Ubuntu: Netbook

Posted on by Michael

My Dell Mini 9 was having problems with the browser, updates and was still using the pre-built OS from Dell.
Time to upgrade.
Which version of Ubuntu should I try?
I only have an 8GB solid-state drive …

Ubuntu.com … downloads….
Wait! Ubuntu Netbook ?? Cute, cute and OK. Let’s give it a whirl…

So you download the .ISO (it’s only 700 MB…)
You use a third-party app to set it up on a flash drive.
You install, and voila!

OK, so it’s not QUITE as fast as I’d hoped… for a NetBook edition. It still came with a bunch of stuff I don’t want (Evolution email, social networking, etc…) but I scanned a few forums to figure out how to get rid of those.
The hardest thing was getting my wireless to work. The drivers did not install, but did detect “from a third-party”, but the 18 times I tried to install them they just gave an error. So I looked up the error, and tried and tried and tried and cleared and refreshed and all kinds of stuff.
About 15 minutes later after my 7th reboot, they magically install, so all is well there…

The left-bar allows you to “pin” apps (or remove them) to it. It’s similar to the Mac/Win7 docking.

Utilities were a bit challenging to find at first, but that went OK. I got skype installed and tested my webcam and mic. Boot time is about 18seconds (from button to desktop). Mostly that’s solid state, but I love it.

The button in the upper-left hand corner is odd. It takes you to an app-grouping screen that seems useful, but most of the time just confuses me…

I gotta play with it more, but so far I’m pretty happy. Performance seems to be slightly better after removing the extra apps and turning off the “startup programs”.

I wish I had more time to really push it, hook it up to my 28″ HDMI monitor, etc…
That will come with time. At this point Skype, “office”, terminal and wireless all work.

Everbridge Parents

Posted on by Michael

Currently, we have 539 “parents” registered in our Everbridge system.
Our plan is to contact each of them and have them confirm that they are, in fact, a parent of a student who is still attending WOU.
I’ve exported all of their contact info – during the next few weeks I hope to setup a process to contact each of them via email and confirm their status.
“Parents” who did not register an email address will have to be called via phone, but that is a very small minority.

Doing this will not only remove some extra contacts, but will help to focus contacts to those still associated with WOU.

wouTV v1.0 beta

Posted on by Michael

The time draweth nigh.

woutv is nearly complete.

We have an issue with the featured videos, some formatting to copy and enabling “click-throughs” ( the ability for folks to post video on other pages, that brings them to wouTV and plays it here).

Danielle has done an outstanding job on the graphics and look-n-feel. Eventually Ron will have to port it to PHP, but that will enable Danielle to have full control over the page in the future.

It’s a great project and Bill is very excited about it!

Minimum Wage

Posted on by Michael

This is just a short update.
Student workers who used to make $8.40, got bumped to $8.50/hr effective 12/12/10.

Of course, I wrote the algorithm, tested it, ran it and was happy. Until I realized that I should have said anyone making LESS THAN $8.50/hr…
And I had closed my script.
And I was cranky.
So I re-wrote it (shorter this time), and fixed the 2! (count them, 2) folks who made more than $8.40, but less than $8.50.

Sheesh.

Moving ye’ olde Web Server

Posted on by Michael

So Ron and I moved Oracle’s web server from one box to another. Ross had done all the prep work, and Ron and I would have done it in no time, but we ran into some issues.

1. You can’t use ports on Unix 2. Even if you are root, a very specific file has to be owned by root (not oracle) for it to even start.

Anyway, with setup from Ross, and help/configs from Ron we got it rolling.
Overall it was a very smooth transition. I’m not sure I’ve heard a thing about it from the SRD.

On a side note, the most complicated issue I expected was the Oracle Wallet (and it’s Certs), but it turns out that you can simply copy the folder over an POOF! it works ….
That’s pretty slick and saved us a lot of time.

WOU tv

Posted on by Michael

Today we had our second WOU tv meeting.
WOU tv will be a centralized repository for all the campus videos.
Channels will be created to group content and allow anyone to see video from multiples areas.

Faculty will be able to release video to a set of students (securely, dynamically based on enrollment).

This is a good first step in taking advantage of a medium that students connect with, and faculty/staff are willing to work with.

WOU iPhone App

Posted on by Michael

A few months ago I worked with PR to help create an iPhone app for WOU.
The App will contain campus maps, the online directory, etc…

I learned a little about the resolution required by iPhone browser pages and CSS.

PR expects the app to be released by January 1

sigma

Posted on by Michael

Friends …
Romans …

FACULTY!

Thy desperate cries have not fallen upon deaf ears. The technology titans of old hath descendeth from the White Tower to bring fire (sigma) to faculty across the campus. Your online course evaluations hath sigma.
So let it be written, so let it be done.

But seriously, Wanda told us that Faculty wanted the sigma (standard deviation) the on responses for the SIR II course evaluations.

OK

So it’s done. Christina did the math that Richard gave us and it even makes sense.

We hope you like it!

New job role…

Posted on by Michael

I have become the new unofficial “spec”-er of software for the campus at large.

Each time a department wants to buy a piece of software for internal use, the task ends up coming to me to help.

So I worked with the Health & Wellness Center.
I started working with DEP.
Soon we’ll meet with Special Education.

It’s an interesting process. I’m not really getting anything “done”, but I am helping to make sure that technology-related questions are getting asked, and that we choose the optimal software to meet needs and integrate with existing technology.

Networking

Posted on by Michael

Paul and I went to Bellevue a few weeks ago for training. We have been bolstering our network skills.

The Cisco training was offered by Ascolta, who has been a great partner.

One of our goals is the desire to be a little more independent. Additional training will offer new ideas and open up new efficiencies.

At the training we learned (among many other things) about a technology for Cisco switches that would allow us to prevent rogue DHCP servers in the residence halls.

As we continue to put our new skills into practice, I expect our network and systems to be better maintained, monitored and secured.