Math Department Computing Environment

Most offices have computers. If your office doesn't have a computer and you would like one, please send an email to , call us at (617) 253-4995, or stop by 2-170.

Generally, each faculty member or graduate student will have a Linux workstation available for use in his or her office or the computer room in the basement, 2-090a. But any member of the department who would like a workstation is welcome to one. Currently, computers on the Math network are limited to Linux workstations. Please see us if you need to connect Windows or Mac OS machines on the Math network.

Linux workstations currently run Xubuntu operating system with the XFCE Desktop set as the default desktop environment. Once you type in your username and password you are presented with a graphical user environment that is similar to other commercial operating systems.

Users can login to any Linux workstation in the department using their username and password. Your files are stored on a central fileserver and are available from all machines. Given that the Math Department is primarily a Unix-type environment, reviewing the Unix tutorial might be useful.

PLEASE NOTE: users do not have root privileges on Linux workstations. If you need something installed or encounter an issue, please contact us.