Remembering my mom

I have always been envious of friends in their 30's, 40's, 50's and older who have their parents in their lives. Both mine died when I was in my 20's. I miss them every day of my life. Yesterday was my mom's birthday and I thought of her a lot.

The day after Christmas

It is just like having a wicked hangover. We are recovering from two days of entertaining. It's the first relaxing day in weeks.

Warm Holiday Wish

Help Desk Graduates

Gnanaprakash Pitchika "Prakash" Venkateswarlu and Dhiwakar Mani are two of the help desk staffers who graduated this Fall. Saturday I went to the College of Engineering graduation to celebrate with the graduates. We are loosing 12 of 24 student staff members.

Technorati Tags: San Jose State University, California State University, San Jose, ssloansjca

This will be Apple's last Macworld

According to a press release from Apple:

Apple today announced that this year is the last year the company will exhibit at Macworld Expo.

Local hotspot for the birds

I have been sick off and on for the last two weeks. When I was my sickest the only thing I could do was hang out on the couch. Outside the window of our living room is a bird feeder and it provided hours of entertainment. There is so much bird action there I buy bird food in 20 pound bags from a local wild bird food store. I guess it is the gourmet stuff because we are very popular with the local flying population.

Technorati Tags: Birds, Digital Photography, Photography, ssloansjca

Film's Eye

[Click here to see more photos]

Film responds to light differently than a digital sensor. That analog palette carries over even when the film is later scanned.

I am not saying it is better. That is just something I would hate to loose.

Here are some photos in downtown San Jose taken with my Nikon F5 with Fuji Superia film on December 11-12, 2008.

Technorati Tags: San Jose State University, Analog Photography, San Jose, ssloansjca

Free VM Ware?

Do you want to run Windows on your Mac but don't want to buy Parallels or VMWare Fusion? There is a free program called VirtualBox that is Open Source that reportedly does the same thing. According to their Web site:

VirtualBox is a family of powerful x86 virtualization products for enterprise as well as home use. Not only is VirtualBox an extremely feature rich, high performance product for enterprise customers, it is also the only professional solution that is freely available as Open Source Software under the terms of the GNU General Public License (GPL). See "About VirtualBox" for an introduction.

It is on my list of things to try out. As companies lay off talented programmers expected that pool of talent to find expression supporting Open Source projects like this.

Technorati Tags: VirtualBox, Open Source, Apple, ssloansjca

No strike for CSU student employees, not yet

Yesterday SJSU President Jon Whitmore sent an e-mail to the campus community that said, "should the United Auto Workers Local 4123 representing the teaching associates, graduate assistants and undergraduate instructional student assistants initiate or become involved in a job action on the San Jose State campus. This campus will remain open during any such job action. Student instruction and other student services will continue during this activity.The university is obligated as a public institution to provide these student services."

According to a United Auto Workers (UAW) press release this does not seem to be an immediate threat:

(CALIFORNIA) – California Senate President Pro Tempore Darrell Steinberg will sit down with UAW Local 4123 and the California State University in an effort to reach resolution on their contract dispute. The dispute is centered around a fee waiver benefit for academic student employees. UAW Local 4123 has agreed to postpone its strike, originally scheduled to begin at 7 AM, December 10, pending these meetings with the University and Senate President Pro Tempore Steinberg.

Whitmore said non-UAW represented employees are expected to work, and cross picket lines in the event of a job action. Whitmore said, "You are expected to continue to come to work and to perform your job duties. You are to report to work each scheduled workday at the start of your regular work shift."

Technorati Tags: sjsu, San Jose State University, Unions, ssloansjca

Thumb drives left parking lot used in cyber attack?

I just read a "mark mail" pointed to by Tim Oreilly from David Farber. We would be totally vulnerable to this type of cyber attack at SJSU:

I've heard a rumor about the way the WORM made it's way into the Pentagon computer network. If true, it was a simple but brilliantly effective method. Someone infected thumb drives with the WORM then dropped them around the Pentagon parking lot. The employees, picked them up, took them into their offices and plugged them into their office computers to determine the owner of the drive.

That is exactly what we do, and were instructed to do, with thumb drives left in the computer lab at the university help desk.

