Fall 2008
Information from Camden Computing Services
[Division of Office of Information Technology – OIT]
WELCOME TO (OR BACK TO) RUTGERS, CAMDEN CAMPUS!
The staff of Camden Computing Services wants to take this opportunity to wish you an enjoyable and productive academic year.
We would like to share some information on various services provided by Camden Computing Services. This includes new services and recent improvements/changes.
INFORMATION FOR EVERYONE:
The list below provides information on what's new or changed this spring in computing
on the Camden campus. For more details on these and all of our
services, please go to our web site at: http://computing.camden.rutgers.edu/
[Faculty/staff Note: Please consult your departmental computer support
person before attempting to make any changes to your office computer]
Update Online Personal Information:
Since we have a mobile society, and as such, many of us switch telephone services and/or move our residences (and, offices) during the course of a year, it is highly recommended that at the start of each year you review your information that is stored for Rutgers. All departments at the university (from Security, Financial Services, and Student Life) utilize this information to keep you informed of notices from Rutgers as well as to contact you during any unforeseen emergencies that may occur. Please visit the Personal Information Update web page to follow the correct link for your status to update your information as appropriate:
https://personalinfo.rutgers.edu/
RUWireless Expansion & Update:
The number of locations where students can now access the Internet through a wireless connection has again been expanded this summer. As part of Housing improvements, all lounges in the Camden residential halls should expect to have wireless access to the Rutgers network by mid-October. Additionally, the access points installed originally in the Robeson Library, College Center, and Armitage Hall have been upgraded to newer technology to provide higher speed and more dependable access from those buildings. Thus, all buildings covered by RUWireless in Camden provide equivalent wireless service. Please refer to the wireless map for viewing the coverage in Camden:
http://ruwireless.camden.rutgers.edu/
Caution - Phishing Emails:
Don't Get Hooked!! Over the last year many phony email messages have been sent to Rutgers students, faculty, and staff in an effort to get them to reveal private and confidential information, such as passwords, birth dates, social security numbers and the like. Many people are being tricked by these "phishing" scams only to discover their account has been compromised or locked out or worse, their identity has been stolen. Always remember, Rutgers will never ask you to reveal this type of information through email - so you should never reply to these messages. Always be wary. Don't let yourself be tricked. Search for “phishing” at:
http://rusecure.rutgers.edu
If your identity has been stolen, Rutgers will provide assistance at:
http://uhr/ben/addbenidentitytheft.htm
RU-iptv:
Multicasting capabilities have been added to much of the Rutgers wired network. This makes it possible to provide further services directly to your computer, including access to limited video programming. Various local, national and international TV programming, as well as live coverage of Rutgers campus events, is now freely available to computers on these upgraded segments of the network. President McCormick's address to the university on Friday, September 19, 2008 was broadcast live utilizing multicasting as well as standard Internet streaming. For more information and to test whether your data jack supports this technology, please visit:
http://ruiptv.rutgers.edu
Public Lab Upgrades:
All of the Window PCs in the Robeson Library were upgraded this summer to latest technology as well the HPC Computer Science lab (12 linux systems). As in previous years, new applications were added, updated versions of select software were installed, and new images for all systems were prepared and installed. There were no new Macs installed this year and the campus no longer supports Sun Workstations in the labs. For the complete list of lab locations and equipment, please visit:
http://computing.camden.rutgers.edu/equipment.php
PrintGreen:
During the summer, the PrintGreen initiative was fully implemented in the computer labs to help ensure Rutgers is even more environmentally and fiscally responsible when it comes to paper usage. During a set six-month period, each student gets the first $30 of black-and-white printing at no charge. For those printing double-sided this amounts to 3000 black-and-white pages a year (or, 1,500 page images per period), which usage patterns have shown vastly exceeds the printing needs of almost all students. You might have noticed the signs in the labs and near the public printers with suggestions for reducing even further the amount of printing. The PrintGreen effort should help contain the growth in paper usage and waste that has been occurring in recent years. More information may be found at:
http://printing.rutgers.edu
Hardware and Software Sales at Rutgers:
A number of hardware and software vendors work closely with Rutgers to offer computing equipment and application software at very good prices. In particular, Rutgers has contracted with certain vendors in order to offer a variety of free software (such as Trend Micro Antivirus) and reduced-priced software (including Microsoft Office at an extremely good price through the Microsoft Academic Student Select agreement). On October 1 the latest pricing was posted for hardware purchases. More information is found at:
http://findtech.rutgers.edu
http://software.rutgers.edu
EdSeries:
Free, hands-on training seminars have been scheduled for this semester. Sessions in the Camden EdSeries include Word 2007; Excel 2007 (Introduction, Calculations, and Projects); Powerpoint 2007; Virus & Spyware Protection; Access 2007 and Outlook 2007. These seminars are open to all faculty, students, and staff. The schedule for each session is posted online at:
http://edseries.camden.rutgers.edu/
ITEMS FOR FACULTY AND STAFF:
Two new Instructional Computing Labs (BSB 134 & CC NCR):
** Room 134 in the Business & Science (BSB) building has been renovated from a standard classroom into a combination classroom and instructional lab. Contained in the tabletops are 25 PCs (laptops) that may be "opened" when needed for "hands on" computer instruction. Otherwise, the computers are "hidden" away and the room may be used as a standard classroom. The instructor has control of the systems through a software application (Vision System) on the instructor laptop that works much like the hardware design that was used in BSB 117. As an aside note, BSB 117 is now a standard classroom.
