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. | ||
Major bids |
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Summer installations, etc. |
Most of the equipment and software delivered over the summer had been installed without major problems. 3D Studio Max will be ready next week. Gary Bown had made a late request for Photoshop 7 to be installed. There may be a need for further licences for Mercantile. Music and video stuff had been installed in Mercantile OK. There are now NAL objects for Cubase, Cakewalk and Sibelius. |
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Outstanding requests/orders: software |
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Swift 3D |
It was agreed that one copy of Swift 3D on a central machine would probably be adequate for Roger Eglin's purposes. | ||
Outstanding requests/orders: hardware |
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ISCA new machines |
New machines are expected to be delivered to the University next week. |
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ISCA bits and pieces |
Many of the bits and pieces are still to be ordered. | EK to order | Ordered. Should arrive w/e 7th November |
Tablet PCs |
AW reported that CSSE was buying Toshiba tablets. They were thought to be lighter than the Compaq ones. | ||
Minor requests |
DL asked for 50 x DVD-RWs for LG. DL asked for 3 x USB card readers for LG. SB asked for a 4th one for Mercantile. SB asked for 40 x 60Gb HDD for machines in Merc2.2 (to support those with Adobe Premiere). SB asked for 2 x colour printer duplex units for Mercantile. DL/SB to make formal requests. JSB will probably authorise. |
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| SB raised an issue concerning memory on 92 machines older that run Oracle 9i client. This needs 512MB of memory and the machines have 256MB. | JSB to discuss with Angela Fletcher how pressing the need is. | Ongoing | |
Future requests |
There was a general discussion about replacement of large numbers of lab machines next year. DL identified the 55 machines in LG as needing replacement (the earlier the better). SB identified 130 machines in Mercantile. It was agreed that to assist planning, a gross asset list would be drawn up, showing all the major lab equipment and its estimated replacement cost. |
EK/SB to draw up asset list. | Done. 140 machines in Mercantile House need to be replaced this year. Approximate cost £140k plus software. Rumours had been heard concerning a new development involving a Macintosh lab. |
Strategy/policy |
None | ||
Major projects |
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Perception server |
JSB had received requests to purchase a server for running Perception. SB confirmed that a machine existed. AW reported that there had been installation problems that required ISO expertise to fix, but that the matter was not yet an ISO "project". | JSB to pursue with David Arrell EK to pursue with Julian Lintell-Smith |
Although JSB had not contacted David Arrell, this matter was now progressing satisfactorily. Craig Browning is setting up a Perception server for use across the whole University. Our server remains unused. |
Games workshop |
EK asked to be kept in the loop regarding developments to the games workshop. | JSB to contact Steve Hand | Done |
Operational problems |
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Java and IDEs |
JSB reported on ongoing discussions about Java IDEs. | ||
Perl Builder in Mercantile House |
Perl Builder will be installed in M3.3a. | SB to check whether this has been done | Done |
Security for healthcare systems |
There is an ongoing issue with the security of data held by the Outcomes group (Dave Prytherch) | EK to discuss | EK had had a meeting with Dave and Julian Lintell-Smith and Ian Troise. A solution based on access control lists had been proposed and will be implemented in January. |
Any other business |
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Disposal of old machines |
76 old P450s had been disposed of as follows:
All the old multimedia machines had been written off as useless. |
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Printing |
EK said it was possible that a request for an A3 colour printer may be made. | ||
Date of next meeting |
Friday 7th November at 1430 in BT1.08 (JSB's office) |