GC Technology: Working Towards the Future

Posted by Advocate Staff on Oct 15, 2006 in News | 0 comments

On the Horizon: the One-Year Plan

CUNY pursues licensing agreements

The CUNY system is presently pursuing licensing agreement with Microsoft that will provide the Graduate Center with the new Office 2007 and Vista platforms. Ideally, this will be completed and the GC will be able to install the new versions of the operating system for the start of Fall 2008. This is a “major” step, according to Campbell.

The main difference between Windows XP (what the GC presently uses) and Office 2007 will be facilitated user interface, which will allow users greater degrees of functionality. “We need to be more proactive in planning,” Campbell said in reference to the lack of updated technology, and the switch to Office 2007 a step towards this goal.

Vista is the functionality component of the new Office 2007 platform, which will allow for a more secure PC environment. The English translation of this means that the GC, once it adapts these new systems, will be less prone to viruses and less prone to intervention by unauthorized users. Additionally, Vista will provide a new environment for screen presentation, using different layers of screen display. Of course, if one chooses to display the more conventional screen, this will still be possible. Campbell said that Vista will essentially be like the “floor plan,” for the GC computing systems, “and the applications you can consider the interior design.”

More Hardware

Another improvement (not supported by this year’s Student Technology Fee) was the purchase of 115 new PCs, which are presently being deployed throughout the building, albeit mostly for the EOs, staff, and faculty. In addition to citing their needs for new computers (the new version of Banner requires larger screens than the older PCs), Mr. Campbell detailed that much of the faculty and staff presently uses outdated PCs. One of his goals is to work on “matching financial resources with needs.”

Exceeding user profile space to be a problem of the past

Ever try to save something while working on a computer at the Graduate Center only to be told that your user alias is over its set limit? This will soon be a predicament of the past. One of the ongoing projects of the GC’s Information Technology staff this fall is working on eliminating user profiles. The IT department is working on raising the amount of space for profiles so that being unable to save documents or material will not be an issue in the future. This process has already been accomplished for faculty and staff users, however, due to the large and constant turn-over of the student population, the student user profiles are taking a bit longer.

The Graduate Center recently acquired new hardware, new personnel, and is working on implementing new software updates in the on-going quest to bring the GC’s technology hardware, software, and network capabilities up-to-date.

Using funds from the Student Technology Fee, the GC purchased 10 new Macintosh computers (Macs), which are in the process of being deployed to high-need areas throughout the building. Two of the targeted areas are the Music Department and New Media Lab lounge areas. Some of the new machines will also end up in the library, said Assistant Vice President for Information Technology Robert D. Campbell, who noted that the Macs stationed there presently represent a “hodge-podge” of older equipment. The integration of some of the new machines will help offset that deficiency a bit.

Campbell said that this purchase was in line with the “need to integrate the Mac platform into the Graduate Center.” One of his goals is to incorporate more Macs in programs or departments where they are best suited. But don’t get your hopes up that your student lounge will soon have a Mac to sync with your iPod. “Where Mac platforms are used right now,” he said, “they are best suited to the [program or departmental] needs rather than to the personal tastes or preferences of faculty, staff, and students.”

As the Mac runs on a different platform from the other GC PCs, the increase in the number of Mac systems running at the GC necessitated the hiring of a staff member with Mac-specific expertise. To this end, the GC recently hired Michael Oman-Reagan, a Mac specialist, to join the Client Services division of the IT department, the group responsible for providing the GC community with front-line support via the IT help desk.

In addition to Oman-Reagan, it is hoped that one of the future IT hires will also be a Mac specialist. Presently, there are five other job openings that IT is trying to fill in order to target GC-community related technology issues: two in Client Services, two in Systems, and one in Applications Development. The Systems group works with the building’s infrastructure, servers, and network, while the Applications Development team consists of programmers. The reason why there are up to five positions vacant right now is due to a moving-around of the IT department funds. Campbell said that he wanted to free up more dollars to devote to front-line staff as this would best help the GC community. There is also a push, he said, to find more professional development opportunities and workshops to send technicians to so that they may increase their working knowledge of the Mac platform.

Another new acquisition in Campbell’s goal to bring the GC system more up-to-date was the purchase of new monitors for the information kiosks throughout the building. “The problem with the kiosks now,” he said, “is two-fold: one, they are outdated; and two, the information in the kiosks themselves is not kept updated.” As the kiosks run on a separate network from the rest of the building, this is one area that Campbell’s team is targeting for improvement. “These kiosks are one way that the institution interacts with the population,” Campbell said, noting that updated and functioning kiosks would aid not only GC students, faculty, and staff, but also outsiders who come to attend conferences, talks, or symposiums. “The kiosks are but one example of the larger project in updating our information and systems,” he said.

The software-side of the upgrades is also a work in progress. The GC has not routinely been purchasing software updates, which has led to many programs being outdated or outmoded. This is an area that is actively being targeted for improvement. Two software programs are at the top of the list for updates: Adobe Acrobat Pro and SPSS.

The GC presently uses Adobe Acrobat 6.0, which is a publishing program to allow the reading and creation of pdfs. Most departments and offices within the GC need this program, and the main problem up until now has been that it is not installed in enough locations. Seeking to begin to rectify this problem, in early October the GC purchased 100 licenses to the newer version, Adobe Acrobat 7.0, and is deploying it to more programs throughout the semester.

The other program that the GC IT department is working on updating is SPSS, a statistical analysis package that is used by many students, faculty, and staff. The new version that is available would provide SPSS users with significant upgrades. At press time, the GC is working in tandem with other CUNY campuses on securing a licensing agreement (SPSS is not licensed by the CUNY system), and it is hoped that the new version will be acquired within the next semester.

The last of the recent or imminent improvements is the installation of EZProxy, a program that will give students additional access to the databases and resources of the Mina Rees Library. EZProxy has tested successfully over the past month at the library, and in early October the GC purchased a permanent license for the program. Julie Cunningham, Chief Librarian, said that within the next few weeks EZProxy should be up and running, and that students can keep an eye on the library website (library.gc.cuny.edu) to see if it is live. Although the acquisition and installation of EZProxy was a joint effort of both the IT department and the library, Campbell said that it was an “excellent example of how side projects which have more immediate results and impact can be integrated into the overarching task” of updating the GC network, hardware, and software systems.

Have a technology-related issue that you would like to learn more about? Ever encounter a tech issue that you want to know more about as to what is being done within the Graduate Center to address it? Send us your questions: [email protected] with the word “Technology” in the subject.

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