MEMBERS PRESENT: Mike Hatch, Craig Berry, Paul Hons, Tim
Christian, Chris Strauss, Maurice Leatherbury (Chair), Ginger
Boone, Jim Curry, Dallas Newell, Cyndie Harris, Eric DuChemin,
Sue Ellen Richey (Recording Secretary)
MEMBERS ABSENT: Robert Pierce, Paul Dworak, Rich Anderson,
Abraham John, Bill Buntain, Cengiz Capan
The minutes of the January 17, 1997 meeting were approved as
published.
It was announced that Phillip Chukwuma is no longer at UNT and
his name should be removed from the membership of this committee.
Maurice announced that Eric DuChemin has agreed to serve as Chair
of the Desktop Applications Standardization Committee. In
addition, Jim Curry will chair the Call Tracking System
Committee. Jim said he would be sure to invite all DCSMT members
to each meeting.
Jim Curry reported that he is developing a list of alternative
input devices such as track pads, trackballs, etc. so that people
who need something other than the Microsoft Mouse offered by
Microcomputer Maintenance Shop will have some recommended
alternative devices to select from. The list will have names and
phone numbers of the people who use the devices, so people can
contact them personally for details about the devices. Jim asked
that people e-mail him information about the products they are
using, giving specific information about each item. Discussion
continued about the various alternative devices currently in
use.
The Chair opened discussion about Windows NT Server issues,
asking members for their input about the proliferation of
domains, naming conventions, handling NT Servers in an NDS
environment, and cost issues. Mike Hatch commented that there are
a number of naming conventions in use on campus and suggested
that there needs to be some synchronization among them. Several
members reported on the way they are handling the naming of
domains.
Maurice surveyed the group to see how many NT servers are
currently running, the result of which showed approximately 19 in
production and an unknown number planned. Discussion continued
during which it was pointed out that NDS will be used on campus
for Directory Service in the foreseeable future, and that domains
for NT are effective in particular environments that are somewhat
isolated. Maurice stated that the price for each NT client is
approximately $6.00 according to the most recent
publications.
Jim Curry announced that the revised order form, which has the
new basic machine configuration, is now on the Web. He reported
that memory prices continue to fall. He said he has 70 orders
holding, waiting for the new pricing. He also said he is working
on a new Web version of the order form but before placing the
form there he asked for the group's comments on stating on the
form that the basic machine on the form is the one endorsed by
this committee. The group agreed that Jim could use the word
"recommended" rather than "endorsed." Jim
also told the group that the new Web version of the order form
will have links to manufacturers' Web sites where purchasers can
actually see specifications and details about the item being
purchased.
Mike Hatch announced that Ghost is now available, and that the
price has dropped so when departments send the Computing Center
an IDO, it only needs to be for $160.00 per college, with the
total purchase price of the product coming down to $2,595.00.
Mike also announced that WinInstall is now formally released and
it is on the CC2 software volume for distribution. John Bradley
has been working on some site-specific notes which are available
on the Web at the NMS site. He said that people who had any
problems with it should call him.
Tim Christian reported that A&S is still rolling out new
computers to staff and faculty with a target date of the last
week in March for completion. He said he hoped to be at a good
level of service again by the end of April.
Craig Berry said he is trying to roll out some new systems, but
that most of his time is taken up with trouble calls. He now has
some part-time help, which should ease his situation
somewhat.
Richard Harris reported for Randy Galloway's area that they are
going to make some changes this weekend that should help the
gateway problems. He also reported that he and Maurice met with
Dr Brownell and the other vice presidents about some guidelines
for sending "everyone" e-mail.
Paul Hons said he is preparing for Windows 95 rollout and plans
to use Ghost as a test on a small group of machines first.
Cyndie Harris reported that she is getting started on the Windows
95 rollout, noting that her department still has nine 386
machines which they can't afford to replace. She also announced
that a camera is going to be installed on top of the coliseum to
take pictures of the progress in the construction of the new
Performance Arts building, and the pictures will be put on the
Web.
Jim Curry reported that Mike has worked hard to provide a
standard install of Windows 3.1 and Windows 95 so that Jim can
put one or the other of those operating systems on new machines.
He also announced that he will be making available some larger
hard disk drives available, offering drives that are 4 Gigabyte
(at approximately $1,000), 9 Gigabyte (at approximately $2,000)
and 23 Gigabyte (at approximately $4,900), which should handle
some of the larger needs on campus. Jim also announced that he
will be receiving a number of 486 machines as trade-ins that he
will be willing to re-sell at around $250.00 each to those
departments who cannot afford to buy new machines.
Dallas Newell reported that the move into the new SSC Building is
targeted for the week after Spring Break, but she believes it is
more likely to be the 2nd week after Spring Break. Service in all
of the departments being moved is not going to be
interrupted.
Chris Strauss reported that the help desk Web site is running on
an NT server at www.unt.edu/helpdesk/.
Maurice announced that the Computing Center is close to choosing
a vendor for the Microsoft Select contract and it is hoped that a
contract will soon be in place.
Ginger Boone reported that she is continuing to roll out Windows
95, and that most people in LIS are now using Office 97 and are
quite pleased with it. There was some discussion about the
difficulty caused by different word processing packages being
used across campus. The Chair pointed out that Eric DuChemin's
committee will be dealing with that issue. In the discussion, it
was noted that negotiations with Corel for WordPerfect products
have been dropped.
There being no other business, the meeting was adjourned at 3:40
p.m.
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