Information about using Macintosh computers

This is a Mac Campus - there are fewer PCs around than in the rest of the world. If you plan to buy a computer, consider this beforehand. If you buy a PC, you will not get the same amount of computing support (for example with dial-in problems), free site-licensed software, and special discounts on hardware at the bookstore.

The best place to buy a Macintosh is Microdisc at the Stanford Bookstore - they usually sell them cheaper than anywhere else.

The best deals on accessories that aren't sold at the bookstore can usually be found at Fry's Electronics (Portage Ave, Palo Alto).

The best places to use public Macs are:

The department (if available)
The residential clusters (if you live on campus)
Tresidder Union
Meyer Library

AppleTalk connections can be provided at no charge to those who wish to use a Powerbook in their office. In addition to the network connection, the department will also provide the LocalTalk box at no charge. The department can also provide an ethernet connection at no charge, however the user must supply their own transceiver.

Mac programs that you might need:

Microsoft Word (text processing - the department recommends using version 5.1 - there are problems with version 6.0 and it's not used much on campus)
MacSamson (dialling in, or connecting to turing on campus)
MacSLIP (if you need a better dial-in connection, see the dialling in page
Fetch (to get files, if you have MacSLIP)
Netscape (to surf the web, if you have MacSLIP)
Syntax Workbench (to draw trees, ask Peter)
Expressionist (to do AVMS)

MacSamson, MacSLIP, and Fetch are free, and can be found on the site-licensed server (or from Michelle). Netscape is available free (for students) from the Netscape WWW page.

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