Venue: BT1.08
Present: Jim Briggs (Chair), Steve Broadbent, Ed Kopinski, Alison White, Dean Ledger
Apologies: Les Black
| Agenda | Notes | Action | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
Actions carried forward |
Actions completed are noted in the minutes of the previous meeting. | ||
Rolling software budget |
The budget comes to about £10k plus the costs of Matlab and Microsaint. JSB agreed to check that Microfocus Net Express can be dropped, saving £1000. |
JSB | Done. No positive responses. It was agreed it would be removed from the setup at the next rebuild of the lab it is in. |
| EK agreed to forward to JSB the text of the MSDN Academic Alliance document relating to "departments". | EK | JSB can probably find this himself. | |
| AW agreed to investigate the costs of Maple, MatLab and Microsaint. ICG may be asked to contribute towards the cost of software they use. | AW | First part done. Still to check licence agreements. | |
Lab information on web |
Information about the Anglesea labs had been passed to SB who is incorporating it into the Mercantile House info. |
SB |
Basic info received but detail still awaited. |
Security in Mercantile House |
EK and SB agreed to devise a written security policy for these and other labs. Ongoing. |
SB & EK | John Sheeran had visited Mercantile House and was likely to propose changes to improve security. |
| SB and AW agreed to make a proposal for improving security. Ongoing. | SB & AW | ||
| It was agreed to review the key arrangements for the classrooms and specialist labs. Ongoing. | Flag to ECAM | Done. ECAM decided that cupboards should be locked. | |
Dreamweaver and Acrobat |
JSB now had the media, but EK still needs to supply licence numbers. | EK | Done |
Authorware |
EK agreed to discuss the location of licences for this with Terry King and seek resolution of her needs. EK has tried to contact TK without success. Ongoing. |
EK | Ongoing |
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 | Ongoing |
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. Ongoing. |
SB | Ongoing until 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. Ongoing. |
SB | Ongoing |
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. Ongoing. To include discussion of providing students with Apache configuration facilities. |
JSB to arrange | Done and meeting held. |
Outstanding requests/orders: software |
|||
Microsoft Project |
A NAL object exists. SB agreed to make it available to all staff (including admin staff). |
SB | Project is only licenced for teaching use. A NAL object for Project 2000 exists and can be made available to staff who have licences purchased (~£30). |
| EK agreed to check whether Project is covered by the Campus Agreement. If it is, it should be added to the list of "core software" supported by ISO. | EK | ||
Outstanding requests/orders: hardware |
|||
Flat screen monitors |
It was noted that the Faculty was thinking about buying flat screen monitors in large numbers. The existing University deal is to purchase Ilyama flat screen monitors. |
||
Cordless mice |
A number of staff had requested cordless mice, but there is no clear policy on who stocks the replacement batteries for them. They are also bigger theft risks. Orders will only be placed where a special case is made. |
||
Strategy/policy |
|||
Major projects |
None | ||
Major bids |
JSB listed the major bids that had been received. EK agreed to cost up a spec for machines for use by admin staff |
EK | Done |
Operational problems |
|||
Opening hours of the Lion Gate labs |
Look at ways in which Lion Gate labs can remain open for the full teaching day on Fridays and report back to ECAM. (Lion Gate labs officially close at 16:00 on Fridays as there are no technical support staff to close the labs.) EK reported that the staffing issue had been effectively resolved. It was noted that the caretakers normally lock the outer doors to Lion Gate at about 6pm, preventing students from getting in to the labs, though not affecting students already there. DL agreed to ask the caretakers to leave the outer door unlocked until later. |
DL | Ongoing |
Any other business |
|||
Visual Basic disks for Frewen Library |
DL agreed to copy some disks so that the Library can increase its stock. | DL | Had been done by ISO without Dean's help. |
Induction for new students |
SB raised the issue of students who (for whatever reason) missed his introductory talk about the computing facilities. It was agreed that it was important for all the material conveyed in those talks to be available on the web. |
||
Inventory |
EK agreed to send JSB a copy of the ISCA equipment inventory. This will help in identifying machines needing replacing this year. | EK | Done |
Date of next meeting |
Friday 28th March at 1430 in BT1.08 (JSB's office) |