Summer Films….or Video Streaming?

As we get more in to summer, many of you may be wondering how to spend some of your newfound freedom for the next few weeks. One way I enjoy spending my downtime is watching videos online. Now while videos of cats playing the piano are fun, I like to watch shows with a little more to them. When you look online for legitimate places to watch video online, you might feel like your choices are limited. Fret not however, as we at the UW IT Help Desk, have some suggestions for where to go to watch video online when you’ve got some downtime. While these options sometimes cost a few bucks, the abundance of video makes it worth it.

Netflix (Free 1 month trial, $7.99 for unlimited streaming a month)

Netflix is the top dog in the game when it comes to streaming video.  Netflix has been around since 1997 and they took over the industry pretty quickly. Netflix only costs $7.99 and nets you unlimited streaming. The biggest attraction to Netflix is the large library of video they have. Name a television show or movie that has come out in the last 30 years and more often than not, Netflix has the video you are looking for. Netflix is also expanding its content base by expanding its line of original content. The biggest hit to come out of this is the return of Arrested Development and more is expected to come!

If you are looking primarily for movies or older television show episodes, Netflix is the best option for you.

Hulu (Free, Hulu Plus – $7.99 for unlimited streaming a month)

Hulu is a joint venture of NBC, FOX, and ABC. The biggest draw to Hulu is that they offer episodes of television shows the day after they air. These shows are free to watch up to a certain time that varies video to video. You might be wondering though, why would I want to pay for Hulu Plus? Paying for Hulu Plus nets you access to the back episodes of television shows both in the current season but also in previous seasons. For some television shows, the difference between Hulu Plus and Netflix is non-existent – for instance, both have ABC’s Grey’s Anatomy and NBC’s The Office, some shows however aren’t so lucky. If you want to watch an episode from season two of FOX’s House, M.D., you’ll need to have a subscription to Hulu Plus as the show isn’t available for streaming on Netflix. One of my favorite functions on Hulu is the ability to create a queue of video so that you watch shows, they can advance to a video you have in your queue instead of some random video.

Amazon Instant Video (Students – $39, everyone else – $79 for unlimited streaming for one year)

Amazon Instant Video is a service Amazon.com rolled out several months ago for use with their Amazon Prime subscription service. While Amazon Prime’s biggest draw is its unlimited free two-day shipping, they continually added perks to this service and Amazon Instant Video is one of the best ones they’ve released yet. By having a Prime subscription, you have access to over 100,000 television shows and movies. The content is a little more varied but they do have several popular movies you’ll be pressed to find on other services like Forrest Gump and Mrs. Doubtfire.

Pedro Rampolla Freshman at UW – Political Science from Cheyenne, WY

Hopefully, with the services we discussed today, you’ll be able to find something to kick back, relax, and watch and enjoy that downtime you’ve got before we see you back in the Fall!

I’m Bored! What to do with my SmartPhone.

Ever get tired of reading a week old Sports Illustrated at the Dentist, or Dr.’s Office, or contemplate jumping out of a window after a long day at the DMV waiting to get your license renewed?

Everyone I am sure has had to deal with some sort of wait time that they did not feel necessary to their day, but yet had to deal with in order to get what they needed.  If you have a smartphone these are the great times to actually be quite productive.

Sometimes while I am waiting I actually remote into my office computer from my iPhone.  Depending on my connection, I can literally work my desktop right from my phone and have pretty full capability.  Now I do have to deal with the screen size and touch screen for the mouse, but if I want run an application, or catch up on some Help Desk tickets, I easily can.

To do so there are a couple of things that need done.  First, at the University of Wyoming you will need the Junos Pulse App.  This is a free download from the Apple app store and the Android Market.  This app allows you to get through the UW firewall and access your machine.  Basically you open the app, tell it to authenticate through the UW VPN and enter your username and password.

