SHSU Information Resources Update

Remote Chance

Many of you rely heavily on using the remote.shsu.edu option. In fact, so many that the demand has outgrown the capability. We're making some changes and we need you to too.

New servers are being built to allow more people to use the remote.shsu.edu option. You will still be able to reach your S: drive and the T: drive.

We are moving from two machines to three machines, and they are substantially bigger. The new servers will have a very narrow focus to allow more dependability and a faster response time. An additional reason for the streamlined focus is to ensure we are in compliance with licensing. Only software specially licensed to be used through remote access will be installed. To conserve funds, most licenses for campus are bought based on how many people are using the software at once. This type concurrent licensing cannot be used from the remote server.

Software that will be on the new remote.shsu.edu:

MS Office 2007 (Access, PowerPoint, Excel, Outlook, Word)
Adobe Acrobat (for creating/reading PDF's)
CRT (to allow you to reach Nell, the administrative computer)
Internet Explorer (Firefox causes problems and will not be installed.)
Sam Menu
Profile Backup Utility
Profile Management Utility
SAP client connecting to COBA SAP server
Secure Shell Client (used primarily by Computer Science and Computer Services)

If you have been using other software through the remote.shsu.edu option, use the WO Purchase/Quote option to let us know. We can investigate whether these companies offer special remote licensing and/or we can assist your departments in purchasing individual licensing.

Academic Departments: The use of SPSS remotely is still being evaluated. We are working with the vendor to see what options are available. At this time, a completely separate server is considered if SPSS acknowledges licensing for this purpose.

Logging off: Please close your session on remote.shsu.edu whenever you have completed your work. Do not use the "X" in the upper right corner to close it. Instead, click Start, Logoff, Yes you're sure, to exit. If you use the "X" in the upper right corner, the session actually stays open until the next time you connect. The "X" method is not allowing a graceful logoff and may cause you problems later.

Four Resolutions from Microsoft

It's not too late to make your New Year's Resolutions. These four were inspired by Microsoft's Crabby Office Lady.

Stop Smoking. When steam starts pouring from your ears, resolve to get up and walk away from your computer rather than throw the keyboard across the room or yell at co-workers when frustrated.
Communicate Clearly. Resolve to keep communication lines open and drop the jargon.
Diet. Resolve to clean up your s:drive, c:drive, t: drive and e-mail.
Safety First. Resolve to just say no. Delete e-mails from Nigeria, e-mails asking for bank numbers, and e-mails wanting you to verify your credit card information.

Four Resolutions from UCS

We had a rough 2007 all-around in the computing environment here at SHSU. Our resolutions for 2008 are:

We resolve to find, hire, and train the best staff members to help you meet your campus goals.
We resolve to provide you with timely feedback on your projects.
We resolve to expand our systems to handle the campus growth.
We resolve to include you in the planning of the campus technology infrastructure and direction.

Four Resolutions for You

As we mentioned above, we had a rough 2007. Although we resolve to work hard to fix servers, phones, programs, and response times, we still need your help. Disasters can occur with power outages from electrocuted squirrels or lightning, air conditioning failures, hurricanes or just plumbing leaks, or Internet connection losses. Here's four things you can do.

Prepare. Resolve to back up your documents, contacts, and calendar.
Have an alternative. Resolve to create a free e-mail (google or yahoo, for instance) account for use in disasters.
Speak Freely. Resolve to talk to us. Tell US what you need and what's making you crazy.
Security First. Resolve to logoff your workstation and protect campus information.

Blackboard Down 3/10-3/14

The Blackboard rebuild originally scheduled for January 7-11 has been reslated for Spring Break. This last minute timeframe for an outage was unavoidable; we had to wait for air conditioning, servers, and the Blackboard experts. Check out the Blackboard blog for all the details.

Take A Class

It's a new year and we have lots of new SHSU employees. Encourage your new staff and faculty to attend our New Employee Computer Orientation class. We are also offering Bb classes and Microsoft Office Tips. Check the Calendar for class times and sign up now and reserve your seat.

Take No Chances

Do you have an ELMO (a document camera)? The company recently notified its customers that there is a remote possibility of heat, smoke, and fire. We have e-mailed all departments with ELMOs (identified through inventory records) offering to coordinate the return and replacement. If you have an ELMO but did not get the notice, please get with the Helpdesk by January 8th and we'll include yours in the campus return.

Yay! New Staff

We are pleased to announce a new administrative programmer has joined the department. Daniel Mendoza will be working with the financial programs on the Nell system. Daniel brings a wealth of programming experience to the campus.

Thomas Sosebee has just graduated from SHSU and is joining the web team fulltime. His skills in training and web support have been honed through four years as a student worker and we are happy to add him to our professional staff.

Norman Laskie will be joining the systems department on January 16th. Norman is slated to take over the Macintosh server administration. He comes to us from Region VI.

We are still searching for a number of new hires. Please recommend and refer applicants to the HR site to apply.

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 will be OS X, version 5 after the Leopard conversion. The supported version of Microsoft's operating system is Windows XP. We are still evaluating the timeline for the move from XP to Windows Vista. It will definitely not occur prior to Summer 2008, and may be delayed till Christmas 2008.

Software Packages: The supported versions of office suites are Microsoft's Office 2007 and WordPerfect 12 for PC's. The supported version of an office suite for Macintoshes is Microsoft Office 2004. Microsoft has not yet released a new version of Office for the Macintoshes.

Hardware Configurations: The minimum requirements for SHSU local area network support for a PC are a 1Ghz processor, 512MB RAM, and a 40GB disk. With next summer's Vista roll-out, the minimum configuration will be a 2GHz processor, 1GB memory, and 80GB hard drive. The minimum requirements for a Macintosh on the LAN are a 733 Mhz processor, 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. Additionally, certain systems may be unavailable on Friday nights after 6 p.m. We also anticipate an outage of power to AB1 (and thus a campus-wide computer outage) of several hours in the near future as the electrical work is completed for the Telcom Center move. We will keep you informed as our sub-contractors let us know the scheduling.

All offers, training, and software above pertain to faculty and staff at SHSU only. If you have any questions, compliments, comments, or concerns, please let us know.