and Learning Guides
Microsoft Vista
IIT is also doing some testing of Vista; we need to proceed in step with the
rest of the university on this because it affects how software in the
classrooms works and how users authenticate.
One problem IIT has already identified is the dearth of faculty and staff
machines that would work with Vista on campus, virtually the entire
Administrative network of about 401 PC's.
Even the approximately 645 PC's in labs and classrooms do not have Vista
loaded and there are concerns whether it will work there. Added to that
are the licensing issues for faculty and staff machines. Given all the
problems with Vista, there are opportunities; here is what IIT is doing
to prepare for this Microsoft release:
In February 2007, IIT will be participating in the Bulk Purchase discussions. As new PC's are purchased at Penn State Harrisburg, they will come Vista ready. Those machines will be located primarily to classrooms and labs.
In 2009 or 2010 when those machines are reallocated, they will go to faculty and staff and will of course be Vista ready. Furthermore, they will be OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) licensed so Penn State Harrisburg will not have to pay for the Windows XP upgrade to Vista license, projected to cost about $62 per PC.
Microsoft has an official life cycle plan for operating systems and also here. (OS). Most OS on campus are Windows XP. The Windows XP support life cycle is here; support for Windows 98 just ended last year! The desired outcome is that all PC's on campus will be running Vista by 2010, however, that depends on existing PC's being replaced and preferably on a regular basis. IIT has developed a plan for this replacement with costs; it can be seen in it's entirety on this website.
Faculty, staff and students should review the Penn State Wiki for Vista entitled "Vista Impressions."
Click here for the plan.
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This page is maintained by
robertb@psu.edu.
Updated
November 27, 2006
