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Welcome to the first issue of MSPH WIRED, your quarterly Mailman School IT & Web Community connection!
IT services and support at the School and University are provided by a widespread network of IT teams across campus. Here is a quick guide to what the School's IT team handles, vs. what the University provides and how to get support:
- E-mail: Our e-mail is provided by the University and actually runs through e-mail servers downtown. If you are experiencing problems with your e-mail, you can visit: http://www.columbia.edu/
email_computing/index.html to learn if an outage or other issue may be impacting you.
To get assistance call 5-Help.
- Desktop/Laptop Troubleshooting: Desktop support at the School is handled by both CUIT and the School's IT/Web team depending on which department you are with.
Here is who you need to contact to get support:
- Most School Business Units and Departments: Simply call 5-Help. They will route your call to the appropriate tech group for support.
- INCHOIR and Health Policy and Management: Please e-mail hpm@inchoir.org to report your computer problem.
- "Share"/File Server Access: The School provides the file server and CUIT maintains it. If you have an issue logging into your share account or need to set up a new share account, call 5-Help and an MSPH IT/Web tech will be assigned to help you.
- Internet Access: The University provides our Internet access. If there is a disruption in service, you will find an alert posted at: http://www.columbia.edu/
email_computing/index.html.
- Server Support: The School does not provide support for servers. Should you need server support, please contact 5-Help. Someone from the CUIT Server Group will contact you.
- Computer/Printer Setup (Including IP requests): New setups are handled by the School. Again, simply call 5-Help to ensure that your call is routed to the appropriate tech group for support.
Microsoft has released its new Vista operating system, which is an upgrade/replacement for Windows XP. The software is available as of right now, but it will not be supported by the University or the School until summer. Here's why:
- Many popular software applications are not (yet) Vista compatible, including PeopleSoft (our HR software), some versions of Symantec Anti-Virus, Google Desktop, and iTunes--just to name a few. Stay tuned!
- In addition to some flashy new visual effects, Microsoft has totally reworked the way it tracks and polices its software licenses. As a result, CUIT is changing the way it provides software licenses to faculty, staff and students in order to be able to provide support. It plans to launch its new schema this summer.
- Providing you with adequate support for new technologies, such as Vista, requires desktop teams to be fully trained in troubleshooting the software well in advance of its University adoption. To this end, our desktop staff will be attending intensive Vista training this Spring, and will be ready and able to serve as your Vista experts come Summer.
Our recommendation? Don't jump to upgrade to Vista just yet--wait until the bugs have been worked out of the software and the University and the School can support you. Windows XP is still available on all new
computer models by request, so stick with XP for now--you can always upgrade to Vista later at no additional cost.
Interested in learning more? Visit our Web site for a Vista feature guide. (Guide provided courtesy of Tech Republic.) |
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As many of you know, the School provides a file server, aka "the share," on which faculty and staff can store and exchange files. While we will be moving the School onto a new, improved file server this summer (stay tuned), for now, if you have space on our "share," please help us keep the server online and running at a reasonable speed by being considerate with your space usage. You can do this by:
- Limiting the number of images and graphics you store on your share and deleting them or burning them onto a CD when they are no longer in active use.
- Storing any music, movies, or video files on your local machine, not on the share. These file types are huge memory hogs, and can take up so much space that they seriously compromise server performance for everyone.
- Keeping your department share folders up-to-date. Burn files and folders from old users onto CDs for storage, and request the removal of old user accounts for staff and faculty who are no longer here by calling 5-Help.
To learn more about obtaining and managing your "MSPH Share Account" contact 5-Help.
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An out-of-date computer is easy prey for new, sophisticated hack attacks. So, if your computer is running an older, unsupported operating system, your data and the University network is at risk.
Operating systems that have been "retired" include: Windows NT 4, Windows 95, Windows 98, or Mac OS 7, 8, or 9.This software is no longer being maintained by the publisher, and as a result can't be supported by the University or the School.
Unfortunately, if you are running a retired operating system and your computer becomes infected with a virus, the only remedy is for CUIT Network Security to cut-off your network access--which no one wants to see happen. So please, follow best practices and keep your computer up to date--the guidelines are for your protection.
To find out more about your options for upgrading your system's operating software, please call 5-Help and someone will be happy to discuss it with you.
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You can press your "windows key" and "D" together to minimize all your open application windows and bare your desktop. Repeat the command to reopen your windows.
After a long search, the MSPH Desktop team has filled its open desktop position with the hire of Edwin Ramos. Ed joins us from Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, a small publishing company where he provided desktop support for PC and Mac users.
Ed brings a strong customer focus and excellent troubleshooting ability, so we feel very lucky to have him! Those of you who have difficulty remembering names have an additional reason to welcome him--he is the third Ed to join our team. With 3 Eds in a department of 6, the odds are on your side.
During the School year, the Mailman School Events Bulletin goes out every other week. The next one is Friday, March 24th. As a general rule, calendar administrators should plan to have all events approved and posted by close of business on the Thursday before launch to ensure that they are included with the bulletin.
Greg Billig won our team's internal "Name that Newsletter" competition with his submission of "MSPH Wired." We like it, and hope you do, too! Thanks, Greg!
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