[165] in UA Exec
Re: Notification of 'Printer in the W20 "Game Room"' Project
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Geoffrey Thomas)
Sat Dec 5 21:55:08 2009
Date: Sat, 5 Dec 2009 21:55:00 -0500 (EST)
From: Geoffrey Thomas <geofft@MIT.EDU>
To: "Vrajesh Modi (UA Special Projects Committee)" <ua-projects-chairs@mit.edu>
cc: Owen Derby <oderby@mit.edu>, ua-senate@mit.edu, ua-exec@mit.edu
In-Reply-To: <51def98d0912050833x596f44c6y8ac35e71eb3fc37@mail.gmail.com>
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Wait, so this is a proposal for the UA to spend $1500 towards moving a=20
printer from W20-575 downstairs and replacing it with a new one, when=20
there's already a broken printer (ceres) in W20 that almost certainly=20
needs to be replaced anyway?
Presumably the replacement printer is the same model as bias, the Dell=20
5310n printer in the 12-182 cluster, to which various review sites on the=
=20
web attribute a 50ppm speed and a "fast" warmup time. I think this is the=
=20
model IS&T is/was planning to replace dying cluster printers with because=
=20
the HP 8150s are kind of old. (Although I haven't seen this happen=20
anywhere other than bias, I'm assuming because of budget cuts.) List price=
=20
is $865 from Dell's website.
What's more, IS&T is spending _at least five thousand dollars_, with no=20
current stated budget cap, on this? Is this going to be locked down any=20
more than, say, quick-print in the building 11 quickstation cluster on the=
=20
Infinite (which just has the standard KSL mechanism and an always-open=20
door), and if so, why? The KSL security pad is $70 from their web order=20
form.
So the UA could easily buy those two items, get CAC to set up a table in=20
the arcade or next to the staircase quickstations, and set it up=20
themselves, which would save the UA $750, save IS&T $5000, and keep six=20
printers in W20-575.
Lest someone complain that I didn't include consumables in this budget,=20
third-party toner cartridges for the 5310n are $100 for 30,000 pages. If=20
you were to blow every cent of the UA's remaining $750 on toner over a=20
single academic year, that's something like over a thousand pages a day,=20
way more than it sounds like we're expecting this to be used.
I encourage at least my senators to vote against funding for this project=
=20
in its present form. I don't deny that an Athena printer on W20-1 would be=
=20
pretty awesome (I remember wanting one once or twice this term), but the=20
present budget sounds exorbitant, and I'm skeptical that this is the best=
=20
use of Senate's discretionary funds -- as well as of $5000 of IS&T's money=
=20
that could go towards upgrading quickstation or cluster machines to faster=
=20
ones, upgrading all six of the W20-575 printers to Dells, etc.
--=20
Geoffrey Thomas
geofft@mit.edu
Disclaimer: In addition to being a UA constituent, I am also an IS&T=20
employee (RCC) and Athena developer. I am most definitely not speaking=20
with either of those two latter hats on, and I have not spoken to anyone=20
in IS&T about this current proposal, nor is any information that I think=20
wouldn't be easily available to any other undergrad figuring in to my=20
response.
On Sat, 5 Dec 2009, Vrajesh Modi (UA Special Projects Committee) wrote:
> Good question - a new one will be purchased, and an old one will be taken
> out of service.=A0 IS&T will service the new printer, but they don't want
> the total amount that they spend to go up, so they'll stop servicing the
> one that they remove from the 5th floor.
>=20
> Best,
> Vrajesh
>=20
> On Sat, Dec 5, 2009 at 11:23 AM, Owen Derby <oderby@mit.edu> wrote:
> Vrajesh,
>
> You mention the printer will be removed from the 5th floor to
> "avoid ongoing costs to IS&T". Do you mean that a printer
> from the 5th floor will be relocated to the 1st floor, or a
> new one will be purchased? And if IS&T will no longer be
> servicing the printer, who/where will the upkeep and
> consumables(ink,paper) funding come from?
>
> Sounds like a great idea to me!
>
> -Owen
>=20
>=20
> On Sat, Dec 5, 2009 at 10:32 AM, Vrajesh Modi (UA Special Projects
> Committee) <ua-projects-chairs@mit.edu> wrote:
> This message is being sent to formally notify Senate
> and Exec about the 'Printer in the W20 "Game Room"'
> project (in accordance with section 4.1 of the Cover
> Letter to the Fall 2009 Budget).
>
> This project entails replacing one of the printers on
> the 5th floor with a "blazingly fast" (50ppm duplex,
> ~6s from power save to first page) printer and
> quickstation in the former game room on the first floor
> of W20 (Student Center).=A0 This project will save
> students' time by allowing them to quickly print
> something on their way to class on the first floor
> instead of having to go the the 5th floor Athena
> cluster.=A0 A printer on the 5th floor would be removed
> to avoid the ongoing costs to IS&T of servicing an
> additional printer.
>
> The UA CIT has been spearheading the communication -
> MIT IS&T is already on board.=A0 I'll be meeting with CAC
> on Monday at 2:45pm to verify that they are willing to
> use some space in the former game room for this
> purpose.=A0 If they have no objections, it is likely that
> this project will enter the implementation stage in the
> next several weeks.
>
> Please send me an e-mail with any questions or
> concerns.=A0 (A request for funding will also be sent out
> shortly.)
>
> Best,
> Vrajesh
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