eNews Volume 102 - 8/28/2008

Before a College of Ag Sciences' AG account can be created for new faculty and staff who are Penn State "benefits eligible", they need to apply for and be granted a Penn State Access Account from Penn State's Information Technology Services (ITS) unit. These new hires should complete the Access Account application form in their benefits package and follow its instructions to obtain their Penn State UserID and password. Then, if an AG account needs to be created for the new hire, we will use this unique UserID to create the AG account.

In the past, our College's Information Technologies (IT) group received the new hire's original PSU password from the ITS group. This was convenient, especially for benefits eligible staff in county extension offices. We could generate a "yellow card" with their original PSU password. With the University-wide mission to enhance the data security practices at Penn State, the College's IT group will no longer receive original passwords for benefits eligible faculty or staff.

From our How To page under Forms, we have a new How To that details the steps a new benefits eligible hire should follow to request their Penn State Access Account and then their AG account, if needed.

How To Request Access Account for Benefits Eligible Employee

Please note, ITS requests that you allow three business days for the Penn State Access Account form to be processed. Then, the new hire must visit an ITS Signature Station to obtain their Penn State UserID and password. The Penn State Access Account will not be fully functional for another business day after visiting an ITS Signature Station. Please keep this time frame in mind when new hires start. We will be unable to create an AG account for them until they have activated their Penn State Access Account. This delay is needed since a key action for new hires who use the College's Exchange server is to forward any mail sent through the "Penn State" email server to their College AG account.

Mike Leiter, IT Support Coordinator

Bad things happen. Over the years we've had several incidents where Dell desktops and notebooks have been stolen from staff. If this should happen to you, this checklist from Ag IT Support should be followed to secure your digital identity.

What To Do if Your Computer is Stolen

Mike Leiter, IT Support Coordinator
Deb Sinkus, IT Specialist
Sharon Spicer, IT Administrative Assistant
Tom Weber, EN Coordinator

Would you like to take your existing PowerPoint presentations and turn them into captivating multimedia experiences and eLearning opportunities for your users? Adobe Presenter provides a simple interface for using a microphone to add audio narration to your presentation. In addition, you can easily synchronize your PowerPoint animations with your audio narration. This hands-on training will guide you through adding audio to an existing PowerPoint presentation and publishing the file so that you can upload it to a Web site.

Bring your computer with Adobe Presenter installed, a headset with microphone, and a completed PowerPoint presentation. We will show you the rest! 

Creating Multimedia Presentations using Adobe Presenter

• August 11, 9:00 to 11:00 a.m. via Adobe Connect
• August 27, 9:00 to 11:00 a.m. via Adobe Connect
• September 23, 9:30 to 12 noon via Adobe Connect
• October 15, 1:30 to 4:00 p.m. via Adobe Connect
• November 6, 9:30 to 12 noon via Adobe Connect
• December 16, 1:30 to 4 pm.. via Adobe Connect

For more information and to register visit our website - http://go.cas.psu.edu/training/.

Note: For more information on Adobe Presenter, see the 4/10/2008 eNews article: Tech Spotlight: What is Adobe Presenter and Why would I want to use it?. Please be aware that the current version of Adobe Presenter offered from the PSU computer store is Adobe Presenter 7.

Jacki Weikert, Ron Matason, Peg Shuffstall, and Sherry Crum
The Educational Technologist Team

From http://news.its.psu.edu/story-1032, this article was published on August 15, 2008.

"Information Technology Services (ITS) unveiled a new and improved version of its Telecommunications and Networking Services Web site last week at http://tns.its.psu.edu/. The newly designed site offers point-and-click tabbing components for easier navigation and limited drill-down. Other enhancements include more recognizable features for inquiries, ordering telecommunications services, and problem reporting, as well as user-friendly designs of many of the online forms and applications.

In addition, the site is Web Standards compliant and offers an integrated RSS alerts feature. RSS technology makes it possible to deliver the latest ITS news or alerts (in the form of headline links) to any RSS capable Web page, cell phone, pager, or hand-held device a subscriber designates. Visitors to the new site will also find better search capability, easier access to navigate to other ITS services, a tabbed quick-link to the ITS Knowledge Base, centralized announcements pertaining to telecommunications, and popular links.

ITS Telecommunications and Networking Services provides communications and network support to the University community via a variety of services such as Penn State's Integrated Backbone, Penn State Wireless, University phone technologies, and videoconferencing."

