Staff Happenings

July Town Hall

The next IT Services Town Hall meeting is scheduled for Monday, July 13, in the McCaw Room at the Frances C. Arrillaga Alumni Center, from 10 a.m. to 12 noon. The meeting should already be on your Stanford calendar.

The Town Hall will feature Martin Shell, Stanford's Vice President for Development. In addition, we will introduce new staff members, and Bill and the Executive Directors will discuss strategic directions for our organization. As always, there will be time for questions and answers.

Please make plans to attend.

- Nancy Ware
Planning and Communications

Summer Picnic

Our annual IT Services Summer Picnic will take place on Thursday, July 16. Once again, your families and children are invited. It will be a carnival-like atmosphere for all to enjoy. Naturally, there will be plenty of food and beverages as well.

It's scheduled from 3–6 p.m. on (and around) the Turing Lawn.

- Nancy Ware
Planning and Communications

Tai Chi Class

Join your IT Services colleagues for a relaxing lunch hour with one of the top Tai Chi masters in the world, all in your own back yard, under the oak tree outside Turing Auditorium. Register at hip/classes-register.htm. The class number is tctg-01s.

- Mary Donoghue
Technology Training Services

Comings and Goings

There are no staff changes to report in this issue of its in bits.

its in bits welcomes more detailed employee news submissions from all staff. Please submit to itsinbits-submissions@lists.stanford.edu

Tech Briefings

Tech Briefings

Fridays
2:00–3:30 p.m.
Turing Auditorium

Friday, July 10

Stanford Calendar—Ammy Hill, IT Services. On Independence Day weekend, the campus will move from Sundial to Stanford Calendar. This Tech Briefing will focus on the most commonly used features in the calendar and some special tips and tricks for optimizing your Stanford Email & Calendar experience. More information can be found at emailcalendar.stanford.edu.

Friday, July 17

Stanford WebAFS, Collaboration Tools Installer, and Scheduling Service—Jon Pilat, Marco Wise, IT Services. Come learn about WebAFS, the newly-released web-based interface to AFS. This new tool allows you to access your files in AFS space from anywhere using just a web browser. We'll go over the interface as well as possibilities available for managing and sharing your files with your colleagues at Stanford. We will also cover the Collaboration Tools Installer, which lets you install four popular open source web applications (Drupal, MediaWiki, WordPress, and phpBB3) in your departmental or group web space. We'll go through the installation process and give you pointers on where to get help and information. Finally, there will be a sneak preview of the upcoming Scheduling Service, a new service that will allow you to execute UNIX commands and scripts at regular intervals.

Tech Express

Once a month
12:00–1:00 p.m.
Turing Auditorium

Thursday, July 16

Stanford Calendar—Ammy Hill, IT Services. On Independence Day weekend, the campus will move from Sundial to Stanford Calendar. This Tech Briefing will focus on the most commonly used features in the calendar and some special tips and tricks for optimizing your Stanford Email & Calendar experience. More information can be found at emailcalendar.stanford.edu.

Check the Tech Briefings home page for future sessions and to subscribe to the mailing list. Also see the Tech Express home page for information on upcoming presentations.

Technology Training Courses

IT Professional Development:

Introduction to Drupal (choose one of two sessions) (ITS-3020) Mon, July 20, or Tues, July 28, 9:00–4:00, $395

XML Technologies (ITS-2531), Fri, July 24, 9:00–4:00, $325

NEW! Becoming a UNIX/LINUX User: The Beginning (ITS-2560), Wed, July 29, 9:00–4:00, $325

PHP Workshop (2 days) (ITS-2511), Aug 3-4, 9:00–4:00, $525

NEW! Javascript Advanced: AJAX (ITS-2561), Thurs, Aug 13, 9:00–4:00, $325

SQL Basics (ITS-2521), Thurs, Aug 20, 9:00–4:00, $325

TechPort: Online Technology Training for Stanford—techport.stanford.edu (ITS-0611), through Aug 31, $195

The full listing of Current Courses is available on the Tech Training web site.

