Services & Resources > Computer Centre > Computer Labs > Features

ECC Lab Computer Special Features

Startup folder.

You can have a file, application, folder, or web page, launched when you login to a lab computer. To indicate you want an item launched, place a shortcut to it in the folder named 'startup' in your h: drive. The target of any shortcuts found in this folder is launched at logon.

Remote Access.

College of Engineering lab computers can be accessed remotely by students' personal computers. This provides access to the engineering applications, printers, and your h: drive.

There are some hardware & software requirements for the connecting computer. There are also limitations on which lab are available and the hours they can be accessed. Please see the FAQ [Remote Access][Labs]

Writable Desktop.

Any file saved or copied to the desktop of a lab computer will be available on the desktop of the next lab computer you logon to. These files are redirected to the folder 'desktop' in your h: drive. You can find them there as well.

Internet Explorer Favourites.

Any favourites you save in IE will be retained and available in future sessions on lab computers.

Auto-Logoffs (timeworp).

A timeworp session is launched whenever you logon to a lab computer. It logs your session off if a predefined timeout expirers.

This helps cover 2 important concerns. For the safety and integrity of your files and emails, it is important not to leave lab computers unattended. It is to easy to become complacent with this, try to keep in mind that our labs are public spaces. The other is to ensure that unattended machines are not resulting in denial of access to other student. Lab computers are a limited resource.

Timeworp can be started in any one of 3 modes. It can be set to spawn a logoff after a set amount of user inactivity, after a specific amount of time, or at a certain time of day. All three of these modes are used in our labs, sometimes two different modes are combined (ie alpha lab computers logoff after 20 minutes of inactivity, beta lab scanner station are limited to a maximum session time of 30 minutes).

To check on the logon runtime session limits in effect for a specific logon, click on the timeworp icon(s) in the system tray. A dialog will open reporting a complete description of the limit in effect.