One hundred forty eight dollars and fifty cents. That is how much each of you paid in computing access fees for this Fall. So what exactly do you get in return for your parents' hard-earned cash?
Besides maintaining the 18 student computer labs on campus, Information Technology (IT) spends a good amount of those funds buying useful software and making them available to the student population through Software from Any Location, commonly known as SAL.
On the SAL Web site, tcnj.edu/~sal, IT defines the program as "an application-launcher that will allow you to use software programs right at your desktop that were previously only available in the computer labs."
But if that means nothing to you, all you really need to know is that since you paid your tuition bill, you can now download a number of expensive software programs at no new cost to you.
Thanks to SAL, you no longer have to make the voyage from Townhouses East to the library to do your homework.
Recent versions of SPSS, Mathematica and Mathlab, along with several other software packages used in classes all over campus can be downloaded to your personal computer.
Even if you're not a science or math major, SAL still has a lot to offer. Microsoft Word, various virus-removal tools and even AOL Instant Messenger are also available for download along with well over 50 other software titles that retail in the thousands when pooled together.
If you still have no idea what I am talking about consider this. For $275 on amazon.com, you can get the Microsoft Office XP package, which includes Word, Excel and PowerPoint. For $99, you can get the full copy of Adobe Photoshop LE off adobe.com.
If you need to make some eye-catching flyers to promoteyour organization's next big program, Microsoft Publisher XP is available off amazon.com for $144.99.
But, if you can't find $518.99 in those beer-stained jeans of yours, there is no need to start popping your Prozac.
All three software titles are available for download at no cost to you thanks to our buddy, SAL.
That is just the tip of the iceberg, my friends. Dozens of popular software packages are available for your perusing at tcnj.edu/~sal, along with service agreements and instructions on how to install them on your personal computer.
Yet another long-lost student resource reborn thanks to your friendly neighborhood techie.
- Mena Gawargi works as a lab technician for Information Technology.
