You may have discovered that Windows 8 Beta (a.k.a. Consumer Preview) is available.  Please be advised that the ProDesk WILL NOT support Windows 8 until further notice.  Here are some reasons why:

According to Microsoft’s website, Windows 8 can cause the following issues:

• Your PC could crash and you could lose important files.
• Some software won’t install or work correctly, including antivirus or security programs.
• Printers, video cards, or other hardware may not work.
• You may have difficulty accessing corporate or home networks.  (We have not yet found a way to connect a Windows 8 system to our wireless network)

Most importantly, once you install Windows 8, you CANNOT revert back to your previous version of Windows without wiping your computer and reinstalling your operating system from your original discs.

Please be sure to spread the word.

I’m writing to pass along some important information, including some planned outages impacting computing services next week, March 6-10, 2012.

Magill Library Network Upgrade on Thursday, March 9 from 7am until 1pm

There will be intermittent network outages in Magill library starting at 7am as we upgrade the network electronics and connections to the rest of the college network.  We expect networking at 2nd Tier InfoHub computers to be restored around 10:30am and full service to be restored around 1pm.

Kaspersky Anti-Virus Has Replaced McAfee Anti-Virus

Last September IITS started transitioning from McAfee anti-virus to Kaspersky anti-virus.  Old McAfee installations will stop updating virus definitions next week.  You’ll know you’re running Kaspersky if you see the program’s “K” icon on your Windows task bar or among the icons on the upper right corner of your Mac.

On a PC:

On a Mac:

If you believe you are still running McAfee on a personal or college-owned computer, please visit http://antivirus.haverford.edu for instructions on making the switch.    If you need a hand, as always, please contact ProDesk@haverford.edu.

ProDesk Break-Time Hours in Effect

The ProDesk will be open from Monday-Friday 8:30am to 4:30pm.  As usual, the ProDesk is closed Wed and Fri 12-1:30pm.

Systems Upgrades on Monday, March 6th starting at 11pm until Tuesday, March 7th at 6:00am.

The college website will be read-only during this period.  Editing the website during this period will not be possible.  Mail sent to Haverford’s mailing lists may experience delays in delivery during this period. During this time the following services and sites will be unavailable:

webpublish.haverford.edu
storage.haverford.edu
andthewinneris.haverford.edu
dhayton.haverford.edu
duchemin.haverford.edu
dvar.haverford.edu
jsapp.haverford.edu
iits.haverford.edu
news2.haverford.edu
philosophy.haverford.edu
sc.haverford.edu

Systems upgrades on Tuesday, March 7 from 3pm until 9pm

Software supporting parts of these websites will be upgraded.  Although we don’t expect outages, should we encounter a problem there may be outages during the maintenance period.  Should you find any problems with any of these services following the outage window, please notify ProDesk@haverford.edu as soon as possible.

andthewinneris.haverford.edu
academics.haverford.edu
amongfriends.haverford.edu
aws.haverford.edu
biology.haverford.edu
campaign.haverford.edu
cdoapps.haverford.edu
dhayton.haverford.edu
duchemin.haverford.edu
dvar.haverford.edu
iits.haverford.edu
iris.haverford.edu
jsapp.haverford.edu
library.haverford.edu (www.haverford.edu/library will not be impacted)
livingthehiplife.haverford.edu
news.haverford.edu
news2.haverford.edu
philosophy.haverford.edu
review.haverford.edu
sc.haverford.edu
togolitteraire.haverford.edu
worldcup.haverford.edu

If you have any questions please contact us at ProDesk@haverford.edu

Thanks,

Steve

Haverford’s Privacy Policy is Different

At the center of Google’s changes is the principle of web search history tracking, which Google is clarifying and making more active use of.  The privacy practices that Haverford’s Google Apps users are subject to is very different than the typical Google user is subject to.  Here’s why:

• Google does not advertise to our users.  The new Google privacy policy allows Google to track your web searches, and then use that information to target advertising to you.  For example, if you do a Google Search on amusement parks you may, later, see advertising from Wally’s Wild Water World and Theme Park.  Some people consider this type of advertising invasive.  Haverford’s GoogleApps service does not have advertising.
• We have Web History Tracking turned off.  Google accomplishes this by tracking the history of your web searches.  When you’re logged into Haverford’s GoogleApps service your web history is not tracked because we have turned it off centrally.

Check it Out

To test web search history tracking:

1. Visit https://www.google.com/dashboard.
2. Click Settings
3. Choose Google Account Settings
4. At the bottom of the page click Go to Web History.  You’ll see a notice that says that this feature is turned off.

What About my Personal Account?

