Daily Bulletin

He'll need the lab coat for more academic pursuits now: fall term classes started at 8:30 this morning, and already the first section of Chemistry 120 has begun its discussions of "the stoichiometry of compounds and chemical reactions". Last week, though, the white coat was needed for protection in the science orientation egg toss.

Welcome to graduate students

And now a quieter group than the 4,500 new first-year undergraduates is being welcomed to campus, as the Graduate Student Association holds a Grad Students Welcome Week.

Activities kick off tomorrow with an opportunity for graduate students to get acquainted with the GSA executive and university administration, "the people who run the university", from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Grad House.

On Wednesday evening, starting at 8, a mixer at the Grad House will feature "a DJ, games, prizes and lots of fun." A volleyball tournament is scheduled for Thursday from noon to 6 p.m. on the hill behind the Grad House. Participants can sign up any time this week.

Pizza is on the menu for Friday -- for a loonie a slice -- from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Starting at 4 p.m., a bandfest will highlight local talent.

"This should be a great week," says organizer Stephanie Faint, GSA vice-president (student affairs), "so we hope you can all come out and meet the GSA and your fellow grads, and have a great time!"

The move to Windows 2000

The early warning about the operating system used on UW computers comes from a team in the department of information systems and technology. Manfred Grisebach of the IST's systems group heads the "Positioning for Windows 2000 Project".

"Currently," says the memo, "the vast majority of PCs in academic support departments are running the operating system called Windows 95, and some are running an operating system called Windows NT. The successor to both Windows 95 and Windows NT is a new operating system called Windows 2000. (There is another operating system called Windows 98 that was introduced last year, but it has no features that made us want to upgrade.)"

Why is the shift necessary? First, the memo says, Microsoft -- the giant software company that's behind all the versions of Windows -- will eventually stop supporting Windows 95. Second, "it is quite likely that hardware manufacturers will start producing peripherals that will require the Windows 2000 operating system for support." And third, "software companies will produce versions of their programs that will only work on Windows 2000."

The implications for UW departments: "Windows 2000 requires a more powerful computer than does Windows 95. Our experience indicates that a Pentium 200 or faster is required. All computers purchased since the summer of 1997 fall into this class. A move to Windows 2000 won't be started until the summer of 2000, and probably won't be completed until at least the summer of 2002. By that time all pre Pentium 200 computers should have been replaced, since the normal useful life of a computer is about four years. However, many of the current Pentium 200 or better systems may benefit from a memory upgrade in order to run Windows 2000.

"When you are purchasing new computers, please make sure that they are Windows 2000 capable. The minimum system that you should be purchasing now is a Pentium 400 with a 4 gigabyte hard drive. . . . We recommend that new systems be purchased with 128 megabytes of memory."

Project members have background information available on their web site.

Grisebach and his colleagues in the Windows 2000 project note that their advice is "primarily directed" at non-academic departments, since those are the ones that get their computing support from IST. "But the information may be useful to the rest of the university as well," he added.

"We wanted these departments to know that we are planning in advance for the ultimate move to Windows 2000. . . .

"We also wanted to let them know that they did not need to rush out and replace computers to make them Windows 2000 capable. Instead we wished to reassure them that their older computers that are not powerful enough for Win 2000 would probably be upgraded in the normal cycle of computer replacement by the time they were ready to move to Win 2000. What we did want to get across was to ensure that any new computers should be purchased with enough memory, 128 megabytes. Even though they may not need 128 megs today, in the long run it is less expensive to purchase that amount of memory now, rather than add it at a later time."

The memo doesn't address users of the Apple Macintosh, which IST said last year was "not a strategic platform" for computing at UW, or users of other operating systems such as Unix.

UW role in Alzheimer program

The government said it will invest $68.4 million in "this comprehensive, multi-faceted strategy" over five years. The UW program contributed to the development of the plan by participating in round-table meetings and submitting a detailed response to the draft plan in May, a release from UW's news bureau says.

The release goes on: "The strategy indicates that the information garnered during round-table discussions has been distilled into a 10-point plan to enhance the quality of life of persons affected by Alzheimer disease and related dementias. The most significant feature is its emphasis on collaboration and partnerships. MAREP has been identified as a key research partner in a study aimed at identifying the key community support services needed by caregivers.

"As well, MAREP has been asked to work with the Alzheimer Society of Ontario in the updating of educational materials for use in increasing public awareness, information and education.

"The strategy also provides for continued support of an annual design conference on appropriate safe and secure environments for persons with Alzheimer disease and related dementias, and MAREP will co-host these conferences with the ministry and the Alzheimer Society.

"In addition to these roles, MAREP is asked to participate in several task forces which will assist the government in other areas or initiatives mentioned in the strategy: staff education and training, coordinated specialized diagnosis and support.

"The need for a strategy such as the one outlined today is great, as the population ages and the number of cases of Alzheimer disease increases. Ontario is leading the way in Canada with the strategy, being the first province to allocate resources to the needs of affected persons and their families. MAREP is proud to be included as a key partner."

What's happening on campus

And more from food services: "We are pleased to announce the opening of a Mr. Sub at Bon Appetit in the Davis Centre. A grand opening celebration will be held in early October."

Students who will be (yikes!) graduating next spring are invited to "a job information and feedback session" sponsored by the co-op education and career services department, either tomorrow or Wednesday at 4 p.m. in the Humanities Theatre. "Session topics will include employment interviews for the fall term, employer information sessions, and Career Fair 1999." (The fair is scheduled for September 29 at Bingemans Conference Centre in Kitchener.) (yikes!) graduating next spring. Location: the Humanities Theatre.

Today, meanwhile, staff from co-op and career services are holding their professional development day, as they do on the first day of every term. Most staff will be away from their posts on the first floor of Needles Hall, attending sessions two floors higher. (And tomorrow morning, CECS holds a staff development seminar, concentrating on the faculty of environmental studies, in the Davis Centre.)

Here's an update on Thursday's report about federal consultations on research and intellectual property. The UW office of research says Tom Brzustowski, president of the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council, will be in Waterloo Friday afternoon, October 8, to hear comments on "Public Investments in University Research: Reaping the Benefits". He'll hold an open meeting and also meet privately with UW president David Johnston. Details are to follow.

The first sports score of the 1999-2000 season: the football Warriors fell 33-24 to McMaster's Marauders on Saturday in Hamilton.

CAR

Editor of the Daily Bulletin: Chris Redmond
Information and Public Affairs, University of Waterloo
credmond@uwaterloo.ca | (519) 888-4567 ext. 3004
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