Once connected through the app, you can then remote into your machine.   Now there are free Remote Desktop apps available but the functionality isn’t that good.  We recommend putting some money towards this app if you are going to use your phone or tablet to remote in and get an app called Jump.  Jump comes in at $19.99 at the app store, but is well worth it.  Your phone will look just like your desktop and your touch screen mouse is easy to maneuver.  All this, once set up, literally takes seconds to be in front of your desktop from wherever you are.

For those of you readers a very easy and quick means to magazines is on the iPhone.  Built into iOs5 is the News Stand app.  You can quickly hop out to the app store and purchase or download free magazines to your newstand and read the mag, cover to cover, from your mobile device.  If not an iPhone or iPad lover, there is Google Currents.  An app that works on iPhone and Android that allows you to choose free publications from ABCNews, the Bleacher Report, etc, all very current and up to date information.  A great time waster for your pocket!

Of course you can always watch video content on YouTube, or from the network television stations from their apps.  You can go to the Market or App Store and just search on ABC, NBC, CBS and all their apps are there.  You can watch last nights Modern Family while waiting.  One recommendation however, any content that needs sound, make sure you bring your headphones.  No one likes listening to other peoples stuff, so keep it quiet, but don’t feel bad for doing it.  A great way to stay on top of your favorite shows!

Of course always download your Facebook and Twitter apps.  Probably the easiest way to stay in touch with people you know, and in the Twitter case, people you want to know.  Always have your Social media there, just in case you catch something really funny that you can post to your friends.

Alas, if all else fails, there is always Angry Birds.   A very addictive but pleasing game where you catapult birds through stone and wood at pigs.  Brilliant premise, right?  Download the game for free, get addicted and never remote into your machine at work again.  If you go straight to the Angry Birds that’s kind of how it goes.

Its Summertime, Why Work in the Office?

Its Summertime why work in the office?            

Once again, it’s that time of year when Laramie begins to take on some subtle changes—the town’s a little quieter as students have left, and it has started to get warmer as summer shows its first signs. Unfortunately, there are few things as unsatisfying as having to be at the office on a perfect summer day. Fortunately, the University of Wyoming’s Information Technology offers a certain program to try to ease this particular office boredom. The Microsoft Work-at-Home program allows benefitted faculty and staff to purchase media for their personal computer in order to work outside of the office. During the months of summer, that could mean anywhere from the patio of Night Heron Coffeehouse in downtown Laramie to as far as a sandy beach on an island in the Bahamas.

The four different products we offer include:

• Windows 7 Professional 32-bit
• Windows 7 Professional 64-bit

 

{Windows 7 Professional includes all the features of Windows 7 Premium, in addition to: the ability to participate in a windows server domain, remote desktop server, location aware printing, encrypting file system, presentation mode, software restriction policies and Windows XP mode. For those of you who don’t “speak IT”, Windows 7 Professional is aimed at enthusiasts.}

 

• Office Professional 2010
• Office 2011 for Mac

 

{Office Professional 2010 is a little different from previous versions in the way it is more “role-based”. In other words, it has features designed for employees in positions ranging from research and development professionals, to sales people and human resources. Beyond that, Office 2010 is also geared towards social networking. Users can connect to and receive updates from Facebook, LinkedIn, MySpace and Windows Live Messenger, inside of Microsoft Outlook. Office 2011 is the comparable version created for Mac computers.}

One of the greatest parts about the Work-at-Home program is how inexpensive it is. Both versions of Windows 7 go for $25.00, while both versions of Office go for $37.00. Because this media usually runs for as much as three to four times the price, there’s really no reason not to take advantage of this deal. Media can be purchased at right at the front desk of the IT building, but be sure to bring your check book with you. Yes, that’s right, as the most tech-saavy departments on campus we only accept the most primitive form of payment. We are open 7:30-4:30, Monday-Friday, and would love to give you the chance to take advantage of Laramie’s beautiful summer afternoons!

For more information or to check eligibility, follow this link: http://www.uwyo.edu/infotech/services/software/wah/default.asp

Maggie Mullen
Casper, WY

Who Wants to do Some Grading?

