Windows 7

Posted on by Michael

Well i finally broke down and installed Windows 7 Pro on a computer at home.
And I was told that Office 2007 really is meant for 7, so I popped that on too.

Final Answer?
“Oooo! It’s Shiny!” Meh… but seriously, what isn’t now-a-days?
It’s an OS with minimal new functionality, slightly harder to navigate, requiring more resources and not compatible with a lot of older hardware?
So? So – you have to buy new hardware just to run it properly!
Lame. But that’s not new – each new Windows OS has always “encouraged” you to run it on new hardware … with more RAM … and a better video card … and a bigger hard-drive. And the game goes on.

Well I pounded this poor thing to death (had the processor maxed out for like 20+ hours – it’s older hardware) and it’s still ticking. 7 (and this box) seem to be putting up with the abuse and multitasking as best it can.

Office 2007 was as unappealing as I heard. Completely re-organized interface with round-n-shiny stuff-n-stuff that really just makes older users complain. Again, I didn’t see any new functionality AND the files I save are in a format that older office’s can’t see until I install the compatibility pack.

Well, at least it can still game … if I have new hardware … which I might eventually.

I think I’ll join the Linux monkeys and leave 7 to my wife’s computer. I’m still not thrilled with the weekly patch-n-bounce mentality. Give it to me lean-n-clean.

Apple! Microsoft! Listen closely: The Operating System is NOT THE APP!
We want an OS that’ll SHUT UP, work fast, stay out-the-way and doesn’t need to be patch all the time. I want to run programs – not OS features.

Time for Operating Systems to get on the “Biggest Loser” reality TV show. Interface bloat FAIL.

Anyway, thanks Linux for not totally sucking.
/my hero

Project Management

Posted on by Michael

Over the course of time, I’ve spent time learning about Project Management.
In an environment like ours, most folks manage their own task lists and work with management,users,… to establish deadlines and priorities.

But we are changing. PM needs to become more organized. BUT – not so organized that we spend more time doing PM than work. So, we have decided that Teamwork no longer suits our needs. Options? Well a lot of folk use MS Project, and we are looking into this right now. Each member of our Developer Team can maintain their own file (occasionally or upon drastic changes), then I can view all the files (or a subset of them) simultaneously. Developers can enter the project name, startdate, and enddate and we’ll keep it real simple. On the back-end I can add dates for estimations and completions to make our project planning more accurate.

Tricia also found: Tom’s Planner
It’s a (beta) web-based planning software that can export to MS Project. VERY interesting, though I don’t know how much time I’ll really get to play with it.

I re-organized my tasklist and grouped like items together. Evernote is really designed for that, but I don’t like the overhead that each block requires, so I’m using and (functionally) to make headers and groups inside my main project list. We’re beginning an intensive season of network training, which I personally am really looking forward to.

KPI

Posted on by Michael

I’ve been working on the KPI project (among others)

A KPI (Key Performance Indicator) allows decision makers to get a “glance” at the status of the University via a set of numbers and colored arrows.

The numbers are the current from today (Enrollment, for example), and this day last year (not January 28th 2009 – but the 4th day of the 4th week). The arrow shows up if the current year is larger than last year. The color is determined by benchmarks (200 students more than last year makes the arrow go from red to yellow, 400 more goes to green).

There you have it. We’ll be loading data behind them each night and calculating the “glance” so folks can look at it all day long. All with the goal of making financial decisions based on real and updated data.

Boy, lately?

Posted on by Michael

Well, it’s been a busy coupla months. That happens 🙂
Zhijing and I have spent a lot of time the last few weeks tuning the Program&Course Request/Approval system. All faculty will/can use it, making it pretty high profile. Jing has done a great job for a large project early on with some moderate changes late in the game!

I setup an iMac on my desk to more easily monitor the network. I’ve given up aspirations of becoming a super-duper-Unix-monkey … and relegated myself to being a great network guy instead. Heck, I can already code so I gotta learn something else, right? Speaking of networking, we’ve nearly finished implementing all of our Cisco equipment (security, access control, wireless, VPN, monitoring, …). I’m pretty excited to get some training on all this new equipment. I think we can really make this place safe and run real smoothly.

We made it through move-in with few to little issues. Each year we automate a little more, so our only real issues were things like a new version of OSX and Vista’s ever-increasing list of … specialities. Overall it was pretty good.

I’m still plugging away at my master’s degree. This term is Organizational Leadership. I’ve actually learned a lot, though this may turn out to be my last seat class. I have some real interesting projects coming up soon. I’m excited to get some time to work on them.

I have a new fence. It’s awesome. I didn’t build it 🙁

VoIP phones are still a champ. Just need to find a compatible headset for this … really … unique little pluggy-thinger-ma-bob. Hmm.

My pile of mini’s continues to grow 🙂 One day I’ll make a cluster/cloud and run something cool. Seriously. Cool.

