SIPB Documents

The Student Information Processing Board is devoted to helping the MIT community utilize the Institute's computer facilities with ease and efficiency. Since we know how dry and badly written the average user's manual is, we write and maintain many documents on our own. This documentation is freely provided to users in the form of online and printed manuals, UNIX man pages, and emacs info files, in addition to the documentation available in our office. The source for almost all of this documentation is available online under the directory /afs/sipb.mit.edu/project/doc, and is redistributable under certain conditions; all these documents are copyright by the SIPB. Although the following guides are mainly of use to Athena users, SIPB documents are known to be used at universities other than MIT. Hardcopies of these documents are available for free in the SIPB Office, W20-557, and online versions are also available via Athena's online "help" facility, by selecting the main-menu item "Documentation Archives".

How to Choose a Good Password (also available as a DVI file.)

A one-page list of guidelines and suggestions on how to choose secure passwords, and why you should.

An Inessential Quick Reference to Athena (also available as a DVI file.)

A one-page reference to the most basic information about Athena, including logging in, reading mail, and getting help.

An Inessential Guide to Athena (also available as a DVI file.)

A large guide on how to get the most out of your Athena account, from reading mail, to using AFS, to sending zephyrs.

Inessential AFS (also available as a DVI file.)

A guide to understanding and working with the Andrew File System.

Inessential LaTeX (DVI version only)

A guide to using LaTeX, a typesetting program for writing books, papers, theses, etc.

Installing NetBSD/i386 on MITnet (DVI version only)

A one-page document describing how to install NetBSD/i386 on MITnet. NetBSD is a freely distributable BSD-style unixfor many types of hardware, including i386, m68k, hp300, Macintosh, and DEC Alpha, VAX, and pmax.

Getting Started with Linux on MITnet (DVI version only)

A one-page reference on Linux, a free implementation of UNIX for 386 and 486 computers.

How to use XDVI (DVI Version only)

XDVI is a program to view DVI files, a common output format from Latex et al. Read this DVI file to learn how to use XDVI :-)

Inessential Linux-Athena (also available as a DVI file.)

A draft guide on obtaining Athena services on computers running the Linux operating system.

Inessential Bitmaps (also available as a DVI file.)

A guide to drawing and displaying XBM bitmaps and other graphics.

NetNews: A One-Page Guide to the Usenet (DVI version only)

A one-page reference to reading NetNews.

Using Discuss (DVI version only)

A guide to using and enjoying the Discuss bulletin board system on Athena.

Inessential Zephyr (also available as a DVI file.)

A guide on conversing with other users with the Zephyr message system on Athena.

The SIPB Office Manual

More than you ever wanted to know about the SIPB and being a member.

Inessential Refrigerator Restocking (DVI version only)

A guide on how to restock a soda fridge. It isn't as hard as you make it look.

Java Class Notes

These are the electronic slides that were used in SIPB's popular java class.

SIPB homepage.