Test Scoring Goes to the Next Level at the University of Wyoming!

The Sekonic SR-3500 scanner, the most advanced OMR scanner available today. Powerful, automated data capture processing speed at up to 3500 sheets per hour will saves our users hours of data entry time. Data entry goes from days to minutes and accuracy is increased. A Sekonic optical mark reader is fast, reliable and cost effective … and this model’s outstanding features, sleek styling, snap open feed path, and advanced technical features set it apart.

Basic specs for the systems we use:

http://www.appersonedu.com/scanners/sekoniccomparison.aspx

Standard Features

• Automatic feed hopper holds up to 500 sheets
• Main output stacker holds 500 sheets; optional select stacker holds 150 sheets
• Processing speed up to 3,500 documents per hour
• Continuous cleaning, self-calibrating read head reduces maintenance
• Snap open feed path design allows easy access
• Built in self-test insures the scanner is operating normally
• 16 level darkest mark discrimination insures mark validity and data integrity
• Automatic skew detection and elimination
• Control panel with 40 character LCD display
• Multiple sheet detection and prevention
• Emulates other common scanners so that your existing software will work unchanged
• Advanced software enables accurate reading of marks, including X’s and checkmarks as well as marked bubbles.

We are currently using the Remark Classic OMR version 4 software with the Sekonic OMR scanners at two work stations.  The work stations are running on Dell Optiplex 755’s with Windows 7 Ent. 32 bit on one, and Windows 7 Ent. 64 bit on the other.

The software is very intuitive and easy to use for developing scan templates, and scanning with one answer key.  Users that have multiple keys for the same exam will face challenges in initiating the reporting  features as well as reduced number of available reports.

http://www.gravic.com/remark/classicomr/

Most commonly used answer sheets: (Blue) Five Response Generic, Scantron 4521, and

(Green) Ten Response Scantron 6703.

Situated nicely in our Information Technology Center, we provide an excellent productive environment for scoring exams with the Sekonic SR-3500’s.

Matthew Grosinger
Computer Support Specialist, Senior
From Laramie, WY

Keeping Your Head Above the Cloud.

With the recent release of Google Drive, Google’s cloud storage solution – you might be wondering if it’s something worth looking at changing to or maybe you want to know more about what’s out there!

Have no fear though, we at the UW IT Help Desk are here to clear some things up on cloud storage and tell you all about what’s available.

Google Drive

Google Drive, the newest cloud storage option, gives users 5 GBs of storage for starters. The system is built to work in conjunction with Google Docs, Google’s document editing program that’s also hooked into every Android phone and tablet. Google has tossed in some neat functionality that doesn’t exist on any of the other services yet. For instance, Google Drive includes an option to turn on Optical Character Recognition text scanning, which means that when you upload images to your Google Drive, Google will scan the images for text and make them searchable.

Look for more functionality to come out on the Google Drive software and keep your eyes posted for our review of the Google Drive platform on its own later on.

Apple iCloud

iCloud is Apple’s offering and also gives 5 GBs of storage to work with. While it works on both PCs and Macs, its biggest functionality comes from its use on the Apple iOS system. The iCloud keeps backups of your iPhone and iPad and stores it in the cloud so that the data is safe if you ever have to reset your phone. It also automatically backs up your photos that you might take on your device, which is nice as you never have to worry about losing a photo again. Additionally, you get access to the Find My iPhone app which allows you to find your phone if you ever lose it from another phone or via the web.

The service is best for folks who have an iPhone or iPad and use a Mac, as this integration doesn’t require much work on the user’s end and it just works.

