Q. What is a Virtual University Appliance?
A. The Virtual University Appliance is a pre-packaged and 'turn-key' hardware and software solution designed to address the E-Learning (Virtual Learning) needs of corporations and educational institutions. It streamlines the entire Virtual Learning process as well as manages traditional learning processes such as In-class instruction and seminar events. Essentially the Virtual University Appliance is all you need to get started with E-Learning almost immediately. This web-based appliance allows all participants a cost saving and easy production of learning material and time independent distance and co-operative learning over the Internet.

Q. Why should I purchase a Virtual University Appliance instead of purchasing an E-Learning Management Software package and installing it myself?
A. Complete end-to-end E-Learning software packages can be very expensive and cumbersome to install and configure. In addition, there are many elements in E-Learning that must be integrated together to make an effective solution. Understanding and integrating these various elements can take time and also can be expensive. A single turn-key solution based around industry standards and best practices can get you started much faster. The turn-key 'Appliance' comes pre-configured with a Learning Management System (LMS), Learning Content Management System (LCMS), Exams/Quiz Server, Evaluations/Appraisal Server, Discussion/Chat Server and a Course Builder Tool for creating and Importing content. The company has a patent-pending on this novel approach of packaging as an 'Appliance' several E-Learning components together with related processes to make e-learning initiatives easier to implement. By tying everything together in the Virtual University Appliance, we bring simplicity to complexity.

Q. What software is included with the Appliance?
A. The systems includes a  Learning Management System (LMS), A Knowledge Repository (LCMS),  Course Builder Tools, Blended Learning Management Server, Evaluations/Appraisal Server, Exam/Quizz Server and Collaboration Software which includes a Discussion Forum and Chat Server. All this software is pre-configured and integrated which means that all you need to get started is a registered domain name with a valid IP address if the server is to become a learning node on the Internet.

Q. Can I customize the software?
A. The Virtual University Appliance is based on Open Standards and proven enterprise-class technologies, which include  Java, J2EE, JSP, SQL, XML, HTML and other Open Source standards and technologies. This means that we can easily customize the software for you if you choose our customization services. The product conforms to disciplined programming, object coding and design patterns and is therefore extremely extensible. We maintain a comprehensive software revision control facility in case you want to revert back to a previous version of the software. Please contact our development services for a quotation for your customization needs.

Q. What other tools can I use to create content and import it into the VU Course Builder?
 A. The VU Course Builder lets you create content locally or you can use your favorite software tools to create the content and then import it into the Course Builder. The software allows inclusion of content created by other education content creation tools such as Microsoft Powerpoint, Wanadu (Latitude iCreate), Microsoft Producer, Macromedia Flash, eStudio-Live, AcuLearn, Fluition Show, Microsoft FrontPage and other HTML Authoring tools, Camtasia Studio, Quicktime, Sonicfoundry's MEDIASITE and a host of other content creation products. You can sample some of these by accessing the links at Course Builder Tutorial. 

Q. Can I create custom reports?
A. You can use any standard report writer, such as Crystal Reports or even MS Access to create custom reports. In addition, the reports framework in the product allows you to create as many reports as you like as long as you have some knowledge of how to work with Java Server Pages (JSP). Sample Report Pages are provided with the product to get you started. We can also create reports to your specification for an hourly fee of $150/hr. A typical report takes approx. 2 hrs of work.

Q. Does the source code come with the software?
A. The source-code for the product can be purchased under a separate license agreement that entitles the customer to perform their own customization. Large enterprises that have programming staff and resources sometimes prefer this arrangement. In addition Value Added Resellers/VARS and Consultants that have java programming skills may also want the source code to perform modifications on the software for their clients. If the customer purchases the source-code and performs their own modifications and/or customization, the warranty obviously becomes invalid. Please contact our development services for a quotation for the source code license.

Q. Which databases are supported by the software?
A. Since the Virtual University Appliance is based on Open Standards, the product supports any ANSI compliant relational database. This mean MS SQL Server, Oracle, MySQL, Postgress, IBM DB2 and others such as Interbase. The System uses JDBC for database connections and ships with MySQL as the back-end database. There are no proprietary calls or code (such as use of stored procedures) for any specific database and all SQL queries are handled by the Java Software. If you are a large enterprise and already have licenses for Oracle or MS SQL server, then you may wish to switch to Oracle. When you switch a database back-end to a different one from the default, you may will have to configure the system again or call our tech support for additional help.

