• July 8, 2008

Switching from PC to Mac? Tips from All Things Digital

by Betsy Edwards, Information Technology Assistance Center
published July 8, 2008

"Sales of Apple’s Macintosh computers have been growing much faster than PC sales overall, with many new Mac buyers switching from years of using Windows computers." So begins the July 2 article Some General Tips for Switch to Mac From Windows by Walter Mossberg in All Things Digital, a part of the Wall Street Journal Network.

For those who are considering the switch or who've already done it, Mossberg provides a helpful list of tips on the differences when using features such as the menu bars, task bar, Start menu, Control panel, keyboard shortcuts, and more. Newer Macs can also run Windows, but Mossberg notes his tips are "for folks who intend to use their Macs primarily with Leopard, not Windows."

If you have time, skim the posted comments (45 and counting), where readers share tips, how-tos, and favorite features — including Spotlight, Exposé, Smart Scroll, and the Mighty mouse — plus pointers to resources like the One to One personal training program available at Apple retail stores.

Apple retail store launches in Kansas July 11

by Eric Dover, Information Technology Assistance Center
published July 8, 2008

Kansas will be launching its first Apple retail store this week in Leawood, Kan., at 8 a.m. Friday, July 11, to coincide with the release of the new iPhone 3G. The new store is located near the Town Center Plaza shopping center, at 5000 W. 119th St. between Roe and Nall avenues. For directions and more information, see the Apple Store, Leawood site.

K-State Online to be unavailable Aug. 8-11 for upgrade

by Scott Finkeldei, Office of Mediated Education
published July 8, 2008

K-State Online will be unavailable for the scheduled upgrade to version 8.0 beginning 10 p.m. Friday, Aug. 8, until 8 a.m. Monday, Aug. 11 or sooner, if possible. This update will include, among other items, a conversion of all current data to Unicode, allowing support of non-western character languages. For a complete list of new features, changes, and updates, see What's New in K-State Online 8.0. You may also download a PDF of the information for printing or easy distribution to other interested faculty.

Course owners will not need to do any additional steps after the upgrade. Courses will appear as before, but will include the version 8.0 improvements.

eTips July 16: Using toolbars in Microsoft Word 2003

by Cathy Rodriguez, Information Technology Assistance Center
published July 8, 2008

Betsy Edwards will present an eTips session on "Using toolbars in Microsoft Word 2003" at 4 p.m. Wednesday, July 16, desktop webinar via Wimba. Join this session to learn how to find and identify various toolbars, plus customization tips.

Two additional eTips sessions will be conducted in July:

  • Microsoft Office Tips at 3 p.m. Tuesday, July 22. This session will cover a variety of tips on Microsoft Office 2003.
  • Intro to Macs at 11 a.m. Thursday, July 31. This session will give a quick overview of Mac basics.

eTips registration is required at least 24 hours in advance to allow time to add you to the session and ensure your workstation is configured properly for accessing the session.

Cruise-ship cellphone calls expensive; check other options

by Eric Dover, Information Technology Assistance Center
published July 8, 2008

This summer some of you may be going on a cruise for a nice, relaxing getaway. You may have the urge to call home from your cellphone on the ship. Although this service is offered by many cruise companies for GSM-type phones, think twice before making that ship-board call. Cellphone-roaming rates aboard ships can run as high as $4.99 per minute (T-Mobile), and as low as $2.49 per minute (AT&T).

Check with your cruise company to see if they sell block minutes for ship-to-shore calls from your stateroom phone. Some of these bulk plans could save money over using a cellphone.


Microsoft Office 2007 tip: Quick Access Toolbar

by Cathy Rodriguez, Information Technology Assistance Center
published July 8, 2008

Since the user interface in Microsoft Office has changed significantly, you might find it difficult to locate the commands you frequently use, such as printing. If so, consider adding frequently used commands to the Quick Access Toolbar. The Quick Access Toolbar is always available regardless of what tab is open.

Image of Microsoft Office Quick Access Toolbar

You can customize your Quick Access Toolbar by clicking the Customize Quick Access Toolbar icon.

Image of Customize button on the Microsoft Office Quick Access Toolbar

A list of popular commands will be listed and you can click the commands that you would like added to your Quick Access Toolbar. If you don't see the command(s) you're looking for, click More Commands to see a categorized list of all commands. To learn more about the Quick Access Toolbar, watch the YouTube video Welcome to the MS Quick Access Toolbar and Microsoft's video Customize the Quick Access Toolbar.

Security tip of the week

Confidential data found on state surplus computers

by Harvard Townsend, IT security
published July 8, 2008

Kansas' Legislative Division of Post Audit (LDPA) recently published a condemning report (PDF) on an audit of state surplus computer equipment that investigated whether state agencies effectively remove software and agency data from computers before disposal. The audit revealed the deplorable state of agencies' efforts to remove sensitive data from computers and other digital media (a process called "media sanitization") before disposal. LDPA auditors reviewed a sample of 15 computers from State Surplus Property in Topeka and were able to recover files from 10 of them. Seven of the computers contained confidential information, including Social Security numbers, Medicaid information, and password files!

Kansas' IT Executive Council (ITEC) has drafted a media sanitization policy, but this audit calls for strengthening the policy and underscores the urgency in adopting it. ITEC is sure to fast-track adoption of this policy and it will apply to K-State.

However, we should not wait for a state policy to act. "Data leaking" on disposed computers and media is a serious threat to K-State's confidential information, and all departments should already have procedures in place to ensure proper removal of data before re-using or disposing of computers and other storage media like tapes, disks, and USB flash drives (and even paper).

The seminal standard for media sanitization is NIST's special publication 800-88 titled "Guidelines for Media Sanitization". ITEC's draft policy requires agencies to develop policies and procedures "in accordance with" these guidelines. Use this document to guide media-sanitization practices.

Next week's security tip in InfoTech Tuesday will provide some practical tips on proper media sanitization. This summer, SIRT will also draft a policy for K-State and recommend media sanitization procedures and tools. Watch this column for more information.

K-State Online

Changes planned for fall?

by Cathy Rodriguez, Information Technology Assistance Center
published July 8, 2008

I missed the K-State Online pre-release training. How can I find out about the changes planned for fall?

You can visit K-State Online's What's New page to get an overview of upcoming changes.

Training offered for Leopard OS for Macs?

by Aimee Hagedorn, Information Technology Assistance Center,
published July 8, 2008

Can you tell me if there are classes offered for Leopard OS for Macs?

Technology and Media Services in the College of Education offers an Introduction to OS 10.5 Leopard. The classes will start again this August, and you can view a description of this course and others in The Catalyst Newsletter.

Check out additional resources on the IT Training resources page for Macs and the Kaw River Macintosh Users' Group (KRMUG).

Spotlight

Some universities' textbooks to be on Kindle

by Aimee Hagedorn, Information Technology Assistance Center
published July 8, 2008

This fall Princeton University will join Oxford, Yale, and the University of California in going digital with their textbooks. Kindle, the wireless reader device steadily growing in popularity, will offer digital versions of some of the universities' textbooks. While it won't be entirely cheaper to go digital for most students, lightening the load might be worth the cost. Read more from Yahoo! Buzz's Battery-Operated Textbooks.