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Fall 2009 Student Technology Update

Updated: August 17, 2009

OIT Service Status Now Available on Twitter
Help Desk Extended Hours for the Academic Year
ND-secure & the Zoned Network
Network Access for Your Guests
Free Anti-Virus for Software
Preparing for Windows 7 & Mac OS 10.6 Snow Leopard
Computer Labs News
Printing in the Residence Halls News
Google Apps Updates

OIT Service Status Now Available on Twitter

The Office of Information Technologies (OIT) has announced a new way follow the status of its services. The Help Desk has a Twitter account (twitter.com/oithelpdesk) that provides short, timely messages about the status of OIT services. By activating SMS (text) messages on your mobile phone, Twitter is the first-and fastest-communication mechanism to alert you about interruptions. This valuable tool enhances the Help Desk's ability to notify the entire campus about OIT services in a timely manner.

If you already have your own Twitter account, you can follow the Help Desk now. Go to twitter.com/oithelpdesk and click the Follow link under the Notre Dame logo. You can learn more about Twitter (including how to get your own account) at oit.nd.edu/twitter.

Help Desk Extended Hours for the Academic Year

Normal Help Desk hours are:
   Monday - Friday: 8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
   (Closed Wednesdays 12:00 p.m. - 1:30 p.m. for Staff Meetings)

As the Fall semester gets underway, the Help Desk will provide the following extended hours beginning Sunday, August 30:
     Phone Support Only
   Sunday: 3:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.
   Monday - Thursday: 5:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.

Extended hours are in effect during the Fall and Spring semesters when classes are in session.

ND-secure & the Zoned Network

The wired and wireless networks in residence halls have been enhanced with added security features to protect you! Now when you use the wired network, you'll need to login with your NetID and password via a web page (or via the Cisco Clean Access Agent). Use the ND-secure network for a more secure wireless connection. You can find complete details about both the wired zoned network and ND-secure at oit.nd.edu/zoned.

Network Access for Your Guests

Family members and friends may need access to the ND network with their own computer while visiting you. Guest access is available on the ND-Guest wireless network. Just follow the instructions at oit.nd.edu/guest.

Free Anti-Virus for Software

Notre Dame provides free McAfee anti-virus software with custom installers for Windows and Macintosh computers. Go to secure.nd.edu/antivirus to download and install the software (requires NetID and password). The Windows version also enables you to install Print@ND drivers at the same time.

Preparing for Windows 7 & Mac OS 10.6 Snow Leopard

Both Microsoft and Apple are planning to release operating system updates to the general public during the Fall semester. OIT staff members are currently testing beta versions of these new systems to ensure they work with other ND services and to provide support once they are released. DO NOT upgrade to these new versions until the testing has been completed. You can find information about both of these new operating systems on the OIT web site at:

Windows 7 information: oit.nd.edu/windows
Mac OS 10.6 Snow Leopard: oit.nd.edu/osx

Computer Labs News

When you need to find a computer lab with a free seat, visit LabStats at oit.nd.edu/labstats.

Printing in the Residence Halls

The Office of Information Technologies (OIT) has completed the installation of Print@ND printers in ALL undergraduate residence halls. To configure your personal computer to print to these printers and the OIT computer lab printers, visit: oit.nd.edu/print_scan_copy

Just follow the link to install the Windows or Mac utility. All students, including returning students, must install this new utility to allow you to print to these printers.

Additionally, Print@ND printers and OIT managed computer lab workstations will default to duplex (double-sided) printing to support the University’s sustainability efforts. For single-sided printing, you need to choose single-sided output. Instructions for doing so are posted in all the computer labs, and available online at: oit.nd.edu/print_scan_copy

Windows users: The utility will set the Print@ND printer to default to duplex (double-sided) printing on your personal computer.

Mac users: The utility does not yet set the printer to default to duplex (double-sided) printing on your personal computer. Instructions for manually setting duplex as the default are available at: oit.nd.edu/print_scan_copy

If you have any questions about printing to Print@ND printers, please contact the OIT Help Desk by phone at 574-631-8111 or email at oithelp@nd.edu.

Google Apps Updates

Google released a lot of updates to improve Google Apps over the last few months. Here are just a few that might help you be more productive.
Stay Up to DateGoogle offers a variety of services to help you learn what's new with Google and the status of their services. Here are a few that might help you:

Gmail

You now have the ability to use labels like you use folders. This allows you to move messages to organize them - even by drag-and-drop. The great thing about labels is that you can move your message to more than one label, and yet only have one copy of the message. Not only do you have better contacts management in Gmail, but you can now combine multiple contacts into a single entry and search across all contact fields. Voice and video chat via Google Talk are available in the Gmail window as well. For more Gmail tips, check out gmail.com/tips.

Google Calendar

Add tasks to your Google Calendar to stay on top of your to-do list. Plus, you can also add Google Docs to events in your calendar. Even better--Google Calendar is now available in offline mode so you can check out your schedule without a network connection. To enable offline access in Google Calendar, just click the 'Offline beta' link in the upper right area of the screen.

Don't want to forget your friends' birthdays? Just put their birthdays in your Gmail contacts listing, and subscribe to the public Google Calendar to add contacts' birthdays to your calendar.

Google Docs

Google Docs now supports Office 2007 file formats (.docx and .xlsx). You'll find templates to help improve the visual impact of your work and create new documents with ease. The new Find & Replace toolbar helps you edit documents quickly, and Google added improved tools to share and search in Google Docs. Print preview is now available in Google Docs so you view the document before you print it.

As always, we'll keep posting information throughout the year for you at oit.nd.edu/google.