Ohio University is getting up to speed with a new, faster software system for all computers in Ping Center, Bird Arena, the Aquatic Center and the golf course.
Campus Recreation also purchased new touch-screen monitors to accompany the software, along with attachments such as ID readers.
The equipment that we had been using was old
so we were set to do replacements anyway said Rita LaValley, director of marketing and technology for Ping.
The software along with the touch screen monitors and attachments came at a price tag of less than $75,000, about a third of what other software cost, LaValley said. Ping could not comment further on costs because of a confidentiality clause in its contract with the Canada-based company InnoSoft. OU received a special contract with InnoSoft for agreeing to be a test site for the beta version of the system.
The system is still in its beta version, meaning it's still being built and searched for bugs. LaValley said annual maintenance after the system finishes testing is expected to cost about $5,000.
Campus Recreation made the decision to upgrade in Sept. 2007, and finalized purchases in Oct. 2007.
Ping, Bird Arena, the Aquatic Center and the golf course had been operating between 17 and 18 workstations - facility front desks, concession stands and equipment desks - on a system purchased in 2002 built to handle five to six, LaValley said.
We liked the product it just wasn't fast enough
she said, adding the old system was too slow to allow some of the workstations to function properly.
Alex Van Wees, a junior studying international business and marketing who has worked at a Ping equipment desk for a year, said the new system is much faster.
Sometimes the old system would take so long to check out equipment the employee would have to write down a student's PID number to rent out equipment, making it difficult to keep track of inventory at the end of the day, she said.
So far, Fusion has performed the same functions as the old system - reading student IDs for admission to facilities, processing concession sales and checking out equipment. But starting this week, the system will be able to register lockers and recreational classes. Registrations before would have to be done in person at the recreation facility.
The system will also have a Web portion that will allow students to register for all those courses online, as well as sign up for intramural sports, LaValley said. Previously, students had to wait in line at Ping to sign up for intramural sports.
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