** The North Conference Room (NCR) in the College Center was reconstructed over the summer and converted into a 47 PC/seat classroom. The design is identical to BSB 134 in that a laptop computer is positioned at each of the student seats (as well as the instructor's location) for hands on instruction. When the laptops are not required, the room will function as a normal classroom. Additionally, this room has a BluRay HD DVD player as well as an HD projector for displaying high definition images.
** All three rooms (BSB 117, BSB 134, and CC NCR) are now in the campus classroom inventory and available for assignment through the Registrar office. More information (including instructions on use and photos) about the two new classrooms may be found at:
http://smartclassrooms.camden.rutgers.edu/instructionalareas.php
Classroom Upgrades:
In a planned effort to keep the classroom technology current and to help insure that equipment will continue to operate properly, another six projectors have been replaced over the summer in addition to the twelve that were replaced in the spring semester. The goal is to replace all projectors over a five year plan. Information about all of the classrooms and their electronic functionality is available on our Smart Classroom web pages starting at:
http://smartclassrooms.camden.rutgers.edu/
Hot Links:
* RAMS mailing lists for administrative and class communications with students – https://rams.rutgers.edu/
* For information on Smart Classrooms use for FAS and the Business School faculty, see the web page at: http://smartclassrooms.camden.rutgers.edu/
* A test scanner to aid faculty in grading multiple choice exams exists in BSB 132. Information on this scanning/grading device can be found at: http://computing.camden.rutgers.edu/scanner/index.php
ITEMS FOR STUDENTS:
Remote Password Reset (RPR) now available for students:
Students may now remotely recover forgotten passwords after setting up answers to three questions selected from a list. Students making a new account may opt in or out of this service. Students who created an account before this tool was available may activate the feature. To learn about RPR or to recover your password visit:
https://rats.rutgers.edu/cgi/rpr.cgi
Spring Student Survey:
The Spring 2008 Student Online Survey was presented for completion from March 31 through April 18. To encourage participation, notices were posted in REACT, in the labs, on the OIT - Camden Announcement page and on each PC desktop screen as well as offering the opportunity to win one of two iPod Nanos. Response was not as high as expected with only slightly over 200 surveys completed. The average satisfaction across all topics remained steady (and, actually rose a couple of tenths) at 3.9. The summary results are located at:
http://computing.camden.rutgers.edu/Announce/newsletters/SurveyResultsSp08.php
Music and Music Videos on Campus:
Rutgers students can continue to enjoy unlimited, FREE music downloads from the Ruckus Network. Rutgers has partnered with Ruckus, Inc. to provide this unlimited, free music downloading service to all Rutgers students. The Ruckus music library contains over 1.6 million tracks of music! Faculty and staff can take advantage of this service for a fee. Ruckus downloads do not count toward weekly bandwidth totals in the residence halls. For more information, visit:
http://ruckus.rutgers.edu
Hot Links:
* For quick and easy access to most of the services available to Rutgers students, please try our Rutgers portal, called myRutgers (https://my.rutgers.edu/).
HELP for ALL:
* Walk in (BSB 109 & 132; CC 017), phone in (856/225-6274), and email (help@camden.rutgers.edu) Help Desks along with online web page instructions at: http://computing.camden.rutgers.edu
** Posted from email messages sent to the campus community on October 4, 2008.
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