Technorati Tags: sjsu, San Jose State University, Security, ssloansjca

Easy Wi-Fi for SJSU Wireless

A company called Devicescape has created an iPhone application that is really, really cool. It is called Easy Wi-Fi and it works great on our not so easy SJSU wireless network. UPDATE --> This program is also available for Macs and PCs!

What does this program do?
Simple, think about how you have to log onto the campus network. Assuming your computer finds the SJSU wireless network you then have to open your iPhone web browser. Then, you enter in your SJSUOne user name and password user credentials. It is that part that is the pain, because with a hand held device like an iPhone you have to do the two finger zoom thing and then type in your user credentials. That is a real annoyance.

To add to this annoyance if you make a mistake, your log-in session times out, your device goes to sleep and/or you roam to another wireless access point you have to repeat the process. This where Devicescape's Easy Wi-Fi comes in.

This little three dollar iPhone app has settings for tons of wireless networks in the country including SJSU's.

UPDATE --> This program is also available free for Macs and PCs and costs $1.99 for iPhone and iPodtouch! (That is cheap and well worth it. It works great @ SJSU.)

Here is how it works. You enter in your user credentials into the application then it, and not your web browser, logs onto the SJSU wireless network. (Yes, you will have to change your password in Devicescape's Easy Wi-Fi software when you change your SJSUOne password.)

It just works! It makes it look like our wireless network is an open network. It transparently mymicks how a Web browser works and it is very cool. The most publicized use for this product is using it for logging onto ATT Wi-Fi at Starbuck's. This is fine but I am at work a lot more than I am at Starbucks!

This is the first iPhone app I paid money for. They have versions for PC's, and Macs available as well. I have not tested these. UPDATE ---> I have tested it on Macs and it works great!

More is on their Web site. This could make a lot of people at SJSU's lives easier. UPDATE --->This will make a lot of people at SJSU's lives easier.

This is a killer app!!!!

Technorati Tags: iphone, sjsu, San Jose State University, devicescape, Easy Wi-Fi, Apple, ssloansjca

Podcast about Mumbai and Terrorism

SJSU Indian Student, Faculty and Alumnus Discuss Mumbai Attacks
Edupodder Podcast Episode 32
A campus perspective from San Jose State University
On December 3, 2008 San Jose State University student Ruchi Binjola, SJSU History Lecturer Rajiv Khanna and SJSU graduate Kamlesh Kudchadkar discuss the recent bombings in Mumbai, India with SJSU Journalism Lecturer Steve Sloan. Mumbai (formerly Bombay) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and is India's financial capital.

The conversation begins with Binjola and Kudchadkar and continues when Khanna joins the conversation. This "open mic" podcast conveys the feelings and thoughts of members of the SJSU community. One of the speakers lost a friend to terrorism in Mumbai. The thoughts and emotions expressed here are just as they occurred in the conversation.

Click button below to subscribe to podcast:

Technorati Tags: San Jose State University, California State University, San Jose, Mumbai, Bombay, Mumbai Podcast, Terrorism, ssloansjca

Five big innovations in next five years

IBM Global Research has just posted about five big innovations they see in our near future:

The third annual "IBM Next Five in Five" is a list of innovations that have the potential to change the way people work, live and play over the next five years...

An effort to provide accessible education to students with disabilities

North Idaho College capture system

Thanks to Bedan Kamau, Sr. Instructional Designer, Learning, Instructional & Information Technology, California State Polytechnic University, Pomona for his e-mail. Kamanu said, "North Idaho College will be implementing a new classroom capture system as part of an effort to provide accessible education to students with disabilities. The college will be using SpeakerBox from ClearSky Systems for the lecture capture program beginning in January 2009." Here is a link to a related article in Campus Technology.

The present of Journalism

Here is a great post on what is happening in journalism today. It is by SJSU Journalism faculty member Cynthia McCune and is not good news for mainstream media:

The bad news for the newspaper industry just keeps coming...

Changing from one paradigm to another is almost always seen as “bad news” by those invested in the old paradigm. It is the classic case of disruptive technologies that present new lower cost and/or more convenient solutions to problems.

The problem is, old solution businesses are often unable to compete because of their heavy investment in resources and values directed to the old solution. Their business model was shaped to answer a question, a question now starting to be answered differently.

Economic adversity just accelerates, by introducing resource scarcity, a process already underway.

