Macs-imising IT rooms

With a smattering of terrible puns, Adrian Young explains how we're going about providing iMacs for students.

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Delicious Apple by cheriejoyful
Used under a Creative Commons licence

Some months ago, a student asked why IT Services don't provide Apple Macs in our IT rooms?

Good question I thought, why don't we do this? Is it because the hardware is too expensive, or that the systems to provide the service aren't available or are equally expensive? I decided it was worth having a look into this further to see exactly what we could do.

Putting a managed Windows PC onto a desk is pretty easy for us - we've been doing it for many years and the systems we use to manage them are effective and powerful. To do the same for Macs needed thought and investigation. We couldn't use the same systems to manage the Macs as we do the Windows PCs as obviously they use different technology. We had already experienced this when developing the managed Linux desktop. The fundamentals are the same - it's still some hardware with an operating system and some applications - it's just that the hardware and the operating system are different.

Where to start?

iMac by Adam Maracz
Used under a Creative Commons licence

The first thing to look into was how much more would it cost to buy Apple hardware as opposed to the PCs we get from Stone. If it was far too expensive then this wasn't going anywhere, and we would use the budget to buy more PCs instead.

Well, it turned out that it wasn't too bad. Yes, the iMacs cost more but not horrendously so - especially with the educational discount we get from Apple. Mac minis were cheaper but the spec for the hardware was lower than we wanted. iMacs provided the necessary spec and are a neater solution - an all in one system, without separate monitors or keyboards.

So, the financial aspect was ok.

Next question was would we be able to provide a similar service to that of the managed Windows PCs? What systems did we need so that people could log in, get to their filestore, use applications, and print? A quick proof of concept seemed to say we already had available systems to do most of the things we wanted to do.

So, the technical aspect was ok.

The practicalities

Once we had established that this could be a viable option we needed to look at some of the practicalities of doing this.

First of all where would we put the iMacs? Somewhere in the Library seemed the logical solution, it's a popular study space and a good place to try out new services.

Ok, the Library looked promising, but would we use one of the existing IT rooms or find somewhere new? Space is an issue and taking out some of the existing PCs could be problematic. What about the Fairhurst? There's some space there that we could use, and this means that the iMacs are close to the IT Support Office if anything goes wrong.

So, the practical aspect was ok.

Next question. What software do we put on there? Well we already have quite a few applications installed on the Windows PCs that we could use, so MS Office, SPSS, Endnote. That would be a good start. What about the old cliche of using Macs for creative stuff? Should we look at the Adobe Creative Suite? As it's expensive and we don’t have much call for it academically, we decided that we could look at that later. We'd launch the service with a standard set of applications, and see what feedback we receive.

So, the software service aspect was ok.

Now we know what hardware we want, we know what systems we want to run it, we know where to put them, we know what we want on them. It sounds like we're pretty much there.

The trial iMac service

Pixel and her iMac by Mik Ayre
Used under a Creative Commons licence

The outcome of this is that we will be providing a small trial of iMacs on the 2nd floor of the Fairhurst building over the summer holidays. You'll be able to log in with your normal IT username and password, and you'll have access to your personal file store (H: drive): there'll be some familiar applications on there, and you'll be able to use York Print Plus.

We'll see how it goes and see if there is a sufficient demand to continue with this as a service. If budgets allow, maybe we'll expand it a little to other areas, especially for staff, and perhaps look at other software.

It's been an interesting journey to get to this point, there have been many discussions about the best way to do this, hopefully we will deliver a service that will be useful... we will certainly be pushing IT to the Macs.


UPDATE: The new Apple Macs were installed at the beginning of August 2015 on the second floor of the Fairhurst building (where the PC thin clients are). While we finalise the software suite for the Apple Mac service you can use the iMacs for browsing the web, printing and editing documents.

We need your feedback on the service, including suggestions for software and comments on your experience. Have you used the iMacs yet? If you have, please complete our survey here: bit.ly/imac-feedback

Taking your Library home

It's probably not escaped your attention that this is a busy time of year. Across the three buildings of the Library, we have over 1,200 study spaces - we know there are times when you'd like to see more, but safety requirements don't allow us to add any extra seats.

We have a system that shows you occupancy levels in various areas of the Library - it's updated hourly during term time, so you can see where you're most likely to find a space. You can check  the screen in the Library foyer or use the web page:

• Seating availability

During the exam period, we've booked out rooms in the Fairhurst (LFA/144) and Burton (LBU/003) buildings to be used as additional study space. We're also encouraging everyone to find out about alternative study spaces on campus.

