How
is the college paying for this project in a constrained budgetary time?
This project is funded by the November 2001 Prop A
bond passed by the voters of San Francisco. The voters approved
the framework for this project.
Will
all faculty and staff receive a computer?
The goal of the project is to provide computer access
to all faculty and staff. In general there are three situations:
one user to one computer, a shared computer in an office and a share
computer in a common office area (a faculty lounge or prep room).
The decision on how computers will be distributed will be decided
through the Vice-Chancellor chain. ITS will provide technical
guidance so as not to exceed the network or electrical capacity of any
given area.
Will
the computers all be new?
The project will result in the purchase of 1000 to
1500 new computers. However, there are approximately 500 recently
purchased computers that are capable of running Windows and Office XP.
These systems will be upgraded as needed and re-deployed. There
will be no loss in functionality with the refurbished systems versus the
new systems. In fact, existing systems perform more reliably with
Windows XP than Windows 98.
Why
can't I keep my current computer?
Given the scope of the project, efficiency concerns
require the deployment process to be a replacement of existing systems
with a pre-configured system. Existing systems will be upgraded
and configured for future redeployment. You can keep your old
computer, but in that case you would not receive a new one.
What
will happen to my old computer?
Systems which are 500 Mhz (Pentium 3) or greater will
be refurbished and redeployed. Lesser systems will be made
available to academic labs to replace systems that are 6 to 7 years old.
Systems below a certain minimum will be disposed of through non-profits
and computer recyclers. ITS will also develop a pool of spare
parts from the old system to facilitate rapid repairs.
GroupWise Email
What
happens if I get a GroupWise email account, but I continue to use Pine?
Big trouble. As soon as you receive an email from Anne Morris saying
a GroupWise email account has been created for you, start to use
GroupWise. Once your name is in the system, mail from anyone who is
already using GroupWise will go ONLY to GroupWise. If you continue
reading mail in Pine, you will NOT see ALL your new email. This
topic is covered in the orientation and in the documents on
Transitioning to GroupWiseon this Web site.
My
GroupWise Windows client sometimes shuts down, and I'm also having trouble
with forwarded messages being truncated.
Take a look at the instructions for
setting
a readable font in GroupWise. This will prevent GroupWise from
closing unexpectedly or truncating forwarded messages, which are both
caused by a conflict with a Microsoft upgrade for Windows XP.
Macs
Are
Macintoshes part of this upgrade project?
Macs (iMacs and PowerBooks) were distributed in Fall 2003.
Laptops
When
were laptops deployed?
The funds for both Windows and Mac laptops were encumbered through a
departmental process early in 2003. Department chairs, with help from
Deans and, sometimes, campus coordinators, identified full time faculty
with a need for laptops. The money for laptops was spent and laptops
distributed in Fall of 2003. The Technology Learning Center held 31
special laptop orientations and trained more than 280 full time faculty on
the capacities and use of their new laptops.
What are the policies for laptops?
Glad you asked. Policies are covered in:
Guidelines for
PC
Laptop Computers (Windows laptops)
Mac Laptop Guidelines (Mac Laptops)
Deployment Process
What was the procedure for departments to get their computers?
See the step-by-step
description of how the computers were deployed.
Our intent is to have zero interrupt in anybody's
day-to-day work. However, technology does not always cooperate.
We ask all users and your local support staff to alert us of any special
needs (software, printing, accessibility, etc.) during the Needs
Assessment interview. With this information we can plan and
build these needs into the deployment of your system. Most
installation will occur after 5pm, to minimize disruptions. Also,
the morning after deployment, we will have extra support staff available
to resolve problems.
Orientation
to the new system
Why
does everyone need to attend an orientation?
Major changes in the system include: Windows XP;
GroupWise (new email system that will include calendaring and other
features); networked printing and saving to the network. The
orientation provides a general overview of how the new system works,
what software is included on the new desktop, and information about
how to get additional hands-on and online training.
Mac users will be confronted with OS X, and environment
unfamiliar to many. Orientation provides an overview of hardware and
software, and new OS X features for viewing disks and folders, configuring
the environment, accessing programs, and backing up data. In addition,
everyone needs to know about security features such as individual logins
and passwords and their secure Home folders.
Laptop users need information about special features of
their machines.
Security
Will
our data be secure?
Yes, your data will actually be more secure than
before.
For Windows users, data stored on the network drive assigned to each
user and connected to their individual login/password, will be backed up on a periodic basis,
thereby reducing data loss due to hardware failure to virtually zero.
Data stored on the local drive on your desktop or My Documents folder will be protected by your logon
password. Without your password, nobody can access your data.
Unlike Windows 98, Windows XP has this security feature.
Furthermore, documents that are extremely sensitive can be stored on a
Zip disk (CD on laptops) and locked in a secure area.
Users of Mac OS X systems must log in to their
computers and gain the new security features of that system (secure Home
folders, password protection and regular security updates from the Apple
Web site).
Both Macintosh and Windows systems have excellent
virus protection installed from McAfee. And users of both systems are
provided with documents on the importance and methods of virus updating.