Technorati Tags: J-school, Journalism, Newspapers, ssloansjca

Public facing information on SJSU impaction

According to this post on the SJSU Web site:

On Thursday, November 20, 2008, in response to the state's worsening fiscal crisis, the California State University system declared systemwide impaction for the first time in its history.

San José State University must immediately develop and implement a plan to reduce enrollment. Several measures are currently in effect...

Technorati Tags: San Jose State University, California State University, San Jose, ssloansjca

Top iPhone Apps for 2008

According to MobileCrunch;

With most of 2008 and right around 10,000 applications behind them, Apple has released a series of lists outlining which applications scored the most downloads since the App Store’s launch back in July.

Check this out you might find something unexpected!

SJSU student podcast conversation on Mumbai

SJSU has a huge community of Indian students. They are very far from home. They have their own unique perspectives on the recent terrorist attacks in India. Some may like to be able to share their perspectives with friends and family, both here and back home.

I have booked Clark Hall 116 at SJSU on Wednesday from 4:30 p.m. to 5:45 p.m. for an open mike podcast recorded conversation to discuss SJSU student perspectives on the Mumbai attacks.

This is the result of a request by an Indian student to provide an Internet forum for, "inputs on this recent terrorist attack and aftermath."

Of course, the podcast will be put on the Internet. SJSU Journalism students have also been invited. Other interested members of the campus community are also invited.

[More information about the podcast is here]

Technorati Tags: San Jose State University, California State University, San Jose, ssloansjca

Mac's feeling of security may be short lived

According to a recent story on Network World, Apple Macintosh Computers running Mac OS X have been the target of cyber Malcode attacks:

What’s even more interesting is the degree of investment this ("hacker") team has made in OS X malcode. They’ll be making new infections, it seems, for some time to come with that configurable loader.

Adding to the problem is the immunity Macintosh users have felt to viruses and other threats. While Macs are the minority on the Internet they may be soft targets because they are quite often not protected.

IBM see's economic meltdown as an opportunity

According to a recent Factiva:

Believe it or not, the leader of Big Blue is talking about the financial crisis and the prospect of systemic overhaul. As companies around the globe try to get ahead of the economic maelstrom by laying off employees, shuttering factories, and cutting R&D, IBM is headed in another direction. In the face of a meltdown, Palmisano continues, "you can retrench, pull in your horns, protect the balance sheet, and preserve cash. Or you can realize that this is about humanity screaming for change."

Will Twitter Transcend Facebook?

Dale Larson wrote an interesting blog post on the rise of Twitter and its position versus other social networking platforms like Facebook. Larson writes:

The moment I was introduced to Twitter, my eyes got big. I saw something simple, different and open. It was already evolving through user behavior and through the addition of connecting services. It could be a kind of underlying protocol, the hub of an ecosystem, not a stand alone website.

To me it is just not the openness of Twitter that is so inviting and absorbing, it is its adaptability. Twitter works with so many platforms and devices. It is ubiquitous.

Brandon

Thinking of Brandon

Today's rain for some reason mad me think of Deb's son Brandon. Just last week we attended his funeral. He was 27 when he died. As I was driving in I heard David Gate's song, Suite: Clouds and Rain. The lyrics melted into what I was feeling for Brandon and his recent untimely death.

See the clouds adrift so far below
Ever changing as they come and go
Makes me wonder why I'm up so high
When really I am down so low

As we age we lose more and more people we know, sweet people, people we love. The first loss is a shock. It is like a grim myth has come to life and taught us that what we have been told is true; we all are indeed mortal. Even good sweet people die.

Of all the wonders I was one allowed
I think that I would always choose a cloud
Always brings my feelings right out loud
Whether I'm ashamed or proud

It all seems so unfair because it is. Death comes to the young, the sweet, the most precious and full of promise of us, people like Brandon.

See the clouds they're giving life below
In colors that the canvas cannot show
Keeping secrets no one else could know
For I'm the one who told them so

We try to seek meaning in it all; at least I do. I choose to believe in something bigger that this world. There is no risk in doing so and it holds out hope in some reason for what appears to be without reason. Also, it holds out hope for reunion.

