software

Windows 7 – End of Support January 20, 2020

Windows 7 will officially reach end of support on January 20, 2020. (You can read more about that here and here.) After that day, Windows 7 will no longer receive any patches, fixes, or security updates from Microsoft. The lack of security updates is of concern because cyber-criminals will still be looking for (and finding) flaws in Windows 7 and without any updates from Microsoft they will be able to exploit them much more easily. This puts your computer, the data it contains, data on network shares, and potentially other computers on our network at risk. IT Services will be working with faculties and departments to upgrade all computers running Windows 7 to Windows 10 prior to January 2020. Planning is in progress for these upgrades, and more information will be provided soon.

In the meantime, to be ready for a move to Windows 10 you should examine the applications you use every day and ensure that they are compatible with Windows 10. The following Lab Software list has been confirmed to work on windows 10. If your software is not listed on the attached list, please contact the software vendor to confirm compatibility. Most applications that work on Windows 7 will also work on Windows 10 but it’s always good to ensure your applications are up-to-date. While you are taking stock of the applications you use, it’s also a good time to make sure that any data, documents, etc. that you have stored on your computer are backed up elsewhere (Office 365 OneDrive, network drive, USB key, portable hard drive, etc.)

We understand that there may be a small number of computers, typically connected to research equipment, which cannot be upgraded to Windows 10 without breaking required functionality. If you believe that one of your computers is in this category, please fill out the attached form with your name, contact #, the UofL Barcode of the system, office location, name of software/device and any additional pertinent information.

While are working out the details of the plan, you can get ahead of the crowd by contacting IT Services using the following link to request an upgrade of your computer system to Windows 10.

Microsoft Support for Older Versions of Internet Explorer Ended

ielogo1Microsoft will no longer be supporting any version of Internet Explorer other than the most current version (version 11).

Beginning January 12, 2016, only the most current version of Internet Explorer available for a supported operating system will receive technical supports and security updates. Internet Explorer 11 is the last version of Internet Explorer, and will continue to receive security updates, compatibility fixes, and technical support on Windows 7, Windows 8.1, and Windows 10. For more information, go to Microsoft’s announcement.

Any University computer system running Windows 7, Windows 8.1, or Windows 10 that is joined to the domain (you sign-in to the computer using your U of L username/password) has already been updated to Internet Explorer 11. Any Windows 7 or 8.1 computer not joined to the university domain or professional supplement devices may not have the latest version of Internet Explorer installed and action will be required on your part. Windows 10 computers running Edge or Internet Explorer browsers will already have the most updated version.

What should you do? To check the version you are currently running, open Internet Explorer and click on the gear icon gear_icon in the top right corner of the page and select “About Internet Explorer”. If your version is anything other than Internet Explorer 11, you will want to install the latest version.

To install the latest version, go to Windows Update windows_updatelocated in the Control Panel and select “Check for Update”. Internet Explorer will be one of the programs available to update. Select it and click “Install Updates”.

Why should you update? Without critical web browser updates, your PC may become vulnerable to harmful viruses, spyware and other malicious software which can steal or damage you data and information. Also many software vendors and websites, such as Office 365, no longer support older versions of Internet Explorer.

Please contact the ITS Solution Centre at help@uleth.ca or 403-329-2490 if you require additional information or assistance.

Microsoft issues with El Capitan (Mac OS X 10.11) resolved

On October 2, 2015, IT Services posted a notice discouraging Mac users from upgrading to Mac OS X 10.11 (El Capitan), a version that was released by Apple on September 30, 2015.

We are pleased to announce that the issues identified in the notice regarding Microsoft Office 2011 & 2016  have been resolved.El Capitan1

Here are recommendations if you choose to upgrade:

  • If you use SMART Notebook software, please contact SMART Technologies for an update that supports OS X El Capitan.
  • If you are running Microsoft Office 2011, please install the 14.5.6 update for OS X El Capitan compatibility.
  • If you are running Microsoft Office 2016, please install the 15.16 update as well as the OS X El Capitan v10.11.1 update. These updates are available to download through the Microsoft AutoUpdate and Apple Software Update tools respectively.

…for other OS X versions, you may be required to re-install the drivers after you upgrade.

IT Services tested Follow-you printing after upgrading from Yosemite (only) to El Capitan, and the printing drivers appear to be working.  However, for other OS X versions, you may be required to re-install the drivers after you upgrade.  If you have any issues with printing after your upgrade, please contact the Solutions Centre.

We recommend following Apple’s guidance on upgrading OS X.

Please contact the ITS Solutions Centre at help@uleth.ca or 403-329-2490 if you require additional information or require assistance.

Mac users – do not upgrade to Mac OS X El Capitan (10.11)

El Capitan1For those using a Mac, please be aware that we do not recommend upgrading to OS X 10.11 (El Capitan) at this time. Microsoft has posted a notice indicating that Outlook 2011 currently does not work at all with El Capitan when connected to an Exchange email system like the University uses, and Office 2016 users are reporting frequent crashes of Outlook, Word, and Excel when used with El Capitan. These issues are likely to be corrected fairly quickly, but we urge University Mac users not to upgrade to El Capitan in the interim.

