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Thoughts on using IT in NC Cooperative Extension
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Wednesday September 12, 2007 |
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University Security Update
If you have a unity account, you probably recently received a message about the new University Password Policy. There are a couple of points I want to make sure you take away from this message. 1. MOST IMPORTANTLY: If you have not done so yet, update your UIA information. (User Identification and Authentication (UIA) is an online verification procedure implemented by Resource Management and Information Systems and used by University Help Desks to identify customers who make telephone requests to those help desks to have their passwords reset.) Go to: http://www.acs.ncsu.edu/uia to select three questions that the helpdesk will use to identify you. If you forget your password (or mistype it more than 8 times in a row), you will need to personally visit the University Help Desk with a photo ID - UNLESS you have previously updated your UIA information. You can't do this after you have forgotten your password!!! 2. Depending on your security level, you will need to change your unity password every 365 days, 90 days or 30 days. If you are accessing the Human Resources and Financial System (i.e. you enter your travel reimbursement requests), you will need to change your password every 90 days. You will know when it is time because 14 days prior to needing to change your password, you will start getting a reminder when you log in. When you see this reminder, go ahead and follow the instructions to change your password. Posted by jdorner ( Sep 12 2007, 04:15:53 PM EDT / Sep 12 2007, 04:15:33 PM EDT ) Permalink Comments [1] Trackback: http://blogs.lib.ncsu.edu/trackback/techtalk/Weblog/university_security_update |
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Friday September 07, 2007 |
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Change the look of a wiki
Did you know that many wikis are customizable? Some that are include the NCCE Intranet, eXtension wikis and even Wikipedia. You can change the way the wiki appears for you - not others, but first you have to be logged in. Why would you want to do this? Some layouts look better on different screen resolutions or just personal preferences. After you've logged in, click on "Preferences" link in the upper right corner (usually - depending on how you've customized the wiki). Then, click on the "Skin" tab. Choose the "Skin" you like best - use the "Preview" to see how it is going to look on your computer first - and then "Save".  So, if you don't like the way the wiki is being shown on your screen, just choose a different skin.
Posted by jdorner ( Sep 07 2007, 11:19:26 AM EDT / Sep 07 2007, 11:17:38 AM EDT ) Permalink Comments [0] Trackback: http://blogs.lib.ncsu.edu/trackback/techtalk/Weblog/change_the_look_of_a |
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Wednesday July 11, 2007 |
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Survey tools
CALS has a Survey Builder at http://ceres.cals.ncsu.edu/surveybuilder/ that we (NCCE) are welcome to use. This is a very easy tool to use to create an online survey. If this isn't robust enough to suit your needs, then check out some of the online survey tools like: Instant Survey: http://www.instantsurvey.com/ SurveyMonkey: http://www.surveymonkey.com/ Zoomerang: http://www.zoomerang.com/ Posted by jdorner ( Jul 11 2007, 04:34:00 PM EDT / Jul 11 2007, 04:23:22 PM EDT ) Permalink Comments [0] Trackback: http://blogs.lib.ncsu.edu/trackback/techtalk/Weblog/survey_tools |
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Tuesday June 05, 2007 |
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Secure your equipment
Worried about equipment theft in the workplace? Maybe you should be. There is no way to completely prevent equipment thefts from occurring, but these three small steps might help reduce the risk: Purchase and use equipment locks like the one linked below that
fits into the Kensington lock slot on many laptop and desktop computers like the Mac mini. This model
allows you to set your own combination.
It costs about $35. Place the equipment out of direct sight, if possible. Keep your office locked when you're not there. Posted by rconlon ( Jun 05 2007, 02:23:03 PM EDT / Jun 05 2007, 02:22:37 PM EDT ) Permalink Comments [0] Trackback: http://blogs.lib.ncsu.edu/trackback/techtalk/Weblog/secure_your_equipment |
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Thursday May 10, 2007 |
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Viewing NCDA Soil Test Results on a Mac
If a web page doesn't work like you expect it to work, try looking at it in a different browser (Firefox, Safari on Macs or MS Internet Explorer on Windows). If it still doesn't work, let the owner of the page know. Usually, they apreciate being told about problems so they can fix it. A new factsheet on getting Soil Sample Results from NCDA from a Mac has been posted to the CES Wiki at: http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/admin/wiki/index.php/Viewing_NCDA_Soil_Test_Results_on_a_Mac. If you have problems or questions, contact your IM Agent. Posted by jdorner ( May 10 2007, 10:38:44 AM EDT / May 10 2007, 10:38:32 AM EDT ) Permalink Comments [0] Trackback: http://blogs.lib.ncsu.edu/trackback/techtalk/Weblog/viewing_ncda_soil_test_results |
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Wednesday May 09, 2007 |
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Importing selected images from a camera on a Mac
If you want to import all the images from a camera iPhoto it is real easy using iPhoto. Just follow the prompts when you connect your camera to the computer using a USB cable. When it comes to a picture that you have already downloaded, it asks if you want to download the duplicates and you can indicate whether or not you want to skip all duplicates. Downloading selected images If you want to get just the last couple of images off the camera, you can do it one of several ways. Image Capture The Image Capture application lets you select images to download from your camera. It does not automatically import them into iPhoto, but lets you put them in any folder of your choice. From there, you can import them into iPhoto or use any other software you like. Use Finder On most cameras, when you connect the camera to the Mac, a new volume is mounted. Open Finder and you can navigate through the folders and find the actual image files. From there, you can drag them to your files on the Mac. Again, this does not import them directly into iPhoto. Memory Card Some cameras store the pictures on memory cards. You can get a card reader to plug into your USB port and read the card from the camera with that - using either Import from iPhoto or Finder. You can purchase the card readers for between $20 & $30. Posted by jdorner ( May 09 2007, 04:16:16 PM EDT / May 09 2007, 04:16:08 PM EDT ) Permalink Comments [0] Trackback: http://blogs.lib.ncsu.edu/trackback/techtalk/Weblog/importing_selected_images_from_a |