Rainfall don't bother me at all
You see the world reflected in the highway
Come on rainbow-I can't let you go
Before I reach the end of you someway

I did not know Brandon well, but every memory I have of Brandon is good. Most of what I know of Brandon I know through his mom. Years ago we used to be bike riding buddies. We would often go on long bike rides and quite often would talk about our children. I knew Deb well then and I know Brandon enough to see that all that's best of Deb is in him.

Also, I know that Brandon continues to live on this earth in all of us who knew and loved him. Beyond that; I choose to believe that somewhere, someday, Deb will hold her son again.

Technorati Tags: Death, Loss, Grieving

A test roll of film

Nov. 2008, SJSU and Downtown San Jose

[Click here to see pictures]

In mid-November 2008 I went picture taking around San Jose, California and San Jose State University. I chose days with different kinds of lighting.

These photos were all taken on a film camera using Kodak's new (yes, I said new) film Ektar 100.

Technorati Tags: San Jose State University, California State University, San Jose, ssloansjca

Unpaid Boot Time?

Unpaid time while Vista boots results in lawsuits

According to an article in Electronista:

Certain employers are docking their employees' pay while they wait for their Vista PCs to boot up, to the tune of 30 to 60 minutes per day, resulting in class-action lawsuits being brought against the employers...

NOTE: I use Vista every day and I do not have such problems. My computer boots fine.

CSU Systemwide Impaction

TO: All CSU Employees

FROM: Charles B. Reed, CSU Chancellor

RE: CSU Systemwide Impaction

This week the California State University will make an unprecedented decision regarding student's admission to the CSU's 23 campuses. The CSU's Board of Trustees and senior leaders will discuss whether or not to declare a systemwide impaction, a move that will require the CSU to restrict access to some students.

Why is such a move necessary? For several years, the CSU has provided access to more students while funding and resources from the state have remained static, and in some years, actually declined. In fact, the CSU this year is serving 10,000 students for whom the state provides no funding. This imbalance cannot continue. Admitting students without the resources necessary to provide the courses and services they need to successfully manage and complete their education is not fair to students, or to the faculty and staff members who support them. In the end, all stakeholders (students, faculty and staff, taxpayers and employers) lose when quality is compromised.

The CSU is facing significant funding reductions to its current budget which is already $215 million below our operational needs. Gov. Schwarzenegger proposes reducing the CSU’s current year budget by $97.6 million which includes an earlier requested $31.3 million one-time reduction. These cuts come as the state tries to close an estimated $11.2 billion deficit.

At the same time, applications for fall 2009 are up almost 20 percent from last year with a 36 percent increase in applications from community college transfer students. Student demand is increasing while state funding is declining. This has created a significant challenge, the magnitude of which the CSU has not faced before.

When access and quality are threatened, we must take action. The CSU is committed to serving students and to serving them well. This is demonstrated in the outstanding work all of you do everyday to support our students. But without adequate funding and with continued reductions to our budget, we can no longer provide the courses and services students need to assure their success, unless we manage enrollment to funded levels.

This will not be an easy decision. But it is one that is necessary if we are to preserve the CSU’s mission and its goal of providing access to an excellent education. We must continue to publicly advocate for higher education. All members of the CSU family--students, parents, faculty and staff, labor unions, alumni, donors and supporters--need to remind our legislators, our business and community leaders, our neighbors and friends, that for every $1 the state invests in the CSU, the CSU returns $4.41. The CSU provides the majority of the workforce in California and helps sustain more than 200,000 jobs in the state each year. Investing in the CSU is a winning proposition for every resident of California.

If you would like to read about the specific details of systemwide impaction, see the Board of Trustees Agenda item at http://www.calstate.edu/bot/agendas/Nov08/EdPol.pdf (scroll to the third page). As the Trustees meeting takes place this week, I encourage you to check www.calstate.edu for the latest developments and to subscribe to our newsletter CSU Leader at www.calstate.edu/CSULeader.

Thank you for the work you do everyday in support of the California State University.

Sincerely,
Chancellor Charles B. Reed

Technorati Tags: San Jose State University, SJSU, impaction, CSU, California State University, ssloansjca

An imagining filled with sorrow

There are some events in life that draw us closer to our God, just in order to get through the day. The death of a child is one of those things. I do not know how you could survive such an event if you did not believe in God. The death of a child is about the worst. Robert Thompson describes the death of a child this way, "the death of a child takes you on a journey like a hawk carries a rabbit through the sky. It eventually drops you either dead or wounded. What you see and do on the journey is up to you. The journey itself is not."

