Move-in II

It got busy fast -- one computer that couldn't seem to get any connection. Couldn't find the answer to that, but the student was pretty nice about it. Another had a bad cable, exacerbated by a ptoblem with Office that kept trying and failing to install something (I have no idea why it was set up like that).

The third was easy - the network card was turned off. It's part of Dell's setup that makes some sense, but is a pain for us.

Move-in Day I

Once again, it's move-in day.

Freshmen are arriving on campus as I type, and soon I'll be in the residence halls helping them get their computers connected.

We hire student helpers to handle most of the job -- passing out instructions, answering questions -- but there are always complications that we couldn't foresee.  So I'll be there to help figure out why people are having problems.

I'll be reporting throughout the day.

Software Graveyard -- MultiMate

One of the early PC word processors, MultiMate was a pretty solid success.

They did something very smart in their design of the software:  they made it look like the Wang word processing software that was popular on minicomputers of the time.  If you knew how to use Wang word processing, you could learn MultiMate in a few minutes. A template that explained the function keys was all you needed.

This allowed businesses to switch to PCs without having to spend a lot of time retraining their users.

Another feature of MultiMate was that it loaded one page in memory at a time.  This seems like an inconvenience (and it was -- if you accidentally pressed PgDown, you'd have to wait until the page displayed, then press PgUp and wait again), but it made sense.  In a time when few computers had hard drives and memory was limited to 256K (that K, not Meg), it allowed long documents to be created and edited.  You didn't have to worry if the 200-page document could fit into RAM -- it would.

Still, what made MultiMate popular also contributed to its demise. People who came to computers without experience with the Wang didn't care that they were similar; they wanted just to be able to use a word processor.  In addition, MultiMate was slow to add features and printer support that other word processors had as standard.

When Windows came along, MultiMate's parent company, Ashton-Tate, decided not to bother with it.  It seems to be gone completely (the only software I could found with that name is used to manage the mating of cows by ranchers).

Software Graveyard -- Remember these?

Silicon Valley Insider has listed some of Tech's forgotten brands --25 software and services that were very popular at the time, but which have been forgotten.

The list (with my comments):

1. 1. AltaVista -- THE search engine before Google came along. First online translator with Babelfish.
2. 2. Amiga -- Very popular home computer.
3. 3. Atari -- The top gaming system for a number of years.
4. 4. Broderbund -- Their software was everywhere. Where in the world are they now? Probably in the Print Shop.
5. 5. CDNow -- The amazon.com of CDs; now just amazon.
6. 6. Commodore -- VIC 20. 20 K memory! What power!
7. 7. Compuserve -- Information service; killed by AOL & the Internet.
8. 8. CueCat -- One of the stupidest ideas ever.
9. 9. Cyberian Outpost
10. 10. Divx
11. 11. Egghead Software -- Your mall computer store.
12. 12. eToys -- Amazon.com of toys. Or tried to be.
13. 13. Geocities -- Everyone's first web page.
14. 14. Inktomi -- Search engine software. Googled.
15. 15. Iomega -- Drive maker. Their Zip drive external drive was going to be the next big thing. Stock was big until hard drives became bigger and the bubble burst.
16. 16. Lotus -- The most popular business software of the 80s. Best selling title for years. Botched the changeover to Windows and let Excel take over.
17. 17. Lycos -- Nice search engine, but no match for others.
18. 18. Netscape -- First serious web browser. MSIE overwhelmed it; became irrelevant once Firefox was introduced.
19. 19. Packard Bell -- Cheap (and lousy) computers were sold everywhere but computer stores.
20. 20. Prodigy -- Online service from Sears with crude graphics; competed with Compuserve, but AOL killed it.
21. 21. Silicon Graphics
22. 22. Tandy -- TRS-80 was one of the first home computers
23. 23. Tomagatchi -- Virtual pets. An idea whose time had not come.
24. 24. U.S. Robotics -- Top modem maker. Remember dial-up? Built-in modems were the beginning of the end.
25. 25. WordPerfect -- The top word processor, replaced by Word (and still beloved). Bad marketing hurt them, as did the move to Windows.

I can add some others -- GEnie, WordStar (and Wordstar 2000), Multi-Mate, Lotus Symphony -- but these are names that will soon be forgotten.

Essential Freeware -- Defraggler

I'm not a big fan of defragmenting a hard drive. Back in the days of DOS, it was often a useful task to help improve performance, but now it isn't all that important to the average user.

Why do files get fragmented? Because of how files are saved. If you have an empty hard disk, your file gets saved in one section of it.  The next file gets saved in the section next to it.

Now, suppose you want to add to the first file. You can't save the data in the next section -- the new file is using it. So you save it in a section separate from the rest.

