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Issue : November 7, 2007

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The UM Tech Brief is a resource for University of Minnesota technical support staff and department and unit decision makers.

Security and
Internet Services

Security home

SPAM AND VIRUS STATS.

==> October 2007 <==
Attempted: 117 million
Accepted: 24 million (20%)
Blocked:  70 million (60%)
User Unknown: 12 million (11%)
Grey-listed: 11 million (9%)

reasons for blocking;

Unauthorized access: 43  million (61%)
Spam source: 4  million (6%)
Dynamic:  4  million (6%)
Insecure:  15  million (21%)
Protocol Violation: 1 million (2%)
DNS problems:  2  million (4%)

Anti-virus software caught 9530 messages.

Network and Telecommunication
Services

NTS home

MODEM POOL DECOMMISSIONED.
Reminder: the University modem pool is being decommissioned December 31, 2007. If you use the University modem pool, consider switching to one of the Internet Service Providers (ISPs) offering University-discounted rates through UMart: http://www.umart.umn.edu. For further assistance, call 1-HELP (612-301-4357) or e-mail modem@umn.edu.

SPECIAL DIAL-UP SERVICE OFFER.
UMart vendor Velocity is offering a promotion that provides new customers three months of Internet access for free. In order to receive this special offer, conversion to Velocity's service must take place by December 1, 2007. To beat the rush and take advantage of this promotion, view the details at: http://www.velocitytelephone.com/umn/umn_snd11.html.

NETWORK UPGRADE.
NTS is planning two major data network infrastructure upgrades: the Coordinate Campus Wide Area Network (WAN), and the Northern Lights GigaPOP. The Coordinate Campus upgrade includes replacing aging hardware; the new WAN will feature redundant routers on Coordinate campuses. Dates, events, and outages will be announced in advance; details posted on the NTS site: http://www.umn.edu/nts.

NOVELL SUPPORT DISCONTINUED SOON.
As Central Active Directory has been deployed at the University, Novell Netware server usage has dropped precipitously. Therefore, OIT will no longer provide technical support for Novell systems after Monday, December 1, 2008. Departments wishing to continue using Novell systems should find alternate service hosting. OIT is committed to smoothing departmental migration to Central Active Directory and offers extensive guides, training, and technical assistance. Please e-mail questions to umnad@umn.edu, and refer to the web site for more information: http://www.umn.edu/umnad.

Academic and
Distributed
Computing
Services

ADCS home

UCS DISCONTINUES ON-CAMPUS SOFTWARE SALES.
As of October 31, University Computer Services (UCS) no long sells boxed software from Unique Software and Computers, such as Adobe, SPSS, and EndNote, from its on-campus showroom. The change affects only the software provided by the UMart vendors. This software can still be
ordered online at UMart: http://www.umart.umn.edu. NOTE: the change does not affect the University's Microsoft discounted software programs; refer to http://www.umn.edu/ucs/ or call (612) 624-4800.

ADCS, UCS DISCONTINUE LAPTOP RENTAL PROGRAM.
After December 12, 2007, ADCS and UCS will no longer offer the overnight, daily, or extended laptop checkout rental programs, or the laptop and camcorder rental options. See http://www.umn.edu/ucs/checkout.php for more information. Customers may contact the University's Office
Equipment Services at https://aux400.auxs.umn.edu:44341/products.htm for rental options after December 12.

WORLD USABILITY DAY 2007: NOVEMBER 8.
OIT and the Digital Technology Center are jointly sponsoring World Usability Day 2007 at the University. World Usability Day promotes the benefits of usability engineering and user-centered design. The events include speakers on usability and Web accessibility topics and an Open House at the Usability Services Laboratory. Event details and locations:
http://1help.umn.edu/usability/wud.html.

NEW COURSE! MYU PORTAL: GROUP COLLABORATION.
Are you interested in creating a myU site to collaborate with other myU users? This new hands-on short course will walk you through getting started in adding content, setting up access permissions for collaborative sections, and modifying the layout of myU pages. Search for "myu" at http://uttc.umn.edu for more information.

NEW COURSE! MOODLE 1.8: GRADES.
Intended for Moodle instructors and designers, this new hands-on short course covers how to set up and manage grades, enter and change grades for various activities, and use scales for providing non-numeric qualitative feedback. Find out more by clicking on "short courses" at http://uttc.umn.edu.

NEW COURSE! WEBVISTA 4: DISCUSSIONS, BLOGS, AND JOURNALS.
This new hands-on course is intended for WebVista instructors and designers interested in exploring WebVista's discussions tool. Participants will create, participate in, and manage threaded discussions, class blogs, and journals. Click on "what's new" at http://uttc.umn.edu for more information.

MORE UPDATED MICROSOFT OFFICE 2007 COURSES!
Are you looking to develop your database skills? Explore the new Access 2007 interface and features while setting up and editing database tables and queries with "Access 2007: Basic Database Development." Are you looking for a better way to manage your projects? "Project 2007: Making Project Management Easier" will teach you how to organize resources and timelines for the administration of group tasks. Learn more about these and all Microsoft Office 2007 courses in the "Featured @ UTTC" section of http://uttc.umn.edu (on the right).

MORE UPDATED PHOTOSHOP CS3 COURSES!
Are you looking to enhance your Photoshop talents? "Photoshop CS3: Picture Perfect" will teach you essential skills for making digital photographs look their best. "Photoshop CS3: For the Designer in You" will show you how to take your skills one step further and learn to design unique graphics by creating a brochure using textures, vector
shapes, and silhouettes. Click on "short courses" at http://uttc.umn.edu to register for these updated Photoshop short courses.

Digital
Media
Center

DMC home

NOVEMBER 7 TEL SEMINAR: INTEGRATING ON-LINE TOOLS TO SUPPORT HYBRID
EDUCATION.
Panelists will discuss the new U of M "learning technology platform" and how this approach better supports academic collaboration, research, instructional content development, and learner assessment: November 7, 12:00-1:30 p.m., 155 Peters Hall, St. Paul. See http://dmc.umn.edu/issues.shtml.

NOVEMBER "TECH TALK" EPISODES.
Join host Susan McKinnell and guest experts as they discuss the following topics Sundays at 9 p.m on TPT Minnesota Channel 17: Home Movie Editing, November 11; Gaming, November 18; and Tech Help for Parents, November 25. See http://techtalk.umn.edu/.

ON-LINE COURSE ON ALCOHOL AND COLLEGE LIFE VALUABLE TO STUDENTS IN TWO
UNIVERSITY SYSTEMS.
James Rothenberger from Epidemiology and Community Health and other speakers thoughtfully integrate technology into a course that accommodates different learning styles and can easily be adapted for colleges and universities across the state of Minnesota. Read more:
http://dmc.umn.edu/projects/rothenberger/.

The URL of this document is http://umtechbrief.umn.edu/11/tb1107/tb1107.html
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