There is a word for a person who has lost a spouse and for a person who has lost a parent but no word for a person who has lost a child. I have heard that is because such an event is too sorrowful to attach a word to.

My heart goes out to our friend Deb over the loss of her sweet son Brandon. As a parent I can only imagine the hurt and pain. It is an imagining filled with sorrow.

CSU to eliminate 10K admission spots

According to today's Sacramento Bee:

The California State University system will eliminate 10,000 admission spots for the 2009-10 school year as a result of the state's worsening fiscal crisis.

SJSU E-mail Issues

Update: Issue Resolved
There was an issue regarding Lotus Notes. This impacted users of Mail client software like Outlook & Apple Mail who were using this software to access Lotus Notes. Some users of Notes Client software may have noticed mail that was sent to them had not arrived yet. This problem was investigated and resolved.

This appeared to be impacting some, but not all, users of Lotus Notes.

Benjamin Netanyahu on Academic Boycott

Family Wedding

Portland Wedding Photos

Here are some selected photos from nephew Alex and Lindsay's wedding and reception in Portland on November 8, 2008. Starring Alex and Lindsay and co-starring granddaughter Madison (age 4) as The Flower Girl:

[More Wedding photos here]

Before the wedding we went for a walk in downtown Portland. Of course I took photos there too:

[Morning walk photos]

CSU to declare system-wide impaction?

First time in history declaration

The CSU may declare impaction for the entire CSU system at the November 18-19, Board of Trustees Meeting. According to a statement on the CSU Web site:

Trustees will discuss a plan to declare impaction for the entire CSU system, for the first time in its history. For several years, the CSU system has been providing access to more students, while resources have remained static and in some cases, have declined. While student demand to enroll at the CSU is at its highest levels, the 2008-09 budget does not provide funding above that of the previous year. Given the state’s worsening fiscal condition, it is anticipated that funded students for 2009-10 will remain at 2007-08 levels.

This will mean fewer students will be admitted to the CSU system than are anticipated will apply. According to a release from the Chancellor's Office, "The unprecedented CSU action is caused by the state’s worsening fiscal crisis, and the anticipation of additional budget cuts. CSU is already serving 10,000 students for whom the state provides no funding, and while student demand is at its highest, it is anticipated that 2009-10 will be the second consecutive year that the CSU receives no funding for enrollment growth."

Technorati Tags: San Jose State University, SJSU, impaction, CSU, California State University, ssloansjca

Microsoft Windows Azure

Microsoft's new OS for cloud computing

According to Wikipedia, "Windows Azure is the name of the upcoming cloud-based operating system ("cloud" is a metaphor for the Internet) being developed by Microsoft, announced by Ray Ozzie at the Microsoft PDC on October 27, 2008.

Microsoft's Web site for Azure says, "The Azure Services Platform provides a wide range of internet services that can be consumed from both on-premises environments or the internet."

Google, and the range of Google applications, have long pointed out that the future of software is the cloud. Empowered by always on portable connected devices, like the iPhone and the Android mobile device platform. Phones and portable computers are merging into a mobile computing platform that is neither a mere phone nor a laptop computer and is more than both. Wired together, using high speed telcom technologies like 3G, and using real-time Web technologies like Jabber and Extensible Messaging and Presence Protocol (XMPP). The Web is becoming more synchronous and cloud computing is a huge part of that.

Installing software is increasingly becoming a thing of the past. There will be no need. Our applications will be in the cloud! All users will need to do is to be there. The good news is they will be. They already are.

It will be interesting to see where Microsoft goes with Azure. Educators need to watch this type of technology. It will likely be mainstream by the time today's freshmen graduate. If we are not there, where will our students be? We gotta get our heads beyond e-mail and Web pages and into and wrapped around; the cloud.

Technorati Tags: Windows, Microsoft, azure, android, iPhone, Cloud Computing, j-school, ssloansjca

Back from Portland

Back from Portland

Early last night we returned from Portland. Alex and Lindsay's wedding was lovely and we had a nice stay in Portland. We spent some great time together and with family.

