7-01-02 - As the end of the first summer session draws near, preparations are being made to bring you a new and improved lab experience this fall. Upon realizing that there are no classes scheduled in the labs after July 12, the College of Design Computer Labs recognized a unique opportunity to create real improvements in the lab space itself, as well as upgrades to equipment, and most importantly, operating systems. 

The first task we have set for ourselves involves maintaining and improving the physical lab environment. In other words, that blue ceiling in 434 has got to go. We hope to repaint all three labs, hopefully with some color accents that will be more in line with the 21^st century rather than the 80's. I think I graduated with my first degree the year that the walls were painted beige over that hideous hospital green (try six years ago) in 434. Eek, we need a makeover! While this is more cosmetic than anything, this should make for a better learning environment.

Another plan is to add power outlets to the floor in the Mac teaching lab, and build a partition wall for wiring similar to that in 440. We want to get rid of our conduit strips that pretty much take over the center of the room. This is on our wish list, so this may or may not happen. I hope so as this is sorely needed. In addition, there are other improvments that need to be made that can only be done when the labs are closed.

Now that I have outlined the physical maintenance needed in the labs (apart from the regular cleaning which is also necessary), we can move on the technology aspect of this "remaking of the labs".

Every summer, we order 20 new machines to replace aging technology. Last year, we bought 20 PowerMac G4s and installed them while summer classes were still in session. This year, we are moving the Gateways from the Open Lab to the Windows teaching lab, and replacing them with 20 new Windows machines. The old machines will be wiped and reloaded and moved to new homes, possibly in studios.

But, as Steve Jobs likes to say, "there's one more thing..." Actually, there are two more things. Because we have this unprecedented amount of time to work things out, we have decided to make the move to MacOS X and Windows 2000 Pro.

(Collective gasp!!!)

The only way it is possible for us to take the plunge with MacOS X, and Windows 2000 pro, is for us to have a good deal of time in which to install, test, attempt to break and basically abuse the new operating systems. This requires far more than the normal one-week break between summer and fall classes. This year, we have time to catch any serious problems before we are open and having classes. It also gives me the time to fully decide if we are ready for MacOS X, and to stay with our current MacOS if things don't work out just the way we need them to. Disclaimer here - the labs will NOT move to MacOS X until I can fully control how machines refresh themselves after users log out. I am testing as if we will, but there are many variables and unknowns, and one key piece of software that needs to be upgraded.

To date, there are very few fully MacOS X labs in the country (and yes, world). I am not aware of any labs with such a heavy dependency on design software that have been converted yet, although we will probably begin to see this starting this fall. Because of this, there is no real roadmap to follow (uncharted territory ahead Captain!). With this amount of time, I am confident that we will have the absolute best MacOS X implementation possible. This is not to say that there will not be a transitional learning (hair-pulling) period once school starts in the fall. There will be problems to solve once we get students using the machines daily. But I should be able to catch the worst of the problems before then.

Our Windows 2000 Pro implentation is also planned for this summer. Although more labs are using 2000, there have been some hurdles in regards to administration and maintenance software to overcome. At this point, we feel confident that the time is right to switch.

So, all in all, we have a pretty busy summer ahead of us. While I may not get to go lie on a beach, soaking up the sun, I will have the satisfaction of knowing that we are working hard to make sure that you have an even better lab to come back to than the one you left behind.

Now, I have to go read that other 584 page book and try to find even more pieces to the MacOS X Labs puzzle. Watch for future updates as to how the switch to MacOS X is going!