Bulletin Number One 1986

Equipment and management The Laboratory is presently equipped with: 18 IBM Personal Computers (14 with colour screens, 3 with Chinese processing features) 2 IBM PC-ATs, each with colour screen 2 Toshiba 1100 portable personal computers 2 Apple Macintosh Computers, each with 512 KB memory 3 Toshiba P1351 printers 3 Epson FX80+ printers 1 Apple Imagewriter More than 130 pieces of software, including most of the important commercial packages. A special advisory committee was set up to deal with overall policy matters and major purchases. Another one, with student participation, handles detailed operations. The Laboratory is open to all United College members, whether student or staff, following the time schedule of the College library: 9a.m. to 9.30p.m. every weekday, 9a.m. to 12.30p.m. on Saturdays. It is closed on Sundays and holidays. There is one full- time technician in charge, assisted by a clerk, and a number of student helpers. College students and staff come to borrow machine time just like borrowing books from the library reference desk. Most machines are designated for students, and the rest are mainly for staff. A student using a student machine exclusively for serious work has high priority, and can work for an hour uninterrupted; the same is true for a staff member using a staff machine for serious work. A person using the wrong type of machines and/or using a machine for more than an hour and/or playing games has low priority, and should be ready to yield the machine on a five-minute notice. The students like the Laboratory. The use of colour screens also adds to user interest. During opening hours, most of the machines are occupied. Majors in Computer Science and Electronics are naturally attracted by the Laboratory. But there is no lack of curiosity seekers who came, saw, and stayed to conquer the machine. The short classes also yielded many devoted users. A guided tour of the microcomputer room was also part of the United College general education activity. The $50 software A typical piece of commercial software costs about HK$2,000. Five packages would cost more than HK$ 10,000, a sizable investment for each machine. And if the committee made a wrong choice, we would just end up with costly software unfit for the requirements. RECENT DEVELOPMENTS 11