SJSU server and services issues

Today we are having a variety of server and Internet services related issues. This is following a scheduled maintenance that occurred yesterday. For the latest information regarding system status; please call the University Help Desk at 408/924-2377.

UNIX e-mail had been down this morning as well as the campus e-phone directory. Those services were restored. Reportedly, there are other issues that may still be ongoing.

I have been posting updates here:

http://twitter.com/ssloansjca

Great day at Powell's

The Best Book Store We Have EVER Been To!

Sue and I are in Portland. We spent all day today at Powell's Books. It is an amazing bookstore. About a half dozen people recommended the Powell's to us and we had a great time. One day there was not enough, not even close. It is said to be the largest new and used bookstore in the world. (With the possible exception of Strand's in New York.)

We are shipping over a dozen books home.

We had a very good meal and some fantastic local beer at Henry's Tavern!

Technorati Tags: Portland, Powell's Books, ssloansjca

Going on vacation

I am headed out of the area. I will be posting mostly on my Twitter Feed.

Please follow me here:

http://twitter.com/ssloansjca

Schwarzenegger calls for cuts for employees

The governor proposes tax increases, forced furloughs and the loss of two holidays. According to today's Sacramento Bee:

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger called today for...one-day-a-month unpaid furloughs for state workers for the next 17 months, as well as rescinding two of the workers' 13 paid holidays...

The Web site for our staff employees union is here.

Yes we did!

[Click here to see video]

Yes we did, change America

It has been a long time since I have felt proud to be an American. I do today. But, I am reminded by the passage of California's gay marriage ban that despite our election of a black president, bigotry is still alive in our state and our nation!

I think Obama is the man for this time and his election sends a powerful message to the world about our capacity for peaceful revolution. But, there are still barriers to overcome. Despite these barriers, in my heart I know, we shall overcome them. We shall overcome.

Technorati Tags: Yes We Can, Politics, Obama, ssloansjca

A revival of the fairness doctrine?

Is this a good or bad idea in the Internet era? From a tweet by Dan Gillmor, as posted on The Hill:

Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) on Tuesday defended the so-called Fairness Doctrine in an interview on Fox News, saying, “I think we should all be fair and balanced, don’t you?”

Schumer’s comments echo other Democrats’ views on reviving the Fairness Doctrine, which would require radio stations to balance conservative hosts with liberal ones.

Bad, I think. Especially if it is applied to new media! There are so many alternative mediums and so many channels it is going to be almost impossible.

Student UNIX e-mail dies tomorrow

Yes, tomorrow is the last day for all student (STUDENT!!!!) UNIX email accounts. Those are the STUDENT accounts that end in:

@email.sjsu.edu

This only applies to students! If that is you call the help desk or go to the help desk TODAY! Our number is 408/924-2377. The help desk is in Clark Hall 1102. After tomorrow all e-mail on these accounts is wiped out and you will NOT be able to get it back!

More information about the new student e-mail system that has replaced the old student (STUDENT!!!!) UNIX email accounts is here at this link.

YouTube in HD

[Click to see Movie]

YouTube is Higher Dev

It is not new news but it is good to know and it provides some options for folks like me who use YouTube so much in the classroom. Especially when you use it full screen in the classroom. Keep an eye out for the button!

Murder of Avatar brings arrest

Woman in Japan charged with killing her virtual ex-husband

According to Associated Press:

A 43-year-old Japanese piano teacher's sudden divorce from her online husband in a virtual game world made her so angry that she logged on and killed his digital persona, police said Thursday.

Reportedly, She was charged with illegal access onto a computer and manipulating electronic data.

CSU student held in Iran prison

Student was reportedly doing research

Reportedly Esha Momeni, a 28-year-old Cal State University Northridge mass communications master's student from Los Angeles, arrived in Tehran two months ago to visit her family and conduct research for her thesis.

According to a, October 23rd post on a blog run by the San Diego Union-Tribune:

LOS ANGELES – A California State University, Northridge student has been imprisoned in Iran since last week after authorities discovered she was conducting research on the country's women's rights movement, the university announced Thursday.

Inside Hiher-Ed also has a post on the subject. According to that post, "The reported arrest is the latest involving scholars whose lives span the United States and Iran."

