The Real Mail

• During the holiday break, the Campus Mail Services Department will put up mail on the 30th of December. A skeleton crew will also work Christmas Eve morning. If you have a slip for a package, you can knock on the door both mornings.
• You can now purchase Christmas stamps at the campus post office for your personal use.
• As you're reminded every year, don't procrastinate! Mail your cards and packages as early as you can.
• Always put a return address on the outside of all correspondence, and include the address information inside for packages.
• Don't guess about zip codes. Make sure you have the right one and write it clearly. We get lots of mail here for Humble cause there's is close to ours---and if not written clearly, it can be coded to come here. You can look up zips on the Postal Service web site. It's actually better to not have a zip code on mail than to have the wrong one.
  

Macintosh Connections

The Office of Distance Learning and Academic Instructional Technology is sponsoring a special demo on Friday, December 5th. This will be from 10 a.m. till noon in the NETNet ITV classroom (AB1 213). Apple will be showing some of the new interoperability features and system enhancements in Mac OS X 10.3 client and server including greater support for windows operability, authentication, and printing. Contact James Van Roekel if you have questions.

Faculty/staff may connect to their S drives via a Macintosh if they have OS X. Contact the Helpdesk for assistance.

Web-access E-mail

This month we replaced our ancient (by computer terms) SamMail with a new system. This SamMail has many more features including the University global address list. You can also create address books. You click the "Addresses" button which is right below the to/cc/bcc/subject fields to access the global list. The address link at the top of the page is to your personal address book.

If you use Netscape or Entourage, SamMail is a good option for use when you're away from campus. For security reasons, this new version only accesses SHSU mail. Links will be provided to external web sites that permit you to check other mail servers.

Blackboard

The Blackboard statistics function is once again functional!  You can now see which sections of your class are receiving the most views from your students.  Use the course statistics function and/or tracking button as a measuring stick for your class participation grade. Don't know how to track your students within your course?  Give us a call at 44495 or e-mail us at blackboard@shsu.edu and we will be glad to help you out!

Remember, your Spring '03 courses will not be available to you for much longer.  As of January 12th they will be removed from your course listing within Blackboard.  So act now and copy any information you need to into your Spring '04 courses.  If you are not teaching some of those courses for a while, but need to save your course info, let us know and we will archive your course(s) for use at a later date.  As always, contact the Blackboard team if you need help or would like us to do it for you.

Windows 2000 to Windows XP

For months now, we have been converting university PC workstations from Windows 2000 to Windows XP. We still have about 700 to go, and it's time! So please be prepared. If you're still on 2000, we will be converting your machine shortly.

Pins and Grade Entry

Faculty: The Registrar's Office has just issued new PINs for your use for grade entry. You will use this as well as your username and Windows password to access the Sam Menu.

Academic Departments: Please don't wait till the deadline. Check with all your faculty now (including part-time, on and off-campus) to ensure that each instructor has an individual computer account username, knows his/her PIN, and can enter grades through Nell or the Sam Menu system.

• If someone needs to create an account, you can assist them in doing it online, and they'll automatically get Sam Menu access.
• If they're on a Macintosh, and plan to use Nell instead for the first time, they will need to request that specifically with the printed form.

Home for the Holidays

Hoping Santa brings you a new PC or Macintosh this year? Remember to add a virus scanner to your wish list. Protect your system and the University's computer network by regularly scanning your laptop or home computer. McAfee or Norton are good choices for your virus scanning software.

The Computer Services department can provide the Norton Anti-virus software disk for your use for University-owned laptops.

Dell Specials

Dell is providing special pricing this month. Check out their deals.

Training

Review the Training Calendar for details on sessions.  This month we are offering a special Blackboard Course Copying class to help you get ready for the Spring semester.  Learn how to move individual items from one course to another or copy an entire course on the fly!

December is the perfect time to schedule some small group training.  Does your department/area have a training need?  Get in touch with us and we will work with your schedule to set up a time.

As a reminder, the University will pay the annual subscription to Mindleaders for University employees that want to improve their skills. Mindleaders offers a couple of courses on Windows XP---so you have an opportunity to learn about all the enhanced features available with that platform.

Tech Tip

When you are finished giving a presentation using the projector with your PC, first switch it to standby. If you immediately turn off the projector, this turns off the fan. The hot bulb then cools too quickly. This in turn causes the bulb to burn out more quickly. It is preferable to leave the fan running for a few minutes. The expense of running the fan is much less than that of replacing the bulbs.

Good News

We are delighted to share the news that Stephen and Stephanie Lyford now have a son, Owen, born 10/30. Stephen '02, (and getting his master's this month!) works with our laptop and video connections, and is currently on paternity leave. Stephanie '01, '03 was a student helpdesk assistant.

Dan and Christy Cross have just welcomed son Nathan, born 11/23. Dan '01 supervises our maintenance area, and Christy '01 is in our Client Support area. They're both off now enjoying their new family member!