Vince Verbeke, IT Specialist

This is the first of a new eNews feature on college and university security initiatives. Security updates or a security based article will be included in every other issue.

The Information Privacy and Security (IPAS) initiative is a University-wide mission to enhance the data security practices at Penn State. The primary goal of the initiative is to assure the privacy of critical information and to comply with internal policies and external regulations affecting Penn State.

There are two phases to the IPAS Project:

- Phase I focuses on the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) compliance initiative.
- Phase II focuses on security and privacy initiatives for all of Penn State’s institutional Information.

IT recently completed the network and workstation compliance activities for Phase I. Twenty-nine offices at University Park and in county Extension offices are now processing credit cards under PCI compliance.

Activities related to Phase II have recently begun. Key elements of Phase II include the Data Classification and Security Standards documents. These documents are available (Access Account login needed) for review and official comment at:

https://wikispaces.psu.edu/display/DCRFC/Data+Classification+Levels%2C+Minimum+Security+Standards+RFC

The first two actions related to Phase II will be the Scanning project and Notebook hard disk encryption project.

The Scanning project (http://ipas.psu.edu/phase2/scanning.html) involves a scan of your computer to identify if sensitive information such as social security numbers or credit card numbers are present. The scan will also identify malicious software that could damage your computer or compromise your data. IT will manage the scanning project for the college in cooperation with the university security office. Scans will begin this fall.

The Encryption project protects the contents of your notebook’s hard drive in the event the computer becomes lost or stolen. (see related CAS News article on stolen computers above). Details on the encryption project are not yet available, but the expectation is that encryption will begin sometime in the fall and continue through the end of 2008.

Neal T. Vines, Director

Note: 'Maintenance' action items are semi-regular articles designed to encourage staff to perform routine tasks on their EN computers.

Every program installed on your computer takes up space, and some programs slow your computer down (even if you don't use them). For example, Toolbars and Weather Programs may seem like small programs, but most of them run constantly in the background, taking up memory that should instead be used for Outlook or Symantec (for spyware and virus detection).

To remove a program:

1. Click Start, and then click Control Panel.
2. Open the Add or Remove Programs control panel. If needed, click Remove a program.
   
   Note: You should now see the Add or Remove Programs control panel. You will scroll through the list and determine what can be removed. There may be programs that you don't use directly but that are important and should be left as is (examples: Bonjour, Microsoft .NET Framework, MSXML, and Sigmatel Audio). If you're not sure what a program does, it's wise not to remove it until you're certain that you don't need it. If in doubt about an item, you can contact Computer Support for assistance.
   
   Note: Sun's Java software will prompt you to apply updates every so often. When you update Sun's Java the new version will be installed, but the old version will remain in the Add or Remove Programs control panel. These older versions can be removed. Our How To Update Sun's Java Software page will always list the current version of Java (example: Java(TM) 6 Update 7). You can then remove all older versions.
   
   
3. Click the program that you want to remove. Then, click Remove or Change/Remove.
4. Follow the instructions that appear to remove your program. Each program has a different process. Restart your computer if prompted.
   

HOW OFTEN SHOULD YOU DO THIS TASK?
You should review the Add or Remove Programs list at least 2 times a year on your EN machine.

Past Maintenance Action Items:

• 06-05-2008: Cleanup Your Email
• 03-27-2008: Cleaning Your Computer
• 02-14-2008: Empty TEMP Folders
• 01-02-2008: Disk Defragmenter

Vince Verbeke, IT Specialist

By now you hopefully have some appointments or meetings in your Outlook calendar. Did you know that you can assign a color category to these appointments and meetings? Yep, you can. You can make team or project meetings/appointments one color and personal appointments or vacation another color. This makes it easy to see what is going on in your calendar at a glance.

This How To will give you steps to color code your calendar in Outlook 07 - http://it.cas.psu.edu/1199.htm.

Outlook 2003 also allows you to color code your calendar but that version used labels. See this How To for more information - http://it.cas.psu.edu/394.htm.

If you have questions about this How To or on using the other features of Outlook, please contact us - http://it.cas.psu.edu/contactform.htm - and we would be happy to assist you.

