GC Technology: GC Paper Use Getting out of Control
Attack of the Macs
Since the deployment last month of ten new Macs throughout the Graduate Center community, efforts are being made to incorporate more of the machines into the GC framework, said Assistant Vice President for Information Technology Robert D. Campbell. This includes efforts to get the present Macs up to current hardware and software standards. Members of IT have met with the Audio/Visual Department to discuss how to increase the usage of Macs throughout the building. Campbell said that plans are in place to begin replacing the iMac machines on the C-level concourse of the Mina Rees Library, once proper funding has been identified.
In order to increase the ability of the GC community to use Macs, once more machines are in place, Help Desk Supervisor Elain Montilla said that work is underway to set up a dedicated server for all GC Macs, thus facilitating operations. As the Mac machines run on a different server than PCs, the difficulty in installing more Macs on campus has traditionally been this server disparity. By setting up a Mac server, Montilla said that this will hopefully remedy that old, persistent problem.
Printing
Last month the DSC recommended that all printers be set to default to double-sided printing in an effort to save paper. This stems from the increasing student printing rates each semester. The quantities of paper have continued to climb since Fall 2003, when the student paper consumption was 386,135, to 2,268,388 for Spring 2006 and, as of Nov. 1, 2006, 2,845,121 for Fall 2006. The total student paper consumption for Fall 2006 is estimated to reach 3,200,000, according to Montilla. In terms of dollars and cents, this totals $9,550.00 for paper for Fall 2006 alone.
Campbell said that IT would be happy to comply setting the default of all printers to double-sided printing, although no present plans are in place for such a move–yet. The Systems Group is establishing a printer server management system which will be installed over the upcoming months. Once in place, it will be able to monitor the number of printouts and to manage printing throughout the GC. This would be the first step in trying to get a handle on the steadily increasing amount of paper consumed by students in the Graduate Center for printing purposes.
34th St. Proposes Wireless Deal
The GC has been approached by the 34th Street Partnership to discuss a neighborhood wireless internet access project. The 34th Street Partnership is the same group, Campbell said, responsible for installing wireless internet access to Bryant Park and would represent “the first domino,” in getting wireless coverage up and running at 365 Fifth Avenue. The GC and the 34th Street Partnership have had “productive conversations” related to a closer cooperation on this issue. “We anticipate a working relationship to figure out where our IT would provide wireless coverage and the partnership would,” said Campbell. Although Campbell acknowledged that the 34th Street Partnership is a valuable one, he insisted that the Graduate Center would take full responsibility for wireless coverage of the Mina Rees Library, according to the original wireless access plan presented earlier this fall.
Free Software Available
The Graduate Center has made several software applications available to students for download, pick-up (in room 8311), and/or on public computers. The free software for home use that is available for download includes, EndNote, a program to help create and organize bibliographic information, Citrix ICA, an application that allows students to access their Graduate Center desktops from home, and VPN Client, a secure connection to the Graduate Center’s computing resources.
- EndNote http://library.gc.cuny.edu/database/endnote/endnote.asp
- Citrix ICA https://citrix.gc.cuny.edu
- VPN Client http://inside.gc.cuny.edu/informationresources/vpn/
Additional software available free of cost to students for home use includes SAS (PC only) and Mathematica (for both Mac and PC). Students who wish to pick-up either of these two programs should contact Pauline Budd ([email protected]) to request a copy and arrange for a time to pick-up the software. Students should be aware that they will be required to show their GC ID card in order to pick-up these applications.
There are also several software programs available for use on-campus only, including: ESRI Products (ArcInfo, ARcEditor, ArcGIS, ArcView, ArcSDE, ArcIMS, ArcPAD Application Builder including ArcPad, ArcPad StreetMap, Map Objects-Windows Edition, MapObjects-Java Edition, BusinessMap3, ArcLogistics Route with Data, NetEngine for Windows for UNIX, ArcIMS Route Server, ArcGIS Engine Developer Kit, ArcGIS Engine Server Development and Testing License with Spatial Analyst, 3D Analyst and Street Map Options.
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