Minutes of November 21, 2006 Meeting

Present:: S. Bartz, A. Butman, A. Ruggiero, M. Medeiros, K. Au, J. Gibson, K. McGuire, R. Sandler, D. Voorhees, P. Johnson, R. Golon, J. Gibson, M. Belasco

Systems Update

Ashwin is out due to an injury and is expected to be out until mid December
The new machine installs are moving along in New Brunswick. In Newark 5 of the new installs have been completed and in Camden all have been completed and they are working on the resulting swaps
The planets have aligned and the micro machines are ready to be distributed to the units, we hope to have this done by the end of November
Beilstein is being replaced with Discovery Gate, a web based product which requires a gui application to be installed on the desktop. The new software should be available for the spring public installs
In January, Systems will begin updating browsers on staff machines. Both IE and Firefox will be upgraded.

The training rehearsal has been put off until January. MM, AR, and AB will find dates that work, submit them to Marilyn Wilt and the sessions will be scheduled. It was decided that with the Director Station training currently in full swing and holidays on the way our best bet would be to hold off until the new year.

The request was made that the pccoord login be given access to the Novell network so that coordinators would be able to get files or folders when necessary. Among the options discussed were the upping of concurrent logins so that coordinators could use their personal logins on the network or creating a group that the individual logins would be a member of. It was decided that the pccoord login should have access to the Novell network on each server however a secure password would need to be enabled as opposed to the current password. N. Gonzaga was not present at the meeting however in the event that there are issues with this decision they should be communicated to the group.

The use of an RULink calander for install status was found to be an acceptable way for coordinators to stay abreast of the installs going on in their respective areas.

Adobe will be upgraded to version 7 on eres machines throughout RUL as per Imaging Services request. D. Voorhees will provide A. Butman with a list of users. The software will be installed on all new machines when the new machines are installed for the users, otherwise the software will be upgraded in January.

A. Ruggiero thanked the group for their input with regards to his web page. The use of this page has made those who work at Chang happier people now that they do not have to squat down to look at public machines.

K. McGuire suggested that we take a proactive approach and ask those in our areas if they want write n cite utility installed on their machines in anticipation of its use with RefWorks. Doing this, it is hoped, will allow for a smooth transition to the software at the beginning of the spring semester.

The group discussed the creation of a policy, at the request of G. Agnew, with regards to grant funded equipment. The policy will include a process by which Systems is included and informed of equipment needs while grants are being written and supported software is used unless the scope of the grant cannot be served with supported equipment. The policy will also include a lifespan and end of life statement with regards to equipment and what happens when the grant ends. K. Au will prepare and submit a draft statement to the group for review and discussion will continue at next months meeting.

P. Johnson will serve as PCWG liason to the Training and Learning Advisory Committee. The committee has asked PCWG to work with them on a series of trainings that will include but are not limited to the following. Those interesting in being a part of the training should contact Pam who will work closely with Marilyn to arrange dates, etc..
- Desktop Security-passwords, screensavers, etc.
- Email
- Directory Structure
- Using the networked drives