ITC Research Computing Support Newsletter - April 2002
This is the April 2002 newsletter of the ITC Research
Computing Support Group. If you have any questions or concerns regarding
the information presented here please contact the ITC Research Computing Support
Group via e-mail to res-consult@virginia.edu,
or at the Research Computing Support Center, (RCSC)
244 Wilson Hall, 243-8800. The RCSC is open 9 AM to 5 PM, Monday through Friday.
Contents
Spring Brown Bag Series
Join the members of the ITC Research Computing Support Group for the final
presentation in our Spring 2002 Brownbag series. Each Brownbag is held at 12
noon at the Research Computing Support Center (244 Wilson Hall), usually on
the third Wednesday of the month. Bring your lunch, we'll supply the drinks
and cookies. The notes from previous Brownbag talks
are available on ITCWeb at www.itc.virginia.edu/research/talks/
- April 17, 2002 - Linux for Researchers
Well-established as both a rock solid server and economical clustering environment,
GNU/Linux now enjoys great momentum on the desktop. We'll review a bit of
the history, mechanics, and core features of this operating system along with
a few of our favorite utilities and applications. Software packages for mathematical
and statistical analysis available from Research Computing Support will also
be discussed.
Those who are considering an alternative desktop, interested in exploring
the analytic capabilities of an open source environment, or simply curious
about Linux will enjoy this brownbag.
Members of the Charlottesville UNIX Users' Group will be on hand to answer
questions about the upcoming Installfest.

Immediate Opening for Statistical Computing Consultant
The ITC Research Computing Support Center is now accepting applications for a
statistical computing consultant. The position will start as soon as a suitable
candidate is found. It is expected that the student hired will work at least through
the 2002-2003 academic year. ITC runs a wide variety of statistical software programs
across a wide spectrum of computer platforms.
To qualify for the position you must have a broad working knowledge of at least
one of the primary statistical software packages supported by us (SPSS, SAS, S-Plus)
and have some experience with the other packages. For additional details about
the position and information on applying, please see the Statistical
Computing Consultant application web page.
If you have any questions or concerns about the position you can contact Tim Tolson
by telephone at 243-6592 or electronic mail to TTolson@Virginia.EDU
Applications will be accepted until the positions is filled. Apply as soon as
possible.
The University of Virginia is an EOE/AA employer.
S-PLUS 6 for Networks Available for On-Grounds
Use
Faculty, staff, and students affiliated with the University of Virginia can
now get the Professional version of S-PLUS 6.0 software for on-grounds installation
at no charge from the Research Computing Support Center.
S-PLUS 6.0 for off-grounds use became available in November 2001. Our license
with Insightful Corporation for S-PLUS provides a very limited number of standalone,
off-grounds licenses for use by faculty and staff; therefore, we ask that only
faculty and staff with a scholarly ongoing need for S-PLUS at home obtain the
standalone license version instead of the networked version available for on-grounds
use. This site license provides for an unlimited number of student standalone,
off-grounds licenses. In either case, S-PLUS is licensed for use for U.Va. related
work only.
Currently, S-PLUS 2000 is installed on computers in ITC public computing facilities
(labs) and classrooms. We anticipate the installation of S-PLUS 6.0 on ITC labs
and classroom computers for the Fall 2002 semester.
To see what's new in S-PLUS 6.0, check out the November
newsletter announcement. For more information about S-PLUS at U.Va. visit
http://www.itc.virginia.edu/research/splushelp.html
For off-grounds use, users are provided with a standalone license version of
S-PLUS 6.0.
Minitab 13 Analysis of Means (ANOM) Macro Update
Minitab, Version 13, has an update for its analysis of means (ANOM) macro along
with directions for installation, which is now available for download on MINITAB's
maintenance site at
http://www.minitab.com/support/Maintenance/index.htm.
The ANOM macro shipped with Minitab versions 13.1 through 13.32 contains an error
in which the Analysis of Means graph of Interaction Effects may have incorrect
control limits. When using Analysis of Means (Stat > ANOVA > Analysis of Means),
the control limits in the graph of Interaction Effects may be based on incorrectly
calculated degrees of freedom. The update remedies this problem.
