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have the least utility for the research community. The SUN access and operability are
minimal, the VAX system is quite antiquated, has no full-screen access, and there are still
too few Macs in the computer area relative to the demand. In addition, the two Macs that
were present were not provided through standard Infosys support.
It is clear that the variety of operating systems and hardware places an exacting demand
on the knowledge and experience of the support staff. It may be possible to ameliorate
this problem by increasing remote support from CONUS or McMurdo using improved
communications (see Staffing section).
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Guest accounts should be established so that users can directly access Telnet from all
terminals and workstations without requiring their own account. This permits researchers
to monitor and check their email at their institutions - a very important capability for
short term visitors.
3. Software support
There is little demand for support for common data analysis software. Most groups bring
their own (on portables). Since some research groups may require specific analysis
capability on the station computers, a modest amount of science support money should be
budgeted to honor specific requests. It is anticipated that C, C++, and Fortran will
continue to be supported on all SUNs and VAXes.
Limited, standard software sets should be resident on each machine, rather than on a
networked server.
4. Graphic Package Support
The Station workstations should support standard terminal graphics rendering protocols
such as X-Windows or Tektronics 4014.
5. Space
One of the basic needs of the short term researcher is the availability of work space. The
space in the science building is overtaxed with emailers and non-research activity, with
no desk space for the itinerant researcher. Is it possible to create more space in the
science area? There is a storage room behind the SPASE area that could be cleaned out
and used. There is no technical need to have all the terminals and computers in a single
area. Perhaps some terminals can be placed in other areas of the Station.
We note that ASA has increased its own requirement for general workspace in the
computer room with the use of MAPCON, CTS, and PTS inventory programs. This has
had an impact on the science use of the space as well as the availability of terminals.
6. Common Networked Backup Device
Networked mass storage devices could benefit many projects and should be supported
with necessary spares. Convenient backup methods should be available for all supported
systems under user control.
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