INFORMATION SERVICES
January 2006
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Announcements from the Bulletin, Today, Notification-L

01/31/06, Hosting an Event?
If you are hosting an event on campus that will involve outside guests, please notify Colleen Nelson, our switchboard operator, with details. Helpful information includes: what, where, when, who (contact info) and any ticket info. Please call x6000 or e-mail nelsoncm@macalester.edu. This would be a great help to her, your participants and you! [Bulletin, also 2/3]

01/27/06, CIT Changes its Name to ITS
Computing and Information Technology (CIT) has transformed itself once again and is now officially named Information Technology Services (ITS). The hiring process has begun for a new associate vice president for ITS, who will report to Vice President David Wheaton in the Administration and Finance line. We are in the process of updating the name on Web pages, databases, directories and documentation. The main phone number, x6138, and the ITS (formerly Computing) Help Desk phone number, x6525, will remain the same. More announcements on the restructuring, the name change and other new changes in ITS will follow. [Bulletin, also 1/31]

01/17/06, Firewall Installation / Internet Outage
Tonight at 8:00 PM our new firewall will be installed. We expect the installation process to take up to two hours. During that time, the Internet connection may be interrupted for brief periods (minutes at a time). We apologize for the disruption, but it can't be avoided for installation of the firewall. No new access restrictions will be added at this time.

A firewall is a device which protects a network from malicious users or malicious computers. This link (http://tinyurl.com/7cbkp gives several definitions of what a firewall is and does. For us, it will protect the new ERP system, and all other systems on the network. [Notification-L]

01/13/06, ITS Offices Closed January 17
All Information Technology Services staff will be off-campus for our annual strategic planning retreat on Tuesday, January 17. Only the central switchboard will be open for business. Be assured that appropriate staff will be carrying emergency pagers and will respond promptly in the event of unplanned outages. [Bulletin, also 1/17]

01/10/06, Farewell Reception for Marty Raymond: January 18
Marty Raymond, CIT, will be leaving Macalester after 10 years of service to the College. Please join us as we gather to thank Marty for her work and to send her off in style! A farewell reception will be held at 3:00 PM Wednesday, January 18, in the 4th Floor Lounge of Old Main. All are invited.

Marty joined our staff in 1995, as a hardware technician. She later moved over to Desktop Services, working on PC problems and coordinating deliveries and moves of computer equipment. Many people on campus know Marty as the calming presence who has helped ease the transition from using a familiar (but aging) computer into using a new (but intimidating) one. Some may also have heard Marty, who sang with the Macalester Festival Chorale for many years in the alto section.

Marty is looking forward to a very different career - she will be working in a greenhouse. Her new job is also much closer to her home in Elk River. While she may miss Macalester, she will not miss two-hour bus rides (each way). [Bulletin, also 1/13, 1/17]

01/10/06, Protect Your PC: Run Windows Update
Microsoft has recently released a patch for a very serious security flaw in its Windows operating system. You should run Windows Update to install this patch if you use either Microsoft Windows XP or Windows 2000 - here on campus and at home. To run Windows Update, launch the Internet Explorer browser, then click on 'Tools' in the menu bar and select Windows Update. On the Windows Update page, click on the 'Express' button, and follow the prompts to run the update. Call our Help Desk at x6525 if you have questions. [Bulletin, also 1/13]

01/06/06, Two Announcements: E-Mail Downtime, Windows Patch

1. E-mail down-time scheduled

The e-mail server needs to be rebooted after the problems yesterday. It will be down tonight, Friday January 6, between 9:00 PM and 11:00 PM for the reboot.

2. Please run Windows Update

A patch was released today for a very serious security flaw in Microsoft Windows. We recommend that you run Windows Update to install the patch if you run Microsoft Windows XP or 2000. To run Windows Update, launch Internet Explorer, then click on Tools in the menu bar and select Windows Update. On the Windows Update page, click on the Express button, and follow the prompts to run the update. Call the Help Desk at x6525 if you have questions. [Notification-L]

01/06/06, Telecomm Tip for the Holidays
Please change your voicemail greeting to correspond with your time away. It's a great courtesy to your callers. To change your greeting, access your voicemail box, then press 4, then 3, then 2 and follow the prompts. For further information, feel free to call Telecommunications at x6566. [Bulletin, also 12/20/05]

01/03/06, OCS Evening Maintenance
Our OCS consultants will be bringing the e-mail server down this evening, January 3, for some maintenance. The outage will begin at 7:00 PM and could last up until midnight. We apologize for the short notice. We decided to do this after experiencing a couple of minor problems today - which we do not want to become major problems tomorrow. [Notification-L]

01/03/06, Moodle Unavailable Due to Updates, Wednesday January 4
Moodle will be offline on Wednesday, January 4th so that CIT staff can update the server and create classes for the upcoming semester. Last semester's courses will be moved to http://moodlearchive.macalester.edu. If you have any questions, please contact Barron Koralesky.

On a related note, don't forget to register for the Moodle workshop on January 11th at 10:00 AM! [Notification-L]

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