North Carolina State University may never build another computer lab. Instead the university has installed racks of equipment in windowless rooms where students and professors never go. This article describes a project called the Virtual Computing Lab. Users enter it remotely from their own computers in dormitory rooms or libraries. They get all…

A number of universities now require all students to have computers, charging additional tuition to cover costs of hardware, networking, and technical support. Despite frustrations of extensive computer systems and technological change, most feel the programs are worthwhile and address the limitations of campus computer labs. Laptops have become…