Quark QPS to support InDesign

According to InDesignSecrets, The InDesign blog, Quark has just announced support for Adobe InDesign file formats:

"Given that that Quark’s flagship product, QuarkXPress, has fallen dramatically in market share, it only makes sense that they would want to expand the market for their workgroup QPS product."

Now, let me tell you MY Quark story.
About five years ago I bought Quark 6 as my wife and I were doing a book together. I loaded it on my desktop system. Suddenly my sister got very sick (she had cancer, which she later died of). I had to go and take care of her in Spokane and layout our 900+ book on my laptop.

At that time Quark was the only game in town for page layout. InDesign was a newcomer. Quark would only let you do one install on one machine. We paid about $600 for the product. I called Quark and begged, can I please install it on my laptop as well as my desktop?

They said yes, I could install it on my laptop if I paid them an additional $90 bucks for a "laptop license." Yes, they got their $90 bucks, I finished the book and they lost a loyal customer.

As soon as InDesign came on the scene I never looked back! I dumped Quark, switched to InDesign and helped my employer switch to InDesign. We dumped thousands of dollars worth of Quark product.

Never take your customers for granted.

Technorati Tags: Quark, InDesign, QuarkXPress, ssloansjca

NYT and McClatchy on the ropes

Bad news for newspapers

According to The Silicon Alley Insider, The New York Times is running on fumes:

...the New York Times (NYT) is approaching the point where it will have to manage its business primarily to conserve cash and avoid defaulting on its debt. This situation will only get worse as advertising revenue continues to fall...

This follows similar concerns at McClatchy as told in the Sacramento Bee:

Fitch, the least known of the credit rating firms, downgraded The Bee's parent two notches, to "B-minus." That leaves McClatchy deeper in non-investment-grade, or junk-bond, territory.

The bad economy is not going to be kind to newspapers that were already on the ropes.

Technorati Tags: J-school, Journalism, Newspapers, ssloansjca

Bigots vote yes on 8

[Click to view video]

If I vote yes on Prop 8 am I a bigot?

In my book, yes!
Let's be clear about this. The idea that only heterosexual couples should be allowed the right to marry is discrimination. Pure and simple, we are talking civil rights here.

Fifty years ago the majority of voters might have voted against desegregation. But, that does not matter. Sometimes majorities are wrong. It does not matter if the majoritry is for or against the right of gay couples to enjoy the same rights as straight couples. Rights are not, or should not be, subject to votes. That is why we call them rights. If you vote to deny gays their equal rights are you a bigot? You betcha!

[See related story in Mercury News]

Technorati Tags: prop8, Prop 8, Gay Marriage, ssloansjca

Google expands mobile news platform

New Google G1 (way more than a) Phone

The future is increasingly mobile, increasingly pervasively connected computing. The new Google G1 has been released. It joins the iPhone and other similar devices that provide an Internet delivery system using standard Web protocols, independent of Wi-Fi networks. You can expect almost everybody to have such devices in about 24-months, given the rate people replace their phones.

This technology is providing a medium to deliver compelling content to everybody all the time. Since these devices are increasingly aware of their physical location, thanks to integrated GPS, this opens up all kinds of new and interesting ways for journalists to deliver content.

Thanks to "easy access to all Google Applications" these devices really leverage the power of Cloud Computing and in my opinion they should be thought of as hand-held computers and not mere phones or mere PDAs.

[Device Specs]

Technorati Tags: Google, gphone, Android, ssloansjca

Cameraphone: SJSU Evacuation

Yesterday we had an evacuation drill. We were paid to enjoy the morning sun.

Why the new face to Office 2007?

In a 3 part post in Network World's Security Strategies Alert Column, M. E. Kabay explores why Microsoft changed the User Interface (UI) with Office 2007 and did not provide a classic view for users happy with the old UI.

As most readers know, the Office 2007 suite has a radically different user interface, called the Microsoft Office Fluent user interface (UI), in which familiar functions are grouped in new ways.

• Some functions have disappeared entirely.
• The limited user-definable toolbar is restricted to a single roll of symbols.
• Icons in the user definable toolbar cannot be customized.
• There is no way to revert to the more familiar Office 2003 (or older) interface.

The new UI has been a source of user frustration and has slowed adoption of the new version of Office at our institution.

