Computers, from page 4
only two month's time.
"We'd had about 10 years worth of
old equipment sitting there and a concern
for the need to upgrade it. There was a
push from the students, the faculty and
the administrators to have something
done. Perhaps [the college] didn't have
anyone to push for it. I did that. It
happened that I was there at the right
time, in the right place," he said.
Three proposals were considered in
the upgrading of the lab. Proposals
from IBM, Swan Technologies and
Memorex/Telex were considered. The
decision was made to install the Swans.
"The new lab will take some of the
user load from the mainframe lab across
the hall,” Viswanath said, "making it
easier on those machines."
Both the PC lab and the mainframe
lab are on separate networks. However,
both are connected to the University
Park mainframe, making it easier for
students to gain mainframe access be
cause of the two locations.
Viswanath said that University Park
did not play a large role in acquiring the
new computers. He simply dealt with
the red tape.
"A purchase order was sent to Uni
versity Park," Viswanath said. "They
signed it, but the upgrading was our
decision here at Penn State Harrisburg.
"To set up the lab, we financed it
Renovations, from page 2
the ceiling will be given a new shape.
"The first phase will be the removal
of the windows and the work on the air
conditioning system," South said.
The whole project will probably take
about two years, according to South,
because it will be done in phases. There
will be periods of time that it will not
be available for use, but those will be of
relatively short duration. The more
lengthy renovations will be completed
through the summer months.
Additional renovations were under
taken over the summer in other areas of
the Olmsted Building as well, including
a series of Electrical Engineering Tech
nology's second floor labs and a
classroom on the west end of the second
floor. A research space was also
developed for the students in the Master's
program in Training and Development,
according to South.
The former Continuing Education
Building was developed by Penn State
Harrisburg's staff into the campus' Child
Care Center, which opened Aug. 1. "At
least 26 children are already enrolled,"
South said. Stepping Stone of Harris
burg was contracted to provide child care
services for the center.
A new library building is still very
much on the agenda for Penn State
Harrisburg. "The new library continues
to be the number one academic priority,"
South said. "We're pushing very hard.
"We met with the president, Joab
Thomas, and he has reaffirmed that
commitment. We will continue to press
to try to get that building funded through
the legislative process and the Gover
nor's Office. That's very much on the
front burner," he said.
South also mentioned the impact this
summer's drought has had on the Penn
Stale Harrisburg grounds. "Wc'vc lost
some shrubbery, some trees, and lots of
azaleas and other shrubs. It will take a•
long time to replace them," he said.
PSH NEWS
over three years with university money.
Otherwise, the lab would have never
been in place. We didn't have the money
and the loan through the University Park
controller's office was necessary.
"It had nothing to do with the student
computer fee money. That's one area I
would like to look into and see what we
can do there. We have to see some of
those monies coming in here on this
campus, too. In fact, I firmly believe
we’re not getting enough funding from
University Park and I’m going to push
everything I can to get some more
funding from central sources," he said.
The old IBM ATs that were removed
from the lab were not traded in, but were
given away to faculty members. There
were 20 machines to give away and 46
applications submitted.
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and Information Systems' future? Vis
wanath sees even more upgrading.
"The Apple lab is in a bad situation,"
Viswanath said. "We also have a need
for a UNIX-based system. There is a big
demand for that. People who graduate
from here are going out to see that. We
have to provide some sort of training on
UNIX for them."
A UNIX program would require a
separate lab and server network,
according to Viswanath. It would be a
new lab of its own.
"That [UNIX] is more important to
me than upgrading the mainframe lab,"
Viswanath said. "Maybe something can
happen in fall '92. We’re just talking
about it right now."
There are currently 20 computers in
the Apple lab. According to Viswanath,
the idea is to replace them with Mac-
August 26, 1991, CAPITAL TIMES
intosh units because emerging technolo
gies are such that either Macintosh or
Apple software can be run on a single
Macintosh machine.
"We’re working with a Macintosh
user’s group, an Apple user's group and
the faculty to determine the need and
what should be done to the lab,"
Viswanath said. "We are doing the same
thing with the UNIX-based system,
having a group meeting to decide what
we should do once we come up with the
criteria for selection for such a lab. The
computer facilities committee will defi
nitely play some role in this.
"I see both the Macintosh and UNIX
labs as a need. The current mainframe
lab is adequately equipped for the next
year or two. That will give us time to
obtain the other two labs,” he said.