Generally this was not a problem, even in the DOS days.  But if a file was spread out in too many sections of the hard disk -- fairly common as files got bigger -- the computer could slow down as it picked up pieces of the file from all over instead of one location.

Defragmentation moves sections of files so that they are all together. In the DOS days, you could see better performance. Nowadays, it doesn't matter as much:  hard drives are faster.

Windows has always had a defragmentation tool, but it was difficult to use. You needed to shut down all programs (including your screen saver), since if a program accessed any part of the hard drive during the scan, it started all over from the beginning. Since it could take an hour to defragment, it was frustrating if that happened 45 minutes into the process.

And, this meant you couldn't use your computer. Defraging was an overnight process.

That's why I was impressed by Defraggler. It's defragmentation done right. It's not bothered if the computer accesses the hard drive during use; it merely ignores files that aren't free. It also gives you the option of defragmenting individual files or directories.

It was developed by the same people who created CCleaner, so it runs simply and easily.

This is finally a way to balance the difficulty of defragmentation with the need.

Update your Computer

Remember -- students must have all their updates installed before coming onto campus. This includes all Windows updates plus all updates for your antivirus.

To make sure you're updated, leave your computer on over night. New updates will be downloaded. You will see an icon in the system tray (near the clock) that alerts you to this.  Click on it to make sure you've installed the updates.

For a quicker way, go to http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com to download and install updates immediately.

You'll need to do the same thing for your antivirus software. There is usually an option to do an update, select it and install.

If you're not up-to-date when you come on campus, you'll have to do it then.  Better to be ready than to have to take the extra time to get on the Internet.

The Ultimate Steal has returned

Last year, Microsoft offered "The Ultimate Steal" for college students -- Microsoft Office 2007 Ultimate -- for only $59.95.

It was supposed to be only for a limited time and did end back in March. But evidently it was a success, since Microsoft is making the same offer this year.  If you go to the Ultimate Steal website, you can sign up for the offer.

Like last year, this is only for students with a .edu address, and you may have to provide proof that you're attending classes. But it is a big savings (a quick check shows this package can cost over $350).

Why so slow?

The slowness issue is one we're always having to deal with. People complain that their computer is slow to start up.  There are generally four types of slowdowns, and all have different solutions.

Slow to reach the login prompt.

The most common cause of this is that software is being installed. We generally release software and updates on Thursday. People are good about leaving their computers on, but sometimes a restart is required. You turn things off Friday, then when you restart on Monday, the software needs to be installed, so it takes several minutes to reach the prompt.

The best solution is to restart the computer when you go home instead of just logging off. It will install the software and be ready to go the next time you log in.

Slow to reach the desktop after logging in.

This is generally due to having a large profile.  It wouldn't hurt to use something like CCleaner to clean up unnecessary files.

Slow before you can start working.

This is usually due to software starting up.  If you have a lot, it can take some time before it's all ready.  One option is to use Startup Delayer to manage your start up.  Another is to uninstall any programs you don't need to run at startup. For instance, you can manually start AIM instead of doing it automatically on each startup.  The less running at start up the better.

Always slow.

This may be a virus or spyware problem.  It may be worthwhile to do a scan at Trend Micro's Housecall to see if there's anything causing trouble.

Another potential cause is lack of memory. Computers require more memory each year, and what was ample five years ago is barely enough to do anything today. If you notice your hard drive is constantly running, that's a good sign there's a memory problem. Buy new memory (or a new computer) and many of these problems will go away.

The S-L-O-W Computer

Many of you have been away for awhile.  Often, a long while. That's fine, but it can cause problems when you first start up your computer.

I&TS and Microsoft are always pushing out updates to Windows and to other software. If your computer has been shut off, these have not been installed. So when you log on, it may take a very long time before you can use the computer as the many updates are put onto your computer all at once.

Eventually, all updates will be added and things will run smoothly. However, it sometimes takes several logons to install everything (one update will require another one be installed first, for instance).

If you're patient, eventually everything will be set.  One way to reduce the issue is to leave your computer on (but not logged in) when you leave for the day. That will allow software to be installed overnight.

Sorry for the inconvenience, but it's necessary to keep your computer up-to-date.

Network services up and running

We've gotten network services up and running. 

Network Outage

Due to a power outage, the Siena network went down on Sunday night around 9:00 pm. Power has been restored, but it will take time for the servers to be up and running.

We are hoping to have everything fixed by midday Monday.

Sorry for the inconvenience.

Orientation

It's orientation here at Siena, with a couple of hundred students showing up to learn about what they need to learn to start learning.

It's a busy two weeks for I&TS. We give training sessions to each group -- three a day for a half hour each.  Now, a half hour is hardly enough time to learn how everything works, and, coupled with all the other information that students are absorbing these two days, we don't really expect people to remember everything. It really only boils down to three pieces of information:  their username, their password, and our website (http://www.siena.edu/technology).

