Welcome to Amherst Bytes, a column dedicated to technology at the College. First off, let me introduce myself. I'm a philosophy major from the class of '05, and I'm currently working in the IT department as the Kermes Technology Fellow. I started this column intending to help users become more comfortable with the technology they depend on, instead of endowing it with a sense of mysticism. I'll start this year's series of columns off with some general tips regarding technology at Amherst. Before I get started, I recommend that everyone grab one of the Student Guides to Computing floating around campus. (It's lime-green, you honestly can't miss it.) That, coupled with the IT Web site at www.amherst.edu/it, should answer most computing questions; this article is meant simply to offer my own suggestions.

Whether you have a desktop or a laptop, a Mac or a PC, you'll need to connect your computer to our network. This year, we've made significant advances in wireless availability. Most first-year students should have wireless reception in their rooms along with increased availability on the Freshman Quad. While wireless reception is incredibly convenient, I don't recommend relying on it entirely. When in your dorm room, use an Ethernet cable to connect to the network. Ethernet offers a significant bandwidth gain when it comes to local traffic (100Mbps versus 10Mbps with wireless), which means that it is much faster at transferring files between computers on campus. This is mainly a benefit for users who need to transfer large files over the network, but it's also useful if you need to transfer the occasional music file. When connected with Ethernet you also don't have to worry about your wireless reception, which may not be ideal in some dorms. If you need an Ethernet cable, you can purchase a 25-foot cable from IT for $10 on the first floor of Seeley Mudd.

Once classes start, you'll need a place to store all of your work. Don't even consider floppy disks; they are unreliable and not supported in most of our computing labs. You're better off taking a two-pronged approach at data storage. First off, use your U: drive, a 250MB personal network drive that is accessible only to you and is available wherever you log in on campus. Files stored on it are archived every night, making it the safest place to keep your files. Instructions on connecting to your U: drive can be found in the Student Guide to Computing. For portable storage and off-campus use, I recommend that you use a USB flash drive. If you don't know what this is, imagine an iPod Shuffle that doesn't play music. These gum-stick-sized drives are fairly inexpensive and are available in sizes up to several gigabytes. They can be used in any modern computer that has a USB port and function like a mini-hard drive. A 512MB stick should be enough to last your college career, but don't quote me on that.

I also recommend that you start a plan on Planworld to keep in touch with the people you'll meet on campus. You can reach Planworld from the New Athenian at note.amherst.edu. Planworld is a vestige of a dying age on campus, and it needs the support of incoming classes to stay alive. Rather than explicitly stating what it is, I suggest you jump in and find out for yourselves. Many of you will be coming here with LiveJournals or blogs, but you will come to learn how plans are different. Planworld is a unique social invention on this campus, and it is by far the best home-brewed method of procrastination that we have.

Finally, the IT department will host a technology fair from 12-4 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 21. Come and chat with representatives of the IT department, purchase $10 Office and Windows XP CDs, register to win an iPod Shuffle and more. The fair will also be the first place where you can buy our brand-new Amherst College flash-drives for $30.

Next time on Amherst Bytes: Apple switches to Intel processors; hell freezes over.