• Overview and Description of the Course
• Syllabus
• Outline of Material Covered (by Unit)

• Homework Assigned
• Answers to Homework Already Handed in
• Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
• In-class Activities

We have included two sets of instructions, one for PCs and one for Macs. We found some Macs were not up to date and we had trouble printing from either type of machine. There are consultants in the microlabs (except the Computer Center), so if you need help there will be someone there paid to help you - ask! They or your friends may show you a somewhat different way to do the same thing: these instructions just describe what we think is the easiest method. There are more than 50 microlabs on campus, and 3 off-campus, so get the brochure with locations and hours in case your favorite microlab is full. The following instructions do not assume familiarity with computers at all. If you don't know what terms like "double clicking" mean, start with the Appendix.

1. Activate your free account on the MSU Pilot computer system, and bring your PILOT ID (user account name) and PASSWORD with you. When you sit down at a PC, the screen should read login:. It if doesn't, press the reset button on the front of the bottom PC box and wait until it does. (If you get really lost and want to start over, just hit this reset button at any time.) Type in your Pilot ID, then when the PC asks you for it, your password.
2. After a minute or so, you should see a table of two menus, labeled PAGE INDEX and HARD DISK MENU side by side. If, in the left-hand table, MAIN MENU is not already highlighted (i.e., a different color than the other choices), press the keyboard left- or right-pointing arrow key, possibly several times, until the MAIN MENU line is highlighted. Then hit the number 7 to start the Windows program. Wait again.
3. You are in the Windows software when you see a window with a light grey background and several icons (little pictures) with labels underneath them. Open the COMMUNICATIONS folder by double clicking on the icon labeled COMMUNICATIONS using the left mouse key. (You may have to look around in the window to find the Communications folder. Do this by pointing the mouse at the arrows on the frame of the window and holding down the left mouse key.)
4. A new window titled Communications should open. Start Netscape by double clicking on the icon labeled Netscape inside this window.
5. Another window will open at the MSU home web page (or possibly somewhere else: it doesn't matter). To get the ISP205 web page, select Open from the menu bar (at the top of the Netscape window) by clicking in its icon.
6. Yet another window titled Netscape: Open Locations will appear. In this window is a box labeled Open Location. Just start typing the address (also called a URL)

   http://www.pa.msu.edu/courses/ISP205/sec-3/

   and what you are typing will appear in the box. If you make a typing mistake, use the keyboard backspace or delete keys to back up over the mistake. When you have correctly typed in the address, hit the return key.
7. Finally, the ISP205 home web page for Section 3 should appear, replacing the MSU home page. It contains links (highlighted or underlined words or pictures), that will connect you to the course documents listed above. To see the linked documents, just click on the highlighted word or picture.
8. You can print any document or picture you are viewing by selecting Print from the File Menu by pointing the mouse cursor arrow to the File Menu in the upper left of the window, pressing the mouse button, and holding it down as you drag the mouse arrow cursor down until the word Print is highlighted. Then release the mouse button, and the document you are viewing will be sent to one of the dot-matrix printers in the microlab. The PC may refuse to let you do anything else while it is busy sending the file to the printer. Wait.
9. When you are finished, you need to stop all the software and log out of the PC. Start with quitting Netscape by opening the File Menu, then holding the mouse button down until it points to Quit. Release the button. Close the Communications window by clicking in the box in its upper left corner.
10. Reboot by pressing the reset button on the front of the machine. If you want to give us comments (to hufnage4@pilot.msu.edu) on whether these instructions helped you or not via email, start over at step number 1, but type 8, not 7 in step 2. The microlabs have written handouts for using email.

1. Your Pilot id and password are not necessary. If the screen is blank, try waking it up (disabling the screen-saver) by moving the mouse. If that doesn't work, make sure it's turned on by pressing the power button on the edge of the monitor itself. There should only be several icons visible on the screen. Close any open window by clicking in the small box in its upper left-hand corner. Open the icon (little picture) labeled CC MicroLab AFS by double clicking on it.
2. The prior user may have carelessly left software running which might interfere with your use. To check for this, select the tiny icon in the upper right hand corner of the CC Microlab AFS window. This should pop up a menu showing you all of the software running. The Finder software should always be there, but if there are more applications listed, you need to stop them. Do this by selecting (see appendix) the name in the menu of the running software. The window for that software should appear on the screen. Stop the software by pulling down the File Menu at the upper left of the menu bar, and selecting Quit from it.
3. Open the COMMUNICATIONS folder by double clicking on the icon labeled COMMUNICATIONS, using the left mouse key. (You may have to look around in the window to find the Communications folder. Do this by pointing the mouse at the arrows on the frame of the window and holding down the left mouse key.)
4. A new window entitled Communications should open. Open up the Netscape window by double clicking on the icon labeled Netscape inside this window. Open the Netscape Navigator software (finally!) by double clicking on this icon, or by selecting the New Web Browser on the File window.
5. Another window will open at the MSU home web page (or possibly somewhere else: it doesn't matter). To get the ISP205 web page, select Open from the menu bar (at the top of the Netscape window) by clicking in its icon.
6. Yet another window entitled Netscape: Open Locations will appear. In this window is a box labeled Open Location. Just start typing

   http://www.pa.msu.edu/courses/ISP205/sec-3/

   and what you are typing will appear in the box. If you make a typing mistake, use the keyboard backspace or delete keys to back up over the mistake. When you have correctly typed in the address, hit the return key.
7. The ISP205 web page for Section 3 should soon appear, replacing the MSU Home page. It contains links, highlighted or underlined words or pictures, that will connect you to the course documents listed above. To see the linked documents, click the mouse on the highlighted word or picture.
8. You can print any document or picture you are viewing by selecting Print from the File Menu by pointing the mouse cursor arrow to the File Menu in the upper left of the window, pressing the mouse button, and holding it down as you drag the mouse arrow cursor down until the word Print is highlighted. Then release the mouse button, and a print window will pop up. Click on the PRINT button. The document you are viewing will be sent to one of the dot-matrix printers in the microlab. It's best not to try to use the Mac while it's busy sending the file to the printer as you might confuse it. (Not a pretty sight.)

   If nothing happens, it's likely that the Mac doesn't know which printer you want. To choose one, point to the extreme upper left-hand side of the screen and select the rainbow-colored apple. One of the menu items is the Chooser. Work through the menus and select one of the AppleWriters (there is a charge for the LaserWriter). Then tell it to Print again.

   If you have successfully printed out your document, but the screen is not displayed as before, press the RELOAD button.

9. When you are finished, it's polite to stop all the software and close the windows as described in Step 1.
10. If you want to give us comments on these instructions via email, look for the email handout in the microlab and send email to hufnage4@pilot.msu.edu.

This page has been accessed times.