News Briefs

SPSS and Adobe Creative Suite Software Updated

Over the summer, LTS has updated the software deployed to the computers in labs and classrooms. On Windows machines, SPSS 16 has replaced by SPSS 17.

On both Windows and Mac computers Adobe Creative Suite Design Premium and Web Standard software was updated from Creative Suite 3 (CS3) to Creative Suite 4 (CS4). This includes:

Acrobat 9 Pro
Adobe Contribute CS4
Dreamweaver CS4
Fireworks CS4
Flash CS4 Professional
Illustrator CS4
InDesign CS4
Photoshop CS4 Extended

Changes to Dreamweaver will impact BITS workshops.

Three General Access Labs Closing January 2010

As of January 2010, general access computer labs SSS 210 (46 seats), HHH 218 (25 seats), and B54 (31 seats) will be closed. This means we will only have six reservable computer labs, a reduction of 120 computers. Get your training requests in early to have the best chance of getting a lab on the date you request. Our largest reservable lab will then be P219, at 36 seats.

Conflicts for Internet Explorer 8 and Desire2Learn

There have been known issues with Desire2Learn (D2L) and Internet Explorer 8 (IE8). Our original plan was to install IE8 on campus for the start of Fall 2009, but that plan has been put on hold until we learn more about the issues with D2L and IE8. However, if Internet Explorer 7 poses a security issue to campus, IE8 will be installed and D2L users who experience issues with IE8 will have to use another D2L-supported browser (e.g., Firefox).

Access to WebSurvey Ending

As of October 1, access to WebSurvey will be discontinued. This is the final date in the phase-out of this program. No new surveys have been created in the WebSurvey system since June 1, 2009.

The online survey tool for campus is now Qualtrics. All students, faculty, and staff can create online surveys using Qualtrics. Extensive online help documentation is available. If you would like personal assistance, please contact BITS.

Windows 7

This summer, Microsoft announced that they have signed off on the release to manufacturing (RTM) for Windows 7. LTS has a copy of Windows 7 and has begun testing it. However, we cannot deploy it until our management tools are updated. Once that occurs, the image that will be deployed to desktop machines will need to be tested. It is too early to estimate when a general campus deployment will be done. We will continue to provide updates as progress occurs.