Upgrade and Maintenance Brainstorm

Re: Upgrade and Maintenance Brainstorm

2006-07-31T19:32:36Z

Definitely. I would expect that software (application) decisions should be mostly driven by patron demand.

As far as the MS program - the main thing you need to understand about it is the ordering limitations. In a nutshell, these are the most important ones:

- 6 titles every 2 years
- 50 seat licenses (copies) per title every 2 years
- 1 order per year

These restrictions mean you need to plan carefully. I think the one order per year is the most critical restriction for most smaller libraries. You can get more details about the program from their FAQ:
http://www.techsoup.org/stock/libraries/microsoft/faq.asp

Dale

Re: Upgrade and Maintenance Brainstorm

2006-07-31T19:09:53Z

As a less technical response to your question, you may also want to be sure that you have a thorough understanding of what your patrons (a) use the PA computers for and (b) what they expect of them. This will at least narrow your software needs down a bit, and thus inform your hardware needs.

Re: Upgrade and Maintenance Brainstorm

2006-07-27T15:59:18Z

I think the first place to look when considering hardware upgrades is at your software. What do you run now, and what would you like to run in the future? Are you thinking of getting new versions of say Office, or Windows?
 
If you look at the system requirements of the software, I would consider those to be bare minimums - often not really adequate to run well. If you have computers that are just barely meeting them, think about upgrading those components.
 
This is something you can keep track of with <a href="http://webjunction.techatlas.org/tools/">TechAtlas</a>. If you use it's automated tools to inventory your computers, you can then easily create a report where you plug in the system requirements and get a list of all the computers that don't meet them, and it will highlight the specific components that need upgrading. If you want to get a better idea about what techAtlas can do, take a look at our <a href="/do/Navigation?category=442#ManagingPublicAccessComputing04125">free TechAtlas course</a>.
 
As a general rule of thumb, I look first at memory. It is almost always the best bang for your buck with old pc's, and is more important than processor speed. If you are running Windows XP, then 256MB of RAM is a bare minimum, especially once you start running multiple applications at once. 512 MB is better, and in most cases you can see noticeable speed improvements up to about 1 GB.
 
There is a good introductory article to the topic <a href="/do/DisplayContent?id=8512">here</a>.But I would also be interested to hear if anyone else has any favorite sites with good and up to date (up to date is the hard part) advice at a novice or intermediate user level.

Re: Upgrade and Maintenance Brainstorm

2006-07-27T15:43:23Z

I just checked out the donation site of software upgrades. We were looking at adding some of these to our computers. I did not realize that we could get some of this software for a minimal price. Now I need to figure out how to use this program to our Libraries advantage. I am not real certain on how to go about ordering these upgrades or the limit. Can you explain more on this program?

Re: Upgrade and Maintenance Brainstorm

2006-07-27T15:22:21Z

How do we know what upgrades should definitely be done and which ones we could let slide? Is there a site that explains what we should be looking for in our technology upgrades? It is hard to keep up with all the new technology plus the cost is not always in our budget. How do we decide which priority should be first when upgrading or replacing our computers?

Re: Upgrade and Maintenance Brainstorm

2006-07-18T16:35:23Z

Thanks dalem. I've added them to the brainstorm list!

Re: Upgrade and Maintenance Brainstorm

2006-06-05T20:03:04Z

Here are some items that night be included in a maintenance plan:
 
* Log of all current and past computer issues, including whether and how they were resolved. 
* Log of all computer updates and upgrades so you can easily check for currency. 
Both these two plus the upgrade problems log can all be done with Event Tracker in TechAtlas. 
 
Also: 
* A maintenence checklist or schedule that takes into account the different needs of PACs and staff computers. PAC maintenance will vary greatly depending on the security system used. 
* Plan for hardware upgrades (not just replacements). Often just an increase in RAM can add to the computer's life span. 
* Don't forget to plan for spending on printers, printer supplies and networking equipment. 
* Budget for replacement and add-on hardware, like mice, keyboards, USB hubs or even wifi routers. 
* Make sure to plan software upgrades carefully to take full advantage of the<a href="http://www.techsoup.org/stock/libraries/microsoft/default.asp" target=blank>Microsoft US Public Libraries Software Donation Program</a> and it's ordering restrictions.

Upgrade and Maintenance Brainstorm

2006-06-05T16:29:04Z

We're collecting all of the great <a href="/do/DisplayContent?id=13463">upgrade and maintenance ideas</a> that are coming out of the brainstorming sessions happening at Rural Library Sustainability workshops throughout the country. If you see something missing, please post the ideas and resources here, and I'll add them to the list. Thanks for all your great work!