I The Behrend Beacon
Accessing lab content on your personal computer
By Logan Stack
staff writer
Dear ASCII,
class assignments.
It's cold outside. I don't want to walk to the labs. A free way to use the lab software is to log into
but I really need to use a program installed on the a lab computer from your dorm. Penn State
lab computers. Is there a convenient way around Behrend has a virtual lab for student use. In
walking there? Windows, go to Start >
- Snug in my dorm
Dear Snug,
Absolutely! There are a
couple of ways to avoid
the labs. You could use an
alternate (free) program,
buy the program at a stu
dent discount through
Penn State, or use the
Virtual Lab from your
room.
Many programs have
free alternatives. If you
need Photoshop or
Illustrator, you could try
The Gimp. If you need
Visual Studio, you could
try Dev C++, or Visual
Studio Express Edition. If
you don't have Microsoft Word, Excel, or Power of bandwidth needed. If you're on campus suffer-
Point, you can get Open Office for free. But these ing through a bandwidth violation, forget about it.
programs don't all work exactly the same way, The computer you connect to is called "virtual
and if you're accustomed to the pay-ware lab soft- lab2.psu-erie.bd.psu.edu". You log in with your
ware, you may want to buy it. Penn State username and password. Using this
Http://computerstore.psu.edu sells a lot of soft- does not count against your download limit
ware, much of it at a student discount. Some dis- because it is on campus.
counts are larger than others - you can get If you need to get files to your computer from
Microsoft Office or Mac OS Xat a small fraction the virtual lab, you can either e-mail them to your
of the normal price, but Macromedia's studio is self, or use your P drive. Simple instructions for
still expensive. And some of these programs are accessing your P drive from your computer can be
"student versions," and not the same as the full found at http://pdrive.bd.psu.edu/.
Write for the new Student Life section! E
mail smm4Bo@psu or jml4ls@psu.edu.
r' Ei TT Li
versions. They usually don't have features
removed, but may do things like watermark your
documents with "Student Version" so that you
couldn't sell them or use them for anything but
CONTRIBUTED PHOTO pus, it may be slow
because of the amount
Programs
Accessories
Communications
Remote Desktop
Connection. In Linux,
use tsclient. And under
Mac OS, download the
"Remote Desktop
Connection Client"
from Microsoft's site
(it's actually quite
good, despite the
Windows/Mac rivalry).
This remote desktop
program lets you con
nect to a lab computer
and use it with your
monitor, keyboard and
mouse. If you're con
from off-cam-
Cypress String Quartet to play Music at Noon
The Cypress String Quartet brings "Inspired By America" to Behrend on Jan. 31 and Feb. 1
By Sean Mihlo
student life editor
On Wednesday, Jan. 31, the Logan Series presents
the first of three performances this spring semester
in the Music at Noon series: Cypress String Quartet.
The Cypress Spring Quartet formed in San
Francisco in 1996. The quartet, comprised of Cecily
Ward (violin), Tom Stone (violin), Ethan Filner
(viola) and Jennifer Kloetzel (cello), has performed
across the country at various institutions, including
the Kennedy Center, the Ravinia Festival in
Chicago and M.I.T. and Stanford Lively Arts. The
group has also debuted 25 orchestral pieces from
many American composers over the last decade.
While residing in San Francisco, Cypress String
Quartet is the Quartet-in-Residence at San Jose
State University in California. In 2001, the group
premiered its "Call and Response" program, which
combines performance and educational outreach via
commissioning new pieces. The program has since
reached nearly 100,000 students across the U.S.
Now in its llth year, the quartet continues to per
form live and has debuted a new project called
"Inspired By America," a tight and impressive com
bination of technology and music. According the
band's official website, "Inspired By America" is "a
multi-media collaboration with best-selling author
Jacob Needleman and Emmy Award-winning film
Fn
ri
.11.1
maker Michael Schwarz. Supported by funding
from the National Endowment for the Arts, and
blending live music, original film and the spoken
word, this performance fuses precision playing with
world-class technology to create an evocative,
thought-provoking portrait of the American spirit."
The world premiere of the project took place last
month at the Lied Center of Kansas in Lawrence.
Cypress String Quartet's upcoming performance at
Penn State Behrend will be only its third of
"Inspired By America."
Besides the Music at Noon performance, which is
just a preview of "Inspired By America," Cypress
String Quartet will also be playing Music at Night.
on Thursday, Feb. 1, at 7 p.m.; this is also a part of
the Logan Series, which is celebrating its seven
teenth season this year. The Music at Noon event,
held in McGarvey Commons in the Reed Union
Building, is free to the public and students. Tickets
for Music at Night, also held in McGarvey
Commons, can be purchased at the door on Feb. I,
at the main desk in Reed Union Building or online
at www.pserie.psu.edu/musicatnight. The tickets
are priced as follows: $lO for adults, $8.50 for
adults over 60, $5 for Behrend students and $4 for
children under the age of 16.
Friday, January 26, 2007
Bt. TED PHOTO