And even that may be too much.  I got an email -- originally sent to another department of the college -- that a student couldn't log on to the system.  He had gotten his password wrong (this despite having to use it at least twice during the class), and evidently forgot the way it is created (despite the fact that it's mentioned many times). He didn't even go to the website (http://www.siena.edu/technology) to see if the answer is there, nor did he evidently check the handout that explains how the password was created.

<sigh>

Luckily, most students do better than this.

Portableapps

The days of the floppy disk are over. The flash drive (or thumb drive or memory stick or memory key -- everyone calls it by a different name) is by far a better and more efficient way of saving files. They hold far more data (you can get a Gig of memory -- the equivalent of nearly 600 floppies -- for under $15), they're safer and, they work like a hard drive in that software can run from them*.

That leads to a great little website: Portableapps.com. The site has users package applications that will run on a flash drive. What's the advantage? Well, if your web browser is on your flash drive, your bookmarks travel with you. You can run Instant Messaging from any computer, even if it's not installed. You can work on your files or view PDFs.

Some of the applications available on Portableapps include OpenOffice, Firefox, GIMP graphics editor, CLAM-AV antivirus and quite a few others. I wish there were more options available, but it's enough to get you started, and more are added each month.

You just download and install the Portableapps software onto your flash drive. Once that's set up, download the apps you want to use from the Portableapps website. Then, when you plug it in, you will be given the option of starting Portableapps. It puts an icon on your system tray that allows you to access whatever apps you have installed.

It's a nice idea, and as more software becomes available, will be even better.

*An iPod is basically just a big flash drive with audio output and special software.

Sandboxie

Here's another nice little utility that can make for much safer web browsing. Sandboxie runs programs in a sandbox. This means that the program you're running doesn't interact with your computer. Everything remains in the sandbox.

This is a nice add-on for your web browser. If you run it sandboxed, then any spyware or viruses that infect you via the browser will remain in the sandbox. They will not affect your computer and can be deleted along with the sandbox when you're done.

There are many potential uses. You won't have to fear Active-X controls, for instance: they can't do any damage to anything but the sandboxed program (and which is easily deleted if there is a problem).

If you do want to keep a file, Sandboxie lets you do this, but it always requires a confirmation on your part. Nothing will be put onto your computer without your knowledge.

An impressive little program.

Advanced WindowsCare

We need to use a lot of different tools to fix and optimize computers.  It's a pain to have to search for different software for different problems, and that's why Advanced WindowsCare is a nice option. It lets you perform several cleaning tasks with a single scan.

The software can do seven different scans:

• Spyware Removal. I haven't been able to give this a full test on an infected machine, but it does seem to find some of the more common types of spyware and gives you a chance to clean it. I wouldn't use it for this purpose alone, but it should be used when scanning.
• Security Defense. Much like Spyware Blaster, this software set registry keys so that spyware can't infect your computer. You'll get a very large number of "errors" the first time you scan, but that only means that you need to set it up to protect against spyware, not that you have it.
• Registry Fix. Like CCleaner, this repairs problems with your registry. Advanced WindowsCare automatically backs up the registry the first time you run it, so you don't have to worry about it messing things up.
• System Optimization. Optimizes the system for better performance.
• Startup Manage. Like msconfig, this lets you manage your startup items and turn off things you don't need -- and gives you a guide as to what is safe to turn off.
• Privacy Sweep. Cleans out your activity and web browsing records.
• Junk Files Clean. Deletes unneeded files from your profile.

There are also some additional bits of software that keeps you computer running better, including SmartRAM, which releases RAM so it can be reused when software stops running.

It's a very nice all-in-one tool for optimizing and repairing your computer.

Resnet in Canada

I recently returned from this year's Resnet Conference in Fredericton, NB. 

Resnet is a conference of college IT professionals, with special focus on student computing. It's a great place to network with other computer professionals and pick up ideas.

Fredericton is a beautiful city.  I spent my free time wandering in the city. It dates from the 18th century, when New Brunswick became part of British Canada and the main downtown is on the Saint John River with a beautiful park on the river side. In the center of town is the garrison district, which used to be the British garrison in colonial days.

I went on the free tour of the district. I was actually the only one on the tour, but there was the tour guide, her supervisor (it was her first tour), and a few of their friends. They showed me the city hall (which has burned down three times), the courthouse (formerly the teacher's school, and which burned down once), the old barracks (now an arts center), and everything else.  I also walked across an old railroad bridge that is now a hiking trail (part of the Trans Canada Trail), saw a the arboretum, and generally enjoyed the city.