Upcoming Tech Training classes of interest to IT Services staff:

*Web Design Level 1: HTML Your Way to the Web (The Basics) (ITS-2501), Fri, July 10, 9:00–12:00, $195

*Dreamweaver 101: Start Here (Dreamweaver Lite) (ITS-2601), Fri, July 10, 1:30–4:30, $195

FileMaker Pro Lite v9.0: An Overview (ITS-1800), Mon, July 13, 9:00–12:00, $195

Flash Workshop (2 days) (ITS-2631), Mon, July 13 & Tues, July 14, 9:00–4:00 both days, $525

ReportMart1 Introduction (ITS-8401), Tues, July 14, 1:30–4:30, Free

Excel Transition from 2003 to 2007 (ITS-1137), Wed, July 15, 8:30–12:00, $195

Word Transition from 2003 to 2007 (ITS-0927), Wed, July 15, 1:00–4:30, $195

OrderIT Site Training (ITS-8301), Thurs, July 16, 8:30–12:00, Free

Excel 2007: Tables, Functions and Linking (Level 2), Thurs, July 16, 9:00–4:00, $325

InDesign Level 1 (ITS-1457), Thurs, July 16, 9:00–4:00, $325

Photoshop 101: Start Here (Photoshop Lite) (ITS-1460), Fri, July 17, 9:00–12:00, $195

Access 2007 Level 1 (ITS-1721), Fri, July 17, 9:00–4:00, $325

*Dreamweaver Level 1 (ITS-2610), Fri, July 17, 9:00–4:00, $325

* Class is a recommended prerequisite to help prepare for:
Certification Workshop: Web Professional in the Stanford Environment (ITS-2606), Wed, Sept 30, 9:00–4:00, $325
More information at webcertificate.stanford.edu.

Free Email / Calendar Training:

Full schedule available at emailcalendartraining.stanford.edu

Stanford Email (Webmail) (ITS-2110)

Stanford Calendar (ITS-2300)

Introduction to the New Stanford Email and Calendar (ITS-2115)

Moving from Sundial to Stanford Calendar (ITS-2116)

Cool Tips and Tricks for Stanford Email and Calendar (ITS-2117)

Advanced Stanford Calendar: Managing Executive Calendars, Resources, and Events (ITS-2119)

Outlook 2007 Mail (ITS-2111)

Outlook 2007 Calendar (ITS-2118)

Apple Mail (ITS-2113)

Apple iCal (ITS-2114)

Thunderbird Mail (ITS-2112)

Sign up at http://axess.stanford.edu.

Classes with low enrollment may be cancelled one week in advance. More information on courses, registration, and training is available at the Technology Training Services site.

- Nancy Baumann
Technology Training Services

IT Employment Opportunities

There were no new job postings for IT Services this week.

To view the complete listings or to apply for a position, visit the StanfordJobs web site at: jobs.stanford.edu.

There are other open Information Technology positions at Stanford. To see what other opportunities exist on campus, link to the full list of all open IT positions at Stanford.

Quote of the Week

“The difference between fiction and reality is that fiction has to make sense.”

- Tom Clancy

News

Countdown to Migration

The Sundial-to-Stanford Calendar migration begins tonight, July 1, at 5 p.m. After months of planning and preparation, it finally comes to fruition this weekend. While most folks are enjoying fireworks and a barbecue, the team will be hard at work to ensure a smooth transition.

Just to keep things interesting, a last-minute bug emerged last week. IT Services staff accessing their calendars from the URL webcal.stanford.edu experienced intermittent problems creating new appointments. The team came together last Wednesday, sussed out the cause, and found a fix within a few hours. They then tested and verified the fix and moved it to production on Tuesday—just in time for the big roll-out to campus, when we expect many people to use webcal.stanford.edu to quickly access their new calendar.

The campus will return on July 6 to begin using Stanford Calendar instead of Sundial. The team will breathe a big sigh of relief once all of the data is successfully converted, but the pressure remains high for the IEC team and campus IT support staff to manage client needs as they learn the new tool. While a change in the calendar will be challenging for many at the outset, a lot of positive client feedback from training classes and partnerships is a clear indication that we're aligned for success.

- Ammy Hill
Campus Readiness

H&S Faculty Orientation Reborn

Jane Marcus may be gone, but her efforts towards assisting new faculty when they come on board have not been forgotten. Based on feedback from H&S clients and CRC consultants, we have created a new package of tools that will help not only new faculty with their computing needs upon arrival, but also the department administrators who serve them.

