A press conference was held on October 4, 2 P.M. at Hsi Hwa Hotel, Taipei in which Dr. Flora C.I. Chang, V.P. for Administrative Affairs, formally announced the installation of Linux Platform on T.K.U. campus. It is the first time that the higher- education institution in the history of Taiwan has utilized such a facility, Dr. Chang proudly reminded us.

Pres. Chang Horng-jinh expressed his joy over the deal of this new venture. He recalled how in the 60’s, our school was first blessed with a crude Host Computer, boasting only a mere 8K capacity, housed in a small-sized classroom. With our redoubtable insistence on computerization, we had set a JCEE “no-fault grading” record for 10 years. T.K.U. is also unprecedented in programs such as the voice-mail registration and registration on the website. Since she has been a long-time customer of I.B.M., he hoped that the long-term relationship will last for many years.

Dr. Hwang Ming-dar, Director of the Information Processing Center, chimed in by saying that T.K.U. is hoping that our Internet, BBS, FTP, and administrative operations will be integrated into the Linux system soon. It is a new challenge, given the 2 T3 channels, the 4 T1 channels, and the tremendous load of BBS, FTP, “But if we could make it, the other schools could follow and make it too! Even schools all over Asia could make it.” Dr. Hwang further commented.

The IBM eServer z series now serving T.K.U. is aimed at encircling the Linux environment to replace the I.B.M.3090-l5J. It can carry the workload of more than l0 UNIX servers. As the nucleus engine of campus information processing operations, it can co-ordinate the Server as well as the website systems at the same time, resulting in upgrading data dissemination, and augmenting the flexibility of information processing, so that the ability of administration is doubly insured.

The efficiency of the Host Computer is jumped 8 times bigger than before, but the power consumption is reduced; the ratio being l:20 as compared to former days. And the space to house the Host Computer is also drastically reduced, thanks to the advance of cutting-edge technology.