These questions were raised in the Languages Advisory Group’s May 2009 meeting.

What is the policy on PC to Mac switch (for faculty)?

If the faculty member’s primary computer is due for upgrade, s/he can choose from either of our standard models, Windows or Mac, for her/his new primary computer.  If the end of the four-year replacement cycle has not yet been reached, and there is a desire to switch platforms, LIS will do what we can within budget limits to meet the request, but we cannot always guarantee that we can supply a brand new model.  LIS is committed to providing all faculty with the equipment they need for their teaching and research, within the limitations of the budgets we have available.

What’s the upgrade schedule for XP to Vista?

There is no upgrade schedule to Vista.  LIS has decided leap-frog over Vista and go directly to Windows 7 when the time is appropriate.  We have ordered all new equipment to date with a downgrade to Windows XP Pro with service pack 3.  Our reasoning:  Vista introduced too many challenges to our support structure and to our end users.

What’s faculty equipment replacement schedule going forward in the new fiscal climate?

There is no change to the LIS replacement schedule.  The replacement cycle is based on a four-year deployment.  The only caveat is that LIS will more closely scrutinize requests for any additional machines (i.e., beyond the standard “one primary computer per faculty/staff member.)