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From: sysop@stech.UUCP (Jan Harrington)
Newsgroups: comp.edu
Subject: Re: microcomputers
Message-ID: <122@stech.UUCP>
Date: Tue, 11-Aug-87 06:27:21 EDT
Article-I.D.: stech.122
Posted: Tue Aug 11 06:27:21 1987
Date-Received: Thu, 13-Aug-87 06:14:49 EDT
References: <398@ndsuvax.UUCP>
Organization: Scholastech, Inc., Waltham, Mass.
Lines: 40

in article <398@ndsuvax.UUCP>, ncmagel@ndsuvax.UUCP (ken magel) says:
> Posted: Fri Aug  7 06:49:38 1987
> 
> 
>     How many microcomputers should be available for a given number of students
> who are computer science majors?  That is, should there be one micro for every
> ten students, every five students, every twenty students?  WHat would be an 
> optimal number and what would be a satisfactory ratio?  How well equiped 
> should the micro's be?  How much money per year should be available for software
> per student?

We give every freshman and software, majors and non-majors alike, their own
portable PC.  Students lease the machines, but can buy them if they choose.
Juniors and seniors have the option of leasing and/or buying.  Since that is
the case, our micro labs are rather small.  There are about 70 PC's, each
with a hard disk and printer, for an about 5,000 students (grad and undergrad)
but remember that fully three-quarters or more of that number will be using
their own machines.  And many courses don't use micros but are taught on the
mainframe (especially for majors).

The portables this year are the new HP portable, which I understand hasn't
even been officially announced to the public yet.  I therefore can't give
details, but our written specs for a machine included 512KRAM, 2 - 3 1/2
half inch disk drives, a readable screen, and AT compatibility.  Each
student will be purchasing WordPerfect, a spreadsheet (a Lotus clone, since
Lotus wanted $100/student to put 1-2-3 on the small disks!), BASIC, and a
demo version of dBase III+ (limited to 25 or so rows per file).

The micro lab has HP vectras, each with a hard disk on which software has
already been installed.  The packages vary with what instructors need.

Each faculty member, by the way, gets some sort of micro.  The Vectra in 
my office is hooked to our broadband network, off which the mainframes and
minis are hung.  For exmaple, I can reach a Prime 9955 and a Microvax II.
There are student terminal labs scattered around campus, though the largest
has about 80 terminals.  Dial-in access to the broadband is also available.

Jan Harrington, sysop
Scholastech Telecommunications
seismo!husc6!amcad!stech!sysop