INFORMATION SERVICES
May 2004
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to Information Services
Announcements from the Bulletin, Today, Notification-L
05/28/04, Faculty Publications and Profiles
A new resource is available on the Macalester Web site. It is a database
highlighting faculty publications and providing a brief profile of
faculty members. It's linked from the directory page on the Web site and
can be found here:
http://www2.macalester.edu/apps/facultypubs/
The database is a searchable directory of the research interests and
accomplishments of Macalester's faculty. It is maintained by the staff
of the DeWitt Wallace Library, in cooperation with the Center for
Scholarship and Teaching, College Relations and the Provost. [Bulletin]
05/28/04, Spyware Scams
Be careful if you're trying to install anti-spyware software. There are
many programs out now that advertise themselves as anti-spyware
software, when in reality they are just spyware! It's similar to what would happen if
Norton Antivirus was actually a virus. CIT recommends TWO legitimate
programs: Spybot and Ad-Aware. Download both of them from
http://www.macalester.edu/cit/software/.
Here are some to AVOID: AdDestroyer, Virtual Bouncer and
Spyban.
Intentionally misleading software like spyware advertised as anti-spyware
is something that should clearly be illegal, but it's just too new for
any laws to exist. It gets worse. You might think that you would get the
above recommended Ad-Aware from www.adaware.com. FALSE! Another company
has taken over this domain name, yet the unwary Web surfer would think
it is Ad-Aware's site. The software from www.adaware.com is just more
spyware and is unrelated to the legitimate Ad-Aware. [Bulletin]
05/28/04, Course Support Software Discussion
Communicating with members of a class, sharing documents among them and
tracking students' work are typical functions of course support
software. There are many other features available in the more robust
packages. We would like to assess our current services in this realm and
research options to present to the community in the fall. We invite
faculty members, staff and available students to join Information
Services staff for a prefatory discussion from 1:30 - 2:30 PM, Wednesday
June 2, in the Weyerhaeuser Memorial Chapel lounge. There will be free
cookies! [Bulletin]
05/28/04, Information Services Staff Member of the Year
Congratulations to Cathy Gilchrist Kaudy on her selection as Information
Services Staff Member of the Year! A member of the Collection Management
Team, Cathy arrived at Macalester in 1985. Recently, she has taken on
responsibility for acquiring many of the library materials we receive.
She has had to handle change in the staff positions around her as well
as a large number of extra materials, much of it in Asian languages, in
the past year. As usual, she responded positively and effectively, doing
extra work but always with a smile. Her colleagues describe her as an
"unsung hero." We hope to correct at least part of that description with
this announcement. Thank you, Cathy! [Bulletin]
05/28/04, Mulberry Tips
Learn how to make better use of the tabbed mailboxes of Mulberry 3. Find
out how to make Mulberry start up more quickly!
Go to http://www.macalester.
edu/cit/docs/howto and click on 'Miscellaneous Mulberry Tips.' [Bulletin]
05/28/04, CLICnet Unavailable on June 7
The library catalog (CLICnet) will be unavailable all day on Monday, June
7, as staff install new hardware and migrate data. CLICnet will return
Tuesday morning. We ask that all campus users please plan accordingly.
We apologize for any inconvenience this necessary downtime will cause.
[Bulletin]
05/21/04, Library Closed May 24 - June 1
As we have done in the past two years, the library will close the last
week of May in order to focus efforts on wrapping up the fiscal year,
removing reserve materials, making headway on thousands of recently
returned books, etc. We will reopen for the summer at 10 AM Tuesday,
June 1, following the Memorial Day holiday. [Bulletin]
05/19/04, Media Services Closed on Tuesday, May 25
Media Services will be closed all day Tuesday, May 25 to support an
all-day conference at Macalester. We apologize for any inconvenience.
[Bulletin, also 5/21]
05/14/04, Discuss E-Mail and Course Software
We will sponsor two open fora in the coming weeks and hope you will
join us to contribute your perspective and advice. The first is devoted
to e-mail and personal calendars and will be held from 1:30 to 2:30 PM
Wednesday, May 26, in the Weyerhaeuser Memorial Chapel Lounge.
The second forum focuses on course support software, by which we mean
functions such as those found in LESTER that permit sharing documents
and e-mail among class participants and teachers. This forum will be
held from 1:30 to 2:30 PM Wednesday, June 2, in the Weyerhaeuser
Memorial Chapel Lounge.
