David, When you say the RH build didn't work - were you using a College login? Was it something specific that didn't work or the whole thing in general failed to boot up? There have been machines in the lab for a while with a request for testing - this input is vital in ensuring that on Day 1 of the academic session everything works are we want for the whole period. If anyone else can spare a little time to comment and give feedback over the next couple of days then we would be VERY grateful as it is your build on which your staff will have to teach. We want to make it right - but need just this sort of helpful feedback to ensure we get it all right. Thanks Adrian -----Original Message----- From: physics-departmental-computing-bounces@imperial.ac.uk [mailto:physics-departmental-computing-bounces@imperial.ac.uk] On Behalf Of David Colling Sent: 13 September 2010 18:27 To: Clements, David L Cc: physics-departmental-computing Subject: Re: [Physics-Departmental-Computing] Computing Intro for First years Hi Dave, I have just been down to the lab and a few things perhaps worth noting. They have upgraded ro windows 7 which means that their first log on will take a while. I didn't try the compilers (which I should have done), but the RH installation in VMware didn't work. Otherwise much the same. I want you to turn them all into wonderful C++ programmers .. but then you cannot get everything that you wish for ;-) All the best, david Dave Clements wrote:

Hi,

I'm about to prepare the computing intro talk and leaflet for the incoming first years.

If anything has changed form last year or if there's anything you're particularly keen to make sure they know, let me know ASAP.

Thanks!

Dave _______________________________________________ Physics-Departmental-Computing mailing list Physics-Departmental-Computing@imperial.ac.uk https://mailman.ic.ac.uk/mailman/listinfo/physics-departmental-computi ng

_______________________________________________ Physics-Departmental-Computing mailing list Physics-Departmental-Computing@imperial.ac.uk https://mailman.ic.ac.uk/mailman/listinfo/physics-departmental-computing

Thanks Ray. To answer some of the points here ... The initial login will be extended as Windows 7 has to create a profile for the user. For students this will always be a "roaming profile" and this is separate from the old "Windows XP profile". The time is used to set up a number of specific things such as "Desktop redirection" - so your Desktop is actually stored on your H: drive - over the years we have seen far too many people storing lots on their desktop then "breaking the profile" due to blowing the quota and then not being able to get back the work that they needed for an important work submission, etc. SO this is a direct response to make things better for everyone in that way. In the same way, Visual Studio will take a while to start up because it is setting up everything on the new profile - so this is something that you will want to warn returning students about. The link to H: is indeed intentional. We'll sort the duplication of the "My Imperial" shortcuts. We'll also look into the VMware issue and sort out the RH virtual machine. Steve is out until tomorrow on leave but he'll get onto that as soon as he is back. Thanks again for the feedback - as I say, if anyone else has input then please do send it over as soon as possible so that we can make this the best experience for everyone. Dave Clements - if you can hold finalising your slides for a couple of days then I am sure that Steve is likely to have some things for them, unless you want ICT to come and give an induction talk too? Regards Adrian -----Original Message----- From: Raymond Beuselinck [mailto:r.beuselinck@imperial.ac.uk] Sent: 14 September 2010 08:06 To: Mannall, Adrian B Cc: Colling, David J; Clements, David L; physics-departmental-computing Subject: Re: [Physics-Departmental-Computing] Computing Intro for First years Hi Adrian, I also went down to check out the Windows 7 setup a few days ago. I can confirm that the desktop link to start up VMware does not work. Specifically, I got some error message about needing to be administrator in order to install or update something. I can't remember the exact message. My other observations: 1. Yes, the first login did take a long time. 2. I fired up visual studio as well. This seems to be the same version we used in lab last year but it behaved as though I had never used it before and went through an initial setup which took a VERY, VERY long time. 3. I notice that under Windows 7 I seem to have a new top level folder containing the usual suspects (My Documents etc.) and that my usual H: drive appears as a link within this folder. I assume this is deliberate. 4. There are two desktop icons labelled "My Imperial". This seems a little redundant. Regards, Ray Beuselinck On Mon, 13 Sep 2010, Mannall, Adrian B wrote:

David,

When you say the RH build didn't work - were you using a College login? Was it something specific that didn't work or the whole thing in general failed to boot up?

There have been machines in the lab for a while with a request for testing - this input is vital in ensuring that on Day 1 of the academic session everything works are we want for the whole period. If anyone else can spare a little time to comment and give feedback over the next couple of days then we would be VERY grateful as it is your build on which your staff will have to teach. We want to make it right - but need just this sort of helpful feedback to ensure we get it all right.