Our department administrators tell us that they want a process that is quick, easy, and integrated with the tools they are accustomed to using when initiating desktop support. With that in mind, CRC has created a "toolkit" that includes the following items:

  • Hardware Recommendation and Software Licensing websites
  • Pre-formatted HelpSU ticket with instructions for initiating the faculty setup and orientation
  • Updated Faculty Quick Start Guide—including IT resources and services
  • Checklist of items that should await faculty, such as power strips, laptop security locks, etc.

To ensure consistency, we created a checklist for the CRC consultants fielding the HelpSU requests. After the faculty systems have been properly configured, the consultants will orient the faculty with other IT resources and services at Stanford.

Matt Riley has approved the first review and the tools are now being reviewed by a group of department administrators to incorporate their feedback. Our goal is to have the entire program in place by mid-August.

Special thanks to Anthony Hom, Gaby Rodriguez, Greg Smith, and Varun Tansuwan for their work on developing the toolkit. Thanks also to Christopher Kittle for finding the previous Quick Start Guide so we didn't have to start from scratch, and to Cynthia Endriga for updating it; to Anne Pinkowski and Tracy Neil for deploying the HelpSU pre-formatted ticket, and lastly to Jane Marcus for her previous work that has made our job so much easier!

- Kim Seidler
Contract Services

Rates Committee Update

The IT Services Rates Committee, represented by each Executive Director group, meets every two weeks to review the current and next fiscal year rates for IT Services' services.

In the past six months, the Rates Committee has been actively reviewing, recommending, and approving FY10 rates for existing IT Services' services. These include decreasing rates for Storage Mid-Tier, Backups, and additional email quotas; Automated Call Distribution (eACD); CRC Server Administration; International Long Distance; and Oracle Database Administration. The Residential voice, cable TV, and DSL bundled service was increased to better cover costs.

At the same time, IT Services continues to respond to our client's needs with new services and associated rates. These new services include Converged Communication, Net-to-Switch bring your own hardware, MS SQL Database Administration, High Performance Computing, and Virtual Server Hosting.

For additional information on IT Services' services, please visit the IT Services Service Catalog.

- Shirley Hodges
CRC / Desktop Systems

Updates to the Desktop Backup Service

The IT Services Desktop and Laptop Backup Service has been updated. These changes include:

Iron Mountain/Connected

  • now supports both Windows and Macintosh computers.
  • currently priced at $12/computer/month for up to 30 GB.

Mozy

  • Stanford now has a Master Agreement with Mozy.
  • Mozy supports both Windows and Macintosh computers.
  • Current business pricing is $3.95/computer/month + 50 cents per GB.

BaRS

  • Stanford's BaRS service for desktops and laptops will be retired as of January 2010.
  • The BaRS service for servers will continue.

For more details about these services, please visit backup.stanford.edu.

- Shirley Hodges
CRC / Desktop Systems

Buying and Paying Support Center (BPSC) Launched!

IT Services is proud to partner with the Controller's Office and the Purchasing and Contracts Department to launch the new Buying and Paying Support Center (BPSC) on June 8. The support center provides customer support for internal and external customers of Stanford, and serves as the new single-stop for all buying and paying matters.

Customers may contact the BPSC at 650-723-2772 from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday through Friday. They may also submit requests via email to buyandpay@stanford.edu or submit HelpSU requests to BPSC.

This is a two-phase project. In Phase 1, IT Services enabled the following call center capabilities on June 8:

  1. Route and queue customer calls to BPSC agents using our Avaya eACD solution.
  2. Provide full request-tracking functionality using our Remedy/HelpSU solution.
  3. Provide new Stanford Answers portals as a tool for use by the BPSC specialists.

In Phase 2, IT Services enabled automatic routing of non-voice calls (email requests and HelpSU requests) to the agents on June 30.

We would like to thank Julia Wyman from the Controller's Office, Sandip Darji from the Purchasing and Contracts Department, and Wendy Taylor from Driva Solutions for their partnership and support.

