We're pleased that it is now possible in some cases to reserve
equipment from the LSS AV Pool online instead of calling the AV
Pool. This service is intended as a convenience for experienced clients
who know exactly what they need and how to use it, not as a replacement
for the advice available from LSS staff. If you have any questions at all
about what you need, or how it works, we urge you contact the AV Pool directly,
well ahead of the time you need the equipment.
There are some kinds of things that cannot be done with the online reservation system. Since the system relies on UW ID numbers which have been entered into it by hand, we can provide online reservations only to clients who already have numbers in that system. So if you are new to LSS or the AV Pool, you will need to stop by in person with your UW ID card before you will be able to reserve equipment online. Online reservations must be for single, rather than repeating, loans: if you want to arrange to have, say, an audiocassette recorder at 11:00 a. m. every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday of the semester you will need to contact the AV Pool directly. Also, last-minute (next class-hour) reservations must be made in person rather than online.
For your protection, the system ensures that your ID number is encrypted
before it is transmitted. However, this will require that you go through some simple steps
the first time (or each time if you change computers) you use the system to make a reservation.
The following steps show how to configure Netscape Navigator 4.7
to communicate securely with our server. We regret that at present Internet
Explorer has trouble doing so, and so we do not support it for this purpose.
Other browsers may work as well but will not be documented here.
When you first open a secure connection to the server you will get a dialog box like the one below:
All this means is that while our site does encrypt its traffic, it is not registered with one of the (expensive) authentication agencies. Go ahead and click Next. This will get you
and you can again click Next, receiving in return
This just is offering you the option of saving your permission to connect to this LSS webserver using encryption. If you are using a computer that others use as well (one in a lab, or a shared machine in an office) you should probably choose the first option. If you are the only person who uses the computer, you might want to choose the last option, since doing so will mean you don't have to go through the rigamarole currently being described every time you make a reservation. Once you've made your choice, click Next. This will get you
To which you can make your choice. Unless you like to be reminded each time you send information to the reservation system, don't click the checkbox. Then click Next.
Congratulations, you're done. You can now proceed to fill in the forms
on the reservation program, and make your reservations. Please let us know
if you have any trouble.