Thanks Adrian

-----Original Message----- From: physics-departmental-computing-bounces@imperial.ac.uk [mailto:physics-departmental-computing-bounces@imperial.ac.uk] On Behalf Of David Colling Sent: 13 September 2010 18:27 To: Clements, David L Cc: physics-departmental-computing Subject: Re: [Physics-Departmental-Computing] Computing Intro for First years

Hi Dave,

I have just been down to the lab and a few things perhaps worth noting. They have upgraded ro windows 7 which means that their first log on will take a while. I didn't try the compilers (which I should have done), but the RH installation in VMware didn't work. Otherwise much the same.

I want you to turn them all into wonderful C++ programmers .. but then you cannot get everything that you wish for ;-)

All the best, david

Dave Clements wrote:

...

Hi,

I'm about to prepare the computing intro talk and leaflet for the incoming first years.

If anything has changed form last year or if there's anything you're particularly keen to make sure they know, let me know ASAP.

Thanks!

Dave _______________________________________________ Physics-Departmental-Computing mailing list Physics-Departmental-Computing@imperial.ac.uk https://mailman.ic.ac.uk/mailman/listinfo/physics-departmental-compu ti ng

_______________________________________________ Physics-Departmental-Computing mailing list Physics-Departmental-Computing@imperial.ac.uk https://mailman.ic.ac.uk/mailman/listinfo/physics-departmental-computi ng

_______________________________________________ Physics-Departmental-Computing mailing list Physics-Departmental-Computing@imperial.ac.uk https://mailman.ic.ac.uk/mailman/listinfo/physics-departmental-computi ng

Do you have an electronic copy of the "printed material" that we can review and pass back with any updates? I'm sure that Steve will be more than happy to come along and speak on behalf of ICT - do please let him know date(s) and times, etc. Many thanks Adrian -----Original Message----- From: Dave Clements [mailto:d.clements@imperial.ac.uk] Sent: 14 September 2010 08:49 To: Mannall, Adrian B Cc: Beuselinck, Raymond; Colling, David J; physics-departmental-computing Subject: Re: [Physics-Departmental-Computing] Computing Intro for First years On 14 Sep 2010, at 08:42, Mannall, Adrian B wrote:

Dave Clements - if you can hold finalising your slides for a couple of days then I am sure that Steve is likely to have some things for them, unless you want ICT to come and give an induction talk too?

I'll include some comments about set up taking a while the first time you log in and during the VS setup. It's fine for me to wait a few days to get the talk settled. Is there anything in the printed material that needs to be changed as well? Last year Steve came along and said something from ICT at the intro talk. I think that would be helpful again. I'm not a Windows user on the college system so he may be able to answer questions that I can't. Thanks! Dave

Hi Dave, I've had a look through and updated the obvious like the file and email space allocations (doubled this year to 1GB for H: and 500MB for email for Undergrads) and a couple of other minor amendments. I turned on "track changes" so you can see the changes and accept those you want, etc. Hope that helps. I know Steve will want to say something about the ICT provision and also the new and more stringent measures being taken with regards software piracy, etc. Regards Adrian -----Original Message----- From: Dave Clements [mailto:d.clements@imperial.ac.uk] Sent: 14 September 2010 09:57 To: Mannall, Adrian B Cc: Beuselinck, Raymond; Colling, David J; physics-departmental-computing Subject: Re: [Physics-Departmental-Computing] Computing Intro for First years Material attached... Dave

This is just to confirm that I saw the same problem as Ray on the VMware. It told me that I should upgrade and did I want to now. If I said "Yes" I didn't have enough privileges and if I said no it sulked. All the best, david Mannall, Adrian B wrote:

Thanks Ray.

To answer some of the points here ...

The initial login will be extended as Windows 7 has to create a profile for the user. For students this will always be a "roaming profile" and this is separate from the old "Windows XP profile". The time is used to set up a number of specific things such as "Desktop redirection" - so your Desktop is actually stored on your H: drive - over the years we have seen far too many people storing lots on their desktop then "breaking the profile" due to blowing the quota and then not being able to get back the work that they needed for an important work submission, etc. SO this is a direct response to make things better for everyone in that way.

In the same way, Visual Studio will take a while to start up because it is setting up everything on the new profile - so this is something that you will want to warn returning students about.

The link to H: is indeed intentional.

We'll sort the duplication of the "My Imperial" shortcuts.

We'll also look into the VMware issue and sort out the RH virtual machine. Steve is out until tomorrow on leave but he'll get onto that as soon as he is back.

Thanks again for the feedback - as I say, if anyone else has input then please do send it over as soon as possible so that we can make this the best experience for everyone.

Dave Clements - if you can hold finalising your slides for a couple of days then I am sure that Steve is likely to have some things for them, unless you want ICT to come and give an induction talk too?

