Feature Article:  Web Server Replacement/Upgrade  

Over the last year, CTS and Public Affairs have been working on a project to replace the SUNY Oswego web server with new hardware.  This server hosts the SUNY Oswego web site and provides access to many online services including myOswego, web-based email, and Banner. 

This project involved not just replacing out-of-date hardware, but updating core software components needed to make the SUNY Oswego web site run more efficiently and effectively while also allowing us to offer additional future services.  In some cases out-of-date software needed to be replaced with new, more robust software.  As a result, lots of testing needed to be done to ensure existing functionality of the site.

We are now at a point where we will be implementing the new web server.  The upgrade is scheduled for Tuesday, May 20th starting at 9pm and is expected to be completed by 4:00pm on Thursday, May 22nd.

During this time frame, certain services will be unavailable. 

On Wednesday, May 21st, from 6am-7am only, the following services will be unavailable:

• Viewing and editing of all www.oswego.edu web pages.
• View and login access to SUNY Oswego web-based services including myOswego, web-based email (Communications Express), Banner, and ANGEL.

Outside of this one hour timeframe, users will still be able to view and access the above sites.

For the duration of the upgrade (May 20th 9pm - May 22nd 4pm), the following services will be unavailable:

• Publishing of SUNY Oswego departmental and personal web pages.
• Uploading and downloading files to and from the web server and rocky (ftp).

For more information related to this upgrade, please visit the following web site: http://www.oswego.edu/cts/about/projects/web_server_upgrade/

As you prepare for finals and the end of the semester, we wanted to remind you of a few things:

1. If you need to use a computer lab late at night to complete final course work, there are computers available 24 hours in the Penfield Library 24 hour room.  Printing is also available at this location.
2. Make sure you have enough print pages to finish up your course work.  You can check your print quota balance at the CTS Account Tools web page.  Just login and click on "Check your print quota."  If you are running low or have already ran out and still need to print, more print pages can be purchased in $5.00 allotments from the Telecommunications office in 105 Culkin Hall.
3. If you are living in the residence halls, CTS requests that you place your ResNet hub, power supply, and network cable in a plastic bag available from the front desk of your building before moving out.  Please hang the bag on a coat hook in your room near the door.  If these items are not left in your room, you may be charged for them.
4. Before leaving campus, make sure you have set your security question for your SUNY Oswego computer account. When you leave for the summer and come back in the fall, you may find that you have forgotten your computer account password.  The normal methods of getting your password reset are to show your College ID or drivers license to our staff at the Technology Support Center in 26 Lanigan Hall or by faxing or snail mailing a notarized letter.  If you set the security question, you can avoid these methods and just answer your security question to reset your password.  Just go to the CTS Account Tools web site and click on "Forgot Your Password" at the bottom left of the page.
5. If you subscribe to any CTS telephone plan, final statements will be mailed to your home address. Please email phone@oswego.edu with any changes of address.  A hold will be put on all accounts with an outstanding balance.

CTS wishes you a successful end to your semester and for our returning students a safe and warm summer!  For those that are graduating, we wish you well on your new journeys!

The OmniUpdate Campus (OU Campus) system used for making departmental web page updates will be getting a facelift. If you login to OU Campus starting Tuesday, May 27^thyou'll notice a significant change in the user interface.

Version 8 of the OU Campus system will include several new features including the following:

• The user interface has been redesigned to have less clicks! The current "Page Editor" and "File Manager" tabs have been combined into one "Content" tab so you can edit, create new files, delete and/or rename files all from the same view.
• The system now has version control. This means it keeps track of the changes made to a specific web page so that, if necessary, you can revert to any version of it at any time. In this way, it also functions as a change log so you can see the changes made to a file.
• Multi-browser preview allows you to see what the page will look like in different browsers including Firefox, Internet Explorer, and Safari on the Mac.
• It functions with all of the latest browsers including Safari version 3 on the Leopard operating system.
• The company also boasts speed improvements. The new system is potentially up to 500% faster.

More specific information about the features above in addition to more is available from OmniUpdate at http://www.oswego.edu/training/newsletter/OmniUpdate8.pdf. More information about this upgrade as well as training sessions that will be held on the 27^th and 28^th is available from
http://www.oswego.edu/training/newsletter/ou_news_special_edition4_08.html.

SUNY Oswego Opens New Virtual Campus

SUNY Oswego has just purchased an island in Second Life.  For those unfamiliar with Second Life, it is a 3-D virtual world composed of virtual lands, islands, avatars, and transporters that allow you to "live" a second life.  SUNY-Oswego joins over 300 other colleges and universities (including Harvard, MIT, Duke, and Stanford) that have campus sites in Second Life.  You can use Second Life for presentations, art exhibits, music shows, and more. If you would like to find out more about educational uses of Second Life, please contact John Kane (kane@oswego.edu) or Greg Ketcham (gketcham@oswego.edu).

Certain Software Licenses Expiring Over the Summer

Licenses for the following mathematical/statistical software packages will be expiring over the summer: SAS, Minitab, and Maple.  If you are a user of one of these packages and have it installed on a SUNY Oswego computer or if applicable a home machine (Minitab only), then your license will expire over the summer.  If you wish to continue using these packages, you will need to contact the Technology Support Center at x3456 to request an updated license and if applicable upgraded software.   