Good question.  Remember, anyone with a personal GMail account is subject to the new privacy policy for that account.  Log into your personal GMail account and follow the steps above to see what web history is being tracked.

So What Do I Do?

There are a few things you can do to help protect your privacy in general.  Here’s what we suggest:

• Use separate browsers.  One way to help keep things clean is to separate the web browser you use for your personal GMail account from the browser you use for web searches and activity.  For example, if you use Chrome to access GMail, use Firefox to search the web.
• Log out when you’re done.  Google says they stop tracking once you’ve logged out of personal GMail.  Log out when you’re done and close your browser to complete the logoff process.
• Make use of private browsing sessions.  Firefox and Chrome both offer the option to use the web in a more private mode.  In Chrome it’s called “Incognito.”  In Firefox it’s called “Private Browsing.”  Use the links  to learn more about these features, how they work and how to use them.  Although these features don’t prevent the web servers on the other end from remembering what you do on their sites, it does prevent the software on your computer from recording any of this information locally on your computer.

Steve Fabiani

As of February 2012 with 10.7.3, the following problems and workarounds still exist with for folks who are using Lion:

• Several common applications used by staff, faculty and students on campus cannot run.  Current versions must be installed.  These include:
• Filemaker 6
• Filemaker 8
• Office 2004 (Many documents created with Office 2004 and saved in the default format will not open in later versions of Office for Mac)
• Centralized backup using Retrospect will no longer work.  Users should use storage.haverford.edu to back up important files.
• iLife updates are no longer provided as part of the OS updates.  Users can create an Apple ID and use the App Store for updates to iLife.
• Users cannot connect to webpublish.haverford.edu using SMB://.  Users should use FTP:// instead.
• Certificates for the Haverford-Secure wireless network do not install properly.  Change the Certificates option in KeyChain Preferences to OFF.
• Java is not included by default with Lion.  Please visit the Apple website to download Java.

Although these issues are significant for some on campus, they are not earth shattering.  Effective with the publishing of this post, IITS will support the use of MacOS 10.7.3 Lion and future service releases of 10.7.

For Macs purchased prior to August 2011

Users may upgrade at their own expense or at the expense of their department by downloading the new 10.7 from the Mac App Store.  IITS does not pay for intermediate software upgrades to MacOS computers.  We will continue to support the OS that shipped with your computer through the computer’s four-year life cycle.

For Macs purchased between August 1, 2011 and February 15, 2012

Macs purchased after the beginning of August 2011 shipped with Lion, so no upgrade is technically necessary.  We can simply re-image your computer with Lion and, in doing so, put the OS it shipped with back on.  Contact the IITS ProDesk for assistance.

For Macs purchased after February 15, 2012

When your computer is ordered please specify which image you would like us to apply (OS 10.6.8 or OS 10.7.3)

I’m writing to let you know about some upcoming changes that Google is making that may impact some of you.

The Changes

On Wednesday morning, September 21, 2011 Google will be changing the underlying technology that HaverApps uses.  For the most part users won’t notice much difference in HaverApps mail, calendar, contacts, documents, or sites.  The big change relates to the other services Google offers.

Today there are 72 different publicly available web-based services that use Google for logging on separate from our Google Apps for Education suite of services.  You’ve heard of the most common ones: Blogger, Maps, Finance, Picasa Web Albums, Voice and YouTube – but there are many more.

For those services, listed here, we cannot have any “conflicting accounts.”  Simply put, your @haverford.edu email address can’t be the email address you use to log in to those services.

What to Expect

There are two things that will stand out to you in this transition.  Starting Wednesday, September 21:

• Users will not be able to set up new Google services or log in to existing Google services with your @haverford.edu account. You can check the list of google services that will be impacted by looking at this list.
• Users will not be able to log in to HaverApps and another Google Service on the list in the same browser at the same time.

What Should I Do

Please check the list.

• If you don’t use any of these services, no problem.
• If you use some of these services but log on with a personal Gmail or other email account, no problem.
• If you use any of these services regularly and you log in to that service with your @haverford.edu email address, it’s important that you change the e-mail address to a personal account before Wednesday, September 21.

We’ll be communicating a bit more about this in the time leading up to the change and we’ll be posting more details as they become available.

Please visit http://iits.haverford.edu/services/wireless-dormnet/game-console-registration/ to learn more and get started.

We’re testing out a new system that will allow you to register your game console so you can use it on the Haverford network.  This message is being posted on the website during the testing phase, which we’re hoping to run through Tuesday, September 6, 2011.

Want to help us test?  Here are the rules:

1.  This system is being TESTED.  That means that we are going to let it run over the weekend and gather your feedback.  Use it with the understanding that it’s not guaranteed to work for everyone.  Testing will help us find the bugs and work it out.