Please come and share your recommendations on how we should develop
these services! If you cannot attend, your comments are welcome by Joel
Clemmer at clemmer@macalester.edu. [Bulletin, also 5/17, 5/19]
05/14/04, Library Hours
Library hours through May 31 are as follows:
Friday, May 14: 8:00 AM - 4:30 PM
Saturday, May 15: 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Sunday, May 16: Closed
Monday - Thursday, May 17 - 20: 10:00 AM - 4:30 PM
Friday, May 21: 10:00 AM - 11:30 AM
May 22 - May 31: Closed
[Bulletin, also 5/17, 5/19]
05/14/04, Mulberry Shortcuts
For those of you who like keyboard shortcuts instead of always using the
mouse, here are some helpful ones for Mulberry. Macintosh users, use the
Command key instead of Control.
Control-A = Select all messages
Control-D = Delete message(s)
Control-E = Expunge message(s)
Control-I = Mailbox details (then click 'General' then 'Calculate' to
see how large the mailbox is)
Control-J = Forward message (we don't know why it is 'J' either)
Control-L = Check for new messages (make sure the Inbox is the active
mailbox when you do this one)
Control-N = Compose new message
Control-O = Open message
Control-R = Reply to message
Control-W = Close current message
Try some other letters and see what happens! [Bulletin, also 5/17, 5/19]
05/12/04, Tech Info for Graduating Seniors
Congratulations to the Class of 2004! Graduating seniors may have
questions about e-mail and network account terminations, e-mail
forwarding and other information technology-related items. Please see
our Web page on the subject, at http://www.macalester.edu/cit/seniors/. If you have questions, please call the Help Desk at
x6525. [Bulletin, also 5/14, 5/17]
05/10/04, Sasser Worm at Macalester
While Macalester's experience with the Sasser worm has been better than
that of many other colleges, it is a significant problem. If you believe
your computer is infected, you can contact the Help Desk for assistance,
but please keep in mind that the number of these incidents is slowing
our response time significantly. Below are steps you can take to remove
the virus on your own.
1. Turn off system restore. To do this, click the Start
button, then Right click on My Computer and select "Properties". In the
System Properties window, click on the "System Restore" tab. Check the
box to Turn off System Restore. Click on "Apply" at the bottom of the
System Properties window. Click on "OK." RESTART YOUR COMPUTER.
2. Run Symantec's Sasser Virus Removal Tool. Download
the utility to your computer by clicking on the following link:
http://securityresponse.symantec.com/avcenter/FxSasser.exe.
This will save the program to the location of your choice as
"FxSasser.exe." Doubleclick on the downloaded file and follow its
instructions to run. RESTART YOUR COMPUTER.
3. Download all critical Windows updates to your
computer. In Internet Explorer, click 'Tools' then 'Windows Update.'
Click on "Scan for updates" and follow the instructions to install all
critical updates. After the updates have been installed, RESTART YOUR
COMPUTER.
4. Repeat step 3 until Windows Update says there are no
critical updates to install.
5. Run the Sasser Virus Removal Tool again. Double
click on the "FxSasser.exe" file and follow the instructions once again.
6. Turn system restore back on. To do this, Right click
on My Computer and select "Properties". In the System Properties window
click on the "System Restore" tab. Uncheck the "Turn off System Restore"
box. Click on "Apply" at the bottom of the System Properties window.
Click on "OK." RESTART YOUR COMPUTER.
7. Set Windows to update automatically every day. Right
click on My Computer and select "Automatic Updates." Make sure the "Keep
My computer Up to Date..." box is checked. Under "Settings" click on
the "Automatically Download the Updates..." radio button. Use the
pull-down menus below to select "Every Day" and a time when your
computer is usually on. [Bulletin, also 5/12, 5/14; also Notification-L 5/3.]
05/10/04, Voicemail Box
Voicemail boxes for faculty members and language instructors (native
speakers) whose contracts expire May 31 (per Human Resources) will be
deleted on June 1. Please contact Telecommunications, x6566,
before that date if you will be remaining on campus
after June 1. Student voicemail boxes will be deleted starting May 17.
Students remaining on campus for the summer will retain their voicemail
boxes.
Please remember to change your voicemail greeting for the summer
alerting callers to your office hours, if any! To change your greeting,
access your voicemail box, then press 4, then 3 and follow the prompts.
Any phone or voicemail questions? Call Telecommunications at x6566. [Bulletin, also 5/12]
05/07/04, This Morning's Brief E-mail Interruption
This morning at about 10:15 AM, the e-mail server had to be restarted.
The server was back up within 10 minutes. Some processes on it (the
backup software) were causing the system to run extremely slowly,
causing the need for the reboot.
Normally, we like to notify people ahead of time of any service outages.
