The NSKit includes basic Internet software, such as the Netscape Navigator Web browser with Acrobat Reader, RealPlayer and QuickTime plugins, Telnet for remote login, FTP and Fetch for file transfers and Eudora for email.
The main component of the Netscape Communicator suite is Netscape Navigator, which is UIC's preferred Web browser. It is also used as a newsreader program to read Usenet News. As is the case in the computer labs, Netscape Navigator, or Netscape for short, can be configured with a number of plugins and helper applications to extend its capabilities for handling a number of text, graphics and multimedia file formats. This is also the program to use when accessing your email. See our Email page for more information.
The Telnet program is used for accessing UNIX computers on the network, such as Icarus and Tigger. To use Telnet, one needs the fully qualified domain name (FQDN) or IP (Internet) address of the host one wishes to access.
FTP is used for transferring files over the Internet. As for Telnet, the FQDN or IP address of an FTP file server is needed. Once connected, information or software can be downloaded. Web browsers can also be used to do some file transfers. UIC's FTP File Server FQDN is ftp.uic.edu.
Windows Explorer
The Windows Explorer is used regularly to manage files on Microsoft Windows
95, 98 and NT hard disks, floppy drives and removable disks.
Account Creation
Program
The Account Creation icon is available in the ACCC public computer lab
and it is used for initiating the account creation process.
Word is the preferred word processing program at UIC. It can be used for writing term papers, resumes, correspondence documents and so forth. MS-Word is part of the Microsoft Office 97 suite available in the computer labs and through ACCC Server Services.
Excel is the spreadsheet program included with Microsoft Office suite. It is a powerful, yet, relatively easy-to-master tool for organizing, analyzing and displaying information.
Powerpoint is the presentation component of Microsoft Office. It is very easy to use and has wizards and templates to aid in the creation of professional-looking presentations. Powerpoint presentations can be displayed from a computer, uploaded to the Web or printed on foils or paper stock.
Access is the database management component of Microsoft Office Professional. Access is a relational database system that can be used to develop both, simple and complex database applications.
Microsoft Internet Explorer, or MSIE for short, is Microsoft's Web browser. MSIE Version 4.0 is very powerful, intuitive and has been gaining increased popularity among Web surfers.
WordPerfect is the other popular word processing program at UIC. Not long ago, WordPerfect was the preferred application for writing documents, term papers and just about anything else.
The Acrobat Reader is a program used to view the growing number of Portable Document Format (PDF) files. Documents in PDF format are final-form documents that preserve the look and feel of the document and can be rendered correctly on PC, Macintosh and UNIX systems without any platform dependencies or font problems. The Acrobat Reader is a freely distributed program which is also included in the NSKit.
Claris Home Page is a very easy-to-use program to author Web documents without the need to know any HTML. Home Page's visual interface is easy to master to create simple and even some complex Web pages with graphics, tables and frames, if necessary. Home Page makes it possible to directly download and upload documents and other files from and to a Web server; that is, without the need to use FTP or Fetch to do the file transfer.
SPSS is UIC's most popular statistical analysis program. It can be used by casual and serious users interested in performing simple and complex statistical work.
SAS is also a popular statistical analysis program. It is said to have a slightly steeper learning curve than SPSS, but on the other hand, SAS is very powerful and capable of performing the most complex statistical analysis, data manipulation, reports and statistical plots.
Maple is a popular algebraic and mathematical tool available in the public computer labs and through ACCC Server Services. Several versions of Maple are typically in use, including Release 3, 4 and 5.
MATLAB is a teaching tool that provides an integrated computing environment for numeric computations, advanced graphics and visualizations and high-level programming. It is primarily by engineering and math students, and by scientists.
Eudora is a very popular and user-friendly electronic mail program. Eudora is site-licensed and is included in the NSKits for Windows and Macintosh. Eudora is typically used on personal computers at offices and at home. Please note that we currently do not have facilities for indviduals to use Eudora in the public labs. Consult our email page to learn about using Webmail to access your email from anywhere.