5/14/99


I know there have been some discussions on this listserver in the past

about computer sign up systems for electron microscopes. Are there any new

programs out there? We are working on a web-based instrument sign up

program to replace our existing sign up/microscope accounting system. The

old system is not Y2K friendly. Besides the Universty of Minnesota, is

there any other group which has a working web-based system?

John C. Wheatley

Lab Manager

Arizona State University

Center for Solid State Science

PSA-213

BOX 871704

Tempe, AZ 85287-1704

Phone: (602) 965-3831

FAX: (602) 965-9004

John.Wheatley@ASU.Edu


You may want to check out WebCal if you have a unix box.

http://bulldog.tzo.org/webcal/webcal.html



When I find some time I'm planning to try setting this up for our microprobe

lab.

Glenn Poirier

Microprobe Lab

Earth and Planetary Sciences

McGill University

glennp@eps.mcgill.ca


I have just started trying a different approach on our intranet. The

intranet runs on Microsoft BackOffice 2.5 and includes Exchange Server 4.0.

I have setup mailboxes for our HRTEM and Ion Mill and hope to make use of

the group scheduling and calendaring (is that a word?) functions of

Exchange to achieve the same end. Client side software will be Exchange

client / Outlook 97. Users can book by sending appointment requests to the

mailboxes which can be set to automatically accept / suggest free time

slots. I know this has access restricted only to our intranet unlike web

based programs, but then at present we do not have scientists outside the

organization directly booking resources. At present I am trying to get over

the problem of compatibility: exchange client users do not have access to

the outlook calendar and outlook users have chosen not to use schedule 97

as default calendar. If there are others using this method, I would like to

hear from them as well as about web based programs.



---

R Divakar

PMS, IGCAR, Kalpakkam 603102, India

divakar@igcar.ernet.in


You might want to take a look at our web page.

http://www.ceof.ohio-state.edu



You can test the reservation system by logging in as user=guest,

password=guest. You can make reservations on the "dummy" machine. During

the couse of writing the software, we discovered that not all web browsers

are created equal. There seem to be some major differences in the level of

Java support. Anyway, on a Mac you need IE 4.0 or higher, on a PC you need

IE 4.0 or Navigator 4.0 or higher Mac Navigator doesn't work yet.)



Our system is running on a WinNT PC using Microsoft Access as a database

backend. The front end was done with MS InterDev 6.0 and Borland JBuilder 2.0.



Hendrik O. Colijn

colijn.1@osu.edu


We are also considering developing a web-based reservation system, and I

think many others would also be interested what other labs are doing in

this area. I would be interested in learning of any software which is

freely available or low cost and open source.



We are in the very early stages of modifying an open source (Perl)

web-calender and scheduling system to suite our needs. The reference url

is:

http://curiosityshoppe.tierranet.com/framecal/index.shtml



I found this and a few others by searching the web with I believe was

combinations of ("resource" and "scheduling" and "calenders")



If we develop a system based on FrameCal or something else we will make

it freely available as licensing permits.



Of course, if someone else has a suitable system available freely or at

low cost it would save us development time and costs.



Jim Mabon

mabon@uimrl7.mrl.uiuc.edu


We have a system that we have just implemented (Actually my colleague

Corinna Wauchope did it) that uses Filemaker Pro to book instrument

time, track our user information, keep the instrument logbooks and

bill our users. It is working quite well now. We plan to put it on

the Web when we have all the glitches ironed out and all the

instruments included on it and whenCorinna has some spare time to do

the necessary Web stuff ( :-) ).

John F. Mansfield

jfmjfm@engin.umich.edu


There is an interesting wwweb based calendar for individuals and

groups at



www.when.com



cow ... rare wolf

mshaf@darkwing.uoregon.edu


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