Water Resources Division CPAC Home Page

In Reply Refer To:
Mail Stop 445                                        May 22, 2000



                              MEMORANDUM

To:        Water Resources Division System Administrators

From:      Thomas C. Wood
           Acting Chief, Distributed Information System Program Office
                
Subject:   Important Request for Computer Desktop Information

The purpose of this memorandum is to inform you that the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) may potentially receive Year 2000 OMB Supplemental funding for computer desktop replacements, and to request information from each office about primary user desktops that are unsuitable for use of the Lotus Notes client software. The goal of these funds is to help ensure that everyone in the USGS has a desktop that can effectively run Lotus Notes. Therefore, please accept the fact that these potential funds will be allocated based on need to replace desktops that are below a specified minimum. Also accept the likelihood that these funds will not be used to purchase laptops to replace underpowered laptops that serve as a user's primary desktop. We are, however, interested in identifying underpowered laptops for other reasons. It is also expected that monitors and Reflection/X licenses for the desktops will not be purchased with these funds and will need to be purchased by the individual offices.

Assuming USGS receives the funds for desktop replacements, each Division will be expected to present their needs in a relatively short time frame. In order to prepare for this expectation, the DIS Program Office and the WRD Regional Computer Specialists are requesting the following information.

For your cost-center, please review the attached Excel spreadsheet and update/add the following information as necessary. These funds must be focused on the primary desktop for all users in the Bureau; they will be insufficient to cover replacement of secondary systems such as notebooks for those who travel a lot.

The attached spreadsheet has been pre-populated with information from CHASIS for those sites who have entered data in CHASIS. CHASIS is the WRD Hardware and Software Inventory System announced in DIS Leadership Memorandum #11, dated December 15, 1999. Please:

• update the count of currently active primary desktop UNIX workstations, X terminals, and Windows terminals of any make and model.
• itemize the currently active WinTel primary desktops and laptops that are less than 300MHz and/or have less than 128MB RAM. Each system type should be entered on one line. E.g., two 200 MHz systems with 32 MB of RAM would be placed on one line with a count of "2" and a third, 200 MHz system with 64 MB of RAM would be placed on another line with a count of "1".

• itemize the currently active Macintosh primary desktops and laptops that are less than PowerPC specifications. Group similar systems on rows as for PCs.
  NOTE: These funds will not be used to purchase new Macintosh systems as replacements for old Macintosh systems.

The steps for updating the spreadsheet are:

1. Open the spreadsheet in Excel.
2. Click on the Definitions tab at bottom and familiarize yourself with the column definitions. Click back on the first tab to return to the data collection page.
3. Remove all rows for data not relevant to your site (left-click and drag the left-hand row border of the rows to be removed, then right-click the selection and select Delete).
4. Update the information in the existing rows and add new rows as needed.
5. Do a "Save as" and introduce a code for your site (such as ".NV") into the file name to help identify the file, then close the spreadsheet.
6. Email the spreadsheet to your Regional Computer Specialist, Jim Bettandorff, Merritt Blalock, Scott McEwen, or Graig McHendrie. Offices located in Reston should email the information to Chuck O'Hara, the Acting DIS Systems Support Unit Chief.

Responses must be received by close of business on June 5, 2000 for them to be considered for these funds.

Copy To:  Water Resources Division Senior Staff
          Water Resources Division District Chiefs
          Water Resources Division Office and Branch Chiefs