Venue: BT1.08
Present: Jim Briggs (Chair), Steve Broadbent, Ed Kopinski, Tom O'Doherty (for Dean Ledger), Alison White
Apologies: Dean Ledger, Les Black
| Agenda | Notes | Action | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
Actions carried forward |
Actions completed are noted in the minutes of the previous meeting. | ||
Rolling software budget |
Reported to be approx. £30k. Main items: Maple; Microsaint; MATLAB EK to send list to JSB |
EK | Done. Further actions ensuing. |
Lab information on web |
Only Anglesea still to do. |
EK |
Information passed to SB who is incorporating it into the Mercantile House info. |
Security in Mercantile House |
EK and SB agreed to devise a written security policy for these and other labs. |
SB & EK | Ongoing |
| SB and AW agreed to make a proposal for improving security. | SB & AW | Ongoing | |
| It was agreed to review the key arrangements for the classrooms and specialist labs. | Flag to ECAM | Ongoing | |
Display screen in BT reception |
It was agreed to set up an additional student information display screen in the reception room in Burnaby Terrace, using an old PC from stock. The aim is to get it up by next term. JSB and SB agreed to pursue this. |
JSB SB |
Faculty is going to buy a plasma screen. No further action pending that. |
Outstanding requests/orders: software |
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CD writing software (again!) |
VOB is no longer obtainable through usual channels. It was agreed to buy 54 copies of Nero 5.5 for Mercantile House 2.2, 2.3 and 2.4 | JSB | Ordered. 100 copies turned out to be cheaper than 50, so Lion Gate can have the extra 40 or so. |
Dreamweaver and Acrobat |
EK reported that the media had arrived, and agreed to pass them on to JSB | EK | JSB now had the media, but EK still needs to supply licence numbers. |
Authorware |
EK agreed to discuss the location of licences for this with Terry King and seek resolution of her needs. | EK | EK has tried to contact TK without success. |
SPSS |
SPSS is available for staff who want to install it on their laptop. |
||
Perl Builder |
It was agreed that a second lab (A0.30) would be set up in time for the WPRMP SWS on 7th May. | EK | No problem with SWS. |
Outstanding requests/orders: hardware |
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Multimedia laptop for LG loan pool |
Ongoing | JSB | Ordered. |
Adjustable height seats in labs |
Ann Heal had raised the issue of whether adjustable seats were available for students in labs. It was reported that most seats in Mercantile House and Anglesea labs were adjustable, but that all in Lion Gate were of the fixed S-frame type. AW agreed to contact Ian Denholm (Health & Safety Advisor) for advice. |
AW | Not discussed at 28/2/03 meeting! |
| In the meantime, it was agreed to order 4 adjustable seats for Lion Gate labs. | JSB | Ordered 2 with arms and 2 without. | |
Machines for CSSE & Maths admin office |
JSB needs to talk to ECAM and Sarah Duckering about who pays for these. | JSB | Mandy Strahan had confirmed that admin needs come from the CCC budget. |
Video editing stations (DL) |
JSB needed to talk to Dean Ledger about these. | JSB | Done and ordered. |
Yet another Linux server (for John Rosbottom) |
Haddock is owned by the Virtual Learning Trust and would be underpowered if used seriously. It was agreed that we don't need to buy another Linux server while Eudoxus (server for Mercantile House labs), Herring (for student use) and Skate (for ISCA research use) were all under-utilised. |
||
High spec PC (Dave Prytherch) |
Options were discussed. JSB to order. | JSB | Ordered. |
Strategy/policy |
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Printer policy |
EK reported that there is likely to be a new University policy on printer purchasing, but that it is not in effect yet. The aim is to reduce the number of different types of printer supported. | ||
Software for home use |
Staff who need software for their laptops should be able to borrow it from the Frewen Library. JSB agreed to see if a list was available. |
JSB | Contacted Kath Shakespeare. List at http://www.libr.port.ac.uk/using/software.html |
Policy on purchases for staff home use |
JSB reported that, in discussion with Roger Beresford, it had been agreed that we should not support the purchase of new equipment for staff to use at home, unless it was specialist equipment or there was a special reason. | ||
Major projects |
None | ||
Operational problems |
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C++ in Portland Labs |
It was noted that Visual Studio was not available campus-wide. It was too big to be delivered via NAL and hence was installed locally on machines in Mercantile House. | ||
Naming of BT printers |
Kate Dingley had asked whether there is any chance of getting
the corridor printers renamed with user friendly names so that you
can see which one you are sending to. They are both called UOP bt
etc , but the description "b+w" or colour are so far along
the drop down that you cant see them until after you have selected
one, and it appears in the print dialogue box.
SB agreed to take this up with the LAN team |
SB | Ongoing. LAN team may review over summer. |
Mercantile House software survey |
SB reported on the results of the Mercantile House software use survey. Most staff had now responded. SB agreed to post the results on the web and keep them updated from time to time. |
SB | Ongoing. |
Any other business |
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Students printing dark background PowerPoint slides |
SB reported that printers in Mercantile House were using toner at excessive rates, and sometimes gumming up, because lecturers had made available to students PowerPoint presentations with dark backgrounds. It was agreed that the site support staff could amend or remove offending files. JSB to take up with two individual members of staff identified. |
JSB | Done |
Linux policy |
It was agreed that JSB, SB and John Drury should get together to discuss what we were going to do with the Linux facilities. | JSB to arrange | Ongoing. To include discussion of providing students with Apache configuration facilities. |
Capital bids |
It was agreed that JSB would announce the major bids round. | JSB | Done. |
Date of next meeting |
Friday 28th February at 1430 in BT1.08 (JSB's office) |