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About CS
December 17, 2004
As the Fall 2004 semester draws to a close, I would like to take a
moment to update you on some important initiatives that Computer
Services is working on to enhance technology at Temple.
Tech Center
The Board of
Trustees has recently approved the creation of a new Teaching, Education,
Collaboration and Help Center (TECH) Center. The TECH Center will reside
in the Bell Building on 12th St. and Montgomery Avenue and will be a
state-of-the-art learning center that will provide students with a
collaborative work environment using the latest technology. In addition to
a 700 workstation computer lab, the TECH Center will house the Help Desk,
an Instructional Support Center, a Teaching/Learning Center, and a
University Welcome Center. The facility, which will be available 24 hours
a day, is slated to open in the Spring 2006 semester.
The Computer
Services staff is extremely excited to be undertaking such a major
project, which will ensure that Temple students continue to have access to
the latest technology resources. Stay tuned for more news about this
upcoming facility.
Spyware
Spyware continues to pose significant threats to computers throughout the
University. If you are unfamiliar with the term spyware, it refers to a family of programs that are
installed on your computer without your knowledge while you are surfing the
Web.
In most cases, this software is designed to track the Web
sites that you visit for marketing purposes. Spyware can also, however,
put you at risk for identity theft and can degrade the performance and
stability of your computer.
To help inform you about the dangers of spyware, Computer Services has created a spyware Web site, which I encourage everyone to review. This site contains a
educational page titled "Spyware 101" as well as information on how to download and install Ad-Aware,
a free anti-spyware
program that Computer Services is recommending to all Temple computer
users.
Windows Upgrade
Sheri Stahler, Associate Vice President of Computer Services, recently
sent out a memo to the University urging everyone who has Windows 95 or 98
to upgrade to Windows XP.
Please remember that if you are faculty or staff
member, you can obtain Windows XP at
at no charge for existing on-campus computers. If you are a student, you can purchase
Windows XP
at a substantial discount from Journey Education Marketing
Company. For more information on upgrading to Windows XP,
please review our Upgrading to
Windows XP Web site.
TUmail
To further refine the usability of TUmail, Computer Services has
included a Sent Mail and Junk Mail link on the
left navigation bar. In addition, we have improved the flexibilty of e-mail aliases,
so that they no longer require a period and can contain as few as three characters. For example, you can now create an alias called ron@temple.edu.
Meanwhile, Mirapoint, the company that has developed our TUmail system,
continues to expand and has recently added the following schools to their
client base: University of Maryland, University of Delaware, University of Chicago,
Canisius College, University of Massachusetts at Boston, and Longwood
University.
In closing, I would like to wish students the best of luck on their final
examinations and assignments. I also hope everyone has a safe and relaxing
holiday season and a rewarding new year.
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