Word Processor Policies Introduced

College officials last night gave the first in a series of user demonstrations for 33 new coin-operated word processors located around campus, and explained both a refund system for machine malfunctions and a hotline for notifying repairmen of breakdowns.

Students who want to use the word processors, for a fee of 25 cents each 15 minutes, should pick up a $12 starter kit available at the Science Center stockroom, the officials said.

The kit includes three diskettes, one which contains the word processing program and two others for storing documents, and an instruction booklet. each document diskette has the capacity for about 200 typed pages.

Marcus R. Van Baalen '66 of the Office for Information Technology, who is overseeing the program, emphasized last night that the system is relatively simple to use, and is designed to that user can make mistakes without losing anything they have written.

The machines are on loan from the Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC), as part of an experiment to determine the demand for coin-operated word processing at Harvard.

The machines at Harvard have been plagued by breakdowns recently, but van Baalen said yesterday that they can be repaired within 24 hours if users call 495-5440.

In addition, the College has set up a refund policy for malfunctioning equipment. The maximum-refund for a failure, however, will be $3.

The user fee will go up from $1 to $2 per hour on November 1. The coin-operated machines will beep after 15 minutes, signalling a three-minute grace period to either insert another quarter or log off, However, van Ballen stressed that failure to log off will not cause the user to lose his material.

The locations, numbers of machines, and hours of use, are, according to van Baalen, as follows:

#Union typing room, four units available 8 a.m. to 11 p.m.

#Cabot Library, one practice unit available during library hours.

#Hilles Library, one practice unit available during library hours.

#Science Center, room BO4, two units available 9 a.m. to 11 p.m.

#Currier House computer room, two units available 24 hours a day if user has a house key.

#Kirkland House J-entry basement, two units available 24 hours with house key.

#Lehman Hall, two units in room M2 available 8 a.m. to 11 p.m. weekdays: four units in room B3 hours to be announced.

#Leverett House, F-entry first floor, two units available 24 hours with house key.

#Mather House, four units on second floor of low-rice available 24 hours with house key.

#North House, Moors Hall, two units available 24 hours with house key.

#South House, Cabot Hall, two units available 24 hours with house key.

#Winthrop House, Standish Hall D-entry, one unit, times available to be announced.

#Boylston Hall, rooms 504-505, two units available 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. weekdays.

#Gutman Library, room 230, two units available during library hours.

Van Baalen said that a total of five more units will be installed at Adams, Lowell and Winthrop Houses, but only after renovations there are complete. No space is available for the units in any freshman dorms of in Dunster, Eliot or Quincy Houses, van Baalen added.