Information on the Equipment Quotation System (0DOC) -- CLASS

Macbook Air 13", 1.7GHz dual-core Intel Core i5 processor, 4GB memory, 128GB flash storage, includes Apple MacBook Air SuperDrive, Keyboard (British) & User's Guide (English)

Sent: 26 July 2011 11:52
Subject: CQS: Update to MacMini (include SuperDrive)

We appreciate being contacted to remind us that the new MacMinis no longer come supplied with an optical drive; therefore, please update your CQS listings for this item to include an Apple SuperDrive to be supplied in tandem.

I’m not sure if some of you have been waiting for me to advise on the upgraded iMacs. The replacements are quite straightforward:

A little while ago I met with three NNAC reps and two supplier reps to try to establish some commonality between computer specifications being requested in reports.

The specification agreed were very similar to what’s already on the CQS. Most suppliers have already exceeded these specifications in terms of processor speed as slower models became unavailable. However, could you please check your specifications to ensue that these minimum specs are being met.

When the new Apple MacBook Pro specs were introduced we performed a simple mapping between old and new models. It was apparent that the specifications and prices of the new models were very much higher than the old models. The minimum spec is a 13” i5, which is on a par with the top Creative PC specifications. All the others are i7 processors.

The MacBook pro range consists of two 13”, two 15” and one 17” model. As such, I have removed the more expensive 15” model previously designated as a Creative 15” from the CQS and have designated the bottom range 15” as a Creative. There is now no Classic 15”. This gives a more accurate reflection of specifications, particularly when compared to the PC specifications.

SFE have reinstated the need to provide a comparative quotation in cases where a reimbursement is requested.

They require the usual 3 quotes for what the student needs as a result of already having a computer and then one quote for what would have been recommended if the student didn’t already have a computer.

Your Centre Manager is the best person to advise you on the detail of handling this.

My concern is over how these apparently ‘duplicate’ quotes will appear on the CQS as it is imperative that the supplier sees the correct quotation when they access the system.

To ensure that there’s no confusion, you should produce the 3 quotes for what the student needs as a result of already having a computer in the normal way. For CLASS assessors this is using the report reference and the student’s surname. These are the details that will be produced at the top of the quotation that the supplier will use to locate the quote.

When producing the quote for what would have been recommended if the student didn’t already have a computer, it is essential that the same details are NOT used. The guidance I’m issuing to CLASS assessors is to use the report reference, as normal, but to write ‘Comparison’ where they would normally enter the surname.

The following have been removed from both PC and Apple as they were historical anomalies which caused VAT complications.

Delivery & on-site assembly + ClaroAspire Training CD
Delivery & extended on-site assembly (3 hours) ClaroAspire Training CD

Any recommendation for Claro Aspire will now have to be made from the software section. The package has been duplicated in this section for some time.

I’ve updated the description for Claro Aspire to Aspire 2011 and have asked the suppliers to update their entries asap. Note that Aspire now includes the eBook ‘Study Skills for Dyslexic Students’ by Sandra Hargreaves.

I’ve added the following to the software section. These are currently invisible to assessors. I will enable when at least 3 suppliers have entered prices:

Spellementary (PC & Mac)
Succeed (PC & Mac)
WordQ (PC & Mac)
WordQ with Abbyy Finereader (PC & Mac)
WordQ + SpeakQ (PC)
WordQ + SpeakQ with Abbyy Finereader (PC)

If you don’t see your particular request here, don’t panic, as I’ll be doing more this week.

Suppliers have been asked to update their SPSS (Statistical Package for the Social Sciences) product details to reflect the new licensing arrangements now that the product is owned by IBM.

The package is substantially cheaper than it was, but it is only licensed for 12 months from registration. For a 3 year student the total cost will work out to roughly the same, but there is now the additional hassle of renewing the licence every 12 months. This should be highlighted in the NA as a yearly cost, where appropriate.

I guess one advantage is that the student will always be in possession of the most current version.

I’ve asked suppliers to update their entries for MS Office for Mac in line with the latest release of Office 2011.

Some have done this straight away, others haven’t. Look carefully at any quotes you produce as you might wish to take this into account when choosing your supplier(s).

Regarding the Apple Sprint Light, there are now four standard models of the MacBook Air. Two are 11” with 1.4GHz processors and two are 13” with 1.86GHz processors.