Q. We want to create Virtual Universities in different languages. Does the appliance have multilingual features?
A. Yes - the product has multi-byte character support (double-byte characters and CJK - or Chinese, Japanese and Korean fonts) and has features for language translation, presentation in a different language and other language localization characteristics.

Q. Can we integrate the VU Appliance with other Community tools and Portal technology, such as Chat, Forums, Survey, and so on, to build relationships among other constituencies in our organization/campus?
A. Yes - Portal technology adds "customization" and "community" to a organization/campus Web presence. Customization allows each user to define a unique and personal view of the campus Web. Since the VU Appliance is based on open-standards using Java, XML, JSP and J2EE, it can interface very gracefully with other collaborative tools such as uPortal and Sakai, both of which are built using the same open-standards.
 

Q. What do I need if I want to accept Credit Cards Online for course payments?
A. You will need a Verisign or equivalent Digital Certificate and a Bank Account from which to process payments. Please contact your local Bank to set up an Account for Online Credit Card payments.

Q. If I purchase a Virtual University Appliance and decide later that I don't want it, is there a refund?
A. We are very confident in our product's capabilities and that is why the Virtual University Appliance has a 90-day money back guarantee. Its features, functions, scalability and ease of use provide advantages extending to all roles in the enterprise. The VU Appliance offers more function and scalability than systems costing ten times more. It is customizable and easy to roll out. In short, we believe that it is the highest value LMS/LCMS solution available anywhere. The "Price to feature/performance ratio" is exceptionally high because we have combined a rich feature set, high performance and scalability with a very low cost of ownership. But as a valued customer, if you still decide to return the product, we request that you return it with with complete packing materials and documentation within 90-days of purchase. We will refund you the amount of the purchase price. However you will still be billed for shipping and handling fee.

Q. What if I outgrow the Virtual University Appliance as my business grows?
A. The Virtual University Appliance comes in three different configurations - small, medium and large. You can simply upgrade to the next--level Appliance and obtain the additional capacity. The main difference in the capacity is the number of concurrent students that each configuration can have. With the small Appliance, you can have a maximum of 200 concurrent students. With the medium Appliance, the student capacity is 500 concurrent students and in the large configuration, the maximum capacity is 5,000 concurrent students. An version for unlimited number of concurrent users is also available if you think you will need more than 5,000 concurrent students access.

Q. My Organization wants to host E-Learning centrally for all our divisions (as an ASP model). Which Virtual University will suit our needs?
A. If your concurrent users will exceed 5,000 then we can configure a custom Appliance with terabytes of redundant storage and multiple processors to address an ASP infrastructure need. Please call our sales representative and request a custom quotation for your ASP needs.

Q. How long will it take for my Appliance to ship?
A. In most cases it ships in five days. However, it may take up to ten days to ship. The status will change from Ready To Ship to Complete when it is actually shipped.

Q. I paid for an upgrade with a credit card. How long will it take to get my download?
A. Upon confirmation of the credit card transaction, an email will be sent automatically to your email address with a user name and password for your software download.

Q. What type of support accompanies my purchase?
A. 90 Days free support.

Q. What type of training is included with the purchase?
A. You can attend a free 3-day training session offered every Thursday, Friday and Saturday in our Torrance, Calif. facility. The first day of the training covers the administration of the Virtual University Appliance, Day 2 covers the fundamentals of content creation and publishing (you will create a sample course and publish the course to the LCMS), and Day 3 is for Questions and Answers as well as integration of the Appliance with 3rd party products such as Webcast systems, Video servers etc.. Please see the published Training Schedule for the dates and contact one of our representatives for reserving a seat. On-site training can be purchased for $750/day plus actual cost of travel and lodging.

We highly recommend attending the training. Even though the product ships with user documentation, you will benefit from the training because it covers tips and direction in the creating courseware. The training covers a full day of basic courseware design and course building tools and techniques.  Keep in mind that by purchasing a Virtual University Appliance, you are actually investing in your E-Learning and Learning Management strategy. Do not compromise this investment by skipping on training.