This site is being developed as a way to communicate technology information within the department.
Earth & Atmospheric Sciences
550 Stadium Mall Drive
Purdue University
West Lafayette, IN 47907
Phone: 765.494.3258
Fax: 765.496.1210
EAS Technology Newsletter - Fall 2007
In this issue:
ITaP makes changes to instructional labs
Call for software requests
Linux machines receive upgrade
Hypocenter backup policy
WebCT update
Matlab update available
Software available for personal purchase
SSN scan project update
Requesting support and getting department IT informationITaP makes changes to instructional labs
Over the summer, the ITaP Teaching and Learning Technologies (TLT) group has made many changes to labs. They are beginning a process of phasing out floppy drives on lab machines. All classroom sites will have a floppy drive through the end of this year, after that, some will be replaced with new computers that do not have floppy drives. More information about this summer's changes, as well as the current software listing, can be found at the links below:
http://www.itap.purdue.edu/tlt/announcements/Fall2007.cfm
Call for software requests
Any special software needs for EAS or ITaP Windows computers should be sent to eas-itap@purdue as soon as possible. The ITaP Teaching and Learning Technologies group has updated many of the software packages on Lab machines. Software currently installed on TLT machines (including the 4th floor Windows computers) can be found here at http://www.itap.purdue.edu/tlt/announcements/Fall2007.cfm
Linux machines receive upgrade
Over the course of the summer, the EAS IT staff have worked to upgrade the operating systems on all departmental Linux machines. There were several driving factors for this project, the first being security. The old operating system is no longer being updated by Red Hat, which means no security patches are available for it. The second factor was homogeneity. Previously, there were 3 different versions of Linux in use; now there is only one. This provides a simpler environment, allowing users to go from machine to machine and have the same experience. It also makes the environment simpler to support, allowing us to provide a higher level of service. Lastly, some software updates requested by EAS users required library files that were not available on the older OS. As a result, we could not keep the research software updated to meet faculty needs. The project is now nearly complete. Thanks to the faculty and students who helped test the new OS to ensure applications worked properly.
Hypocenter backup policy
Over the summer, we have received some questions regarding data handling in EAS. A clarification of the backup policy on hypocenter has been posted to our FAQ section. Please note that hypocenter is the only machine that receives regular backups. Storing data locally (for example, on your C: drive) is strongly discouraged. If you have questions about storing data on hypocenter, please contact eas-itap@purdue.edu. For laptop users who don't always have access to hypocenter, we strongly recommend keeping regular copies of your important files on another computer or an external drive. We would be happy to discuss your backup strategy with you.
WebCT update
The WebCT Vista software has been upgraded to version 4, available August 1. One item of note is that WebCT Vista 4 does not currently support Office 2007 documents. ITaP has contacted the vendor for a patch, but it is not known when that will be available. Information on the upgrade can be found at http://www.itap.purdue.edu/tlt/Vista4announcement.pdf. Instructors will need to pass the FERPA quiz in order to have access to WebCT Vista. The quiz and other FERPA information can be found at https://www2.itap.purdue.edu/registrar/training/ferpa/content.cfm
Matlab update available
The Matlab software package has been updated on EAS-maintained Linux and Solaris hosts. Windows and Mac users who would like the latest version (R2007a, also called Matlab 7.4) should contact eas-itap@purdue.edu.
Software available for personal purchase
As always, the Boiler CopyMaker in the Purdue Memorial Union has software available for personal purchase at a discounted price. Titles offered include: Microsoft Windows Vista, Microsoft Office, and Adobe Creative Suite. For more information on available software, call 496-3888 or go to https://www.itap.purdue.edu/shopping/online/software/
SSN scan project update
The EAS IT staff are continuing to work on the project mandated by Dean Vitter to scan all University-owned computers for Social Security Numbers. At this point, most of the actively-used machines have been scanned. This fall, we will work on scanning or sending to surplus the machines that sit unused in offices and labs. As a reminder, any documents containing Social Security Numbers must be placed on a secure server (e.g. hypocenter). State law makes unauthorized disclosure of SSN data a felony offense.
Requesting support and getting department IT information
To request computer suppport, the preferred method is to send an e-mail to eas-itap@purdue.edu. You may also call the ITaP Customer Service Center at 44000. When you submit your request, please give as much detail as possible (machine name, what you are attempting to do, any error messages you receive, etc) so that we may quickly assign your task to the appropriate staff member. Please do not e-mail individual staff members to initiate support requets. The EAS IT staff maintains an open door policy, and you are always welcome to come discuss technology issues with us. However, when you have an involved request, we prefer that you send it in e-mail so that it can be properly tracked. This allows us to provide a high level of service to the department.
General IT information can be found on the departmental website at http://www.purdue.edu/eas/resources/it. The answers to frequently asked questions are given, as well as general information about our computing environment. Important technology updates will be posted in the EAS Newsletter (or in a TECHNOLOGY UPDATE e-mail, if necessary) and to the EAS IT website.
