Lab has 57 virtual desktops, 35 PCs, 21 Mac computers and three iPads available for use.
By Henry M. Martinez Jr.
sac-ranger@alamo.edu
While the student mega lab, or mega lab, offers an assortment of student ready computer equipment, what it lacks is labor.
Two part-time workers assist lab Coordinator Melinda Lopez.
The lab has 57 virtual desktops, 35 PCs, 21 Mac computers and three iPads. Virtual desktops are systems connected to a server rather than an individual computer system.
Lopez said the center gets about 200 or more students throughout the day.
She said there have been several times when she is greeted in the morning with a line ready for her to open the doors.
Lopez said she has even gotten to a point that when she enters the elevator in Moody with a student, she can simply ask, “Mega lab?”
The student almost certainly nods.
The lab is an open access computer lab with PC and Mac workstations and outlets so students can bring personal devices and use the space.
Architecture sophomore Benjamin Locher said, “They have Macs. It’s awesome.”
Locher said that when he goes, it’s usually for study groups and homework. “I usually go with at least two people but usually end up with like three or four,” he said.
To use the equipment, students must have a Banner ID.
Upon walking in, students see two “log-in” stations in the form of iPads where they enter a Banner ID. Then the student can choose a workstation.
Since the virtual desktops aren’t connected to an individual system, this doesn’t allow people to save work to the desktop.
This means students need their own flash drive to save work.
Printing is 10 cents for black and white copies and 50 cents for color copies.
The lab also can help with online course support, admission and registration and multimedia software support.
No food or drinks are allowed in the lab.
The mega lab is open 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Friday in Room 502 of Moody Learning Center.
For more information, call 210-486-0160 or visit http://www.alamo.edu/sac/megacomputerlab/.