Author: Seth

Faculty/Staff, Help Desk, Software, Students, Tips

ITS Recommendation for Windows 10

Seth

Microsoft released Windows 10 on July 29th, 2015 and is offering the operating system as a free upgrade to eligible Windows 7 and 8.1 installations for one year. ITS Recommendation Information Technology Services (ITS) will support personally-owned Windows 10 devices on our network and with supported College software.  ITS strongly recommends that College community members thinking of upgrading to Windows 10 adopt a “wait and see” approach, continuing to use earlier supported versions of Windows (Windows 7 Service Pack 1 and Windows 8.1) until the initial bugs and compatibility issues in Windows 10 are identified and fixed. At this point … Continue reading ITS Recommendation for Windows 10

Faculty/Staff, Help Desk, Software, Students, Tips

Windows 10 at Swarthmore

Seth

Microsoft will release Windows 10 on July 29th, 2015 and is offering the operating system as a free upgrade to existing Windows 7 and 8.1 installations for one year. ITS Recommendation ITS strongly recommends that College community members thinking of upgrading to Windows 10 adopt a “wait and see” approach, continuing to use earlier supported versions of Windows (Windows 7 Service Pack 1 and Windows 8.1) until the initial bugs and compatibility issues in Windows 10 are identified and fixed. After the official release is tested, Swarthmore College’s full recommendation for Windows 10 will be posted to the ITS Blog. Information … Continue reading Windows 10 at Swarthmore

Banner, Help Desk, Software, Tips

Use Firefox for Banner INB

Seth

Google Chrome Version 42 was released in April 2015.  The latest release of the Chrome web browser blocks Oracle’s Java plugin by default. Swarthmore College’s Banner system requires Java.  Information Technology Services recommends using the Mozilla Firefox web browser to access Banner INB (Internet Native Banner). If you do not already have Firefox on your workstation, it can be downloaded from Mozilla’s website: https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/new/ If you have any questions, please contact the ITS Help Desk (help@swarthmore.edu). Continue reading Use Firefox for Banner INB

Email, Faculty/Staff, Software, Students, Tips

Tip: Disable Automatic Detection and Maintenance of Account Settings in Yosemite Mail

Seth

There is a problematic setting included in the latest version of the Mail application that comes bundled with OS X 10.10 Yosemite. If you use Apple’s Mail client to check your Swarthmore email, you will need to turn this setting off. The Mail application will now attempt to automatically change your email settings without warning, even when your email is working correctly. The automatic changes won’t necessarily be correct for your email account, and have caused issues with Swarthmore’s email settings. To stop this automatic configuration from occurring, make the following adjustments: 1. In the Mail Application, pull down the … Continue reading Tip: Disable Automatic Detection and Maintenance of Account Settings in Yosemite Mail

Faculty/Staff, Software, Students

Please hold off on updating to OS X 10.10 Yosemite

Seth

Apple released OS X 10.10 Yosemite as a free update on October 16th. Last week many of our students and staff experienced a rocky start with the new operating system, quite a few reporting that their Macs won’t even boot after the upgrade. At this time ITS is recommending that community members NOT update to Yosemite. As with all new software, it is advisable to wait at least a month or two before upgrading to let the initial bugs and incompatibilities to be resolved.   In addition, ITS asks that staff and faculty NEVER upgrade the operating system on College-owned computers … Continue reading Please hold off on updating to OS X 10.10 Yosemite

Faculty/Staff, Software, Students, Tips

Windows 8 Announcement

Seth

Microsoft released Windows 8 on October 26th, 2012 and most Windows hardware vendors are now shipping systems with Windows 8 installed. ITS Recommendation Information Technology Services (ITS) will support Windows 8 for our clients, including off-campus students, on new systems that ship with Windows 8 pre-installed. ITS strongly recommends that College community members thinking of upgrading to Windows 8 adopt a “wait and see” approach, continuing to use earlier supported versions of Windows (Windows 7 SP1 and Windows XP SP3) until the initial bugs and compatibility issues in Windows 8 are identified and fixed. It is ITS policy to test … Continue reading Windows 8 Announcement