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Friday May 04, 2007 |
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Another Way to Check IMAP mail quota
Recent cases of IMAP mail users being over their quota have generated multiple calls to the EIT Helpdesk. An easy way to check your IMAP quota exists in Thunderbird Mail. While in your ?inbox?, click on ?Edit? on the menu bar at the top of your screen. A dropdown menu appears, at the bottom, click on ?Folder Properties?. A second dropdown menu shows a list of tabs (like folders in a file drawer). The tab on the right, labeled ?Quota? will show your quota, your usage, and your percentage. After you find out your information, just click on ?OK?. Some users are not aware that our space allocations have increased from 150 mb to 300 mb. Please refer to John Dorner?s earlier (March 27, 2007) posting about ?Need More E-Mail Quota Space? for instructions on adding quota. Posted by baemmons ( May 04 2007, 02:26:16 PM EDT / May 04 2007, 02:25:59 PM EDT ) Permalink Comments [0] Trackback: http://blogs.lib.ncsu.edu/trackback/techtalk/Weblog/another_way_to_check_imap |
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Wednesday April 25, 2007 |
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Mac Software Updates
Keep Software Updates Current Please help EIT by reminding the Mac Users in your office to keep their computer's software updates current. Our Help Desk often discovers pending software updates when they're helping someone resolve a problem. Often the updates contain bug fixes and feature enhancements that would stop the problems from occurring in the first place. So the next time that software update window opens on your desktop, please take the time to do the update. You'll be happy you did! Upgrade to Firefox 2 Have you added any software to your system yet? If not, here's a suggestion to start with. There is a wonderful, newer version of Firefox. Firefox 2 has an abundance of updated features, including a spell checker that works within web based forms, including the county web site application! Read about the new features and download the update from: http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/firefox/features.html Here are the installation instructions: 1) Download Firefox from the above web site 2) Quit your current version of Firefox, if it's running 3) Double-click on the disk image (.dmg icon) to run it 4) Drag the Firefox icon to your Applications folder 5) Replace the older version with the newer one 6) Drag the disk image and disk icon files to the trash If you have any questions, please contact your IM Agent or call the CES Help Desk at 919-513-7000 or email ces_help@ncsu.edu. Posted by jdorner ( Apr 25 2007, 03:38:17 PM EDT / Apr 25 2007, 03:38:07 PM EDT ) Permalink Comments [0] Trackback: http://blogs.lib.ncsu.edu/trackback/techtalk/Weblog/mac_software_updates
Pages 2 tips
Using "Comments" in Pages You can 'attach' comments to any part of your Pages document. Simply select the object to which you want to attach the comment and then click on the "Comment" button on the toolbar or use Insert -> Comment. The comment will appear out to the left of the page. WARNING: if you insert comments, the "View -> Show Comments" becomes active and when you print the document, the pages will be reduced to allow space for the comments to print in a column on the left of the paper - even if you have deleted all the comments. To be able to print the document like it is laid out, you need to go select "View -> Hide Comments" before you print. Sending a Pages document To send a Pages document to another Mac user with Pages installed, you must 'archive' or 'zip' the pages file. In reality, what appears to be the Pages file is a folder with the images, thumbnails and contents files. If you attach the Pages file to an email message, the recipient will not get anything. To archive the file so you can send it, right-click on the pages file and select "Make Archive of filename". This creates a .zip file that has everything the recipent needs - assuming they have Pages installed on their Mac. Note: if you are using Thunderbird and you open the zip file with Stuffit automatically, the zip file will be downloaded to the "downloaded files" folder specified in Safari Preferences (the "temp" or "downloads" folder on the NCCE Macs), then the file is 'unziped' into that same folder. You'll need to open the file from there. To send a Pages document to a Windows user or a Mac user without Pages installed, create a PDF of the document from the Print dialog window. If you have any questions or problems, please contact your IM Agent or the EIT HelpDesk. Posted by jdorner ( Apr 25 2007, 01:11:36 PM EDT / Apr 25 2007, 01:08:13 PM EDT ) Permalink Comments [2] Trackback: http://blogs.lib.ncsu.edu/trackback/techtalk/Weblog/pages_2_tips
Navigating through web pages
One of my pet peeves with the Mac was the inability to use the tab key to select checkboxes, dropdown select menus and the submit button in forms when browsing the web with Firefox. Recently, I discovered (I believe it changed with one of the recent updates) the ability to do this. However, by default, it is not enabled. You have to turn it on by going to the System Preferences Keyboard & Mouse options. At the bottom of the Keyboard Shortcuts tab is the option to "Press tab to move the keyboard focus beween All controls".  Now, when filling out a form in a web page, I can use the tab key to move from one field to the next. If the field is a checkbox, I press the space bar to check/uncheck it. If it is a dropdown menu, I type the first letter of the option I want to select. If there are several with the same first letter, I keep typing the first letter until the option I want is selected. If the filed is a text box, I just type my text and press the tab key to move to the next. Finally, when I tab to the Submit button, I press enter to submit. Once you get used to using the tab key to move around web based forms, you'll love it! More tips for moving around in Firefox:
Posted by jdorner ( Apr 25 2007, 10:16:47 AM EDT / Apr 25 2007, 10:15:31 AM EDT ) Permalink Comments [0] Trackback: http://blogs.lib.ncsu.edu/trackback/techtalk/Weblog/navigating_through_web_pages |