Given that Read & Write needs a minimum of a 1.86GHz processor, we’ve decided to stay with the 13 inch for the Apple Sprint Light. We’ve chosen the cheaper model which has 128GB flash storage. The previous model had a 120GB HDD. [The more expensive model - £250 more at Apple web site prices - has 256GB storage]. I would guess that the performance of this model would be very much in line with the model it replaced – the main difference is the solid-state storage device. It weighs in at 1.32Kg. The 11 inch is 1.06Kg.

It is possible to upgrade the processor to 2.13GHz, but only on the more expensive 256GB storage model. This makes it £330 more (using Apple web site prices), in total, than the specified model.

Dolphin have renamed a lot of their products. We have five affected Dolphin products on the CQS:

Lunar CD = SuperNova Magnifier v12 CD
LunarPlus CD = SuperNova Reader Magnifier v12 CD
LunarPlus Pen = SuperNova Reader Magnifier v12 Pen
SuperNova CD = SuperNova Access Suite v12 CD
SuperNova Pen = SuperNova Access Suite v12 Pen

There are, of course, other products (e.g. HAL = SuperNova Screen Reader) but I’ve not been requested to add these to the CQS, so far.

I’ve received several enquiries recently which suggest there is some confusion over the Apple voice input products.

The MacSpeech Dictate product has been replaced by Nuance Dragon Dictate 2.0. It comes with a microphone and is a ‘live’ voice input product.

MacSpeech Scribe remains unchanged. This product is designed to take a digitally recorded file for transcription. You cannot dictate directly into it via a microphone.

Over the past few weeks the suppliers have been updating their PC specs on the CQS to the Intel i3/i5 range of processors, according to our specifications. We consulted with a wide range of suppliers on the CQS and several of them lent us computers to evaluate, for which we are grateful.

While we took into consideration factors such as performance, we also looked at continuity of supply. At this moment in time there still laptops available with Core 2 Duo processors, but their life is limited. We don’t want to encourage suppliers to source the latest ‘discontinued model’ as we believe students deserve better than this.

Sprint - 15" i3 - 330, 3GB ram, 250GB HDD, Win 7 Premium 32Bit, Intel Graphics
Classic - 15" and 17” versions i3 - 350, 4GB RAM, 320GB HDD, Win 7 Premium 64Bit, dedicated graphics 512Mb
Creative - 17” i5- 450, 4GB RAM, 500GB HDD, Win 7 Premium 64Bit, dedicated graphics 1GB

Lighter Classic – 12” to 13.3" with i3-350, 4GB ram, 320GB HDD, Win7 Premium 64Bit, Intel Graphics, weight 2KG ish
Very lightweight Sprint / Classic – Toshiba Portege R700-1DE (1.4Kg)

Desktop: Sprint - i3-530, 3GB RAM, 250GB HDD, Intel Graphics, Win 7 Prem 32Bit
Classic - i3-540, 4GB RAM, 320GB HDD, dedicated 256Mb Graphics, Win 7 Prem 64Bit
Creative - i5-650, 4GB RAM, 500GB HDD, dedicated 512Mb Graphics, Win 7 Prem 64 Bit

If you don’t get a quote from a supplier as expected it will most probably be because they haven’t updated their specs yet. Please let me know of any problems.

Remember, these are now packages in their own right, they are not vocabulary add-ons. However, they are the old v10 Dragon not the new v11. UK Legal and Medical v11 are not yet available.

At the time of writing the majority of suppliers have entered prices for the Medical version.

However, only 2 have entered prices for the Legal version, which will make getting 3 quotes difficult. I think this is due to supply problems. If you do get a quote it might be worth checking stock with the supplier. I understand that most stocks have been exhausted, by Nuance do intend to get more supplies ‘into the channel’ before the release of Legal v11.

My understanding is that Preferred is now Premium and that both Premium and Pro are available as v11. Suppliers have been asked to update.

However, if a student needs the medical version, the Medical Student Edition is the cost effective solution and this will still be v10 as v11 UK Medical isn’t available. Similarly, with the Legal version, there is the v10 Legal Student Edition, though these are in short supply. However, Nuance has pledged to get some more of these ‘into the channel’.

I’ve temporarily made the legal and medical vocabs invisible to Assessors while the suppliers update these to the full v10 Student Editions. A v10 vocab will not work with any version of Dragon 11.

The 8GB iPod Touch has been added to the CQS by popular demand. Don’t forget that CTRL-F will help you find an item on the selection page if you’re having difficulty.

