Technology

Help Desk checking every computer on campus

Filed under Technology Announcements
Posted by Technology, February 21, 2006
View all posts for February 2006

Between now and Commencement, the Help Desk will visit every computer on campus either for this year's upgrade cycle, or to update software and double check that all computers are ready for WebCT Vista and Kronos. (WebCT Vista is the new version of WebCT that all of Simmons will be using by next academic year, and Kronos is the new system for tracking sick and vacation days, etc.)

Your Technology liaison will be notified when your department is scheduled to be checked or upgraded.

How long will checks take?
The checks will take between 15 minutes and an hour, depending on how many updates need to be applied.

Who needs to be there?
As usual, for upgrades, the computer user must be present. For checks, the user does not need to be present, but Help Desk staff will need access to every area where there is a computer. Help Desk staff will work with departmental Technology liaisons for advice about how to schedule as many simultaneous checks as possible. The more we can do at once, the better able we will be to finish the project on time, and the more likely we can do all of the software upgrades we'd like to do.

Which computers will be affected?
In general, all Dell GX240s and GX260s will be upgraded to GX620s, and all other Windows computers will be checked; all Macintosh computers purchased in FY03 will be upgraded, and all other Macs will checked. Some administrative departments will be upgraded and checked after Commencement.

Request for Cooperation
We know everyone is very busy, and know that taking 15 minutes to an hour of anyone's time away from her/his computer is a real problem. We hope, however, that people will be able to appreciate the overall importance of this project to Simmons, and will be able to be flexible about allowing the Help Desk to check the machine during the time we have scheduled to be in your department.

Technical Details (if you're interested)

Which computers will be affected?
In general, all Dell GX240s and GX260s will be upgraded to GX620s, and all other Windows computers will be checked; all Macintosh computers purchased in FY03 will be upgraded, and all other Macs will checked. Some administrative departments will be upgraded and checked after Commencement.

What is the Help Desk updating?
Our first priority is to update operating systems (Win XP service pack 2, Mac OS X.2.8, X.3.8) ; install the version of Java that WebCT Vista and Kronos require; make browser configuration changes required by WebCT Vista; and install Meeting Maker. We hope by running as many checks and updates simultaneously as possible that we can also install Adobe Acrobat Standard, and updates to media players (such as QuickTime).

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