We have converted 27 Olson from PCs to Macs and rearranged the room so it’s more accommodating for in-class discussion. It’s now arranged like 1 and 21 Olson.
CLM has installed new computers, iMac G5's, in our labs. The older iMacs with the swivel monitor are no longer being manufactured, so unfortunately the screens on the new machines cannot be moved out of the way for class discussion.
All the computer classrooms also have new printers with faster startup times, quieter operation, and the ability to print more pages per minute (about 50 pages per minute with text-only documents). These new printers should also jam less frequently.
Finally, new projectors have been hung in Olson and Hart, offering much brighter on-screen displays so you can now show PowerPoint, for example, with the classroom lights left on. The images are also sharper, making on-screen text easier to read. Overall, the projectors are of a better quality than we’ve had in the past.
The class folders for Olson upstairs and downstairs have been consolidated into a single Olson folder. This should be helpful to those of us who teach both up- and downstairs in Olson.
The class software folder now has links to other class folders, such as Hart, so you no longer have to search for them in the Utilities folder (although the links have been kept there as well).
CLM has upgraded the Macs to OS 10.4, known as the “Tiger” operating system. We expect improved stability with this upgrade.
We have also upgraded to Office 2004, giving us more stable versions of Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, especially in terms of their ability to support PC files.