As part of an ongoing effort to provide stable and reliable software, 415 computers have been upgraded to either Mac OSX (from Mac OS9) or Windows XP (from Windows ME) for Fall 2004. Faculty were informed a full year in advance about these changes so as to allow sufficient time for any necessary changes to instructional materials for students using computer classrooms.

To maintain up-to-date equipment for instructional use, over the summer, Classroom Technology Services purchased 170 new computers and set them up in three computer classrooms, two open access labs, and two media labs. This upgrade is part of the three-year equipment replacement cycle. These new computers included Dell Optiplex 3Ghz-P4 desktops and Apple PowerMac 1.8GHZ-G5 towers. All computers included a flat-panel LCD screen to increase the available desk space, and additional emergency replacement machines were purchased to cover breakage.

Drop-in access to the computer rooms continues to grow steadily, and Classroom Technology Services is finding creative ways of helping students. To increase capacity, the small storage room in 15 Olson will be opened to accommodate five more drop-in computer stations. The storage room's size can allow only stand-up stations. In addition, two traditional media stations in the Media Distribution Lab will be converted into quick-access, Windows-based computer stations. This will add to the four existing Windows-based, and two Mac-based computer stations in the lab used for quick-access. Based on a five year growth projection, CTS expects over 1,000 more unique users in 04-05 over the 03-04 year. For more information about computer rooms, see http://clm.ucdavis.edu.