Computer Resources Manual - Successful Computing

Successful Computing

Here are some basic tips for using computers successfully that can save your sanity. If you can learn them here instead of the hard way, you will be way ahead!

Things you MUST do to insure success

Expect/Plan for Problems
Back-up
Save your work in progress
Understand your computer
When encountering problems...
Organize work
Log-in, Log-out

How to be a Successful (and Happy) Computer User

Each year, students do indeed make very successful projects using the Design School's computing environment. Unfortunately, some students encounter lots of problems, get frustrated and angry, and don't enjoy using the GSD computing network. Success in computing is not simply a factor of experience; one of the most important factors is to start with realistic expectations, and a willingness to understand what you are doing (at a deeper rather than a merely superficial level).

The following tips have been assembled based on several years of assisting users. Please review this, as it may save you from: corrupting your thesis project, crashing your computer the night before finals, getting a panic attack while struggling to plot or print an hour before a review, etc.

The first rule, above all, is to plan ahead. Factor in time to address any unexpected problem that may arise - do this as a regular part of your schedule.

Expect/Plan for Problems

"Learn to expect the unexpected."

-Roald Dahl

"He who fails to plan, plans to fail."

-old Chinese proverb

Don't assume anything is going to be easy, until you've done it at least once. Even then, leave yourself time to address the unexpected. Remember that you will most probably be tired and not thinking clearly an hour before your review.

Plan AHEAD! Don't wait till an hour before your review to request a computer, and all the necessary software.

The printers and plotters get very busy around review time and midterms and they are not 100% reliable. Don't leave printing or plotting until the last minute. We cannot guarantee they will run perfectly at all times. Know your alternatives in case of an emergency. (There are private service bureaus that provide color output.)

Back-up

"If there is a possibility of several things going wrong the one that will cause the most damage will be the one to go wrong. "

-Murphy's Laws, Technology Corollary # 45

Keep a backup!! Keep two copies of everything of value. Use zip disks, CD's or DVD's, network drives or even two hard drives. But keep at least two current copies, in different locations, or on different media.

Don't leave any of your work on a public computer, and walk away, even for a quick break. They are as good as gone the minute you leave the computer. Files on public hard drives are only secure as long as you are sitting in front of them. They are also cleaned on regular intervals where all non system files are deleted.

"Nettmp" is not backed up, and is cleaned out every 24 hours, automatically. This deletion schedule can be altered for administrative reasons without notice, so do not put your only copy there!

Your home directory has a limited quota. Mysterious things can happen when you go over your quota. If you exceed your quota while saving a file, you may silently lose it! Work locally, and copy files to your home directory when finished!

Store current projects in your home directory and back them up on portable media. Burn a CD when the project's done, and check your CD after burning to ensure everything is readable. Archiving past projects on CDs will allow you to remove them from your home directory - as a result you'll save disk space. Managing your home directory and creating your back-up library is the sound and responsible thing to do.

Save your work in progress

Computers and applications can hang up on you at any time. Make sure that you don't lose a whole night's work when this happens! Store and save work-in-progress often (every 10-15 minutes) onto the hard disk while you are working on a particular machine. Do not work directly from the network drives. If you are using a public machine, use the My Documents folder on local hard disk for working, then transfer files from there. When you save your work, save versions so that you have a history in the event that you discover a mistake that was made two saves ago.

Understand your computer

Dragging icons around is fun, but do you understand where your files actually are? Where is your current file open from, and saved to? Learn as much as you can about your own computer and the operating system you prefer.

When encountering problems...

Break down your processing goal into steps, and try to imagine how an application designer would provide the solution.
Make a backup of your work and try logical steps, use controlled experiments, to isolate the cause of the problem.
Save your work, log off, take a walk, get something to eat, get some sleep, take a shower, come back, try again.

Organize work

Disorganized and redundant files lead to tragic accidental losses. Clear and logical folder organization and naming conventions can save time and energy. Use of underbars instead of spaces in your filenames is always a good idea (i.e.: under_bar). Do not use periods, commas, etc. in file names

Keep your current working folder on the local hard disk. When finished copy it to your home directory and your back-up media. Keep at least one previous version, too. Remember that if you are using a public machine, use the "My Documents" directory (in the local hard disk) for working, then transfer from there.

Log in, log out

When you 'Map network drive' or 'connect to server ' to establish a connection to your home directory, or to 'plottmp', this is similar to having your door unlocked, giving other users the ability to impersonate you in creating files, or accruing charges for plots, or deleting things from your home account.

Always make sure you log off of any public computer when done, thereby unmapping any network drives you may have connected to.