| Using a Laptop at the Workshop |
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If you have a laptop computer with you, you may connect it to the workshop network, login to the Workshop workstations, and (for some laptops) run software applications locally.
Connecting to the Network
There are two possible ways to connect to the Workshop network. First, we have Ethernet cables available throughout the computer laboratory room, Loeb 308; if your laptop has an Ethernet port (and virtually all modern laptops do), you may plug in that way. Alternatively, for laptops with wireless capability, we have an 802.11n wireless network available.
Regardless of whether you connect to a wired or wireless network, you will need to configure your computer to obtain an IP address by DHCP. If you do not know how to do this, Information Technology at MBL has a series of pamphlets on the subject available at the Swope reception desk, and the information is also available online. Follow their instructions up to the point where you would register for an MBL IP address by going to http://register.mbl.tmp. Please ask the Workshop computer staff for help if needed.
If you choose to connect to the Workshop's wireless network, the network name is "molevol". If it does not appear at first, you may need to type in "molevol" somewhere to connect. We use 128-bit WEP encryption with a password of "molecularevol". Procedures for connecting to a wireless network vary from computer to computer; if you do not know how to accomplish this on your system, please ask the Workshop computer staff for help.
A warning
MBL requires that all computers connected to its network have all of the latest security patches installed. Since our network is connected to theirs, we have to follow this policy as well. IT at MBL takes this policy very seriously, and there may be consequences for future Workshops if we fail to follow it.
Accessing Course Servers
After connecting to the network, you can login to the Workshop computers.
We use the SSH protocol, so you will need an SSH client. If you do not already have a client installed, you will need to download one. Windows users can download Putty, a free SSH client. Macintosh OS 9 users can download Nifty Telnet-SSH. Macintosh OS X users are in luck: they can access an SSH client by typing "ssh" into a Terminal window. (To launch Terminal, look in Finder --> Applications --> Utilities --> Terminal).
Once you have a working SSH client, use it to log into any lab workstation (e.g., australia, chile, mexico, sweden, etc.)
Running Applications Locally
Download links and installation instructions to the latest version of each application used in the workshop can be found in their respective pages.
For your convenience we have made available packages with all the workshop software for the most common operating systems:
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