Regards Adrian

-----Original Message----- From: Raymond Beuselinck [mailto:r.beuselinck@imperial.ac.uk] Sent: 14 September 2010 08:06 To: Mannall, Adrian B Cc: Colling, David J; Clements, David L; physics-departmental-computing Subject: Re: [Physics-Departmental-Computing] Computing Intro for First years

Hi Adrian,

I also went down to check out the Windows 7 setup a few days ago. I can confirm that the desktop link to start up VMware does not work. Specifically, I got some error message about needing to be administrator in order to install or update something. I can't remember the exact message.

My other observations: 1. Yes, the first login did take a long time.

2. I fired up visual studio as well. This seems to be the same version we used in lab last year but it behaved as though I had never used it before and went through an initial setup which took a VERY, VERY long time.

3. I notice that under Windows 7 I seem to have a new top level folder containing the usual suspects (My Documents etc.) and that my usual H: drive appears as a link within this folder. I assume this is deliberate.

4. There are two desktop icons labelled "My Imperial". This seems a little redundant.

Regards, Ray Beuselinck

On Mon, 13 Sep 2010, Mannall, Adrian B wrote:

...

David,

When you say the RH build didn't work - were you using a College login? Was it something specific that didn't work or the whole thing in general failed to boot up?

There have been machines in the lab for a while with a request for testing - this input is vital in ensuring that on Day 1 of the academic session everything works are we want for the whole period. If anyone else can spare a little time to comment and give feedback over the next couple of days then we would be VERY grateful as it is your build on which your staff will have to teach. We want to make it right - but need just this sort of helpful feedback to ensure we get it all right.

Thanks Adrian

-----Original Message----- From: physics-departmental-computing-bounces@imperial.ac.uk [mailto:physics-departmental-computing-bounces@imperial.ac.uk] On Behalf Of David Colling Sent: 13 September 2010 18:27 To: Clements, David L Cc: physics-departmental-computing Subject: Re: [Physics-Departmental-Computing] Computing Intro for First years

Hi Dave,

I have just been down to the lab and a few things perhaps worth noting. They have upgraded ro windows 7 which means that their first log on will take a while. I didn't try the compilers (which I should have done), but the RH installation in VMware didn't work. Otherwise much the same.

I want you to turn them all into wonderful C++ programmers .. but then you cannot get everything that you wish for ;-)

All the best, david

Dave Clements wrote:

...

Hi,

I'm about to prepare the computing intro talk and leaflet for the incoming first years.

If anything has changed form last year or if there's anything you're particularly keen to make sure they know, let me know ASAP.

Thanks!

Dave _______________________________________________ Physics-Departmental-Computing mailing list Physics-Departmental-Computing@imperial.ac.uk https://mailman.ic.ac.uk/mailman/listinfo/physics-departmental-compu ti ng

---

Physics-Departmental-Computing mailing list Physics-Departmental-Computing@imperial.ac.uk https://mailman.ic.ac.uk/mailman/listinfo/physics-departmental-computi ng

_______________________________________________ Physics-Departmental-Computing mailing list Physics-Departmental-Computing@imperial.ac.uk https://mailman.ic.ac.uk/mailman/listinfo/physics-departmental-computi ng

Hi Dave, While this is a good development I think that ability to access support at all times (well during normal working hours) is important. If the ICT staff are now to be based in Huxley they will be behind a swipe card entry system to which people in physics will not have access and this is something that needs to be corrected. The solutions that I see are that people in physics have access to Huxley level 2 or at least the 'phone number of the support is clearly advertised in Blackett. All the best, david On 03/11/2010 11:43, Dave Clements wrote:

Hi,

I've just had a meeting with Adrian and Steve from ICT about how to handle cover for the 1st year computing class now that ICT staff have largely moved out of level 3 Blackett.

They're happy to provide someone in the Level 3 Blackett computing suite at specific times for computing classes. For the first years we've agreed to have someone there for the first 3 sessions of each group as this is when most technical problems crop up.

I'm not sure what the needs for other classes - eg. 2nd year lab or 3rd year computational physics might be, but you should contact Adrian to arrange for any cover you think is needed.

This should sort out the difficulties that might otherwise arise from ICT moving their base into Huxley.

Cheers!