Lately, I’ve been losing the hope that one day I’ll actually get all this stuff on my todo list done and be able to build new and interesting things. Oh well. A guy can dream can’t he?

Have VoIP, will travel

Posted on by Michael

Recently, Computing Services began testing a new VoIP system. Basically VoIP is telephone that runs over the network?

What’s the advantage? For new/moving offices, separate cable for phones&computers no longer need to be pulled. Pairs of network cable can be more simply run. Also, physical cabling is not required to be tied back into the core phone system. It’s great: cost savings, simplicity, increased clarity, security, … the list goes on and on.

But who wants to be stuck to a desk. How about WIRELESS VoIP?!? Oh yeah. We got that too.

For like $400 we can get a phone that will roam about campus and perform all the same functions as a desk phone … but fit in your pocket. I gotta tell you. This is some of the coolest technology I’ve seen lately. The only disadvantage is that my “office” phone rings in my pocket (even during meetings), but it also keeps track of missed calls, has callerID, … again the list goes on.

So as we setup new areas on campus (Health & Wellness, Residence Hall), we can more easily and inexpensively provide a higher quality service for the WOU campus.

It’s a wave of the future…

Profiler

Posted on by Michael

After much todo, we have at last implemented our NAC Profiler.
This tool allows us to create “profiles” to identify specific devices on our network. For devices like printers, we can setup default “allow” configurations so that printers can be added to network segments without additional security configuration.

We are also continuing to upgrade and refine our security technologies. This is a great interest area for me, and as I delve into it, I find that the topic is nearly bottomless. I intend to get some training in the upcoming months to help me further refine my knowledge and be able to provide more advanced services to the campus.

Other programming projects are making progress, which is good as I gear up to design some significant upgrades to the WOUPortal application. I hope to finish 2 major upgrades and complete a project for the Health Center before Fall Term starts anew.

July

Posted on by Michael

This month I’ve been working on:

Everbridge (3n Emergency Notification) integration with the Portal.

Preparations for the conversion of AllFacStaff email to allow filtering. I hope to go live with this system next week, but we’ll see.

We’ve implemented some VoIP technology in our department lately. It is very interesting and we are just learning the basics at this point. New areas on campus are very likely to only get VoIP phones from now on.

I have 4 programs that need upgrades before Fall Term: Timesheet, Dining’s Nutrition page, the Campus Wellness Challenge (CWC) and (of course) the WOU Portal. Each of these programs comes with a unique background and current set of complication. My goal is to make each easier to use and more fully integrated into the campus environment.

I’ve also been experimenting with Linux, and hope to get Oracle installed on at least one flavor of Linux/UNIX to do some testing.

WOU Account Lifecycle

Posted on by Michael

Updated 11/15/2016

 

This Blog is intended to clarify WOU’s Account Lifecycle policy. Please find the appropriate group below for details. As this policy has been in place for some time, this blog is only intended to help provide a clear explanation.

WOU Alumni: (Students who have graduated from WOU)
Network Login & Drives: Deleted after 2 years (from graduation)
Email: Deleted after 5 years of inactivity

In essence, WOU graduates can have their email account forever — but only so long as they continue to use it.

WOU Withdrawn Students: (Accepted students who left the University without graduating)
Network Login & Drives: Deleted after 2 years (from last class)
Email: Deleted after 2 years (from last class)

WOU Staff & Non-Emeritus Faculty:
Network Login & Drives: Deleted immediately
Email: Deleted immediately (retiring staff keep their email for life)

WOU Emeritus Faculty: (Tenured faculty who have retired)
Network Login & Drives: No changes
Email: Email for life.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Old Version:

This Blog is intended to clarify WOU’s Account Lifecycle policy. Please find the appropriate group below for details. As this policy has been in place for some time, this blog is only intended to help provide a clear explanation.

WOU Alumni: (Students who have graduated from WOU)
Network Login & Drives: Deleted after 2 years (from graduation)
Email: Deleted after 5 years of inactivity

In essence, WOU graduates can have their email account forever — but only so long as they continue to use it.

WOU Withdrawn Students: (Accepted students who left the University without graduating)
Network Login & Drives: Deleted after 2 years (from last class)
Email: Deleted after 2 years (from last class)

WOU Staff & Non-Emeritus Faculty:
Network Login & Drives: Disabled immediately
Email: Disabled immediately

WOU Emeritus Faculty: (Tenured faculty who have retired)
Network Login & Drives: Disabled (unless needed for WOU teaching/interaction)
Email: Deleted after 3 years of inactivity

*** Exceptions ***

Any account that is displaying suspicious activity (including risks to security, privacy, etc…) may be disabled immediately.

VPN

Posted on by Michael

Today Paul and I unracked our VPN concentrator from the data center and moved it to my desk to setup a lab environment. Unfortunately after several hours of attempts we cannot get console access or get the system LED to lite. All attempts have failed. I’m gonna leave it plugged in over the weekend in case a random miracle occurs and I can login on monday…