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relaxer | 7 Nov 2003 20:22
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Re: [VOTE] Mission statement

Option 1: +1 (I have been tryin to do this for the past 2 years, I have 
information, materials and resources that I believe can make it happen)
Option 2: +0 (this could happen at a latter time)
Option 3: -0 

Shiva Maharaj

> 
> Option 1: +1 (I would like to help out)
> Option 2: +0
> Option 3: -0 (I feel this is much too general and feel we need much 
more 
> focus if we are going to achive our goals)
> 
> Heidi
> 
> Ross Gardler wrote:
> 
> > Discussion seems to have died down now, so here are three suggestions
> > for the mission statement based on peoples expressed views. I've 
started
> > to come to see the need for an umbrella project for other projects 
such
> > as those suggested by Taran and Ace. I am also aware of another 
project
> > targeting uneducated small scale farmers in T&T. However, what we are
> > looking at here is the Mission statement for the Computers in Schools
> > project. If any of these other projects get off the ground then we
> > should look at creating a collaborative structure with them, but while
> > they are still ideas I want to focus on CIS here.
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relaxer | 7 Nov 2003 20:23
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Re: Pilot Project Proposal v0.1

Pilot Project is difinately workable.

I have already in place :
1. Potential, (because I will have to confirm when school reopens), Names 
and contact details of five to eight schools with expressed interest in 
the project, together with a commitment..

2. Available staff and tech students for refurbishing of systems and 
technical hardware support.

3. Copies of the Ministry of Education 1st and 2nd draft for the Trinidad 
IT ptogramme for primary schools, as well as the London Natioanl ICT 
Curiculum which I use to teach my primary students.

4. My personal commitment to the project.

Shiva

> A have put a *very* early version of the pilot project proposal online 
> at http://cis.saafe.org/project/pilot.html (or if you want a PDF, 
> http://cis.saafe.org/project/pilot.PDF).
> 
> Please note that this is the project proposal for which we currently 
> have support. That is it is to place computers in *schools*. The focus 
> is on the younger end of the educational range, although this is not 
> currently being dictated by the potential sponsors.
> 
> With this in mind, I encourage all comments. I am also very open to 
> suggestions as to how findings from this project may feed into your own 
> ideas and the broader community that seems to have arrived here. For
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relaxer | 7 Nov 2003 20:23
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Re: Biographic data


 Shiva Maharaj
 -------------
Shiva is presently persuing a BSc in Computing and Informations Systems, 
Uiniversity of Guildhall London. He holds a Diploma in Telecomunications 
Enginering and a Certificate in Data Communications from the University 
Of the West Indies.

He has 10 years experience in Computer Hardware field and has owned his 
own computer services company, Cyberstate Limited, since 1999. He has 
been working with both primary and secondary schools to help implement 
ICT.

Coming from a family of Primary and Seconday teachers and with his 
technological background, his involvement in this project is motivated by 
the need to implement ICT in education and in so doing meeting the needs 
of the ever changing world in wich we live in for our children (our 
nations future).

He sees FLOS as a means of making this a reality!

Shiva Maharaj
relaxer@...
868-764-4685

You are free to post.

> Ross Gardler
> ------------
> Ross attained his BSc in Computer Science at UMIST, Manchester,
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relaxer | 7 Nov 2003 20:23
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Re: We have a new Use case for CIS

Thank you all for your best wishes.

Both mother and son are well (and that means sleepless nights for 
me :)..oh the joys of fatherhood)

The birth of my son makes my commitment o the CIS Project even stronger 
because by the time he is ready for primary school we should have 
implemented our project and be havesting our 1st crop of young "FREE 
THINKERS". 

Shiva

> The wife of one of our members (Shiva Maharaj, relaxer@...) 
gave 
> birth, yesterday, to their first child. I'm afraid I don't have any 
more 
> details at this time.
> 
> On behalf of all CIS members may I wish Shiva, his wife and their newly 
> born child all the best.
> 
> Ross
> 
> 

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relaxer | 7 Nov 2003 20:23
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Re: Going away for three weeks

Safe return on the trip Ross and becarful with the curry in the doubles 
and roti :)

Shiva

> Stuart wrote:
> > You'll be glad to know we are due a heat wave in the UK next week and 
your
> > old office will be near 100 deg F.
> 
> He He...
> 
> I look forward to reaching the office then - it will make me feel like 
> I'm at home here in T&T. And I get to each Fish and Chips and decent 
> Dark Chocolate too - not to mention decent (cheap) wine.
> 
> Of course, I've been practising making Doubles and Roti so I can 
educate 
> the Brits on some of the cool T&T stuff too.
> 
> (For those who don't know, Stuart is my Brother and looks after the 
> servers and other such things in the UK).
> 
> ----
> 
> Incidentally, I will be visiting some primary schools whilst in the UK 
> with a view to making links between the schools here (T&T) and there 
> (UK). I hope to come back with at least one firm commitment to a 
> partnering exercise.
>
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relaxer | 7 Nov 2003 20:23
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RE: Added costings to pilot plan and resources

>From the costing for the UPS's I see the average cost for a 1000VA UPS is 
around tt$1150. What brand is this for this price?