In instances like this, where the problem is currently affecting
everyone, it's better to just take care of the problem right away. The
alternative is to schedule a time hours later, causing everyone to have
to work with a debilitated service until the reboot. Sometimes just
getting it over with is the lesser of two evils. [Notification-L]
05/03/04, Sasser Virus Information
We have had many computers on campus turn up with the Sasser virus today
which is causing a lot of problems around the rest of the world as well.
If you have a Windows XP computer which has suddenly begun having
problems today, there is a good chance that you've been infected.
If you believe your computer is infected, you can contact the Help Desk
for assistance, but please keep in mind that the number of these
incidents is slowing our response time significantly. Below are steps
you can take to remove the virus on your own.
1. Turn off system restore. To do this, click the Start
button, then Right click on My Computer and select "Properties". In the
System Properties window, click on the "System Restore" tab. Check the
box to Turn off System Restore. Click on "Apply" at the bottom of the
System Properties window. Click on "OK." RESTART YOUR COMPUTER.
2. Run Symantec's Sasser Virus Removal Tool. Download
the utility to your computer by clicking on the following link:
http://securityresponse.symantec.com/avcenter/FxSasser.exe.
This will save the program to the location of your choice as
"FxSasser.exe." Doubleclick on the downloaded file and follow its
instructions to run. RESTART YOUR COMPUTER.
3. Download all critical Windows updates to your
computer. In Internet Explorer, click 'Tools' then 'Windows Update.'
Click on "Scan for updates" and follow the instructions to install all
critical updates. After the updates have been installed, RESTART YOUR
COMPUTER.
4. Repeat step 3 until Windows Update says there are no
critical updates to install.
5. Run the Sasser Virus Removal Tool again. Double
click on the "FxSasser.exe" file and follow the instructions once again.
6. Turn system restore back on. To do this, Right click
on My Computer and select "Properties". In the System Properties window
click on the "System Restore" tab. Uncheck the "Turn off System Restore"
box. Click on "Apply" at the bottom of the System Properties window.
Click on "OK." RESTART YOUR COMPUTER.
7. Set Windows to update automatically every day. Right
click on My Computer and select "Automatic Updates." Make sure the "Keep
My computer Up to Date..." box is checked. Under "Settings" click on
the "Automatically Download the Updates..." radio button. Use the
pull-down menus below to select "Every Day" and a time when your
computer is usually on. [Notification-L]
04/30/04, Mulberry Tip
Ever replied to an e-mail, and accidentally replied to everyone the
e-mail was sent to, instead of just the sender? Here's a Mulberry tip so
you can never embarrass yourself like this again! When clicking the
'Reply' button, hold down the Option key (Macintosh) OR
the Alt key (Windows), and Mulberry will automatically reply only to the
sender of the message, not to the whole list. [Bulletin, also 5/3, 5/5]
04/30/04, Faculty Members, Who's Minding the Store?
Many academic departments lose the services of their department
coordinators over the summer. Also, faculty (even chairs!) leave campus
for research trips, conferences and vacations. Students, newly-hired
faculty and other colleagues will try to call your department over the
summer, and it is very frustrating for them if their call simply
vanishes. Do them a favor by changing your telephone greeting to reflect
your absence.
Academic departments without coordinators should set extended absence
greetings on the main departmental phone number, noting summer hours (if
any) and perhaps giving the chair's number as an alternative. Individual
faculty members are encouraged to set extended absence voicemail
greetings saying when you expect to return. Clear instructions on how to
set such greetings, as well as assistance in doing so, may be obtained
by contacting Kelly Borke, telecommunications manager, at x6566. Thank
you! [Bulletin, also 5/3, 5/5]
04/28/04, Register for 10th Annual Classrooms
of the Future Conference
Macalester will host the 10th annual Classrooms of the Future Symposium
on Tuesday, May 25. Sponsored by the Associated Colleges of the Twin
Cities, the theme is "Learner-Centered Learning."
Classrooms of the Future is an opportunity for higher education
professionals to come together to talk about their practices for
teaching with technology.
Pre-conference hands-on workshops are offered the day before the regular
symposium. A registration fee is required to secure your seat. Workshops
include "Computer Literacy for Academic Professionals" presented by Ted
Fines (Macalester CIT).
To register for the symposium and/or the workshops, go to
http://www.associatedcolleges-tc.org/cotf.
For more information contact Brian Longley (Media Services), Jean
Beccone or Dave Collins (Library) or Pete Rogan (CIT). [Bulletin, also 4/30, 5/3]
04/26/04, A Telecomm Tip
When leaving a message for someone, please leave your direct phone
number and last name if the recipient is not familiar with you. You
would be surprised at how many calls to the switchboard ask for "Mike
(or any first name you'd like to insert), please." Thank you!! [Bulletin, also 4/28, 4/30, 5/3, 5/5]
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