Need or Problem:

The Humanities Archive Lab is part of a larger project to help the research workshops publish their work in progress and distribute content to workshop participants. The computer lab was needed to provide a place for workshop coordinators to have easy access to the tools necessary to produce digital content for delivery over the web. The other need was for a common space for workshop coordinators to meet both accidentally and intentionally.

Solution:

The follwing requirements were identified to meet the needs:

• Flexible and comfortable space to work in that allows for small group meetings as well as individual workstations
• Very easy to use
• Easy to maintain
• Lots of storage space
• Hardware and software for content capture that could be used in the workshop seminar rooms as well as offsite.

Design:

Hardware and Software Basics

The hardware and software design for the lab was chosen to meet the specific needs of our primary users: workshop coordinators. We opted for an Apple MacIntosh-only lab because of the reliability and compatibility of the OS X opperating system and the hardware and because of Apple's "service-oriented, not device-centric" approach in their products. This also suited our "Easy to Maintain" need.

Since we are a research institute, we are particularly interested in encouraging discussion about the relationship that research and innovation have with cooperation, collaboration, and sharing. A function of the lab, then, is to introduce humanists to technology and the possibilities, responsibilities and problems that come with it. This entered into our decision to offer open source software alternatives to commonly used commercial software such as Open Office and Firefox browser. Since the lab is intended as a space for authoring and archiving content, we are also promoting the use of Creative Commons licenses.

User-Centered and Service-Oriented

One central function in the design of the lab is the support of network-based home directories. An Apple X Serve was purchased and allowed us to use Open Directory server (using the open LDAP standard) for all the Center's network resources. It provides convenience to the workshops coordinators and fellows who use the lab, with added benefits to staff as well. The result is that users can log into any machine in the lab and have access to their same desktop with all the data and preferences they have at any other machine. Users can also log in to multiple machines simultaneously.

We also took advantage of OS X Server admin tools to customize the user's environment to simplify the workflow in the lab. Since account records are stored in a directory domain, we can set default preferences. For example, we configured group folders (share points) to appear automatically in the Finder windows of the workshops coordinators. This greatly simplifies the process of publishing or posting documents to shared space and to our streaming server.

Hard drive space is a precious commodity for humanities faculty and grad students. Since it is relatively inexpensive for us to provide, we wanted to give the lab users the space they need. We purchased an X Serve Raid with one terabyte of space and plenty of space to grow.

Video Capture and Streaming Server

Another critical part of the design for the lab was to provide an easy way for workshop coordinators, staff and fellwos to post audio and video content to an internet audience. Since QuickTime Streaming Server had been integrated into Mac OS X Server Admin, it was a very easy solution for us to set up and manage. There are two key reasons for us to use a streaming server rather than simply providing a link to copy the audio or video file. For one, audio and video files are often quite large and require significant bandwidth and/or a lot of time to download. Streaming allows us to provide access to the content without downloading the files to the viewerÕs hard disk. Not only does this relieve the viewer of the download, it also protects the content (to a degree) by not automatically creating copies for each viewing. Streaming also gives the us the ability to provide broadcasts of live events in real time in addition to audio and video on demand.

Relatively inexpensive portable audio and video capture was necessary so that workshop coordinators could take the necessary tools to the site. The video capture kits, for example, include an iSight camera and a PowerBook G4 with QuickTime Broadcaster software (which is free) to capture and encode video and audio. For broadcasts of live events, the encoded signal is sent over the network to our central server computer running QuickTime Streaming Server (QTSS) software. The server sends the signal over the Internet or a local network to client computers that request the stream using QuickTime Player.

The preferred means of archiving talks and discussions is audio recording using an iPod with attached microphone. The iPod recording in wav format can be dragged right out of iTunes and dropped into our streaming server. The drop folder contains a script that compresses, converts and hints the wav file to prepare it for QuickTime streaming. Within minutes, the process is done in two very easy steps.

