Need info on student computer labs

[john markwell]

We are in the process of completing a new building at the University 
of Nebraska which will house Biochemistry, Biotechnology and 
Microbiology units.  Adjacent to the teaching lab will be a student 
computer lab expected to contain approx. 24 microcomputers.  Now is 
the time for specific decisions about what to do with this room.

I would appreciate information on what has been done at other 
institutions and any recommendations you may have.  We hope to be able
to utilize the lab as a formal part of our lecture and lab courses and
have it open for general student use on a regular basis.  Since we 
don't currently have access to a computer lab on a regular basis, we 
have only been doing a little biochemical modeling with spreadsheets 
and demo programs to briefly look at protein structure.

Specifically, I am interested in the following:
1.  If you were going to purchase about July 1, would you go Mac, PC 
or both?
2.  How do you handle security?
3.  What software do you recommend (it is assumed that all the 
machines will be networked to a university server).
4.  Are there things we should consider about making the lab totally 
open on a part time basis?
5.  What else should we be asking?

Thanks for all replies, information and help.

John Markwell, Dept. Biochem., University of Nebraska-Lincoln

markwell at unl.edu

--
John Markwell			Phone: 402-472-2924
Dept. Biochemistry		FAX:   402-472-7842
University of Nebraska		Internet: markwell at unl.edu
Lincoln, NE  68583-0718