2.  Once you try it, hook up your games and play.  If the network works, great.  Tell us.  If the network doesn’t work, tell us that too.  Just be nice about it

Either way, if you try this you have to promise to give us feedback.  E-mail prodesk@haverford.edu with your experience.

Here’s the URL to get started.

http://iits.haverford.edu/services/wireless-dormnet/game-console-registration/

Thanks,

-Steve

What’s New?

All public computers are part of a new windows domain called Quaker.  A windows domain, explained simply, is a collection of computers that can work together as a group, be managed centrally and be monitored for small problems before they become major headaches.  This domain will eventually become the sole windows domain across the entire college.

For Haverford Students one of the biggest changes you’ll notice right away is that you can’t log in using a generic username and password.  The old practice of logging in with “student,” is gone.

Another thing you’ll notice is that the first time you log in to the Quaker domain, you need to set up a password.  Your account and temporary password are already created.  Your user name is the same as your Haverford username.  John Smith would be jsmith.

Your starting password is the five or six digit number below your picture on your Haverford College ID.  You can use this password at any computer that’s connected to the Quaker domain.  Log in once with it then you’ll need to change it.  From then on, use the new password you created to log in at any public lab or library workstation.

Finally – and we know this is something we need to work towards making better – when you log on to any given computer the first time in a semester it takes a while.  Sometimes it takes as long as 2 minutes and 15 seconds.  This happens because the first time you log on to a computer, a profile is created in your name.  Setting up that profile involves lots of computer gymnastics – from creating folders just for you to connecting that computer to printers nearby so you can print.

Two minutes to log on?!  Not acceptable.

Correct.  It’s not.  We’re working as quickly as possible to make this better.  Our first goal is to get the login time down to a minute or less, and then keep chipping away at it.  We appreciate your patience, but please know that we don’t take your time for granted.

Note that any subsequent logins by a given user at the same computer are very quick – 5-10 seconds typically – but that first step is a doozy and we know it.

So Why The Changes?

We are building the Quaker domain for a number of reasons.  Some were alluded to above – computers on a domain are easier to manage remotely.  We can install and remove software, troubleshoot problems and make system changes from the IITS control center without having to visit every computer individually across campus.  This will improve our ability to take good care of the computers you rely on so heavily.

Another reason for the change is that in a public computing environment we have a responsibility to protect the college’s electronic resources and the copyrights of Haverford Community members and others.  To be clear, we do not actively monitor what you do or how you use our public workstations.  However  if someone comes along and then proceeds to share copyrighted materials using our equipment the College invariably gets complaints.  If that person logs in to a computer with a generic user name and password (like the old “student” login) we have no way of figuring out who did it.  Being able to trace that activity back to the responsible user protects the entire community. User specific logins allow us to do exactly that.

Finally, we’re moving toward a time when quota-based printing will become a reality.  There’s no clear answer yet on exactly when or how that will work, but we do know that the quantity of printing will eventually be metered in some way.  User specific logins are the first of many infrastructure changes necessary to make  a quota-based system work.

Have a Thought to Share?

I’m always interested in hearing what folks have to say about our services.  Your feelings on our performance is one of the many factors on my mind as we implement new or changed services.  Let me know what you think.  E-mail me at sfabiani [at] haverford.edu.  And, as always, thanks.

The current 600Mb connection, which we share evenly with Bryn Mawr and Swarthmore colleges, will be increased to a 1.3 gigabit connection.  With growing network dependencies this upgrade will improve the traffic throughput and provide an enhanced, more robust Internet experience.

Because we maintain multiple connections to the Internet we don’t anticipate a complete outage while this work is performed.  However you may experience brief periods where there are intermittent outages or when Internet access seems slower than usual during the upgrade.

IITS is recommending that members of the community not download or install Lion quite yet, as testing remains in progress on the compatibility of the new OS with commonly used software packages.

We’ve already determined that several packages, including older versions of FileMaker (8 and earlier), Adobe Creative Suite (CS2 and earlier) and the Cisco VPN client will not work with OS X Lion.  Also rendered unusable are Microsoft Office 2004 and earlier, and Quicken/Quicken Essentials.

When Apple moved from the PowerPC architecture to the current Intel-based architecture they built into the operating system an “interpreter” that allowed software that was written for PowerPC to continue to work on the new Intel hardware.  The PowerPC interpreter has been removed in Lion. That renders any software written for PowerPC useless on computers with the new OS.

An excellent analysis of the interpreter elimination in Lion is available from RetroTechs blog.

Although workarounds can likely be found for any problems that present from 10.7, the overall computing environment is better off not jumping headfirst into the new OS until we’ve had a chance to examine and document the impact.