Effortless Wireless

All of the computers purchased for the lab are Bluetooth enabled. This lets us eliminate wires for the keyboards and mice, which is convenient and aesthetically more pleasing. It also plays a very practical role: it allows a group of users to easily share control of a computer by passing the mouse and keyboard to one another. Since, unlike Infrared Data Association (IrDA) Bluetooth devices do not need to be in direct sight of each other, it serves our "ease-of-use" goal: users do not have to worry over lining up the IrDA device to the receiver. More advanced users can use Bluetooth for very easy data transfer in the lab, since (unlike IrDA) the devices can communicate at ranges of up to 10 meters.

The lab has its own Airport Express that makes use of AirTunes to allow users to play iTunes content from any Mac or PC over the room's powered speakers simply by selecting the room's speakers as an output option.

Furniture

The furniture decisions for the space were influenced by experiences at Wallenberg Hall.

The tables and chairs are all on wheels to make the space easy for users to reconfigure. The only item not on wheels is a lounge under the window. The chairs on wheels are also stackable so that we can keep the room uncluttered when there are only a few users and still have the seating to accomadate a meeting of up to eight people. The two larger tables also fold up and can be nested for storage.[picture] The two smaller square tables are height adjustable . They drop low enough to be used comfortably while sitting on the lounge and can be raised high enough for a person under 6' to use standing up.

Challenges and Changes:

New Technology Over the six months of this project, new software and hardware was released that influenced configurations for the lab. The most significant of these was the Mac Mini. The arrival of the Mac Mini completely changed my original podium solution. We had a very big A/V cart with a television, VHS tape player, DVD player and a consumer all-in-one portable sound system. My first plan was to consolidate all of that equipment into a new podium to hide it from view and make it easier to use for speakers. Instead of the TV, we would wheel in a data projector when needed. But with the Mac Mini and a Bluetooth mouse and keyboard, I could eliminate the DVD player and fit everything on one low profile, portable cart. The new arrangement presented many great features:

• Speakers do not have to bring a laptop for an electronic presentation.
• Presentation materials can be easily transfered onto the Mac Mini via the network, a USB drive, CD or DVD.
• Since all the equipment is on one portable cart, it can be used in any seminar room.
• The expensive equipment can be easily locked in the lab when not in use rather than left in public spaces.
• The Mac Mini is always connected to the projector, so there is only one wire necessary: the power cord.

Easy to Manage Limiting ourselves to a Mac only lab has kept the lab management efficient, which is critical due to our miniaml staff resources. There is a significant trade-off, though, in that we are not able to accomodate all of the growing needs of our users. There are some preferred applications for speech recognition, GIS mapping and OCR that are either written only for Windows or run more efficiently with better support on Windows.

Conclusions:

During the design process, the following specific activities were identified as particularly useful to the workshops. The support documents and software choices for the lab have been tailored to meet these needs. I expect this to grow and change as use of the lab increases.

1. iPod Recording and QuickTime Streaming
   This kit provides everything necessary for audio recording of workshop sessions. Coordinators use iPod + micropphone to record, then download it to iTunes, save it in Quicktime as a hinted movie file and add it to the Center's QuickTime Streaming Server. It is a very easy to use, very portable recording device package that allows workshops to provide access to the sessions for groups at another university or members of the local group who could not attend. The iPod kit also comes with a small digital camera so that they can take a photograph the speaker.
2. Scanning, imaging and slide presentations
   The lab offers three scanners that can be used with any of the computers, including the laptops. With the slide scanner, users can generate very high resolution scans of 35mm positives and negatives. There is also a scanner with a sheet feeder for large printed documents and a high-speed photo scanner.
3. Video recording, editing and DVD authoring
   HAL is equipped with two laptops and two iSight cameras that can be checked out by the workshops. With a laptop and an iSight camera workshop coordinators can make a simple video recording of a speaker for streaming on the Web via the Center's QuickTime Streaming Server. Fellows can create multimedia presentations and save them in a screen navigable DVD format.
4. Collaborative Authoring of Text Documents
   To support workshoping of papers in the seminars, HAL can support portable shared and simultaneous authoring/editing of text documents. Two of our systems make use of large displays and a wireless Bluetooth keyboard and mouse for shared computer use. Using the text editing software, SubEthaEdit authors working on different computers can collaborate on the same document simultaneously.