University of PittsburghComputers Summary

Written by Courtney Vock

Courtney Vock

Hometown

Pittsburgh, PA

Major

Creative Non-Fiction Writing

View all previous student authors

Pitt's high-speed network supports all of the connections on campus, which include every residence hall, seven public computing labs, and e-mail kiosks scattered across campus. Students are happy with both the network speed and the University's support resources. There are trained technicians in every computing lab, one of which is opened 24 hours a day, seven days a week during the school year. In addition, the Technology Help Desk is continually staffed with technicians to help students work through computer problems. For those who bring their own computers, Pitt's networking assistants (ResNet) can come to your dorm room to directly assist with software troubles.

The University's computing services are expanding every year and are continuing to grow. A wireless network is available in most areas of campus, including dorm common areas, which allows students with laptops more freedom to work where they choose. Despite this growth, the facilities still lag behind some students’ needs. Labs can get very crowded during the day and during finals, and computers and kiosks are known for being slow when there is a high usage. If you're looking for a quiet place to work, be sure to check out the top floors of the Hillman Library, the Sutherland Hall lab, and Alumni Hall—these seem to be the less crowded. It's also common to find people waiting in line to use the lab's PC while the Mac and Linux computers remain open. It's beneficial to try these computers out when you have some time to learn your way around their operating systems to save time in the future.