Computing at BUSM
Computing at BUSM 
Electronic Mailing List Information for Medical Students
As a medical student, you are required to subscribe to your electronic class mailing list to stay informed of class notices, class meetings, events, and to receive communications from the BUSM administration. An electronic mailing list is a way of distributing announcements to a group; any time you send a message to an electronic mailing list, a copy is sent to all subscribers. Each BUSM student class has an electronic mailing list: BUSM-2009-list, BUSM-2010-list, etc. You must be subscribed to a medical school mailing lists to send a message to it. Additionally, when using the lists, you are required to follow “The Conditions of Use Policy: E-mail Communications Boston University School of Medicine” that is sent to new subscribers.
Follow the instructions below for subscribing and sending to the mailing lists. Elizabeth Dick in the Office of Student Affairs may answer questions regarding the mailing lists (ecdick@bu.edu).
How to Automatically Receive All E-mail for Your Class Mailing List
Send an e-mail to majordomo@bu.edu with the following one-line message for the appropriate class:
- subscribe busm-2012-list
- subscribe busm-2011-list
- subscribe busm-2010-list
- subscribe busm-2009-list
Do not enter any other information in the e-mail besides what is listed above. Be sure you send your e-mail in plain text. You should receive an automated receipt of your subscription within 24 hours.
How to Send E-mail to Medical School Mailing Lists
You must be subscribed to the list in order to send a message to it.
Use the following addresses (the class year is contained in the address):
- busm-2012-list@bu.edu
- busm-2011-list@bu.edu
- busm-2010-list@bu.edu
- busm-2009-list@bu.edu
Follow these rules:
- Always include a descriptive subject in the “Subject:” slot of your e-mail.
- Do not send messages to the mailing lists more than two times.
- Include a contact person with an e-mail address in your message.
- Do not use all capital letters for the entire message (these are difficult to read.)
How to Send E-mail to Other Medical Campus Students
A staff person moderates the mailing lists for dental, GMS, and SPH students. To send e-mail to these student mailing lists, forward your e-mail to the following person who will then approve its delivery and send it for you. Dental students: Richard Rabbett, rabbet@bu.edu; GMS students: Susan Wilcox, wilcox@bu.edu; SPH students: Kerri Smith, kersmith@bu.edu.
Computer Specifications and Reccomendations(Compatability at BUSM)
BUSM has no specific curriculum requirements for purchasing a personal computer, laptop, or PDA (Personal Digital Assistant); however, many students may find these computing devices useful for coursework, communications, research activities and access to reference sources. The following document addresses issues medical students may encounter in conjunction with using a computer or PDA.
Connectivity
When you are renting an apartment, condominium, or home, inquire about the connectivity in the building. If you live in Harrison Court, you will need an Ethernet card in your laptop or desktop computer to connect to the network. In most other dwellings, a modem will be your means of connectivity. It is best to check with your landlord, neighbors, or realtor to ascertain what type of connection your apartment, condominium, or home has.
If you purchase a laptop, consider installing a modem, Ethernet card, and a wireless card. Boston University Medical Campus network is managed and operated by BUMC Office of Information Technology (OIT); all devices including wireless devices which connect to the BUMC network must be authorized by OIT. All BU Buildings on the Medical Campus have wireless network including the Alumni Medical Library ( L-12). Students who plan to use laptops in the library must have a wireless card that is 802.11B or 802.11G compatible. Other areas of the medical campus may be installing wireless networks in the near future.
What Brands?
The computer experts of the medical campus recommend Dell, IBM, Sony, or Toshiba products.
The antivirus software recommended by Network Associates Technology is McAfee. You may purchase your computers online, at University Computers (www.bu.edu/univcomp) at 533 Commonwealth Avenue in Kenmore Square, next to the Barnes & Noble Bookstore, or at any retailer you select.
What Software?
Most course and medical education materials are now on the web, so the operating system you choose is not so important. You will find that the majority of administrative offices at BUSM use PCs with Microsoft Office suites of products.
What E-mail Program Should I Use?
All School of Medicine students must have a Boston University School of Medicine e-mail address and Kerberos password in order to access their grades, schedule, and contact information as part of their individual student profile on the School of Medicine Registrar’s site. School of Medicine grade information cannot be accessed via the Student Link service at the Charles River Campus.
The Charles River Campus Office of Information Technology offers web-based access to e-mail through an interface called Horde or SilkyMail (www.bu.edu/webmail/). This site allows you to read mail on the Academic Computing System (ACS) -there is no provision for using Horde or SilkyMail to read mail stored on any other mail server, such as Hotmail or Yahoo. For more information on recommended email software, visit: http://www.bu.edu/pcsc/email/software/
Many medical students choose to utilize an Internet Service Provider (ISP) such as Verizon, Yahoo!, or Hotmail. Some of the ISPs reject student electronic-mailing-list mail as spam mail. You will receive a great deal of important e-mail via the electronic student mailing lists, so you must choose your ISP carefully.
Who Can Help Me?
As their time allows, the staff in the Learning Resource Center (BUSM library, L11) will assist students who have difficulty in configuring their computer software to the BU system. The staff at the Personal Computing Support Center (PCSC) at 111 Cummington Street on the Charles River Campus (www.bu.edu/pcsc) is very helpful also, particularly in configuring e-mail. The Office of Information Technology, located on the Medical Campus (www.bumc.bu.edu/bumc/oit), is available on a fee for service basis.
General usage of PDAs is fine, but there will be network connectivity problems when attempting to connect. Please note that there is no valid VPN client for PDAs since Certicom decided not to support it anymore. For more information about the university’s stance on PDA use as described by the Personal Computing Support Center (PCSC), visit: http://www.bu.edu/pcsc/vpn/handheldVPN.html. In addition some of your peers at BUSM have also put together a handy webpage with recommendations on PDA Usage and software at the following link: http://dgoldenholz.googlepages.com/pda