You may be aware that, Canon are launching a lot of new peripherals on 8^th October 2010. Some suppliers may already be supplying these products.

Some replacement models are an obvious choice e.g. the iP4700 is replaced by the iP4850 while others have been less straightforward.

iP4700 = iP4850
Lide 200 = Lide 210
Lide 700 stays the same
MP640 = MG5250

I’ve asked the suppliers to update their descriptions and, where necessary, their prices.

The MP5250 is the less straightforward choice. Canon map both the MP640 and MP560 to the MG5250 in their summary, but later on claim the MP640 is replaced by the MG6150. Having examined the specifications, we believe the MG5250 is adequate for our student’s requirements. It has one less ink cartridge than the MG6150, which is better (we’re not after photographic quality), and a lower resolution scanner, but it’s still perfectly adequate for the intended OCR use.

We have received an iP4850 for evaluation and are pleased to report that it retains the same paper feed characteristics, allowing the bookscanner to be placed on top, so minimising the space used on the desktop.

Further to my email last month entitled ‘Quote system update 008’, (to which I had some very positive responses) we have updated the document originally sent to suppliers last May to include the factors we will be using in our weighting system.

You, like us, may have found yourselves recommending a lot of suppliers that you’ve never used before and you may have been receiving feedback from students.

As such, if you could ask questions about any aspect of an equipment supplier’s service, what would you like to ask?

I’ve listed some ideas below, drawn from feedback we’ve received, and I would be interested to hear your thoughts:

· 1. Did the supplier ask you to send the quote or any other part of your report to them?

· 2. Did the supplier deal with all aspects of your order or did they tell you to contact another supplier for certain items (e.g. ergonomic aids)?

· 3. What delivery time was quoted and what was the actual delivery time (working days)

· 4. Was the order complete on delivery or were items marked to follow? What were they and how long did they take?

· 5. Were there any substitutions to the items specified by the assessor. If there were, did the supplier discuss this with you prior to delivery?

· 8. Were you offered the option of having the equipment set up on the same day as it was delivered?

· 9. Were all software packages installed on the computer or did the setup engineer have to install packages while they were with you?

· 10. Were all software updates installed on the computer or did the setup engineer have to update using your internet connection?

The new quotation template and procedure that was supposed to start on 01/03/10 has now been revised to 31/03/10.

The revised implementation date was issued, along with revised documents and procedures, on the evening on Sunday 28/02/10.

You will have seen the new listing at the start of the quotation report on the CQS [that’s the new acronym for 0doc – Comparative Quotation System]. This is what we’re going to use to substitute for document 1 in our reports. Its use will be optional until 31/03/10.

In order to become compliant with the new DSA-QAG Standard Quote Template, changes have been made to the quotation format produced by the Comparative Quotation System, 0doc.

Please accept my apologies if this has caused you any difficulty while using the system this morning, but things have settled down now.

You will notice differences in the format:

1. The supplier column has been removed and replaced by an ex-VAT column as per DSA-QAG’s template.

2. The multiple sub-totals at the bottom have been removed and replaced by an ex-VAT and inc-VAT total as per DSA-QAG’s template.

3. The header now contains the supplier name as well as the referencing details entered by the assessor. It is, therefore, important that the header is retained in the report. The display of the referencing details will greatly assist the supplier in locating the quotation for the student.

Best regards

You have received this email because you are registered to use the 0doc CLASS quotation system.

DSA-QAG have sent details of a new process for obtaining quotations. I will forward this next, for information purposes.

Rest assured that we have been advised by SFE that 0doc quotes are an acceptable alternative. However, we may have to make some minor modifications, in the near future, such as the order in which items appear.

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From: Paul Dilley
Sent: 08 January 2010
Subject: CQS Update 004

You have received this email because you are subscribed to the CLASS quotation system.

Happy New Year and welcome back to a new decade!

The number of users of the system keeps steadily growing, which is most encouraging. Please don’t forget to email me with any queries you may have or to request the addition of items that you often recommend but which aren’t on the system.

I’ve been asked by a supplier to remind all assessors not to forget to include software installation, delivery and system setup in their quotations. Those of you who have been used to asking a supplier for a quote may not automatically think of including these items yourself.

I’m investigating if it will be possible to bundle these costs in the cost of the computer, in the future. There are VAT implications, but I hope they’re not insurmountable.