Reminder: ITC Dial-up (modem) Lines reduction Plan
Announced [Effective June 1, 2002]
In early January, ITC announced its intention to discontinue the low-speed free
dial-up modem lines at the end of the month and to consider eliminating the high-speed
lines at the end of spring semester. Since then, we have discussed the issues
and possibilities stemming from this service change with many individuals and
groups around Grounds, including the Provost, deans of schools, and school information
technology officials.
As a result of those discussions, a modified plan has been developed that phases
in the changes more gradually for both low- and high-speed lines. In addition,
it acknowledges the need for access to the University network for students who
live off Grounds, as well as the needs of students receiving financial aid for
assistance in obtaining commercial ISP services.
The key elements of the new plan are detailed in the ITC announcement at the
ITC Dial-up Lines
Charlottesville UNIX Users Group's Linux/FreeBSD Installfest
Want Linux or FreeBSD on your personal machine? Here's your chance to get expert
help in getting it installed. The Charlottesville UNIX Users Group will be holding
an Installfest on
April 21, at 12:00 P.M. on-grounds at the NRAO Observatory auditorium.
CHUUG members will be on hand to
- Provide advice about the best installation for your needs.
- Install open-source systems like Linux, FreeBSD and OpenBSD on your PC free of charge.
- Answer your questions about UNIX or computing in general.
CHUUG is a group of users ranging from hobbyists to professionals with specific
interests in free UNIX-like systems. While many members are students at the University
of Virginia, CHUUG is in no way affiliated with the University.
Space is limited and registration is on a first-come, first-served basis. Anyone
interested in attending the Install-Fest should register on the web site at http://www.chuug.org.
Rich Gregory Presents "Linux on the Desktop" at ACCS Workshop, April 11
The Association of Collegiate Computing Services of Virginia will hold its
2002 Workshop in Fredericksburg April 10-12. Mr. Gregory will discuss the particular
open-source tools and applications that deliver key features of
desktop functionality.
More information on this and the many other workshop sessions is online at http://accs.virginia.edu
National Instruments Measurement & Automation/Datalogging Seminars
National Instruments invites you to join them for a FREE seminar on Computer-Based
Measurement and Automation, and PC-Based Datalogging Solutions in Charlottesville,
VA on Thursday, April 25, 2002! This sessions are FREE, but seating is limited.
For reservations, directions, or for more information, please visit:
http://www.ni.com/seminars/usa.htm
Computer Based-Measurement and Automation Seminar - 9:00 to 11:30 AM, April
25.
Come and learn how you can use the PC to revolutionize your instruments and automation
systems with National Instruments software and hardware products.
Presentation and Demonstrations in this morning seminar to include:
- NI LabVIEW - graphical development environment
- NI Measurement Studio - development tools for VB, VC++ and ANSI C
programmers
- Data Acquisition (DAQ), Signal Conditioning Hardware
- PXI - CompactPC for measurement and automation
- Instrument Control - GPIB and serial
- LabVIEW Real-Time Module - LabVIEW for embedded control
- LabVIEW Datalogging and Supervisory Control Module - LabVIEW for
Industrial Automation
- NI FieldPoint - Modular Distributed I/O System
- Image acquisition and processing
- Motion Control
PC-Based Datalogging Solutions Seminar - 1:00 to 4:00 PM, April 25
For 15 years, National Instruments has provided the software and hardware for
increasingly flexible datalogging systems. Come to this seminar to learn about
the latest configuration-based software from NI, and discover how to increase
productivity and save valuable set-up time.
In this afternoon seminar, you learn how to:
- Use new configuration-based VI Logger software to easily set up
datalogging systems that can integrate with more than 100 NI measurements
hardware products
- Use advanced customization options in LabVIEW to expand systems you
create with VI Logger
- Build stand-alone Ethernet datalogging solutions with local
intelligence
- Generate reports and perform offline data analysis with your logged
data
- Access information about common configurations of data logging systems
for temperature, strain, force, pressure and mixed-signal measurements
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