Cutting the wire

While waiting for a chemistry reaction to take place in one of his classes last week, senior Kent Krieg connected to the IU network with his laptop to play a game of Party Poker with one of his fellow classmates in the chemistry building. Krieg uses his laptop and wireless connection to surf the Web, play online games and chat on AOL Instant Messenger. Naming off a list of places he connects to the network, Krieg jokingly said he uses it "everywhere," from the education and chemistry buildings to the Student Recreational Sports Center and even the Ballantine Hall parking lot.\nThe University's efforts to allow students to access its network beyond their dorms and computer labs has earned IU the title of the most unwired college campus.\nResults from a recent survey conducted by Intel Corporation were released Tuesday. IU was given the title of the most unwired college campus because of its ability to provide more wireless access to its students then any other college.\nIntel's "Most Unwired College Campuses" survey ranks the top 100 schools for wireless computing access. Rounding out the top five campuses are Purdue University, the University of Texas at Austin, \nCase Western University in Cleveland and Dartmouth College in Hanover, N.H.\nAccording to an Intel press release, the findings are based on the number of hotspots, the number of undergraduates, number of computers, the computer to student ratio and the percentage of each college campus covered by wireless technology.\n"This award came as a complete surprise," said Brian Voss, associate vice president of telecommunications at IU.\nVoss said Intel did their own research for the survey and did not contact anyone at IU for assistance.\nAfter he found out the news, Voss congratulated his colleagues for their hard work but insisted further improvements and advancements are still necessary in the upcoming years.\n"It's really important that we maintain and improve the (wireless) environment at IU," Voss said.\nWith more then 80 campus hotspots, or areas where wireless access can be obtained, students can access the network from most campus buildings such as the IU Art Museum, IU Auditorium, Indiana Memorial Union, main library and even certain floors and lounges of residence halls.\n"(IU) is clearly a leader," Intel spokesperson Bill Calder told the IDS. "(The ranking) certainly means that IU is on the cutting edge of the revolution in computing."\nWhile IU is ranked number one for wireless access, it also consistently ranked in the top ten most wired campuses in surveys conducted by Yahoo! Internet Life, said Voss. \nVoss said wired and wireless computing are complimentary types of technology as wireless is not a replacement for wired computing. \n"We have to continue to focus on both so we don't gain strength in one (and lose it in another)," Voss said.\nIntel started conducting the survey last year, solely looking for the most unwired city and recently broadened its scope to include college campuses and airports. This year, the San Francisco Bay Area took the number one position as the most unwired city from last year's leader Portland, Ore. The Dallas-Fort Worth International airport ranked above all others in wireless access for travelers.\n"We don't ever have a goal of trying to get an award," said Voss. "I think its just a continued acknowledgement of the advancements we've made."\n-- Contact staff writer Chris Jesse at cejesse@indiana.edu.