Announcement – Page 139

Office 2016 & Window 10 Coming to Campus Computers

Office 2016 available April 1

Office 2016 will be available for all campus Windows and Mac OS computers beginning April 1st. You will find these products available via your computer’s LANDesk software portal (The LANDesk Portal Manager for Windows clients, or LANDesk Workspaces for Mac OS) where they may be selected for download and installation on your local system. Uninstalling the previous Office products is recommended, but not required. Please contact the OIT Help Desk if you do not see Office 2016 listed, if you have any difficulty accessing the LANDesk Portal Manager, or just have questions for us!

For installations off of the campus network, be sure to download and sign in to the campus VPN client prior to launching LANDesk. Please note that Office 32 bit will be the standard offering for all Windows systems regardless of the version of your computer’s operating system . For more information visit Choose the 32-bit or 64-bit version of Office.

Windows 10 available July 1

New campus computers ordered after July 1st will be delivered with Windows 10 Enterprise. Existing Windows 64 bit computers will be offered an optional Windows 10 upgrade via the LANDesk software portal (LANDesk Portal Manager) beginning July 1st. Computers currently being scheduled for upgrade through the campus tech fund will be delivered to customers running Windows 7, with Windows 10 upgrades offered for download and installation from LANDesk as well. If you utilize or support a lab or shared group of computers and would like to request an upgrade within those areas, or for any Windows computers running a 32-bit operating system, please contact the helpdesk for further assistance.

For more information on what version of the Windows operating system you have, visit http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/which-operating-system and for information on Windows 10 Enterprise features and changes see https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/WindowsForBusiness/windows-for-enterprise

Turnitin: Writing X Tech Virtual Conference

Turnitin’s Writing X Tech: The Writing Mindset will be April 18-22, 2016 (#writingtech16). This five-day virtual conference hosted by Turnitin will explore how technology affects writing instruction and the student learning experience. Hear techniques and strategies for using digital tools to increase student engagement and improve writing skills.

All sessions are geared for educators, and several are appropriate for students.

Educator attendees of the LIVE sessions will:

Receive “certificates of participation”
Be eligible to designate one of five (5) $100 gifts toward a DonorsChoose.org project
Receive recorded links of the sessions.

Registration is free. Information about this conference can be found on the Turnitin Registration page.

IT Help Desk Hours During Spring Break

The OIT Help Desk will operate under reduced hours for Spring Break as the Hughes-Trigg Student Center will be closed.

Spring Break Help Desk Hours

March 5–6	CLOSED
March 7–11	8:00 am – 6:00 pm
March 12–13	CLOSED

The emergency after-hours option will, of course, be available when the help desk is closed.

StarRez Brings Enhanced Service to Residence Life

SMU’s transition to a new residential management system has completed quickly and quietly. First year and returning students are now using StarRez to apply for housing.

Residence Life & Student Housing have partnered with OIT to seek, purchase, and implement this new application. RLSH sought a simpler user interface for both students and for RLSH staff. In fact, it was so simple RLSH staff noted they were able to handle a typically busy day with one key staff member out.

This project is an example of the success when there is a strong partnership between the business unit and OIT.

VPN has a new address

VPN Starting today, OIT will begin phasing out securenet.smu.edu for vpn.smu.edu. This change coincides with the move of the VPN services to new hardware. When you log in to the new VPN for the first time, you will be prompted to install the updated Cisco AnyConnect software.

If you have any bookmarks or links using the old URL, we recommend updating them to the new address of vpn.smu.edu.

About VPN

Virtual Private Networking (VPN) provides a secure connection to the SMU network through an established DSL or cable modem connection with an outside Internet Service Provider (ISP). The VPN connection provides access to secure SMU network resources such as departmental drives and applications hosted on the campus intranet.

Using VPN

There are two methods for establishing the VPN connection: browser-based and client based. Users can link to vpn.smu.edu through their web browser and log in with their SMU ID and password. Only the traffic within that browser window will be routed through the VPN connection.

Cisco AnyConnect To use the VPN client, download AnyConnect from vpn.smu.edu (log in with your SMU ID and password and click “AnyConnect” in the left navigation). Once a session is established, all traffic will be routed through the secure VPN connection.

Please contact the IT Help Desk at 214-768-HELP with any questions about using VPN.