Message From Our New Vice President for Information Technology

I am pleased to announce the merger of Miami Computing and Information Services and Telecommunications into a department with a new name, Information Technology Services (IT Services). As we work to tie the direction of technology services on campus more closely to Miami’s academic mission and strategic direction, there will be a number of changes in the technology organization. The merger and name change represent first steps in this process.

Protect Your Computer! Miami's Network in Crisis from Infected Windows Computers

Have you taken steps to protect your computer from attack? If not, your computer and your access to Miami’s network are at risk.

New CRITICAL Microsoft Windows and Office vulnerabilities are announced weekly. And, the worms and viruses that attack computers by exploiting these vulnerabilities have been quick to follow this year. Since July 2003, we’ve seen Blaster, Welchia and Gaobot worms infecting computers on Miami’s network at a dramatic rate. The Sept. 15, 2003 edition of ComputerWorld forecasts that attacks exploiting new Windows flaws will appear shortly.

Copyright Violations and Prosecution—Information for Miami University

Miami University is committed to complying with copyright laws. There is a broad spectrum of laws regarding copyrighted music, motion pictures, print and electronic materials. Students should realize that significant personal expense might be incurred by those who are violating copyright law if they are subpoenaed and have to hire an attorney.

Reid Christenberry, Vice President for Information Technology

A big story through media all over the country has been concerned with the imminent prosecution of copyright violations. The Miami Student of September 9 featured an article by Lindsay Whitehurst entitled “Miami warns file-sharers.” It summarized the current situation quite well:

New Wireless Telephone Plan for Miami Faculty, Staff and Students

The Office of Telecommunications and the Network Services Enterprise are offering a wireless telephone plan to Miami University faculty/staff and students for their personal use through Cincinnati Bell. The plan offers service for a $15 monthly fee with a one time activation fee of $25, which includes a standard wireless phone. Additional phone models are available for purchase. The service is offered on a monthly basis (no contract is required) and charges will be billed through payroll deduction for faculty/staff or the Bursar Office for students.

Microsoft Software Contract Extension

Miami University and fourteen other Ohio colleges in the IUC (Inter-University Council) signed an extension to our current Microsoft software contract extending our current agreement through June 30, 2004. The contract extension agreement includes all of our current desktop licenses for Office, Publisher, OS upgrades, FrontPage and Visual Studio.

Student computing at Miami University

For the past two years IT Services has asked approximately 10,000 students (both on and off campus) to tell us how they use computers at Miami. Our goal has been to assess trends and support the students’ needs.

IT Services Support Center Asks "How are we doing?"

Each spring, the Support Center distributes a survey with questions related to awareness, use, and satisfaction with Support Center services to a random sample of faculty, staff and students. The survey specifically addresses the main “front door” Support Center services: the Support Desk, the Knowledge Base, and the Training Modules.

Top Picks from the Knowledge Base

Want to know what the hot technology questions/topics have been since school started? Knowledge Base traffic provides a great clue.

Following is a list of the most frequently viewed Knowledge Base cases in order of number of hits so far this academic year.

Update on Computer-Based Training

October will see new computer-based training courses for Miami University. The SmartForce interface will be replaced by a new one called SkillPort. You will see many of the same courses, as the new company is actually an integration of two companies—SmartForce and SkillSoft. you will also see several improvements worth waiting for.

Sarcom No Longer Repairing HP Pavilion and Compaq Presario Systems

As of August 1, 2003, Commercial Authorized Service Providers, i.e. Sarcom and similar service providers, will no longer be authorized to repair HP Pavilion and Compaq Presarion systems. These systems are consumer products and will need to be covered by the manufacturer warranty and will need to be repaired by Consumer Authorized providers such as Comp USA and Best Buy.

Orientation for New Staff and Faculty (WOW)

WOW means so much more than Workplace Orientation Welcome

New Pay-for-Print and Copier Contract

As of August 1, 2003, the Oxford and Hamilton campuses have been participating under a new contract for public copying and library/computer lab printing. IKON, Inc., was chosen as the vendor for this service.

Another Resource for New Employees

A Web resource, designed to acclimate new employees to university-specific software, launched on August 1st. To reduce the anxiety often associated with being a new employee, this site promotes self-directed learning by providing employees with the resources to manage their own learning such as the Miami Knowledge Base, the IT Services Support Desk, and the IT Services Training pages.

Gartner Research

Examples of new Gartner research articles are available from Miami's web site to all Miami students, faculty, and staff, and are listed below. You will be prompted to login using your UniqueID and MUnet password.

Gartner research will be of particular interest to any student, faculty, or staff member learning, teaching or using technology. Areas of focus for Gartner research include E-Learning, Business Management of IT, Security and Privacy, Higher Education, and Emerging Trends and Technology. The web site is updated every Friday with new research articles.