There are two digital cameras on the system. One is left to the supplier to define, within the parameters of it having an optical zoom, large display and macro facility. Most have a sub-£100 model here. I’ve today asked the suppliers to add an 8GB memory card to the spec. So, please check the spec carefully when comparing quotes containing this camera over the next few days.

The other camera, a dual screen Samsung, is for a newly suggested strategy. It has screens on both the front and back of the camera and it has been suggested that a student using sign language could employ it to take informal notes in the same way as a student might otherwise use a Dictaphone to take verbal notes. We’re awaiting user feedback on the strategy, but that is why that camera is there. It’s a Samsung ST550 with 2x 8GB SDHC cards and a small desktop tripod (gorillapod).

From: Paul Dilley
Sent: 04 December 2009 17:27
Subject: CQS update 003

You have received this email because you are subscribed to the CLASS quotation system.

I have received a few enquiries about laptop stands. These are included as standard in all our laptop specifications, together with a separate keyboard and mouse. These items are also listed as an option for when you want to recommend them for a student with an existing laptop.

Remember that, in Internet Explorer, you can use CTRL-F to find any word on the quotation screen.

I’ve had some feedback from a trainer regarding the new Olympus recorder. It appeared to be really useful that it included two AAA rechargeables and would recharge via the USB connection. However, in practice it seems to take 20 hours to get a full charge. Quite apart from your electricity bill, it is definitely environmentally unsound to leave your PC on for this purpose!

We will do some testing to confirm this. If it proves not to be a one off we will ask the suppliers to re-instate the spare AAA batteries and charger.

The multifunction printer / scanner has recently been updated to Canon MP640. This is a wireless device.

From: Paul Dilley
Sent: 27 November 2009
Subject: CQS Update 002

You have received this email because you are subscribed to the CLASS quotation system.

One supplier provided a couple of laptop stands for us to evaluate. Both were aimed at the Apple market but could be used with some flat-bottomed PC notebooks. They were the Griffin Elevator and the Jivo Rizer.

Both had the major problem (in our opinion) that they weren’t height adjustable. One of the purposes of any laptop stand we recommend is to provide this adjustment, so we couldn’t endorse either of them on this point alone.

However, we also found additional problems with the Rizer. See: http://www.webhallen.com/prod.php?id=104427

It comprises two Z shaped aluminium side supports with a clear acrylic cross-member, which clips in to the aluminium. Unfortunately on our evaluation item it didn’t and kept falling apart. This may be because it was an eval item that had been assembled and disassembled many times, but it left a bad impression.

I’ve heard from several people regarding items that aren’t ‘native’ to our list but which other centres or assessors ‘normally’ recommend. I will get these on the list asap, and would ask that you email me with the subject ‘Additions’ if you’d like to see items you normally regularly recommend added.

Please note that further to the training cost list sent round last week, Microlink have revised their 3 hour cost to £195. (WEBSITE EDIT: Information on AIT training rates and other NMH rates can be found at www.class.org.uk/dataservices )

Finally, please find attached some comparative figures from the laptops we evaluated. It should be noted that neither of the Toshiba L300s are currently being supplied as a Classic spec machine. Please contact Graham (g.h.rice@wmin.ac.uk) if you have any questions about this.

From: Paul Dilley
Sent: 20 November 2009
Subject: CQS Update 001

You have received this email because you are subscribed to the CLASS quotation system.

This is the first of what are to be regular updates to keep you informed.

Graham is currently evaluating a 15” CLASSIC specification notebook computer from each supplier. So far, five of the suppliers have sent us evaluation machines. We will publish the full results soon. As well as checking the actual specification of the computer against the specification we asked for, we are also testing for battery life, total weight in the rucksack with the power supply, ease of opening with one hand and a multitude of other factors.

As a result of the preliminary specification checks we have already removed one supplier’s 15” CLASSIC from the quotation system.

The test results may well result in us having to specify to a further level of detail. E.g. So far, not one of the computers has achieved 2 hours running time on a full battery charge. [N.B. this was on high load, playing a DVD, we will be testing under other conditions].

I received some enquiries from Assessors who were looking for the Assistive Technology IT Training rates on the system. These are not there because we’ve always assigned them to the NMH allowance. However, please find attached an up to date document of training costs from the suppliers on the system, as well as some other suppliers. (WEBSITE EDIT: AIT training rates and information on all NMH rates available currently can be found at www.class.org.uk/dataservices )