Jacki Weikert, Educational Technologist

SharePoint is the collaborative work space for groups in the college. A person must be given permission to login to specific SharePoint sites by being added as a member. Members must have a College of Ag Sciences AG account. (Penn State Access Accounts and Friends of Penn State accounts will not work.)

1. Once you have access to the site, you will need to logon with your AG account and AG password. Remember to use AG\ followed by your AG user account when logging on. Example: AG\jxs138
   
   OR
   
   
2. You can add your SharePoint site as a Trusted Site in Internet Explorer, then you don’t have to logon.

This How To will give you steps to logon to a SharePoint 2003 or SharePoint 2007 site - http://it.cas.psu.edu/270.htm.

This How To will give you steps to add SharePoint as a Trusted Site - http://it.cas.psu.edu/622.htm.

Jacki Weikert, Educational Technologist

From Penn State Faculty/Staff Newswire (08.21.08):

"Penn State Live has entered the Twitterverse. The University's official news source, online at http://live.psu.edu/, has added a feed to Twitter, the growing online service that allows users to stay connected to others via the Web, cell phone or instant message. Each time a new story appears on the Penn State Live homepage, an update will be sent to the site's Twitter subscribers.

Twitter is a free social networking service. To see the Penn State Live Twitter page and to join Twitter for the latest Penn State news, go to http://twitter.com/pennstatelive."

Note: eNews has marked the progress of Twitter over the past 6 months. See these articles for more info:

• Tech Spotlight: Micro Blogging with Twitter
• All Interest: List of News Organizations using Twitter
• Tech Spotlight: Twitter takes hold in my Physics class
• All Interest: GroupTweet - Group Message Broadcasting for Twitter
• Tech Spotlight: Hyperconnected with Twitter
• All Interest: Life, Death and Twitter on the African Savannah

Vince Verbeke, IT Specialist

The Official Google blog had the following announcement on Monday, August 25, 2008:

http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2008/08/at-loss-for-words.html

"Have you ever been stumped in finding the right words to search for? Back when I was planning my wedding, I had a list of wedding songs in mind, but the problem was that I couldn't remember any of the artist names or song titles. So I started typing into the Google search box parts of the lyrics that I did remember -- and like magic, I saw suggestions with the artist name and song titles that I wanted! (I was opted-in to the keyword suggestions Google Labs experiment at the time). At that moment, I was so proud to be working on Google Suggest, a search feature that provides real-time suggestions while you search.

Today we're excited because Google Suggest will be "graduating" from Labs and available by default on the Google.com homepage. Over the next week, we'll be rolling this out so that more and more of you will start seeing a list of query suggestions when you start typing into the search box.

We find that by providing suggestions upfront, we can help people search more efficiently and conveniently."

If you’d like to try it out (in case it hasn't been activated for everyone yet), you can find the beta page here.

What I found interesting were the auto-complete results displayed when you typed in a search term. For example, here are the results from Penn State and Cooperative Extension.

Penn State

• penn state
• penn state football
• penn state football schedule
• penn state bookstore
• penn state harrisburg
• penn state altoona

Cooperative Extension

• cooperative extension
• cooperative extension service
• cooperative extension office
• cooperative extension maine
• cooperative extension jobs
• cooperative extension alaska
• cooperative extension nc
• cooperative extension ny

Vince Verbeke, IT Specialist

On Aug 7, 2008 Google announced several "key enhancements" in how Internet users will be tracked when using Google services. You can read the full announcement here.

http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2008/08/new-enhancements-on-google-content.html

In essence, they explain how cookies will now work on its ad network. In addition Google will be adding DoubleClick tracking across its sites. These changes are being put into place to help the advertisers who use Google.

From the end user side of things, Google now allows you to "opt out" from its advertisers with one click. You can do this from their Advertising and Privacy center.

If you choose to opt out, a blocking cookie is placed on your computer. This cookie will need to stay in place to work. So if you regularly delete cookies, you will have to opt out again. Since cookies are browser and computer specific, you will have to opt out in each browser and on each computer that you use.

The bigger question is whether you should go cookie free from Google and its partners. This is a choice that you will need to make as an individual. And remember, just because you opt out doesn't mean that the ads you see online will stop. Nope, all this means is that you may see the same ad over and over.

