Setting up for a seminar using a laptop computer

1. Switch on the ceiling mounted projector on the left hand side (nearest the door)
   • The red power button is facing downwards; press it once
2. Connect the laptop computer to the long monitor cable
   • The cable can usually be found hangingon back of speaker in far corner of room
   • The ESSC laptop is kept in store room No. 187.
   • There are two power sockets under a removable panel in the floor under the first row of seats.
   • The laptop might have to be switched to external monitor/projector mode. On the ESSC laptop, hold down the blue Fn key in the bottom left and press F8 (also labelled "CRT/LCD"). Do this several times to cycle between 3 modes: laptop display only, external monitor/projector, and laptop display and external.
3. Switch on power sockets on the wall over the IOCOM Cube
   • The IOCOM cube is the large black box containing Access Grid equipment in the far corner of the room opposite the door
4. Select position 2 on the VGA switch

• • The VGA switch looks like this.
• 
  • The buttons are on the bottom row of the front panel below the numbers.

After the seminar, please switch off the projector by pressing the power button twice. It is also a good idea to switch off the power sockets on the wall.

Using the computer in the seminar room

The computer in the seminar room is normally used for connecting to the Access Grid, but it can also be used for seminars and meetings without the Access Grid. The ESSC user account has no password (as on the ESSC laptop), and when using this account the computer behaves much like any other Windows XP machine. The main difference between the seminar room computer and a desktop PC is that projectors are used instead of a monitor. The wide screen effect is provided by Windows, which extends its desktop over three "monitors", which are projectors in our case. The Windows Start button is shown by the primary monitor, which is located on the left of the display wall (closest to the door). Here are some important things to remember when using the computer.

• The computer is a Dell Precision 450 Workstation located inside the IOCOM Cube. The IOCOM cube is the large black box containing Access Grid equipment in the far corner of the room opposite the door.
• The wireless mouse and keyboard are kept inside the lockable drawer in the Cube. The key to the drawer is kept in the ESSC key cabinet in Kathie's office, where it is labelled "Access Grid". If the wireless mouse or keyboard are not working for some reason, the ordinary mouse and keyboard on top of the cube, which have 7m long cables, can be used instead. The wireless mouse is stored separately from its battery pack to stop it from discharging when not in use. There are two battery packs in the drawer, one containing ordinary AAA batteries and one containing a built in rechargeable battery. The one with AAA batteries is the best one to use. It can be fitted to the mouse by clipping it into position with a firm press. Spare batteries for the mouse and the keyboard are usually kept in the drawer. The keyboard's batteries can be found by prising off the flat bottom piece. The wireless mouse has a gyroscopic facility that allows it to be used by a person standing up, without the need for a flat surface. To activate gyroscopic mode depress the button at the bottom, then tilt the mouse from side to side to move the pointer on the wall. The mouse can also be used like a conventional optical mouse on a flat surface.
• The IOCOM Cube must be switched on before the computer can be booted up. In addition to the power switches on the wall socket there is a large, red power switch on the back of the Cube. The computer's power switch is at the front.
• All three projectors must be switched on at the start of the session, because applications usually start in the position where they were last used. For example, if Acrobat Reader was last used on the right hand side of the display wall, that is where it will probably appear then next time a PDF document is opened. There is a red power button on the bottom of each projector.
• The left hand projector is connected through a powered switch, which is a small back box labelled "CONVERGE AV" that looks like this:
  The switch must be powered on and set to port 1, which is indicated by the light over the figure '1' on the front panel. If any of the other ports are selected, press the button below the figure '1' to change back to port number 1. Port number 2 is attached to a long monitor cable, the end of which is usually left hanging on the back of the right hand speaker when not in use. This can be used to connect a laptop to the left hand projector instead of the Access Grid computer. If you are using a laptop to give a presentation make sure port number 2 is selected on the "CONVERGE AV" switch. You can still use the Access Grid computer while a laptop is controlling the left hand projector. The Windows Start menu can be found on the monitor which sits on top of the IOCOM cube.
• When the projectors are all switched on, the computer can be started by pressing its power button once. If you are using the ESSC account, ignore any messages relating to "IOCOM" or "Clear One". The Access Grid equipment can not be used with the ESSC account but the equipment will still try to initialise and connect to the servers. Click "OK" on any information messages that appear after logging in to the computer.
• Presentations and other documents can be transferred to the computer via the ESSC network (using "Map Network Drive" in Windows Explorer) or by using a USB memory stick. There are two USB ports on the front of the computer. They can be found on the right hand side below the front panel.
• Microsoft PowerPoint slide shows usually appear on the central monitor by default. To change the monitor used for a slide show in PowerPoint , select "Setup Show" from the "Slide Show" menu and look for the pull-down list labelled "Display show on:" in the "Multiple monitors" section. The central monitor (called "Monitor 1" in PowerPoint ) is usually the best position for seminar presentations.
• The computer is connected to the Internet. Applications that might be useful include Firefox, Internet Explorer and Google Earth.
• At the end of a session please shut down the computer and and turn off the projectors. Wait for the computer to shut down before turning off the projectors, in case any Windows error messages appear while it is trying to shut down. The red power switch on the back of the cube can be switched off when the computer has finished shutting down.
• To turn off a projector, press the red button twice. After the first press the message "Power off?" appears, and pressing the button again switches off the power.
• Please remember to lock the keyboard and mouse in the drawer in the IOCOM cube before leaving the room. The battery pack must be removed from the mouse first.

There are several extra features provided by the equipment in the seminar room that are not described here. Please ask a member of the Reading e-Science Centre for more information. Extra features that can be useful for meetings and seminars include the following.

• Connecting to the Access Grid video conferencing system. The Access Grid can be used for face-to-face meetings with remote participants, for broadcasting live seminars or for watching seminars being broadcast from elsewhere.
• Interactive whiteboard. The Mimio Capture Kit allows drawings and writing on the whiteboard to be captured by special software on the computer. These images can be displayed on one of the monitors during a presentation and later saved to disk.
• Recording. The Access Grid software supports recording of audio and video streams from the room's four cameras and four microphones. Presentation slides and interactive whiteboard images can also be captured in the recording.

-- DanBretherton - 13 Oct 2009