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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).

2. Email

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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