But the conference was a good one.  I went to sessions on using Web 2.0 in teaching, on Facebook, how to use thin clients in labs, and other technical topics. The best was a "Birds of a Feather" session where we got together and swapped information about our favorite software.  I'll be testing out a few of these and writing about them in upcoming blogs.

The conference ended with a dinner and a concert. Actually, we were supposed to be seeing a public outdoor concert by a local Celtic music group, Bottoms Up, but there was a threat of rain, so they moved everything into the dining tent. After dinner, they opened things up so anyone could come in and listen to the band, or just listen from the lawn.  There was even a changing of the guard ceremony.

 

A great conference in a wonderful city.

Hoax

There is an Internet joke about the Gullibility Virus, that is based on the propensity for users to forward e-mails to everyone the know without questioning whether the message is legitimate.

Virus (and other) hoaxes are part of the Internet. They never die out completely, but mutate into new forms. The key identifier is that they tell you to send an e-mail to as many people as possible. This is often supposedly because of a terrible virus, or because of some benefit of payment. The funny thing is that these hoaxes appear every few years with slightly different wording, but when you read a new one it's perfectly obvious where it came from.

Today we got hit with one of these, an e-mail telling you that if you forward messages to everyone you know, Microsoft will track it and pay you $10,000. I would think that this would seem absurd on the face of it -- Microsoft is rich, but not that rich -- but we still had people forwarding it to people in their address book.

It would only take a moment to double check the story.  In this case the message said the offer was made on GoodMorningAmericaToday. Notwithstanding the fact that those are two different shows, you would have thought that it might be mentioned on the Good Morning America or Today Show website.  And, with the amount of money promised, it should have shown up on all news websites:  CNN, Yahoo, Fox News, etc. How much trouble would it be to check this out?

Unfortunately, too many people don't follow this elementary precaution and do as the message says and forward it to as many people as possible (always without stripping out all addresses in the body of the message).

My rule of thumb on this is simple:  never believe a forwarded message.  And the odds the message is true are inversely proportional to the number of total recipients times the number of times "FWD" appears in the subject line.

In any case, never forward these messages. And if you are tempted, double check any of the claims made in the messages (if, say, CNN supposedly announced a new, dangerous virus, then double check the CNN web page).

It's not that hard. And wouldn't it be better not to appear so gullible?

What's in a Filename?

A question came up today from a Macintosh user, asking why her professor couldn't read an Office 2008 file she sent. 

We installed the Microsoft Office Conversion Pack back in the fall, so the professor's computer should have been able to read the file. But, after a couple of questions, I discovered the issue wasn't the file format itself, but rather the name of the file.

Windows computers use file extensions to identify a file. This dates back from the early DOS days, when you were restricted to the 8.3 format:  eight character names (maximum -- it could be less) with a three-character extension, separated by a dot. Thus, you'd name a file "file.txt." The various extensions indicated the type of file: .wks for Lotus, .dbf for dBase, .ws for Wordstar, etc. (Word Perfect didn't automatically attach an extension).

When Windows was developed, Microsoft set up a scheme where a file was identified by its extension.  If it matched one of the programs installed on your computer, you could double click on the file and open it.

Macintosh took a different route. The files were read by the system and identified so they could open with a click.

I'll admit I'm partial to the Windows system. It allows you to do things like change an extension from .csv (which is read in Excel) to .txt (which is read by a text editor) and then tweak the data. This is useful when the output of a database needs to be fixed.

In any case, Macintosh users are not used to adding extensions (they aren't done automatically like in Windows).  If you're sending a file to a PC user, just give it an extension:  .doc for Word, .xls for Excel, etc.  Your recipient will be able to open it without making changes to the filename.

The Hidden Messages

Siena had an e-mail storage quota to reduce storage space and, occasionally, you may get a message saying your over quota. This can be fixed by deleting messages and then emptying the Deleted Messages folder.

But, sometimes, it doesn't look like you have too many messages. Your inbox is small, and you've already emptied the deleted items.

There's another place to check:  the Sent Items folder. Outlook keeps a copy of every message you send. After awhile, this can take up a lot of space.  If you delete these messages and then empty the Recycle Bin, you'll be fine.

Starting Over

Ever notice that your computer sometimes takes extra time until you see the login prompt?

That's often due to the fact that I&TS has pushed out new software. Sometimes, that requires that the installation be completed after a restart, and, for some installations, we don't force a restart.

It seems especially long because you aren't given any indication of what's happening. Normally when you install software, a screen gives you some idea of its progress, as well as indicating what is happening. For these programs, there is just a vague message.

But this is easily fixed. When you go home at night, shut down and restart your computer. You don't have to be there during the restart, and will see the login prompt the next morning.

After this, though, the computer should start much more quickly.