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Last fall, the Office of Information Technology (formerly the Office of Information Services) published a newsletter that was sent to all faculty and most staff members. This newsletter is now available online at bama.ua.edu/~usernews/oit/fall2000. (Both HTML and PDF formats are available.)
OIT anticipates publishing this newsletter on an annual basis. In order for it to be as informative and useful as possible, we are requesting that you fill out the survey form available on the above-mentioned site. As a sign of our appreciation, everyone who submits completed surveys before May 1, 2001 will be entered into a random drawing for various OIT goodies.
Additional printed copies of the newsletter are also available. You may request more for your office when filling out the survey, or you may simply send the request to Help.Desk@ua.edu.
The Microsoft Campus Agreement is an annual software-licensing program for higher education. Many departments are currently participating in this program, which will be renewed on April 30. This renewal period is the only opportunity to add divisions to the license. Please contact Sherry Harvey (348-9809) as soon as possible if your division would like to be added. Currently participating divisions will be contacted during the next few weeks for updated FTE numbers.
Each division that participates in the campus agreement receives licenses for certain Microsoft products to be installed on all of its computers. Licensed products include Windows upgrades and all versions of Office. Payment is based on the departmental FTE, but the agreement covers all computers owned or leased by the division, even those in student labs. There is a home-use provision for faculty and staff members for University-related work only. There is no home-use student provision. More information about the University’s participation in the campus agreement—including the license terms, frequently asked questions, and list of participating departments—is available on the HelpDesk’s Web site at helpdesk.ua.edu/software/microsoft.
The campus agreement does not replace or change the existing Microsoft Open License Program. If your division needs Microsoft products not included in the campus agreement, or if your division does not participate in the agreement, contact the University SUPe Store’s computer department (348-0668) to purchase software under the Open License Program. Faculty, staff, and students may also purchase Microsoft software through the SUPe store at an academic discount.
Please remember that e-mail attachments can and often do contain viruses. These can range from macro viruses in Microsoft Office documents to destructive stand-alone viruses like the recent “NakedWife” attachment. To prevent being infected by a virus through e-mail:
Do not open any attachment that you did not expect.
Make sure you know what is in an attachment before you open it.
Do not assume an attachment is safe just because it came from someone you know. Some viruses can be sent from infected computers without the senders’ knowledge.
Do not open attachments from mailing lists.
Scan every attachment for viruses before opening or saving it.
Make sure you have anti-virus software installed and keep it up to date. The University’s licensed anti-virus software for home and office is available from the Seebeck Computer Center Software Library (computercenter.ua.edu/software).
This semester, the computer center had to review the Macintosh licensing policy for two statistical programs: SPSS and SAS.
SPSS released a new version for the Macintosh platform. However, it is being marketed as a separate product from the Windows version. The University has a very low per-copy price for the Windows version of SPSS due to the large number of copies we license. Unfortunately, this would not be the case with the Macintosh version, and SPSS will not combine it with the Windows version for a bulk-purchase license.
SAS, on the other hand, has discontinued development for the Macintosh platform. There are no plans for any version above 6.12 to be released for Macs. Furthermore, like SPSS, SAS licenses its Macintosh product separately from the Windows version. While we were charging our users the same licensing fee regardless of platform, the computer center was paying much more for each copy of the Macintosh version.
For each product, it was determined that there was not enough interest to justify the additional expense of licensing for the Macintosh platform. We allowed our Macintosh license for SAS to expire in January, and there are currently no plans to add the Macintosh version of SPSS to our site-licensing program. For either package, we recommend either licensing the Windows version (and using it with an emulation package on your Mac) or using the version already installed on bama.ua.edu. If you have any questions or comments about statistical packages for the Macintosh or any other platform, please call the HelpDesk at 348-2435 or send e-mail to statuser@bama.ua.edu.
So you’ve seen the advertisements for “fast access” to the Internet, or maybe you are tired of how long it takes to load Web sites with a 56K modem connection. Maybe you’ve gotten so used to your Internet connection at work that you can’t stand your slow connection at home. Or maybe you’ve decided to give up fighting over who gets to use the phone line and are looking at another way to reach the Internet. Whatever your reason for looking for a better, faster way to connect (that doesn’t interfere with phone calls), there are some answers out there: answers that weren’t available or, perhaps, affordable until recently.
At present, Internet Service Providers (ISPs) are offering two alternatives to the traditional dialup connection to the Internet: DSL (or ADSL) and cable modems. Both provide significantly faster connection speeds to the Internet, from 50 to 100 times faster than a 28.8 modem connection. Neither approach affects your telephone usage.
DSL (Digital Subscriber Line) is available from a number of different ISPs. While it does use your existing telephone wiring, it in no way impacts use of your telephone. DSL allows you to send data and voice over the same line so you can talk or fax while you surf the Internet. Your DSL connection is not impacted by any other DSL user. However, at present, DSL connections are not available for home networks.
Cable modems, as the name implies, take advantage of the fiber optic lines your local cable company has installed to provide you with digital cable. This service in no way impacts your television reception. These connections are not limited to a single computer, so they can be used with home networks.
Either of these approaches will cost more than dialup plans. However, they do eliminate the need for a second phone line. If you use your Internet connection in your work, the cost may be offset by the time saved not having to wait for a connection or for information to be downloaded.
Each approach has its pros and cons. At present, the major issue is whether either service is available where you live. A list of local providers is available at helpdesk.ua.edu/internet/isp.shtml. Be sure to check each provider’s Web site for availability and cost.