Also, a special thanks to the core team from IT Services, Avaya, and Driva Solutions who made this possible: Dominga Zepeda, Elizabeth Santisteven, Jim Hsu, Chris Silber, Chris Lundin, Steve Kallestad, Tracy Neil, Jose Rocha, Tom Goodrich, Melissa Wibom, Nelly Chien, Ernest Lau, Bill Johnson, Tim Skirvin, Joe Riddle, Jessica Dutro, Shon Parker, Lisa Petra, N. Choudhury, Deborah Keenan, Wes Pittman, Phil Vandecar, Scotty Logan, and Jan Cicero.

If you would like more information or have any questions, please contact Chai Ho or Jan Cicero.

- Chai Ho
Project Management

Department Contacts Praise Open Forums

Last week, Vicki Hallett and Suzanne Schiessler held an open forum for our client Department Contacts (or STARs as they still prefer to be called) to provide information about updates to the OrderIT site, hear their questions, and hold open discussions about topics that interested the group.

The idea for the forum originated from a Hospital request to inform and update their Department Contacts. Dominga Zepeda, Christina Zuffinetti, Ernie Phipps, and Jay Kohn met with us to brainstorm ideas to help Hospital Department Contacts become more productive.

Taking those ideas, we decided to do test our presentation with ten experienced Department Contacts. It was a good thing! Based on their feedback, we ended up changing the content and format quite a bit. We then presented to the Hospital Department Contacts. The meeting was well-attended; about 75 people came and were quite pleased with what we had to say. Based on their suggestions, we decided to hold quarterly open forums where Department Contacts can get together with IT Services representatives to exchange ideas to make their jobs more productive. This first open forum attracted about 80 folks and again, the feedback was quite positive.

You can review the presentation.

In addition, check out the new "How To" documents on the OrderIT Help site.

- Suzanne Schiessler
Order Management

IT Services to "Go Green"

Stanford's Office of Sustainability & Energy Management is creating the Building Level Sustainability Program, and IT Services has been chosen to take part beginning in July. We will be the second pilot. A test was conducted in Building 170 in spring, and the Alumni Center has just kicked off as the first pilot. IT Services will expand the concept of pilot in that we'll be deploying for the whole department at once. This means that nine buildings will be tackled at once: Spruce, Forsythe, Puichon, Oak, Laurel, Acacia, Polya, Redwood, and Pine.

One of the lessons learned from building 170 is that it's critical to have local support—so we are looking for a Building Lead for each building. If you want to lead your building to save energy, increase recycling, and reduce water usage, please sign up. It should take no more than two hours per week, partly in a team meeting, partly in making the rounds to ensure that energy-saving efforts are in place. Send email to Joyce Dickerson if you're interested. The kickoff meeting is scheduled for July 21, and the pilot will run through October.

In Building 170, we saw energy reduction of over 20%, and that is proving sustainable as the building occupants have moved out of the "testing" spotlight. You can read more about what we'll be doing in the draft Program Document [PDF]. We expect to be making significant contributions to this document as we proceed through the pilot. Once finalized, this program will be launched across campus and will become an integral component of Stanford's greenhouse gas reduction goals.

Thanks in advance to everyone for helping this project's success. You can expect to hear more in late July.

- Joyce Dickerson
Sustainable IT

Computers Need Vacations Too

Going on vacation this summer? Don’t forget to let your computer go on vacation, too. Before you leave, make sure your computer, monitor, printer, and other peripherals are turned off. If you leave your computer on, with screen saver running and printer in stand-by mode, that uses over 120 watts, which translates into greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. If you've got everything plugged into a power strip, just turn off the power strip before you leave. Save energy, save money, and help save the atmosphere.

- Joyce Dickerson
Sustainable IT

About its in bits

A regular summary of IT business, news about personnel, and pointers to other information of interest to IT Services staff. Coordinated, compiled, and published by the Communication Strategy and Standards Team. its in bits is published on the first and third Wednesday of the month.

Submissions are due by Noon on the Friday before the scheduled issue, to itsinbits-submissions@lists.stanford.edu for consideration. its in bits is distributed via email to its-all-staff@lists.stanford.edu and the subscription list itsinbits-subscribers@lists.stanford.edu People outside of IT Services can self-subscribe via mailman.

The next its in bits will be published on Wednesday, July 15, 2009.