Vince Verbeke, IT Specialist

Microsoft Live Labs blog had the following announcement on Wednesday, August 20, 2008:

http://blogs.msdn.com/photosynth/archive/2008/08/20/welcome-to-photosynth.aspx

Don’t know where to start? Check out these great synths available today:

• National Geographic did an a great synth of Stonehenge. Normally you are not allowed inside the center ring of Stonehenge, but their photographers got special permission so you can experience it here. Can you find the rabbit living at the base of one of the stones?
• Ever wanted to check out a Ferrari 575 Superamerica up close? We snuck into the local dealership and shot a synth just for you.
• You don’t need to go to all the way to London to see the London skyline—you can see it right here at Legoland
• Imagine stumbling across a guy proposing to his girlfriend right in the middle of Seattle’s Pike Place Market. Now imagine making a synth of it."

Photosynth is free but does require a software install and only runs on Windows XP or Vista. To view the samples, you need to download and install the application. To create synths from your own pictures you will need to login with a Windows Live ID. You can read more about Photosynth on ReadWriteWeb. The Photosynth blog has more info and tips.

Here's a quick sample that I put together. Warning, may not be suitable for large children or small animals (since the images are all head shots of me). Robert Scoble also created a synth of his family room, Scoble Family Room.

http://photosynth.net/userprofilepage.aspx?user=vcverbeke

Vince Verbeke, IT Specialist

"Aug. 20 (Bloomberg) -- Comcast Corp. plans to slow Internet service to its heaviest users during periods of congestion, after regulators ordered the company to devise a new method for managing its Web traffic.

The top Internet speeds for targeted customers will be reduced for periods lasting 10 minutes to 20 minutes, keeping service to other users flowing, Mitch Bowling, Comcast's senior vice president and general manager of online services, said in an interview yesterday.

The U.S. Federal Communications Commission found on Aug. 1 that Comcast had improperly blocked peer-to-peer programs such as BitTorrent that are used to share videos and other files. In an order posted on its Web site today, the FCC gave the Philadelphia-based company 30 days to provide details of its ``unreasonable network management practices'' and show how they would be changed by year-end.

``We're going to really have to see all the detail and have all the information,'' Marvin Ammori, general counsel for the non-profit group Free Press, said in an interview. Free Press, which promotes universal access to communications, and another organization, Public Knowledge, filed the complaint that resulted in the FCC censure.

The new system will move away from a focus on specific applications that hog Web traffic, Bowling said. Comcast will determine ``in nearly real time'' whether congestion is caused by a heavy user, he said.

``If in fact a person is generating enough packets that they're the ones creating that situation, we will manage that consumer for the overall good of all of our consumers,'' Bowling said."

Read the remainder of article here.

Vince Verbeke, IT Specialist

From http://research.microsoft.com/~benko/projects/sphere/:

"Sphere is an interactive spherical display prototype that uses custom optics hardware as well as computer vision and graphics software to enable interaction on a spherical surface.

Our prototype device builds on a commercially available globe projection system (Global Imagination’s Magic Planet). We have added touch-sensing capabilities with an infrared camera that shares the optical path with the projector. This novel configuration permits us to enclose both the projection and the sensing mechanism in the base of the device and allows for easy 360 degrees access to the device and high degree of interactivity without shadowing or occlusion problems. We have also developed a custom graphics projection pipeline that solves the distortion problems and enables projected data to be correctly visualized on the curved surface.

The applications developed for Sphere currently include a picture and video browser, interactive globe visualization, finger painting, globe visualization, and an omni-directional video-conferencing application (360 degree panoramic video from Microsoft RoundTable device). These applications are designed for highly interactive public space environments (e.g., museums, lobbies, information booths) and highlight the appeal of the device as well as its visualization and interaction capabilities."

The above Microsoft page has videos of the sphere in action as well.

Vince Verbeke, IT Specialist

The author had his house struck by lightning. This is the tale of what happened to all their electronic gadgets. For example, he writes:

"Explaining to the kids about “live TV” was pretty amusing to me since I grew up without Tivo and with maybe 3 channels on a good day. First they had to learn what channel numbers their shows were on. And then (gasp!) they had to sit there and watch whatever was on. They moaned and groaned about not being able to pause and rewind the shows. Eventually they gave it up and went on to other activities. That was fine with me; I think they watch too much TV anyway. But broadcasters who don’t like Tivo’s and other DVRs should really take a hard look at how much those gadgets increase viewership and show loyalty. I think that would greatly outweigh any lost ad viewing time."

