Grawn, Woldt Computer lab software now accessible from personal computers at CMU

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CMU is creating a program to allow registered users to access licensed programs and software remotely from their own computers.

Software available at the Grawn and Woldt Computer Labs will be made accessible to anyone with an Internet connection, global identification and password.

The program is currently in the pilot stage, said Roger Rehm, vice president of Information Technology. Users who sign up will receive a $1 credit to their print quotas.

“We started it last year in the public labs,” Rehm said. “You can log in to a desktop image and that delivers the software … the nice thing is we can access it anywhere.”

The pilot does not yet allow for printing to lab computers but it is a planned feature, said Jeff McDowell, associate director of user services and support. Users can, however, connect to a local printer and print that way.

The project is still in the pilot stages, but Rehm said he hopes for it to be fully functional in the fall.

McDowell said the virtual lab adds additional services to students.

“(Before), the only way to access the applications (was) to come into campus and access the labs physically,” he said. “Now, they don’t actually have to take the time to come in to access the facilities.”

The purpose of the pilot, McDowell said, is to test the interest levels of students.

Mount Pleasant sophomore Alexander Murray said he likes the idea of the virtual lab because now he “doesn’t have to leave his couch” to access programs he may need for his business classes.

“I think that’s cool,” Murray said. “If there’s certain software I don’t want to pay for or I don’t really want but still have to use … this would be nice.”

Students will also have accessibility to their personal storage UDrives with the virtual lab.

Instructions on how to access the program are available at the Office of Information Technology’s website.

McDowell said the virtual lab is accessible from both Mac and Windows operating systems, and will help the speed at which the programs run for some users, because they will run on CMU servers instead of loading the software onto a personal computer terminal.

“Applications you cannot run on a computer because it’s old will work on the virtual lab because you’re not running it on your computer,” he said. “All your computer is doing is providing a connection to the machine. A slow machine or connection may experience sluggishness, but the pilot will be a lot faster than if you installed it on your own machine.”