Software in our computer laboratories

The software which is installed in a given laboratory is a mix of "common/popular" packages, as well as special software required by some course given by the department.

Most lab computers are based on the same "deployment configuration", meaning that software installed in one lab will most likely be available in the other labs of the same operating system as well.

Can I influence which software is installed on laboratory computers?

The departmental laboratories are for our students, so that you have the resources to complete your course assignments in a suitable environment.

For general software, that is, software which is not tied to a particular course, such as editors, you can let your preferences be known directly to the support staff, which will investigate the possibilities.

For software which is intended primarily for a specific course, you should first discuss the situation with the course instructor.

Note: Some software licenses permit installation for personal use, but not for system-wide classroom installations, so even if it's a software you use yourself on your own computer without issues, it may not be possible to have it installed system-wide.

Software versions

The computer labs tend to use LTS (Long Term Support) releases of software where available, and we try to keep the software versions stable (unchanging) during a semester.

If you require some other version of a program than what is installed, it may be possible for you to simply download it and unpack it into your home-directory (Linux: ~/, Windows: H:\).

If it requires more storage than you have available in your Home-folder, you may be able to install itinto your bulkhome-directory instead (Linux: /import/bulkhome/$USER, Windows: \\bulkhome.cs.umu.se\$USER).

Playing computer games in the laboratories

The labs are intended for work on your assignments / studies / ... , not personal entertainment.