Life without the Internet: Zapped off the grid

Vince Verbeke, IT Specialist

Wikipedia describes Oobleck as "a fictional form of green precipitation invented by children's author Dr. Seuss in the book Bartholomew and the Oobleck. The word has since been used to describe a mixture of corn starch and water used to demonstrate the dilatant property of non-Newtonian fluids. Oobleck is also known in the United Kingdom as "goop" or "gloop" in many primary and nursery schools."

Check out these videos for a cool look at the gloop or custard in action.

Brainiac - Jon Tickle Walks on Custard, A pool filled with non-newtonian fluid, and Creeping Oobleck

Vince Verbeke, IT Specialist

The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) has released a native BlackBerry application to view WSJ content. Features include:

• Tabbed design, stories separated by category
• Customizable category listings
• Stock quote tracking through “My Stocks”
• RSS feeds through “My Feeds”
• Delicious/Facebook/Email sharing support
• Headlines and viewed articles cached for offline viewing

Here are a few points from the WSJ.com Mobile Reader FAQ:

What is WSJ.com Mobile Reader?
The WSJ.com Mobile Reader is a mobile application that delivers The Wall Street Journal to your BlackBerry® smartphone. The WSJ.com Mobile Reader automatically updates your phone with the latest headlines, and you can save full-text articles for reading when offline, without a wireless connection. Other features include a customizable "My Stocks" tab, "My Keywords" tab to track the news that's most important to you, and "My Feeds" tab to search and add RSS feeds from other sites and blogs.

Is WSJ.com Mobile Reader free, or is it a paid service?
WSJ.com Mobile Reader is a free application (depending on your plan, standard carrier data charges may apply). Full access to subscriber content for a limited time only.

What phones are supported by WSJ Mobile?
Supported Devices include:
- BlackBerry® Curve™
- BlackBerry® Pearl™
- BlackBerry® 8800 Series
- BlackBerry® 8700 Series

What sections of WSJ.com are available on the Mobile Reader?
WSJ.com sections that are available on the Mobile Reader are:
- What's News
- Tech
- Opinion
- Life (features articles from the Personal Journal section)
- Columns (includes blog posts from WSJ.com, Barrons.com and AllThingsD.com)
- Most Popular (incorporates Most Viewed and Most Emailed features on WSJ.com)

If you are already a WSJ subscriber and have one of the above BlackBerry models, you might try this out.

Vince Verbeke, IT Specialist

Disclaimer: Information presented here is provided as a general information resource. Any mention of commercial products is for information only; it does not imply recommendation or endorsement.

[Video] What It Was, Was Football
In honor of football season's arrival, here is Andy Griffith's famous monologue on football.
http://ie.youtube.com/watch?v=5_f4uxKKK6Q

Moo North: Cows Sense Earth's Magnetism
From NPR, it's an interesting theory and seems plausible. I guess....
Moo North: Cows Sense Earth's Magnetism

Pop or Soda or Coke?
I'm a pop-person from Western PA.
http://strangemaps.files.wordpress.com/2008/08/popvssodamap.gif

Candy, Candy
Cybele May loves candy. Since she has this passion, she blogs about it. Sweet!
http://www.typetive.com/candyblog/

[Video] Human Skateboard
Stop motion camera effects have always fascinated me.
http://de.youtube.com/watch?v=MtbQ4J3RfQ8

Is it Real or is it Scooby Doo?
If you used to ride along with the Mystery Machine, you'll be able to detect the real stories from the Scooby Snacks.
http://www.mentalfloss.com/quiz/quiz.php?q=94

Ross Hall Pendulum Cam 1st Floor
Auburn University has a number of webcams. The live feed showing this Foucault pendulum is really neat.
http://ocm.auburn.edu/webcams/webcams.php?cID=8&viewType=live

Clearwater Memorial Causeway
High Dynamic Range (HDR) shot of Tampa Bay FL bridge by Robert La Follette. If you have an hour, you can browse his photo galleries as well.
http://blog.robertlafollette.com/images/causeway.html

[Video] The Darlings - Doug's Tune
Just jump in where you can and hang on!
http://ie.youtube.com/watch?v=iQtXEb7C30o

[Video] How Long
The Eagles sing.
http://www.teenmusic.com/video/view/id/6462/Eagles-How-Long.html

Vince Verbeke, IT Specialist