Since its beginning on June 1, 1992, TIPS has been run on our Vax computer system using freeware written for this operating environment. As of July 1, 2001, Frostburg State University (FSU) will no longer be maintaining our maintenance contract for the Vax system. Instead, FSU will be using various computer workstations and microcomputers to run its various programs. Our Academic Computing Department (ACD) is in the process of evaluating various software programs that could be used to run a listserver like TIPS, however, this evaluation process is not complete and I am not sure when it will be. However, at some point, TIPS will be operated using different software that will lead to some changes in how TIPS operates. What does this mean for TIPS?
1. If the Vax system would go down before the new
software is evaluated and setup, then TIPS would suddenly disappear and
would not return
until the new software was
up and running. It is possible that the Vax computer will continue
to run for an indefinite amount of time allowing
us to maintain TIPS' present
operations while testing the new setup, but please don't be alarmed if
we suddenly disappear after July 1.
2. If TIPS does disappear, it could be for a brief
period or an extended period - it all depends on how quickly our ACD does
the testing and
setup and how quickly I
learn the new system. In any case, once we have the new system operating,
you will hear from me - so please
don't bombard me with a
large number of emails telling me TIPS has disappeared. If
TIPS does disappear for an extended amount
of time, I will post updates on the TIPS website (http://www.frostburg.edu/dept/psyc/southerly/tips/)
as things change.
3. Most likely, there will be some major changes on
how TIPS operates. This will all depend on what software is adopted
and what
features it provides.
My hope, is that the new software will allow me to do many more things
with TIPS that I couldn't because of the
limitations of our freeware.
In any case, I will let you know more about this once it happens.
4. Given this point of transistion TIPS is facing,
please feel free to send me suggestions on what you would like to see happen
with TIPS
and its operations including
any comments on whether you believe that TIPS has run its course and should
be retired. You can either
send the comments to the
TIPS address ([EMAIL PROTECTED]) if you would like to generate a discussion
or to me personally
([EMAIL PROTECTED]).
In any case, any and all comments are welcome.
5. Since many TIPSters have set their mail to the
NOMAIL option, please feel free to forward this to anyone you think may
be
interested.
Thanks for keeping TIPS going for the last 9 years.
Best wishes,
Bill
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Bill Southerly, PhD
Department of Psychology
Frostburg State University
Frostburg, MD 21532
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
(301)-687-4778
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