You've Got Mail!

Sending Attachments

When sending attachments, remember that you're dealing with different platforms and different e-mail systems. Any additional information you can provide your recipient will be helpful. Include information about the documents within the message. For instance, if you're on a Macintosh and you send an attachment through Netscape e-mail, the identifying information may be stripped off when the e-mail reaches the destination. So, take the extra time when sending your message to explain: "I'm attaching an Excel 2000 document, or a Macintosh Word document in version 6."

Also, do NOT include periods in the main filename. Allow the dot separating the filename from the extension (the identifier of what type file it is, such as doc or wpd) to be the ONLY period in the name.

Receiving Attachments

When you just click on the attachment, and your e-mail system won't open the attachment, try doing a Save As. You can then run a Virus Scan on your document before opening if you're unsure about it. Frequently, if you attempt to open the attachment from within the software that you think the document is in, the software will correctly interpret it and open it. So try opening Word, for instance, and then open the saved attachment.

Avoiding Attachments

It's really preferable to just include the information in the actual body of the e-mail. This will assure your recipient that you're not sending them a virus, speed up how quickly they can read it, and it will eliminate the difficulties in opening different versions of software.

Tired of Nell?

We are continuing to move programs from the Nell system to our GUI SHSU Menu System. You can help us set the priorities for the conversion. If you're accessing a program on Nell that you'd like moved to GUI, send e-mail to Nina Cooper. Suggest improvements for the new program. We want to provide you with information in the format that you can easily use, and we need your help to do that.

Account Managers: The newest program converted to the GUI Menu is the Budget Balance Report, POST53R. It's under Financial System. This program provides details of expenditures, and you can select these by your departmental code and view ALL your financial accounts. You can create a table of accounts to view also (without having to do any editing at the VMS Nell prompt!). Or you can look at just one account or several.

Going Unplugged

Have you tried using wireless connections yet? Wireless access is now available within the Newton Gresham Library for PCs. We are currently testing OS 10.2. At this time, the wireless access will not work with a Macintosh. Instructions are available to assist you with the setup of your PC laptops. But---before you do start using wireless, are you aware of the risks?

Two of our Computer Services employees, Aaron Bayles and Tim McGuffin, recently attended a DefCon conference in Las Vegas. They competed in an event called War-Driving. The goal was to see how many wireless access points they could reach in less than 2 hours. By cruising neighborhoods, they placed third with a total of 338 access points. 70% of these points were completely accessible and 24% were still set to the default factory settings; "an ill-informed script kiddie" could hack them in less than 10 minutes. Tim and Aaron will be spotlighted in the November 2002 British .net magazine.

All that information isn't meant to dissuade you from going wireless. It's just meant to remind you that security is not guaranteed when you login. So if you're at a conference, and accessing the University via a wireless connection, be aware of what you're sending. Some "kiddie" may be capturing all of it!

Technology Training

The Computer Services Department is continuing to offer SHSU faculty and staff the opportunity to participate in an online training subscription, Mindleaders. Check out their Course Catalog and brush up on some old skills or acquire some new ones. Contact Christy Cross if you'd like to access the Mindleaders training system. Special recognition goes to the following individuals for their continuing education efforts through this system.

We are offering a number of training sessions here on campus this month. A new seminar is the Video Training in AB1, 213. Check out the schedule.

Blackboard

Blackboard technical representatives came this month to begin the implementation to version 5.6 Enterprise edition of Bb. You'll no longer have to call Jacob and his team to load new students in your classes; the adds/drops will be handled automatically next semester. You'll also be able to copy an old class to your new classes. Other new features include the ability to write equations with the WebEQ interface.

If you have comments or suggestions for our Blackboard team, write to blackboard@shsu.edu.

Just the Facts, Ma'am

The Office of Institutional Research would like to announce the release of the 2002 Sam Houston State University Institutional Fact Book. This book is designed to answer the general questions concerning the University, student trends, fiscal year enrollment, faculty and staff, and Coordinating Board public university comparisons. The Fact Book contains information from the student database management file, IPEDS data, Mini-Profiles, the common data set, semester report and special reports generated by Sam Houston’s Computer Services department.

We hope that this publication provides not only answers to general questions but enough information to create further inquiries. Any inquiries can be directed to the Office of Institutional Research by phone at (936) 294-3619, fax at (936) 294-4360 or via e-mail at our website.

Snail Mail

Here's a correction to last month's total of on-campus residents. You'll only need 2,550 flyers to stuff in each campus mailbox for the students.

The Box Rent and service charges have now been calculated and forwarded to administrative Accounting to be charged to departments. Departments using a large box are charged $300 and departments with a small box are charged $245. The remaining service charge is based on FY02's postage charged to each account. If you have any questions about these charges, you may e-mail Rowe Creager. We'll be glad to change the charge to a different account if that's needed.

Get Online Online

You may now request a computer account for your new staff and faculty online. Their ss# and PIN must be in the University human resource files first. For the individuals that must use Nell, you may download a form and give the appropriate approval signatures for this administrative access. The Computer Services forms, and other University forms, are available from the Intranet, Forms links.

On the Road Again

Do you need to get online while traveling? The University has signed up with AT&T for corporate Internet access. After you fill out your Travel Application, you may submit a request to reserve your time for dial-in Internet access. We will issue you a username and password, and send you and your department chair a confirmation. We will help you load the access software on your laptop. The access software includes local phone numbers for major cities. After your trip, your department will be billed just for the time used by you during that travel period.

It's All Greek to Me!

Do you want to modify your keyboard so that you can type in Greek or another language? Instructions are now available to help you change your language settings.

Web Help Now On Board

Computer Services has just added a new fulltime staff member, Garett Gowens. Garett is a May 2002 graduate of Sam Houston. While he's been a student here, he's designed a number of the University web sites. He will be heading up our review of all the University web pages to ensure we're up-to-date and also ADA compliant. He'll be contacting you soon with offers of assistance, advice, and technical support. Or call him at 294.1851 if you have design or content questions about your web sites.

Feedback Request

Last month, we requested that you e-mail us to let us know you'd read this. We had a total of 30 people write us. Congratulations to the first 12! The recipients of the optical mice were: Karen Whitney (Biology), Dana Grant (ResLife), Mandy Carrell (ROTC), Kathy Hudson (Registrar), Sissy Johnson (Dance), Sandra Blair (HR), Carol Taylor (Music), Robert Martin (Basketball), Hadley Leavell (Finance), Peggy Ellenberger (FinAid), and Phyllis Kennedy (RTV). Thanks to all of you. If you'd like additional information on any of the above topics or have other comments, just send e-mail to the Helpdesk.