Working elsewhere in the University

Have a look at the study spaces available elsewhere in the University - if you don't need immediate access to the physical resources in the Library they might be ideal for you, and they include group study areas that you can book out: University study spaces If you need a PC, remember there are IT rooms all over campus - use the IT Services web page to check which IT rooms are booked, and which have free PCs: IT classrooms and study areas

But what do you do when you can't find a seat, or when you'd rather work at home?

You take the Library home...

Photo: Books by Katey. Reproduced under a Creative Commons licence

No, not literally...

Instead, think about how you can make other study areas more like the Library, and make sure you know how to access the various electronic resources, no matter where you are.

Working at home Pick up one of our 'brilliant minds at work' door hangers at the Library desk if you want to remind your housemates not to disturb you while you revise. Find out what you can access online using our E-resources guide. Our policy, when we buy a book, is also to buy the e-book if one is available, so we may have more e-resources than you think. Organise books & other resources so it’s easy to find what you need - arrange them on your shelves by classmark or subject. Light caffeine boost by Steve. Reproduced under a Creative Commons licence. Make a big flask of coffee at the start of each session so you don’t have to stop and put the kettle on. Stock up on easy snacks to keep hunger at bay and feed your brain - nuts, seeds and fruit are all recommended: Foods to boost your brainpower If walking to the Library in the morning gives you space to think out your day’s work, have a walk around the block after breakfast before you settle down to study. Don't forget about breaks - arrange to meet your housemates in the kitchen for lunch or coffee breaks, so you get the social interaction you’d have in the Library cafe. Check out some of the many revision and writing tips available online (just don't spend all your time reading them!): Five secrets of successful revising Top ten tips for writing your dissertation If you have your own success secrets for revision or writing up, please share them in the comments or tweet them to us @UoYLibrary

And finally don't forget the support available to you on campus if you have any concerns during this busy time:

• Student Support Service.

(If all else fails and you just can't concentrate on your work no matter what you do, perhaps it's time to change things up a bit and re-arrange your sock drawer for five minutes. Here's how to do it properly: www.wikihow.com/Arrange-a-Sock-Drawer).

Taking your Library home

It's probably not escaped your attention that this is a busy time of year. Across the three buildings of the Library, we have over 1,200 study spaces - we know there are times when you'd like to see more, but safety requirements don't allow us to add any extra seats.

We're currently trying out a system that shows you occupancy levels in various areas of the Library - it's updated regularly over the course of the day, so you can see where you're most likely to find a space. You can check the web page or use the screen in the Library foyer:

• Seating availability

During the exam period, we've booked out rooms in the Fairhurst (LFA/144) and Burton (LBU/003) buildings to be used as additional study space. During Week One, we've been encouraging everyone to find out how to make the Library work for them, whilst respecting the needs of others:

• You and your Library

But what do you do when you can't find a seat in the Library, or when you'd rather work at home?

You take the Library home...

Photo: Books by Katey. Reproduced under a Creative Commons licence

No, not literally...

Instead, think about how you can make other study areas more like the Library, and make sure you know how to access the various electronic resources, no matter where you are.

Working elsewhere in the University

Have a look at the study spaces available elsewhere in the University - if you don't need immediate access to the physical resources in the Library they might be ideal for you, and they include group study areas that you can book out: University study spaces If you need a PC, remember there are IT rooms all over campus - use the IT Services web page to check which IT rooms are booked, and which have free PCs: IT classrooms and study areas

Working at home Pick up one of our 'brilliant minds at work' door hangers at the Library desk if you want to remind your housemates not to disturb you while you revise. Find out what you can access online using our E-resources guide. Our policy, when we buy a book, is also to buy the e-book if one is available, so we may have more e-resources than you think. Organise books & other resources so it’s easy to find what you need - arrange them on your shelves by classmark or subject. Light caffeine boost by Steve. Reproduced under a Creative Commons licence. Make a big flask of coffee at the start of each session so you don’t have to stop and put the kettle on. Stock up on easy snacks to keep hunger at bay and feed your brain - nuts, seeds and fruit are all recommended: Foods to boost your brainpower If walking to the Library in the morning gives you space to think out your day’s work, have a walk around the block after breakfast before you settle down to study. Don't forget about breaks - arrange to meet your housemates in the kitchen for lunch or coffee breaks, so you get the social interaction you’d have in the Library cafe. Check out some of the many revision and writing tips available online (just don't spend all your time reading them!): Five secrets of successful revising Top ten tips for writing your dissertation If you have your own success secrets for revision or writing up, please share them in the comments or tweet them to us @UoYLibrary

And finally don't forget the support available to you on campus if you have any concerns during this busy time:

• Student Support Service.

(If all else fails and you just can't concentrate on your work no matter what you do, perhaps it's time to change things up a bit and re-arrange your sock drawer for five minutes. Here's how to do it properly: www.wikihow.com/Arrange-a-Sock-Drawer).