all their work on their own computers and still have access to the
benefits of the Internet. Best of all, it’s provided at no additional
cost to students and it doesn’t even require a Ph.D. in computer
science to use.
Students are used to plugging in their ethernet
cables at the David Adamany Undergraduate Library for connectivity.
However, for laptop users, wired Internet is becoming a thing of the
past. Wireless Internet allows students and faculty to go online
anytime they can pick up the wireless signal.
Wireless Internet is still fairly new and the technology promises to improve and spread throughout campus in upcoming months.
The
future of wireless Internet at WSU is promising, according to Jeff
Trzeciak, associate dean of the University Library System. “All the
classrooms should have wireless access by summer.”
Wireless
Internet also has benefits in the classroom. Trzeciak, who is a student
himself working on his Ph.D., uses wireless Internet in class to pull
up the PowerPoint slides his professors post on Blackboard to take
notes on during class.
“It provides students, faculty and staff with access to the Internet when and where they need it,” he said.
Wayne
State has set up wireless access points on their network, which are
places that send out a wireless radio signal. WSU access points can be
compared to “hot spots,” a popular term for places that offer public
access to a wireless network. The main difference is that WSU’s access
points are part of a bluesocket secured network, unlike the non-secured
networks at “hot spots.”
Laptops have to be wireless-compatible
in order to access wireless networks. Most new laptops purchased in the
last year or so already have integrated wireless. This means that the
laptop comes equipped with all the necessary hardware inside to access
a wireless network.
Computing & Information Technology has posted a concise guide for buying laptop computers at http://computing.wayne.edu/hardware/laptopspecs.php .
There
is a common misconception that laptops have to have integrated wireless
in order to access wireless networks. Laptops that are older or that do
not have integrated wireless can still access a wireless network.
External
hardware such as a wireless network card can be inserted into the PC
card slot of a laptop, which will work the same as an integrated
wireless setup. The first time the card is inserted into the laptop the
computer should recognize the new hardware and walk the user through
the steps for installation and configuration. The newest operating
systems by Mac and Windows are designed to support wireless Internet
and will ease setup and access procedures.
In order to access
WSU’s wireless network, the laptop must have an 802.11b or 802.11g
wireless card whether it is external or integrated. WSU’s wireless
network will not work with an 802.11a card.
Here’s how it works:
Once your computer recognizes the wireless signal, open a web browser.
The web page will automatically redirect to the WSU wireless network
authentication page. This requires a student access ID and the password
used to log onto Pipeline. This is to ensure that only members of the
WSU community can access the network.
Once you log it, the
laptop should be connected to the wireless network and then browse just
as if you were connected through a wire.
“That’s sweet,
[wireless Internet] it’s so easy and simple,” said Jason Miron, a
senior majoring in elementary education about the first time he
accessed Wayne State’s wireless network. Now that Miron is familiar
with accessing Wayne State’s wireless network, he can use his laptop in
more buildings on campus because he doesn’t need a place to plug in.
Miron
works for Best Buy and says that they will be pushing laptops and
wireless Internet accessories in the coming months. “That stuff is
going to get real cheap,” Miron said.
Katie Vandewyngearde heard
about the wireless network at WSU before the holidays and made sure she
bought a laptop with integrated wireless. She did say, however, that
there isn’t enough advertising for wireless on campus.
“A lot of my friends have laptops but don’t even know that they can come here [the UGL] and use it,” Vandewyngearde said.
“As
we continue to roll out wireless services on campus, we’ll step up our
marketing efforts,” said Mary Jean Fitzgibbons, information officer II
for the Computing & Information Technology Division. “In addition
to the web pages at http://computing.wayne.edu/wireless,
I distribute a color brochure on ‘Computing Services for Students’ in
which the second service mentioned is wireless access to the internet
on campus.”
According to Rick McCreedy, IT director III,
Network Services Department, Computing & Information Technology
Division, students, staff and faculty will be polled in upcoming months
to determine where the new access points will be located.
“The next deployments will be decided on a priority basis according to students, staff and faculty,” said McCreedy.
If you have any questions, contact the Computing & Information Technology Help Desk by phone at (313) 577-4778 or email helpdesk@wayne.edu.
Know of a wireless spot on or around campus that we missed? Let us know. Letters@southend.wayne.edu
Locations
Currently,
the WSU Wireless network is available in the following locations. There
may be some blind spots in these buildings. If you think you found a
blind spot, just move a few feet until you get a connection.
Adamany Undergraduate Library
Neef Law Library
Shiffman Medical Library
Purdy/Kresge Library
Science & Engineering Library-first floor
State Hall classrooms on first floor and part of the second floor
Education Building-first floor in hallways
Scott Hall-cafeteria, Green Hall, MD Labs
Student Center-first floor (North and South Commons), second floor (South lounge & Hilberry rooms)
Welcome Center-first floor
Barnes & Noble campus bookstore-cafe
Coming soon:
Manoogian Hall basement-first and second floors
Cohn Building-full coverage
Old Main-first floor and basement on Cass side. Some classrooms on Warren side
McGregor Memorial Conference Center
Students
can also access free wireless Internet at campus vendors such as
Starbucks or The Meetery Eatery. These locations have established their
own wireless access points and are not affiliated with Wayne State
University’s secured wireless network.
Original URL -
http://www.southend.wayne.edu/modules/news/article.php?storyid=997
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