Welcome to The A3C Connection

Having connections is what it's all about. Getting wired is one way to start, but using computers to their fullest often involves connections to other computers, connections to libraries or other information resources, connections to usable software, and above all, connections to helpful people. We hope our new newsletter, The A3C Connection, will become such a useful connection.

We intend to offer timely information about news, software, computing, and even people. And most importantly, information about getting information. Our ultimate goal is to help you focus less on getting computers to work and more on getting them to work for you.

Our new name starts with A3C because that's who we are -- the UIC Academic Computing and Communications Center, and because at UIC, we're where network connections begin. The ACCC manages the ADN, the Academic Data Network, which is the UIC campuswide computer network and communications backbone. The ADN connects computers of all sizes and persuasions with other computers on campus and throughout the world. One might describe it, if one only worked on Madison Avenue and/or for the US government, as UIC's on-ramp to the information highway. But hype and cliché aside, the ADN and the resources it brings really can be useful.

Why a printed newsletter? The ACCC's other news vehicles are electronic: the timely news flashes on the ACCC Web home page and the ACCC UpReport. The ACCC news and UpReport are important because of their immediacy and convenience, and we will continue to expand our offerings of online documents. Yet, while electronic documents have many uses, some information is just fit to print.

We include in The A3C Connection the kind of information one can read more easily at a desk, rather than on a monitor. The multiple printed pages in A3C Connection allow us to cover a range of topics in each issue and have more information on them. It is also available on the Web, at the URL http://www.accc.uic.edu/newsletter/, in case you lose your copy or want to search the back issues.

The readership icons indicate whether the article is intended for Novices or Experts or both. The system icons are standard logos for various operating systems, applications or platforms. Commonly, you'll see system icons for MS Windows, Apple Macintosh, the World Wide Web, or UNIX. The Many system icon indicates that the article applies to several systems.

The A3C Glossary:

This column provides a brief introduction to terms used in the issue.

The Campus Beat and The A3C Beat:

Information about the services available from or through the ACCC, and also other information of local interest on computing and networking.

News on the Net:

Through the ADN's connections to other region-, nation- and worldwide computer networks, we at UIC have access to an incredible amount of information. This column introduces tools or services "on the Net."

Campus Profiles:

Many people at UIC have found creative ways to use computers or networking in their work (or play). This column will introduce you to some of them. Their innovations can provide insights for us as we use computers and networking in our research, teaching, and administrative duties. (If you would like to suggest someone to be interviewed for "Campus Profiles," please let us know. Either send electronic mail to connect@uic.edu or call Judith Grobe Sachs at (312) 996-3758.)

Tech Tips:

This column will tell you how to do a specific task, usually on a specific platform. (The readership and system icons will be particularly useful for these articles.)

The Head Crash:

Q & A: Do you have a question? "The Head Crash" would like to answer it. Send your question directly to "The Head Crash" (send electronic mail to connect@uic.edu or call Judith Grobe Sachs at (312) 996-3758). We'll most likely forward it to consult for a reply, but we'll keep track of the question and its answer for possible inclusion in "The Head Crash."

News and Reviews:

With more computing being done on our desktops (or even in our laps), we're all faced with making decisions on what we need, and then on what we should buy. We'll use this column to introduce spiffy new products and to give overviews of existing products.

Comments are appreciated; send them to
Judith Grobe Sachs, judygs@uic.edu