Students love having a campus-wide wireless internet network, but one of the biggest complaints is having to enter your GT account and password every time you connect. This is particularly annoying when using a small device like Apple’s iPhone where typing can be a bit burdensome.
As a result, a student-developed program called GTLogin designed to automate the process for iPhone users is gaining popularity. The developers are Andre Nasri, fourth-year EE, Adrian Smith, fourth-year CE, Sedrick Dongmo graduate EE and Kishore Atreya fourth-year CE.
“Our original thought behind it was that we needed to create something that would make a one tap, easy utility so that anyone can get into the LAWN network as fast as possible, instead of typing in the information repeatedly every day… and it just took off from there,” Nasri said.
The application, which can be downloaded on iTunes or from the Applications link on the iPhone, is a modified interface to several existing Web-based campus services that have been reformatted to be more accessible when used on an iPhone or an iPod Touch.
The main feature of GTLogin is the simple access it provides to the LAWN network. While students previously had to login every time they wanted to use the internet via LAWN on their iPhone, GTLogin remembers user information and automatically signs people in when they open the application.
The newest version incorporates other campus Internet applications in the tabs for easy access. With just a few taps, users can check on Nextbus for the next Stinger, look to see which computers are free in the library and even submit Slivers to the Technique.
GTLogin gains more followers every week. Currently about they have about 800 unique user logins every day and about 1,100 in a week. At press time, GTLogin has had 1,530 devices access the application.
“GTLogin is very unique and specific to Tech. We had access to all the services and could customize GTLogin to what Tech students need… what Stanford has couldn’t do that,” Nasri said.
The original GTLogin was something that Smith created for fun as a way to figure out how to design iPhone applications. It was a simple, one screen application that could only be used to log in to LAWN.
Soon, he and the other creators joined together to improve the application and add other functions per feedback from users around the Tech campus.
The students have since registered to become a four-member limited liability corporation called From|ahead.
As for GTLogin, From|ahead plans to continually update content and add more useful applications, as students give more feedback on what they like or want changed.
“Our goal is to find out what applications out there are missing and add them so that we can really provide people things that they need,” Nasri said.