alex@aecom.UUCP (Alex S. Fuss) (04/04/85)
Our Computing Center would like to be able to charge students
for the time they spend using our microcomputers.
In particular, we am looking for hardware (NOT software) that
can be attached to any micro, which records the amount of time the micro
was powered on. Preferrably, it should also accept an ID card so that the
time the micro was in use can be associated with a user, but this is not
essential, as this can be done manually.
Any information on this would be appreciated.
--
from the philosophical outlook of:
Alex S. Fuss
{philabs, esquire, cucard, ihnp4}!aecom!alexjbn@wdl1.UUCP (04/10/85)
You can actually buy this from DEC. They introduced a coin-op PC last year. Unfortunately the machine is a DECmate II, which is a PDP-8 based machine. (The PDP-8 is a very small mini circa 1968; it compares unfavorably with a Z80 in power.) They somehow induced a few universities to put these in as coin-op word processors. The thing cost something like 3x the price of a Mac when it first came out, but you could probably get some cheap now. John Nagle
SCARTER@RUTGERS.ARPA (Stephen Carter) (04/10/85)
Like most libraries, the ones here at Rutgers have those "Copicard" setups on the photo-copy machines. You buy some n amount of copies, and they write it onto a magnetic strip on the back of a credit-card type plastic card. When you want to make a copy, you put the card into the slot and the machine rewrites the number of copies you have left as you use them. I would think that it would be a easy job to change the hardware to allow "n minutes" of computer time instead on one copy... Then each user would be able to purchase any amount of time needed (if you really insist on charging for a micro....) SCarter -------
victoro@nosc.ARPA (04/12/85)
Just an obvious thought on the Copicard micro charge.... The card has a record of a number of 'charges'....each use removes a 'charge'. You could set up a system to use one 'charge' per 15 min period. (Although I'm sure no-one was not really thinking of removing a charge every min....................................................................
vch@rruxo.UUCP (V. Hatem) (04/16/85)
That might be a little harder than you think. The machine would have to take the card (much like a bank cash machine) and return it when the user is finished. That's not so bad, but what do you do when they run out of time??? Turn off the machine?? :-} Vince Hatem Bell Communications Research rruxo!vch --- +----------------------------------------------------------------------------+ | The assumption that a whole system can be made to work better through an | | assault on its conscious elements betrays a dangerous ignorance. This | | has often been the ignorant approach of those who call themselves | | scientists and technologists. | | -The Butlerian Jihad | | by Harq al-Ada | | (Children of Dune, by Frank Herbert, p395) | +----------------------------------------------------------------------------+