Well I agree that APC is the number one when it comes to UPS..my company 
Cyberstate is an authrized APC Dealer so...I will get some prices on the 
the APC brand for you.

If there is any other specfication other than 1000VA please let me know 
befor next week.

Shiva   

> I agree with Dev, the 1000VA UPS may be an overkill for a P100 and
> monitor
> The exception is if the monitors are oversized 17 " 19" 21 " etc
> The Monitor is really the device that "hogs power"
> 
> 350VA is adequate for a single machine with a 15" mon, you should have 
> adequate time for shutdown with a Windows system using Win95 etc 
> for Linux and X with a p100 depending on distro configuration 
> for the unmounting of FS and cleanshutdown proc 5 Min's may be close to
> max
> 
> A 500VA mid stream UPS is pretty adequate time wise and some come
> outfitted 
> With 4 plugs, I would still buy a surge strip (Cheap under $40 TT) just
> for  the added protection..
> 
> I would recommend APC, I had the unfortunate experience of using 
> A Jettech (HP) branded UPS , that claimed 500VA but upon
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relaxer | 7 Nov 2003 20:23
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RE: Added costings to pilot plan and resources

Apart fro the UPS ..what brand is the Printer?

If it is one of the HP 3300 OR 3400 Series we have to change it!

these printers have serious manifatures' deffects and end up costing a 
lot more in time and money running back and forth to customes to repair 
or replace.

I recomment the HP 3800 SERIES it is a little more expesive but a lot 
more reliable and cheapier in the long run...or even more cost effective 
in the long term one of the new HP Laserjet printers for about tt$1500.
tonner beats ink any time, in quality and savings.

Shiva

> I agree with Dev, the 1000VA UPS may be an overkill for a P100 and
> monitor
> The exception is if the monitors are oversized 17 " 19" 21 " etc
> The Monitor is really the device that "hogs power"
> 
> 350VA is adequate for a single machine with a 15" mon, you should have 
> adequate time for shutdown with a Windows system using Win95 etc 
> for Linux and X with a p100 depending on distro configuration 
> for the unmounting of FS and cleanshutdown proc 5 Min's may be close to
> max
> 
> A 500VA mid stream UPS is pretty adequate time wise and some come
> outfitted 
> With 4 plugs, I would still buy a surge strip (Cheap under $40 TT) just
> for  the added protection..
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relaxer | 7 Nov 2003 20:24
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Re: Added costings to pilot plan and resources

I have offered my personal as well as the technical sevices of my 
students for any hardware refurbishing or maintence form the conception 
of the project.

I like the fact that we now have a potential name for this :)

'CIS-repair shop'.

It has a nice ring to it.

Shiva

> > Regarding maintenance of the donated PC's, you have a good point. I
> > suggest the best thing to do is to maintian a stock of parts from
> > butchered machines. It is inevitable that not all donated machines 
will
> 
> 
> There is two ways going about this, in my mind.
> 
> 1. Make sure the project gets huge - and order new parts per the 
container.
> 
> For instance, order 1000 casings, 1000 motherboards, 1000 flatscreens, 
1000 
> 256 MB DDR modules. The motherboard should have 'everything' on board: 
sound, 
> video, LAN, USB, IEEE1394, everything. 
> 
> Then make a project out of 'maintining and repairing CIS-computers'.
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relaxer | 7 Nov 2003 20:24
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Re: Added costings to pilot plan and resources

Ace 

Thanks for the detailed listing...I actually have most if not all of that 
in place.

My MAJOR HANDICAP at this point is that I am a Newbie to FLOS software. 
All my 10 Years of experience (as ashamed as I am to say) has been with 
microsoft products , especially the OS.

I will appreciate if anyone can advise and/or train or even join me, as 
far as how FLOS software can be used to make usefull systems out of 
these "older computers" for the cause at hand.

Shiva

 
> > I have offered my personal as well as the technical sevices of my
> > students for any hardware refurbishing or maintence form the 
conception
> > of the project.
> 
> Hurray !
> If you or someone can make a project proposal out of it - with costs, 
> benefits, and so - and there is an educational value to it - well, 
great !
> (A CIS-repair shop needs:
> - a teacher
> - a techie
> - a space
> - kids, students
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relaxer | 7 Nov 2003 20:24
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Re: Printer related.

> Taran Rampersad wrote:
> > One defining question I have is - what's the largest print job we 
expect 
> > to come across?
> 
> Well, we can only guess at the moment since the educators haven't 
> designed the syllabus yet. However, I would imagine that we would be 
> looking at a maximum of 35 x 5 pages in each session. Probably one 
> session a day.

I teach at a school with a 35 classes with average 30 students each and 
we try to keep the priniting to a max of 2 pages ...and we don't print 
every session...maybe bout once evey 2 weeks.

Because it is a big school classes had to be squeezed really tightly 
together...which brings in another factor for considering what type of 
printer to use....when we used the bubble jet we had to in most cases not 
allow printing , because IT TOOK TOOOOO LONG and the cartriges also 
didn't last very long.

We go a laser printer and prints are much much faster (obiously) and I 
believe a rint cost as much or even cheaper than a photocopy (tt$0.20)

Hope this piece of practical information helps.

Shiva

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Gmane