When Karen Ng, a graphic design student, started the fall semester with a new laptop at hand, she was ready to just turn it on and go wireless. It was not that easy.

Ng found herself staring at a "Blue Socket" web site that asked her to log in. Through a university web site she soon found out what she had to do to connect to the wireless system.

She discovered she needed to apply for a UNIX account. Nobody had told her that before. In fact, beyond the announcement that she would need a laptop as of Fall 2003, nobody had told her much about anything regarding the wireless project.

"Not everyone knows that there is a web site telling you what to do," she said. The department should have advertised it more. They should have explained the steps that needed to be taken."

Ng is one of many students who experienced a lack of direction with the practical and technical side of the wireless project, which has left them confused and frustrated.

"There is certainly some kind of disconnect when it comes to tech support," Jacquie Heffner, a journalism and mass communications student, said. While much energy was put into the promotion of the wireless laptop project, she said, little has been done to work through the details of putting the project into practice.

Rima Shah, also a jmc student, acknowledged the campaign surrounding the wireless project raised expectations in her, which were ultimately not fulfilled.

"Because they made such a big deal out of it, I thought I would come to school the first day of the semester and everyone would have a laptop," she said. "I also thought there would be a lot of tech support. But things are not how I thought they would be."

Shah had some previous computer knowledge, which helped her figure out most things on her own. Like Shah and Ng, most student participants in the wireless project worked through the first few days on their own, whether they liked it or not.

"It is confusing to figure it all out on my own," Heffner said, "I wish they had scheduled a half hour in every single class for someone to go through the motions, how to go online, how to use your e-mail account and so on."

Lacking guidance from professors, students are unaware of the fact that there is a department on campus designated to answer precisely those questions.

The Information Technology Support Services Helpdesk, a subdivision of the department of academic technology, which is located in Washington Square Hall, assists students and faculty with various technical issues, including the wireless project.

Alfred Eclipse, who has been newly hired in July to oversee the help desk, acknowledged that the department has led somewhat of a wallflower existence on campus.

One of his tasks, Eclipse said, is to brush up the image of the ITSS Helpdesk and to "create more exposure." But until now, many students continue to stumble upon the help desk and its support services more or less accidentally, when applying for a UNIX account.

When they come to pick up their UNIX account, some of the students ask, "So how does this work?" "How do I log on?" Eclipse said. This is the moment when they realize the ITSS Helpdesk can help them with issues beyond just opening a UNIX account."

According to Eclipse, there are between five and 10 students a week who seek his staff's help with wireless issues. Besides opening a UNIX account, the most frequent issues students have are questions about wireless cards and their configuration as well as problems with the network or logging in, he said.

Some students, who have sought the help desk's assistance, became frustrated with the way it operates. On of them is Raychelle Garcia. When the jmc and art student wanted to pick up her UNIX account, she had to learn that there was a delay. Finally, almost three weeks passed before she received her account, she said.

Jessica King, a jmc student, said while she was content with the guidance she received from her teachers, who informed her about workshops and tech support, she was less happy with the assistance she received from the helpdesk.

"When I asked how to use my UNIX account, they gave me an information sheet, but the information on it was very confusing," King said.

She was also annoyed when she forgot the password to her account. She had to pick it up personally, instead of receiving it via e-mail. Ng was equally displeased with the helpdesk's policy that new passwords or accounts must be picked up in person.

"Its inconvenient that we have to go there to pick up our accounts," she said, "So many people I know say they still don't have an account, because they are too busy to pick it up."

Sammy Situ, one of the five student assistants working at the help desk, said they had to employ such measures for security reasons. Situ also acknowledged that some of the information regarding the wireless project is on fliers, and that those fliers were meant to guide students through the most important issues.

"But we will also personally show students step by step how to set things up," she said.

The fact that most students have little insight into the helpdesk's way of operating, causes them to get easily frustrated, Eclipse said.

"The ITSS Helpdesk is merely the first point of contact for students," he said, "We will first try to assess your problem and we will ask you a lot of questions. The staff is trained to help, but sometimes they have to refer you to someone else."

Another problem students faced is a lack of communication about the helpdesk's range of services. A number of students, who visited the helpdesk to pick up a UNIX account, left unaware that many of their technical questions could have been answered there.

When Garcia picked up her UNIX account, it didn't cross her mind that the ITSS Helpdesk did anything else but deal with accounts. "I had no idea they were offering tech support," Garcia said.

Heffner, who had also been there to pick up her account, missed out on help as well. "I have an e-mail account now, but I have no idea how to use it," she said. Just like Garcia, she didn't ask any further questions and never learned that this was the place were she could get tech support.

To reduce miscommunication and improve help desk services, Eclipse is planning for students to fill out a small evaluation form in the near future. He also acknowledged that the university needed to take certain measures to improve students' general awareness about tech support services on campus.

In September, the ITSS Helpdesk took a first step towards showcasing their services with a barbeque, where the staff had set up an information booth. Eclipse is also planning to pass out flyers to faculty and staff, so that students, who need technical assistance, can be pointed in the right direction.