Dave

All, Can I just clarify - there are no swipe cards restricting access to the group office. There is a swipe on the office door - which we are endeavouring to change so that we can offer a totally open door approach - unfortunately at the moment it is alarmed and security come running if the door is left open - but we will get this changed soon. I think that perhaps there has been some unfortunate miscommunication about the change of office. I have asked Steve Rochford, the team leader to continue to run a rotation of staff in the Physics office to maintain some staff presence - what we are achieving with the office in 411 of Huxley is purely a team office where the whole team can sit and have a base. It is not the intention to just "up sticks and remove ourselves" from Physics - and I apologise if that impression has been given by any notices or information conveyed to you in the past few days. Steve will ensure that we maintain an active presence in Physics at the back of the computing lab and cover teaching sessions as requested - however outside of teaching sessions then, as previously, the engineer on rotation may be elsewhere in the building resolving issues, so we would encourage people to use Huxley 411 as the default contact point as there will be more staff available there to assist with support enquiries. Hopefully you will also find that you won't have to fight through hoards of undergraduates to get to the office door either! Regards Adrian -----Original Message----- From: physics-departmental-computing-bounces@imperial.ac.uk [mailto:physics-departmental-computing-bounces@imperial.ac.uk] On Behalf Of Dave Clements Sent: 03 November 2010 12:50 To: Colling, David J Cc: physics-departmental-computing Subject: Re: [Physics-Departmental-Computing] ICT cover for computing classes On 3 Nov 2010, at 12:25, David Colling wrote:

Hi Dave,

While this is a good development I think that ability to access support at all times (well during normal working hours) is important. If the ICT staff are now to be based in Huxley they will be behind a swipe card entry system to which people in physics will not have access and this is something that needs to be corrected. The solutions that I see are that people in physics have access to Huxley level 2 or at least the 'phone number of the support is clearly advertised in Blackett.

I had occasion to go over to Huxley 411 (not level 2) a couple of times recently and did not spot a swipe card lock. Maybe I was lucky! I did have to knock on their door, but there were people there who were able to help. I agree that it would be best to have people based in Blackett all the time, but decisions against this seem to have been made some time ago. Dave _______________________________________________ Physics-Departmental-Computing mailing list Physics-Departmental-Computing@imperial.ac.uk https://mailman.ic.ac.uk/mailman/listinfo/physics-departmental-computing

The best number is 49000 or the priority number for teaching issues which is 41126. The job will then be logged and routed to the team and someone can come down and fix it quickly. Regards Adrian -----Original Message----- From: David Colling [mailto:d.colling@imperial.ac.uk] Sent: 03 November 2010 13:13 To: Mannall, Adrian B Cc: Clements, David L; physics-departmental-computing; Rochford, Steve Subject: Re: [Physics-Departmental-Computing] ICT cover for computing classes Hi, The mistake was mine. I had wrongly assumed that the office was on level 2 but I was thinking of CSG. Even so it might be a good idea to advertise the number in UG computing area. If there is a problem with a printer on level 3 of blackett it makes little sense for somebody to physically go to fetch a support person. All the best, david On 03/11/2010 13:04, Mannall, Adrian B wrote:

All,

Can I just clarify - there are no swipe cards restricting access to the group office. There is a swipe on the office door - which we are endeavouring to change so that we can offer a totally open door approach - unfortunately at the moment it is alarmed and security come running if the door is left open - but we will get this changed soon.

I think that perhaps there has been some unfortunate miscommunication about the change of office. I have asked Steve Rochford, the team leader to continue to run a rotation of staff in the Physics office to maintain some staff presence - what we are achieving with the office in 411 of Huxley is purely a team office where the whole team can sit and have a base. It is not the intention to just "up sticks and remove ourselves" from Physics - and I apologise if that impression has been given by any notices or information conveyed to you in the past few days.

Steve will ensure that we maintain an active presence in Physics at the back of the computing lab and cover teaching sessions as requested - however outside of teaching sessions then, as previously, the engineer on rotation may be elsewhere in the building resolving issues, so we would encourage people to use Huxley 411 as the default contact point as there will be more staff available there to assist with support enquiries. Hopefully you will also find that you won't have to fight through hoards of undergraduates to get to the office door either!

Regards Adrian

-----Original Message----- From: physics-departmental-computing-bounces@imperial.ac.uk [mailto:physics-departmental-computing-bounces@imperial.ac.uk] On Behalf Of Dave Clements Sent: 03 November 2010 12:50 To: Colling, David J Cc: physics-departmental-computing Subject: Re: [Physics-Departmental-Computing] ICT cover for computing classes

On 3 Nov 2010, at 12:25, David Colling wrote:

...

Hi Dave,

While this is a good development I think that ability to access support at all times (well during normal working hours) is important. If the ICT staff are now to be based in Huxley they will be behind a swipe card entry system to which people in physics will not have access and this is something that needs to be corrected. The solutions that I see are that people in physics have access to Huxley level 2 or at least the 'phone number of the support is clearly advertised in Blackett.

I had occasion to go over to Huxley 411 (not level 2) a couple of times recently and did not spot a swipe card lock. Maybe I was lucky!

I did have to knock on their door, but there were people there who were able to help.

I agree that it would be best to have people based in Blackett all the time, but decisions against this seem to have been made some time ago.

Dave _______________________________________________ Physics-Departmental-Computing mailing list Physics-Departmental-Computing@imperial.ac.uk https://mailman.ic.ac.uk/mailman/listinfo/physics-departmental-computi ng