mikec@reed.UUCP (Michael Cooper) (01/15/85)
[ This line was dead before it was born. ]
I am looking for information on the University of Southern California from
present undergrads or alumni. During xmas break I visited the campus, but
did not have a formal tour nor access to anyone with the answers to the
following questions:
1) In one of the engineering handbooks I was given it stated the computing
facilities as having an IBM, some large DEC systems, and 20 VAX 750's
running UNIX and VMS. My question is; how many (750's) are running UNIX?
2) What kind of access (how hard is it to get the access) to these UNIX
machines for a freshman? And the other machines?
3) Campus life looked fairly interesting. Any comments?
Any general comments would be greatly welcomed.
Michael Cooper
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{decvax, ucbvax, pur-ee, uw-beaver, masscomp, cbosg,
mit-ems, psu-cs, uoregon, orstcs, ihnp4, uf-cgrl}!tektronix
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+---!reed!mikec
{teneron, ogcvax, muddcs, cadic, oresoft, grpwre, /
psu-cs, omen, isonvax, nsc-pdc}---+tli@uscvax.UUCP (Tony Li) (01/19/85)
> I am looking for information on the University of Southern California from > present undergrads or alumni. During xmas break I visited the campus, but > did not have a formal tour nor access to anyone with the answers to the > following questions: Ok, I'm happy to help, if you'll put up with a grad student/TA/instructor. > 1) In one of the engineering handbooks I was given it stated the computing > facilities as having an IBM, some large DEC systems, and 20 VAX 750's > running UNIX and VMS. My question is; how many (750's) are running UNIX? I get the idea that you're an undergrad. If so, there are currently 2 750's running UNIX that you'd have access to. There are two more for the CS grad's and faculty. We expect to be installing more Unix machines shortly (we've got the grants in hand, and we know what we're getting, they just haven't been delivered yet). > 2) What kind of access (how hard is it to get the access) to these UNIX > machines for a freshman? And the other machines? First, you have to take a programming class that is using UNIX. Once you do, there's a $70 lab fee. No problem. BTW, currently, the two student UNIX machines are used for upper division type courses. > 3) Campus life looked fairly interesting. Any comments? Ummm... That depends on who you are. If you come from a preppie/Valley Girl/Hollywood backround, you'd be right at home. I see that you're from Portland... I think you might like it if you stay away from the frats. There's lots to do, and lots to see. The frats are BAD NEWS! AVOID! This is a large generalization. There are of course, some really nice frats, but by and large the biggest news that seems to come off of frat row is the news of another suspension. > Any general comments would be greatly welcomed. > Michael Cooper Well, gee... I could go on for days and days about politics, classes, etc. Hmmm... Well, USC is currently undergoing a serious lack of decent hackers. So much so that we're having trouble finding operators and other support staff for our systems. The lower division weed-out courses are crowded with the large numbers of liberal-arts majors who 'want to learn a trade'. As with all university computing facilities, USC's computers are hopelessly overcrowded. That's why I'm hacking at 1:23am on the faculty Vax.... I'm not terribly impressed with USC's undergrad program. We've recently had a significant attrition problem (with the professors), and that's been accompanied by a change of dept. chair, with all that goes with it. As with all dynamic systems, it's not stable, but does look to be improving. I'd say that USC is a reasonable choice if (1) you're not afraid of big schools, (2) you're bright, (3) you're not afraid of down-town LA (don't worry about the smog, that's not important...), (4) you're not the greatest student in all of Oregon (if you are, there are better schools). We do look for bright students, and we do try to encourage them as best we can. The work is tough, as anywhere, but definitely reasonable. If you come here, look me up... I'm in Salvatori 229. (213) 743-7995 -- Tony Li ;-) Usc Computer Science Uucp: {sdcrdcf,randvax}!uscvax!tli Csnet: tli@usc-cse.csnet Arpa: tli@usc-ecl