Did You Know?

Did you know that Microsoft Office 2007 files have a new format and end with a different extension than previous versions?  If you receive a Microsoft Office document and it ends in .docx, .pptx, .xlsx, or .accdb then you will be opening a Word 2007, Powerpoint 2007, Excel 2007, or Access 2007 file respectively.  If you do not have Office 2007 installed, you may not be able to open these files and read them.  In that case, you need to have the Microsoft Compatibility Pak installed on your machine.  It is available for download from the CTS Software Downloads web page at http://www.oswego.edu/cts/services/user_support/software_downloads.html.  Installing this will allow you to open and read the Office 2007 files.

Notes from the Help Desk

A new product will be available for users to search a knowledgebase that will assist users in resolving technical problems. The product is called the Unified Knowledge Suite (UKS) available from RightAnswers.  UKS will allow users to enter search terms which will return knowledgebase articles containing those search terms, all from the web.  The knowledgebase will be composed of articles CTS has written as well as canned articles that Right Answers has written on many popular software titles including Microsoft products, Thunderbird, ANGEL, and more. In addition to knowledgebase functionality, UKS will allow users to check the status of their help desk tickets and if necessary, submit a new one online.  The product is currently in the process of being installed and tested.  CTS hopes to have it available for end users by the fall 2008 semester.

Help Desk will be closed on Saturday, May 17^th.

Summer hours, effective May 19, will be Monday-Friday, 8am-4pm.  Closed on Memorial Day (5/26) and Independence Day (7/4).

You can reach us by phone at 312.3456, on location at 26 Lanigan Hall, or online at www.oswego.edu/help during normal office hours. We are online via our live chat service.  Just go to our web page and use the web-based chat utility to ask our staff a technology-related question.

Professional Development

CTS has been working with the new Professional Development Center to offer workshops during Spring BreakOut.  You can look for the following CTS sessions:  "OmniUpdate: Publishing RSS Feeds, Using the Media Button and Preparing Images for the Web," "New York Network and SUNYSAT:  What's it all about, Alfie?," "Community Groups - A Tool for Online Group Collaboration,"  and "If Your Computer Were Stolen, What Kind of Data Would a Thief Get?"

Registration for these and all Spring BreakOut sessions is available through the CELT office.  Look for a paper copy of the entire schedule in your mailbox soon!

Looking Ahead

The following are major projects CTS is currently working on:

• Blogging Software: Following the web server and OmniUpdate upgrades (mentioned above), the Web Team will be focusing on installing blogging software that can be incorporated into SUNY Oswego web pages.  This software will be installed and tested over the summer.
• Construction Projects:  CTS continues to assist with several construction projects, including the design of the Metro Center in downtown Syracuse, the renovations of the science buildings, and the new apartments near Glimmerglass Lagoon.
• Communications Express Calendar Module:  Communications Express has a personal calendar module that when installed and configured will show up as another tab within Communications Express.  The calendar module will allow users to keep their own personal calendar, schedule single and recurring events, schedule meetings with others, share calendars and more.  The module has been installed and we have come across a couple of features that are not functioning properly. Sun Microsystems is assisting with resolving these issues. 
• Document Imaging is Not Dead!: After a short hiatus, our campus-wide document imaging project is back on the front burner.  With the approval of the final project proposal and initial budget, the project team hopes to pilot the system in the Admission Office over the next year.  Upon completion of a successful pilot, other offices throughout campus will have the opportunity to consider going "paperless" or at least "paperlight".
• Improving Security and Convenience - You can Have Both:  CTS is in the process of reviewing its identity management strategy that defines how students and employees access the various systems they are authorized to use such as email, calendars, MyOswego, and many others.  The ultimate goal is to provide all users with "single sign-on" capability - enter your ID and password once and your security credentials are automatically communicated to whatever program you want to use.  A significant component of a new identity management strategy for our campus will likely include the expansion of the use of Microsoft's Active Directory system.  As planning progresses the appropriate governance bodies will have the opportunity to provide input to the final design.
• ANGEL version 7.3: SUNY Oswego is currently using version 7.1 of ANGEL and will be looking at upgrading to version 7.3 for Winter session 2009.  In version 7.3, you'll notice improvements in assessments, discussions, the HTML editor, and more.  New features for integrating podcasts, blogs and wikis have also been integrated. 
• myOswego Enhancements: A couple of new enhancements to myOswego are being worked on.  One of those is the ability for students to be able to select whether they would like an electronic notice that their bill is ready rather than receiving a paper bill in the mail.   In addition, students will be able to buy their plus meal plans through myOswego.  Look for these added enhancement to myOswego this summer.

If you have any questions related to any of these projects, please contact the Technology Support Center at x3456 or by email to help@oswego.edu. 

Tech Tip

The Technology Support Center often receives calls and emails from users experiencing cryptic errors in Windows XP. In order to understand and diagnose these errors, it's extremely helpful to email us the exact message as it displays on your screen. Users often discover that there's no way to highlight these dialog boxes and feel forced to transcribe the error messages by hand.

There's an easy workaround for this dilemma -- simply click once on the dialog box to bring it to the foreground, and then hit Control-C. This will copy the contents of the dialog box, which can then be pasted (Control-V) into an email message.