You can find a list of Athena clusters on the back of the Athena
Pocket Reference you received when you checked in, or by typing
athena% cview
.
athena% tellme combo
The combo changes annually on October 1. Shortly before that time,
you can use tellme combo
again to determine the new combo.
Also, when you checked in, you should have also received a booklet called the "Athena Pocket Reference." On the back, you should find both the current cluster door combo, and the combo effective October 1. If you did not receive this guide when you checked in, or you have lost yours, you can pick up a copy from OLC in W20-021B, or in N42.
If you need to use a computer, there are always the Athena clusters easily accessible all over campus. Even though SIPB is a student group dedicated to improving computing at MIT, we encourage you to go out, and take part in the vast opportunities you have during Orientation and Residence Exploration. Find the dorm that is right for you, and learn about and join the activities that interest you. Talk to other freshmen and upperclassmen, and ask any questions you may have about anything.
Once you move to your room for the fall term on Thursday, feel free go ahead and set up your computer. But in the meantime, take advantage of Orientation, and have a great time! When you finally set up your computer, you should apply any updates immediately, especially if you are running Windows. You can find more details on doing so in Sunday's Ask SIPB column.
With your file quota, you can store files to access from any Athena workstation. You can also send files to this space and retrieve them as well from non-Athena computers. This has the advantage that it is more accessible than files on your personal machine, and that it is backed up nightly. In addition, you can use this space for a personal web page, or to share files easily with other people.
You can come ask SIPB in person or via email. Our office is W20-557 (right next to the Athena cluster). Anytime members are in the office, the office is open to answer questions. You can also phone SIPB at x3-7788 or email sipb@mit.edu.
OLC is Athena Online Consulting, MIT's official support group for Athena related questions. They have an office in the basement of the Student Center (W20-021B), and are usually open Monday-Friday 10am-5pm.
OLC has a set of stock answers for Athena related questions on the web at http://web.mit.edu/answers/.
To ask olc a question, first make sure the question isn't already answered in the Stock Answers, then type at an Athena prompt:
athena% olc
For more information, look at http://web.mit.edu/consult.
MIT Information Systems staffs the Computing Help Desk, which provides free support for Macintosh and Windows, and provides limited Unix/VMS support by paid subscription. The Help Desk phone lines are open Monday-Friday from 8 am to 6 pm; walk-ins are welcome in the office in N42 from 9:15 am to 5 pm. For Mac questions, call 617-253-1101; for Windows questions call 617-253-1102.
The Computing Help Desk also maintains a set of stock answers for common Macintosh and Windows questions encountered by MIT community members, at http://itinfo.mit.edu/answer.
If you are having trouble getting your computer onto your dorm network, you can ask an RCC for help. RCC's (or Residential Computing Consultants) are students who get paid to assist other students, usually residents of the same dorm. They can do everything from assigning IP addresses, to providing network cables, to helping you configure networking on your computer. To get in contact with your RCC, ask around your dorm or visit http://rcc.mit.edu/ to submit a request.