Windows SkyDrive

SkyDrive offers 7 GBs to new users, although old users had previously had access to 25 GBs of storage. SkyDrive provides the most storage to any customer of the services at the free level. SkyDrive has some neat features that can’t quite be found with any of the other solutions. One of these neat features is the ability to have notes synchronized that are done with the OneNote program. You can also save directly to the cloud from many Microsoft Office programs. While the integration still lacks in its seamlessness, there is speculation that in the next release of Microsoft Office, the SkyDrive functionality will be baked in right from the start and will store all of your documents in the cloud and on your computer. Right now though, if you don’t have access to a computer, you can use Microsoft’s online document editor which works just as well as its desktop counterpart does and again, it’s totally free.

If you have a Windows Phone, you also gain some of the functionality that Apple users get with the iCloud functionality. Photos taken on these phones also get uploaded right into the cloud so you never have to worry about a lost photo again. The service doesn’t quite back your phone up in to the cloud yet, but it’s believed to be a feature that’s in the works.

Dropbox

Dropbox is a service that many of us at the Help Desk have written about and that many of us adore. Dropbox only provides 2 GB to its customers initially, but it gives you the opportunity to expand your space via referrals. This referral system enables many to get the space on their account up to a more respectable 6 or 7 GBs. With that said, Dropbox was one of the first players to the scene and has set the bar for everyone else to touch. Dropbox includes an easy to use web interface, but also the best seamless uploading system available. You simply install the program on your computer and it’ll download everything from your Dropbox into that folder. As you delete and save things, it’ll distribute that throughout all of the devices you may have hooked in. This is especially useful if you have several computers as the synchronized functionality is instant, so if you upload a file to your Dropbox in Coe, by the time you get home, it’ll already be saved on to your computer.

Regardless of what you decide to use, it’s comforting to know there are ways to back up your important documents and photos. While nothing is infallible, it helps to know you’re keeping yourself protected at every turn so that if you ever have a data loss, you don’t have to worry about rewriting that paper!

Pedro Rampolla Freshman at UW - Political Science from Cheyenne, WY

Press 1, Press 2…Why Can’t I Just talk to a Person!

“Please listen closely as some of our menu items have currently changed.”  Great.  How many times have you made a call for customer service and

Seriously....press what?

immediately think it is going to be an hour before I get to a person.  Right?

In doing some investigation, which I must say was quite entertaining, I called help desks at Universities across the country just to see what their help desk prompting was like.   It really got me thinking about what places are trying to do with their prompts.  Then it got me thinking how many customers really know why they are being prompted?  Customer Service wise, this is an interesting thought and I want to explain it from both sides and just maybe try to find middle ground between the customer, who really is the important one, and the Help Center who ultimately is trying to get faster more efficient service from the prompting.

One of the main reasons I was doing this “investigation of prank calling” was to see if I could trend what a majority of our Higher Education institutions are doing with their prompting.  Is there a common theme to the information they are getting.  I will tell you, most institutions want to know who you are first.  An example:  ”If you are a student or alumnus,  press 1, if you are a faculty or staff member, press 2, for all other customers, press 3.”  This really makes sense.  I can tell you that in our Help Desk, if a student calls we almost always know what their questions are going to be about.  Students have very specific IT needs that are very different from faculty and staff.  Faculty and Staff have their own needs and they are different students.

When a call comes into the Help Desk queue these institutions, know immediately whether they are talking to a student or a faculty member and can prepare for the questions before even saying “Hello!”

What’s more is when taking the calls, we may have a Help Desk worker who is very familiar with Faculty members problems and would be able to help with the problem much quicker and make for a better customer experience than a different worker who doesn’t have that skill set.  Based on the choice made by the customer the Help Desk can route that call to the better skilled agent and make for a better experience.  Makes sense, right?

Other places I could tell built their prompting based on their most common calls.  ”For outlook problems, press 1.  For password changes, press 2.  For all other computer problems press 3.”  I can tell you that at our University that is most of our calls as well.  If you know you are going to receive a percentage of outlook calls and password changes, I am sure their thought is lets eliminate those in the prompting so we can give our most experienced workers everything else.  Again, makes sense.

