Current Edition: September 2009

Library Computing Upgraded

During the summer, there were some minor upgrades made to both the Information Commons and lab computers. These include the latest version of SPSS Statistics software, Acrobat Reader, Flash Player, and FireFox. For compatibility reasons, Internet Explorer 8 was not installed. Also, a new anti-virus software was installed, Symantec Total Protection, and newer scripts were added to keep our machines safe and clean. Take note that items saved in the “Temporary Drive” are allowed to remain there for two days. After that, they are deleted automatically.

2009, the Year of the Little “v”

Virtualization is the act of taking computing hardware and moving it to software so that multiple hardware devices can be merged. This buzz word, ‘virtualization’, seems to be everywhere in computing recently, as many of the largest computing companies (VMWare, Microsoft, Citrix and Red Had Linux) are competing to win a space in the Virtualization market. In step with Apple’s use of the little “i” to capture us through introspection, this latest computing craze has kept Systems Administrators busy by renaming all of our standard computing terms with a leading “v”. VMWare’s latest offering, vSphere, renames all of our hardware to be software with that little ‘v’, so now a switch is renamed a vSwitch, a NIC is a vNIC, and so on.

This summer the library initiated its own service virtualization project that promises to save energy, system refresh dollars and minimize future downtime. The project has collapsed or ‘virtualized’ several library servers onto a three machine virtualization cluster using VMWare’s Foundation software. The first floor Information Commons and lab has been virtualized, and staff areas will soon follow suit, resulting in a significant reduction in systems hardware. Eventually, through desktop virtualization, students may be able to connect to and use software from very small ‘thin clients’, or even from their own computers.

Group Study Additions

From your favorite library that brought you dual monitor group study stations, get set for even more collaboration space as Nelson Poynter Library adds even more  group computing areas.  The newest of these is “Poynter’s Corner”, a student use presentation training area that is available for students to practice presentations and group projects.  Located in the southwest  corner of the first floor, this space has an incredible view and incredible technology.  An oversized LCD flat panel TV gives a huge picture for a whole room to see, and rolling, reconfigurable furniture allows users to redesign the room for maximum effect.  Poynter’s Corner also comes equipped with a large dry-erase board, making it perfect to practice any group student work. The space may be reserved for student group work by contacting the Reference Desk, otherwise students may use this space on a first-come, first-served basis. The space may occasionally be reserved for other student-centered events throughout the year by contacting the Library Dean’s office.

Another addition that was implemented between Summer and Fall semesters is the addition of large flat panel displays for the first floor study rooms. The three study rooms have been equipped with displays that are attached to the wall and allow laptops to easily connect for both sound and video.

QuickTips

Free USB Drives

New USB flashdrives were added to our collection of USB media available for checkout. The new drives are double the capacity of the older ones, at a hefty 4GB.

Opening Email Attachments

Before opening an email attachment, please make sure to save it to the temporary drive first.  Once it's saved to this drive, you will have no trouble opening the attachment.  It is tempting to simply hit “open” at the dialog box, but avoid this since it only saves the item temporarily to a browser cache and can be lost.