January 2007
BCC 101
Since MANY of our staff and faculty today have never worked with carbon paper, the acronym BCC in e-mail is especially mystifying. CC stands for Carbon Copy; a sheet of carbon paper was placed behind your original in the typewriter, and you made extra copies. The typist noted at the bottom of the letter that a "carbon copy" was being provided to someone else. The "BCC" stands for Blind Carbon Copy, and the original recipient was not told that anyone else was getting it.
This terminology has carried over to the electronic world. One reason that you may want to utilize BCC is to keep your recipients' e-mail addresses private. The US-Computer Emergency
Readiness Team explains the security, as well as practical, benefits of hiding the e-mail addresses with the BCC option.
Need for Speed
Want a faster computer, but can't justify buying a new one? There are many things that can help your computer to run faster.
Increasing the amount of random access memory (RAM) is one. If you like to have many different programs open at the same time, and your computer just doesn't seem to handle it, try upgrading the amount of RAM in the computer. On campus we recommend having a minimum of of 512 Megabytes. If you are using complex applications, 1024 MB is preferable.
 Can't remember how much memory you currently have here on-campus? On-campus with your PC, click Start, All Programs, SHSU Utilities, SHSU Check Computer Utility. Check your Memory Configuration.
Using Apple's OS X, click on the Apple icon, and select 'About This Mac'. The amount of memory is listed on the screen.
If you would like your campus computer to be upgraded, give our Helpdesk a call at 294-1950 to place a workorder, or enter a Purchase/Quote Request through the SHSU Computer Services Work Order system. We can assist you in your upgrade process or make recommendations on how to proceed with the computer you have.
Wanting to upgrade your personal computer? If you are using Microsoft Windows XP right-click on the My Computer icon and click Properties. Listed under Computer: will be the general specifications of the computer, one of those should show the MB of RAM which is the amount of memory in your computer. Kingston technologies
has an excellent database of computer specifications that allows you to search for the right type of memory for your computer. eHow
has a guided walkthrough on how to install the RAM.
To verify the amount of memory you have on your Macintosh: If using Apple's OS X, click on the Apple icon, then select About This Mac. The amount of memory is listed on the screen. There are individual how-to's for upgrading your RAM on Apple's website. Select your model, then search for 'memory'; this technique yielded the best results for a walk-through.
eHarmony--computer-style
Want a "truly compatible match?" Before you hook up with a new computer, printer, or scanner, let the SHSU inventory team help develop your profile.
Do a Purchase/Quote Request through the SHSU Computer Services SamWeb Work Order system when you want to purchase workstations or peripherals. We can help match your purchase with your needs, while ensuring the relationship will flourish on the SHSU LAN. As an example, HP Laserjet 2600N and 3600N printers suffer irreconcilable differences with the LAN due to driver issues.
The HP Laserjet 2605DN and the 3800N live happily ever after on the LAN. Just check with us first so we can use others' experience to help you.
Training
Turntin, the anti-plagiarism-prevention web tool, will now be a component of Blackboard. To add a Turnitin Assignment, all a Blackboard-using Faculty member needs to do is go to the assignments section of their course in the Edit or Control Panel view and then use the drop-down menu on the right hand side of the screen and select Turnitin Assignment and hit the Go button. Training is scheduled for January 9th.
Individual one-on-one training is always available.
Log Off, Keep On, and Happy Holidays 
Be sure to log off before you leave for the holiday break. However, be sure also to leave your workstations ON. One reason is so that you can get the software updates and changes that will be made. You may preview the new version of Internet Explorer which will be sent to campus machines during the holiday break.
On Thursday, December 21st, we will be continuing the database conversion. From 5 p.m. till 8 p.m., the SHSU Menu, SamMenu, and SamWeb functions may be unavailable.
We plan to do some major work on the network on December 23rd and December 24th, which may intermittently disrupt everything--logins, e-mail, dial-ins, the web site, etc. Hope you are all enjoying the holidays during that timeframe---and won't be inconvenienced by the downtime.
On Wednesday, January 17th, we will have another evening for the database conversion. The SHSU Menu, SamMenu, and SamWeb functions will again be unavailable during the 5 till 8 time period.
Blackboard
We will not be moving to a new version of Blackboard during the break after all. After numerous e-mails and phone conversations with Oracle and Bb, it was decided to postpone this update. We will either try for Spring Break or wait till the end of the Spring semester. There are significant changes in the new version with the forum. We will be asking for your input as to the best timeline to schedule the conversion.
Are you teaching two or more sections of the same course? Would you like to put them together so that you don't have to "reinvent the wheel" for each section? Then you are looking for the perfect combination. Contact blackboard@shsu.edu and let us know that you want to combine sections or courses and we will handle it for you.
Staff Changes
Jim Dowdy will be joining the programming staff in January. Jim received his SHSU Bachelor of Science in Computing Science in 2005.
What's Good, What's Not and What's Happening When?
The Helpdesk provides support for university equipment and software on the local area network. Each month's Update will include the versions of software and minimum requirements for hardware with the new or changed information highlighted and bolded.
- Memory Sticks: Purchase (and encourage your students to buy) flash drives that are USB Mass Storage Compliant.
- Operating Systems: The supported version of Macintosh machines is OS X, versions 2, 3, and 4. The supported version of Microsoft's Operating System is Windows XP.
- Software Packages: The supported versions of Office suites are Microsoft's Office 2003 and WordPerfect 12 for PC's and Microsoft Office 2004 for Macintoshes.
- Hardware Configurations: The minimum requirement for SHSU Local Area Network support for a PC is a 1Ghz processor, with 512mb RAM, and a 40GB disk. The minimum requirement for a Macintosh on the LAN is a 733 mhz processor, with 512mb RAM, and a 40GB disk.
- Computer Services may schedule significant periods of downtime for major system upgrades and maintenance. For your planning purposes, the weekend following each Graduation will be set aside for scheduled outages.
All offers, training, or software above pertain to faculty and staff at SHSU only. If you have any questions, kudos, comments, or concerns, please let us know.
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