Spring Break
Computer Services keeps busy
JOHN BANGHART
Issue date: 2/15/04 Section: News
- Page 1 of 1
Imagine finals week is here and you have a term paper due that will count for a large part of your grade. The computer at home just crashed and you rush to school to complete the assignment on one of 1,600 computers at Northampton Community College.
Whose job is it to make sure that these computers are working?
Computer Services.
"So much goes on behind the scenes," says Joseph Scocozza, Support Center coordinator/system technician.
Walking through the Computer Services office in Keystone Hall, that's easy to believe. Its space at the College, a warren of offices and a large room for the school's mainframes, occupies almost enough space for a basketball court.
Most computers on campus are Dells, although there are a few Gateways and Apples. Scocozza says that the college is starting to order more Apple computers.
As new computers arrive on campus, the old ones have to find new homes. Not all the computers on campus are heavily used so when the time comes to upgrade, a simple shuffling around of units saves the college money. Often these are redeployed to less-used locations on campus or to one of the remote sites like the College's Allentown offices.
If a computer is no longer of use to the College, Scocozza's office holds a lottery auction to give them away. Typically once a year, many nonprofit organizations such as the Boys and Girls Club and local churches receive computers distributed through the auction.
Those that remain in use on campus need constant attention. Nearly 50 calls a day come into Computer Services, Scocozza says. Problems range from printing issues to system crashes to not being able to access a workstation.
"Lots of problems are not looked at as a big deal," but not seeking help can lead to bigger problems, Scocozza says.
Backing up all your information is important, he stresses. Simply having a floppy disk with you or using one of the recently installed USB flash drives can save many headaches.
The network of computers at Northampton has a lot of important documents on it for both students and facility. Computer Services uses a tape system to save information and they back it up daily. This precaution has come in handy when viruses attacked the system.
Over the past five months Scocozza says, he has seen an increase in interruptive viruses such as the Sobig and Welchia worms that have plagued Windows.
"The right thing to do is to limit access," Scocozza says. "People go onto Web-sites and get a virus and not know it."
Dealing with a spate of system problems over the past few months, Computer Service's 26 employees have been busy. Scocozza says they could use 26 more employees.
Says Denom Krall, part-time microcomputer assistant: "We are always on the move."
Whose job is it to make sure that these computers are working?
Computer Services.
"So much goes on behind the scenes," says Joseph Scocozza, Support Center coordinator/system technician.
Walking through the Computer Services office in Keystone Hall, that's easy to believe. Its space at the College, a warren of offices and a large room for the school's mainframes, occupies almost enough space for a basketball court.
Most computers on campus are Dells, although there are a few Gateways and Apples. Scocozza says that the college is starting to order more Apple computers.
As new computers arrive on campus, the old ones have to find new homes. Not all the computers on campus are heavily used so when the time comes to upgrade, a simple shuffling around of units saves the college money. Often these are redeployed to less-used locations on campus or to one of the remote sites like the College's Allentown offices.
If a computer is no longer of use to the College, Scocozza's office holds a lottery auction to give them away. Typically once a year, many nonprofit organizations such as the Boys and Girls Club and local churches receive computers distributed through the auction.
Those that remain in use on campus need constant attention. Nearly 50 calls a day come into Computer Services, Scocozza says. Problems range from printing issues to system crashes to not being able to access a workstation.
"Lots of problems are not looked at as a big deal," but not seeking help can lead to bigger problems, Scocozza says.
Backing up all your information is important, he stresses. Simply having a floppy disk with you or using one of the recently installed USB flash drives can save many headaches.
The network of computers at Northampton has a lot of important documents on it for both students and facility. Computer Services uses a tape system to save information and they back it up daily. This precaution has come in handy when viruses attacked the system.
Over the past five months Scocozza says, he has seen an increase in interruptive viruses such as the Sobig and Welchia worms that have plagued Windows.
"The right thing to do is to limit access," Scocozza says. "People go onto Web-sites and get a virus and not know it."
Dealing with a spate of system problems over the past few months, Computer Service's 26 employees have been busy. Scocozza says they could use 26 more employees.
Says Denom Krall, part-time microcomputer assistant: "We are always on the move."