We will post updates as they are learned.

Faculty & Staff: Office 365 is now FREE

 

Information Technology Services is pleased to announce Microsoft’s latest offer of Office 365 ProPlus free of charge to current faculty and staff at the University of Lethbridge.

“Earlier in the fall, Microsoft offered the Office 365 Student Advantage Program free to currently registered students, and now they are also extending the offer to current employees of the University,” says Terry Kirkvold, Infrastructure Manager. “Microsoft has re-branded the product as Office 365 ProPlus to include employees’ personal use. This is a significant offer from Microsoft.”Office 365 ProPlus

Kirkvold adds the offer is solely meant for home or personal use since the University currently provides Office products to all employees for work purposes via a site license. Employees will no longer need to purchase it with Professional Supplement and personal funds.

This offer is identical to the Student Advantage plan, and permits installation of all Office products on up to five different Windows and Apple devices including laptops, desktops, smart phones and tablets.

“We would also like to advise those who choose to download the product during the Christmas break that should they have any difficulties with the installation, we will not have staff working to assist them with troubleshooting.”

Those who download and install on devices that currently do not have any Office products on them should not experience any issues, he says. But those who have old copies of Office software on their machines could run into difficulties if they do not carefully read and follow the instructions on the Microsoft website.

“We wanted to get the information out now to make faculty and staff aware of the offer in the event they receive a new device for Christmas and decide to purchase Office 365. It will save them a bit of frustration when they find out it’s free after the fact.”

In summary:

  • Students have been offered Office 365 for free since September through the Student Advantage Program.
  • Microsoft is now extending the same offer, Office 365 ProPlus for free to faculty and staff for home/personal use
  • Office 365 can be installed on up to five (5) personal devices
  • Downloading on devices that do not currently have Office products installed should result in a smooth installation
  • Downloading on devices that already have Office products may cause issues if instructions are not followed closely
  • Do not purchase Office 365 products when you can get them for free

For more detailed information on this Microsoft offer, visit the IT Services website.

Click here to download the Office 365 ProPlus package.

Here are some sites that may assist:
Getting Started with Office 365

Online Community Support and troubleshooting page

For more information:

Please contact the Solutions Centre at (403) 329-2490, help@uleth.ca, or drop in to E610 in University Hall.

Managing the U of L’s Buildings through technology

 

The University operates many complex systems on campus which are responsible for managing life safety, internal environments, room scheduling and many others. When any major system needs an upgrade, it can create a cascade effect on other services, and is no small undertaking. Last year, the Building Management System, or BMS, was scheduled for an overhaul.

At any given time, Facilities monitors roughly 35,000 measurements throughout the campus ranging from thermostats, baffles and ventilation equipment, numerous lights and fans, to the University’s boiler plant and its associated pressure and temperature equipment. In addition, approximately 85 rooms on campus are accessed through card swipes by students, faculty and staff. All are controlled by the BMS.BMS HVAC image

Information Technology Services (ITS) was brought in to assist with the software upgrade, and to provide consultation around possible improvements. Wim Chalmet, ITS Application Support Analyst, says the HVAC, or heating, ventilation and air conditioning, was tackled first.

“A big concern Utilities had was a lack of redundancy. Since utility operators are able to manage and monitor the environment on campus from their computers, if a server went down, the software providing status updates on the systems would quit reporting,” says Chalmet. “Operators would be blind to how everything was functioning and consequently would have to physically patrol to monitor the most critical points. During cold snaps in the winter pipes can freeze within hours so staff would have to be on call at all times day and night.”

In addition to consultation, ITS upgraded all affected desktop machines and was able to repurpose two additional servers for the BMS. “This provides failover protection so that if one server goes down, another takes over and continues to provide status updates to operators.”

The Card Access system for the campus was another component of the BMS upgrade. “We have a number of classrooms that can be accessed by card swipe,” says Chalmet. “If a student registers in a course that is scheduled into one of those rooms, they get card access automatically.”

Chalmet adds that in order for this to occur, a custom designed interface is needed which permits the BMS system to automatically talk to our databases, such as Banner in this instance. “ITS has done an analysis of the entire structure to determine exactly how this interface currently works and recommended significant improvements to integrate the tool with the new software of the BMS environment.” Completion of the project is expected before September.

 

Right Answers

An increasing number of University users (students, faculty & staff) are experiencing difficulties using applications and searching for solutions to their issues.  On average 30% of all calls to the IT Solutions Centre are concerning the use of applications.

The Solutions Centre (SC) is near or at capacity with its workload.  Automation of some knowledge requests will help ease the load on the SC staff, letting them provide more solutions in a more timely manner.

The University of Lethbridge has entered a partnership with RightAnswers for self-service support. RightAnswers is the industry leader in Knowledge Management and providing self-service solutions.  Currently it provides more than 150,000 solutions for  approximately 300 common applications.  The University community will be able to gain access to the RightAnswers knowledge base through the web.  Users can use their iPhone, iPad, Windows laptop or almost any device with an internet connection to search for answers to software issues.  The University of Lethbridge can customize the content on the knowledge base to suit the University’s needs or settings.  This service has solutions from Microsoft office and Internet Explorer to iPad and iPhone.