What I am trying to get at, is we in customer service know that hearing prompts and having to make choices to get to a person is not a positive customer service experience.   We know from our own experience as customers the annoyance that comes along with having to make these choices.  However, at the same time, once past the prompts, if we have it set up properly (again, why I am investigating prompting is to get it right) then once you do get to a person, it is hopefully the person that can help you, the customer, the most.

But, at the same time, listen close to the prompts, there is almost always a means to get straight to a person.  ”To speak to an agent now, press #.”

Brett Williams, Help Desk Manager From Laramie, WY

Can’t Crack My Password!

Can’t Crack My Password!

Don't steal my Password!

My password is secure.  Only my closest friends have it and no one else knows my dog’s name (its Snoopy, he’s a Beagle)!

Passwords though sometimes inconvenient are absolutely the best way to protect your computing experience in everything you do.  From logging into your computer at work, or in a lab, to purchasing items online, checking your Facebook and Twitter accounts, banking online, your email, everything!  Yet, we as a society still want it to be easy to remember and aren’t as concerned about not giving it out.

There are phishing attempts sent to you inbox daily, and they typically say you are going to lose something like your email, or your account access, if you don’t click the magic link and tell them what your password is.  No company, institution, agency, association, school, etc. will ever ask you for your password.  Ever!  That is yours and they know it is yours and yours alone.  They may verify your information another way and reset your password, but by no means will they ever ask you to give it to them online or through an email.  Keep this in mind when you receive email saying you are going to lose something, unless….sent by the IT Help People, they do not do this…delete!  It’s SPAM. It’s Phishing…it’s trying to get your account.

On a deeper level, especially at the University of Wyoming, if someone gets your password, they like to login to our network and find accounts to SPAM or Phish at based on your password.  They login from China, Taiwan, New Mexico, the works, and actively intrude on the UW network.  The UWIT Security team sees this traffic and they shut down your account.  You now cannot access anything at UW including your email and have no idea why, well, turns out wasn’t hard to guess your Dog’s name was snoopy, since your Facebook profile has several pictures of a Beagle.  This has become a big enough issue for the integrity and security of the UW network that password requirements will become the norm.  That’s why the UWIT help desk is here to help.

The easiest way to protect yourself from the scenario above is to be smart about your password.  Look, we all like to have a nice easy password to remember, and make out lives easier since we are constantly logging into something.  There are some basic requirements for a strong password.  Here are the main goals you want to achieve:

1. Make your password 8 characters or larger and try to stay less than 20.
   1. Instead of Snoopy, lets go mydogsnoopy.
   2. Your password needs to contain some symbols and numbers, not just alphabetic letters.
      1. Use these 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 – _ + ~ ! % ^ * ] [ | ?
      2. Instead of mydogsnoopy, try m!dogsn00py
      3. You can change of the alpha characters from lower case to upper case to make the password even stronger, but again try and keep it easy to remember.  Usually the start of one o the words make this easier to remember.
         1. M!DogSn00py
         2. m!Dogsn00py
         3. m!dogSn00py
         4. If possible it is beneficial to keep your special characters from the start and end of your password.  Some software applications use special characters in their code and will drop those characters from your password when you login which keeps you from getting in.  Some of the characters, some applications use that should not be in passwords are below.
            1. \ $ @ { } : = & “ ) ( , < > ;
            2. Now every time you change your password, you should make it something different than used in the past.  Believe it or not this sometimes actually gets easier the more complicated your password is.  Passwords will be stored as a history and when you change it cannot be like your previous password.  So, if your previous password was complex, you can still change it to something familiar without being flagged as similar.
               1. Sn0opyD0Gm!ne
               2. Sn009D0gg!d0g

Your password should not be given to anyone.  Ever!  Keep it, it’s yours and do not give away your online access to anyone.  If you want multiple passwords for multiple systems try and keep them similar so you always can choose between 2 or 3 passwords that you consistently use.  And do not respond to emails saying you need to authorize your account, or update your account, especially by giving them your password.

Brett Williams, Help Desk Manager From Laramie, WY