Desktone: The Virtual Lab Students Need

Imagine you are a UMBC student and you’re on your computer but you need to use a certain piece of software that your current operating system does not support. The computer labs at school are either occupied or not open, what do you do? Why not try Desktone, the virtual desktop that can solve all your software needs without you needing to leave your room.

Desktone is UMBC's virtual lab computing environment. From Desktone, you can access virtual lab computers with all of the software available in the general use computer labs on campus, so if you only have a Mac and you need to use Windows this is the tool for you.  It’s available 24/7 and can support up to 100 simultaneous users. 

A simple search on myUMBC for "Desktone" takes you directly to the FAQ page for it. From here, students simply have to hit the giant “Click here for Desktone” banner and you are taken to a page where you have two key options: launch by downloading the Desktone software on your computer or you can connect to your virtual desktop through your own browser. If you decide to install Desktone, you’ll see optimal performance and is highly recommended.

The best part is there is no account creation necessary, using your own UMBC login credentials you can load up your own virtual desktop in no time. There is no need to be on UMBC’s own network either, so if you’re at home you can still access your virtual desktop.

Reny Thomas, an Information Systems major, uses desktone to get around his own computer’s limitations. Thomas said “Personally, this solved a huge issue for me. I currently use a chromebook, and I love everything about it. I can’t really install software. I was amazed when I was able to run windows via the VDI (virtual desktop infrastructure) and I could code Visual Basic through my chromebook.” 

Having a virtual desktop does not mean you still can’t manage your own computer at the same time.  “Since [Desktone] is accessed via an online link I can have it as a tab on my browser.” Thomas said “This allows me to use it as any other tab, and I am still able to access my personal files.”

Any issues students may run into have troubleshooting steps conveniently located on the UMBC Desktop FAQ page. Desktone supports both iOS and Android as well and each have their own apps to download. 

Some may think that simply going to the computer labs would benefit just as much. As Thomas puts it, “As long as the UMBC lab computers have the software the student needs, then the VDI is a perfect solution.”