Technorati Tags: Office, Microsoft, Microsoft Office, ssloansjca

School sued by mom of dead cyclist

A recent Mercury News article said, “accusing San Jose Unified School District of falling short on traffic safety, the mother of a sixth-grader struck and killed by a motorist has filed a claim against the district, saying it shares the blame in the death of the youngster who was riding her bike home on the last day of school.”

I have more on this and other information on my blog related to this issue:

http://sjsuhpv.wordpress.com/

San Jose State University has been warned time and time and time again. There are 40,000 people at SJSU who share our paths and sidewalks with skateboarders and cyclists. One wrong step, one slip, one mistake and a tragedy could happen here.

SJSU Wireless Network Problems

The SJSU wireless network has been having problems.

Update --> Wed Oct 15 14:19:31 PDT 2008
Wireless redirect server is having problems and is slow. Spot problems may occur

Update --> Wed Oct 15 13:43:53 PDT 2008
Wireless network is fixed

Update --> Wed Oct 15 11:55:58 PDT 2008
The wireless redirect server is down. We are in troubleshooting mode and do not have an estimated time for resolution.

Best value Mac laptop; the 13" white MacBook

Buy it then Hack it; your new MacBook!

If you, like me, consider the new 13" MacBook a downgrade, then here is what you should do (and IMHO you will get more for less!) Buy the $999 White MacBook as bare bones as possible (even cheaper with an education discount.) When you order it also order 4GB of RAM and the biggest notebook SATA drive you can get from Other World Computing. You will get a great little Mac for way cheaper than Apple is charging for their new downgrades. You pay less and you get that precious Firewire port for video. You can get a cheap, less than $25, USB enclosure for the hard drive you will be removing from your MacBook. Before you swap drives, you can use Carbon Copy Cloner to copy the data on the old/new Hard Drive to the new/new Hard Drive. That's what I would do if were replacing my still perfectly good white MacBook. You get a great value Mac with a dandy portable hard drive to boot!

I may even do this myself before the white MacBooks go for good.

[A 12-inch MacBook Pro Forum]

Vote for a 12-inch MacBook Pro:

[Here is a Poll on 12 Inch MacBook Pros]

Technorati Tags: new macbook, macbook, Apple, ssloansjca

New MacBooks are a downgrade!

WTF! New MacBook Lacks Firewire?

This is a deal breaker!
I have really liked my "old" MacBook. Not only is it upgradeable, but I can use it to edit movies when I am on trips. Like last year, I was on a cross country trip and I documented my adventures with my digital video camera using the MacBook's firewire port. I edited my movies in motels and campgrounds. It was great!

I am disappointed
My old MacBook is about two years old. I was looking forward to being able to replace it with the new model. 13 inches is as big as I want to go with the screen for mobility. But, I just found out the new MacBooks lack Firewire. I cannot hookup my digital movie cameras to it. How can you boot this into "Target Disk Mode?" Answer, you cannot. You could with the old model!

WTF! In my opinion, the new MacBook's are a downgrade.

Technorati Tags: new macbook, macbook, Apple, ssloansjca

Photoshop CS4 Magic!

Content Aware Scaling

This Lynda video featuring Deke McClelland illustrates an almost unbelievable feature that Adobe says will be part of their Creative Suite 4 version of Photoshop. It is absolute magic!

[Click here to view video]

SJSU Staff Fee Waiver Workshop

Staff thinking about fee waiver? Then you need to know about this class:

Tuesday, October 14 2:00pm-3:00pm CLARK HALL 547 FEEWV1
Facilitated by Lindsay Hamm, OD&T Specialist and Staff Fee Waiver Coordinator

The Staff Fee Waiver Program allows employees to take classes at SJSU at a reduced cost. The classes may be to improve current job skills or to get a degree for career development. The fee waiver benefit may be transferred to an employee’s dependent, allowing a spouse to get a degree or providing a child with the college experience. This course explains the types of fee waiver available to staff, why and how an employee may participate, how a dependent may participate, and how managers can use the program to encourage and train their employees.

For more information contact, Lindsay Hamm, Organizational Development & Training Analyst, Human Resources, ext. zip 0046, San Jose State University, T: 408.924.2141, F: 408.924.1784, lindsay.hamm@sjsu.edu

Windows XP won't die

Mitchell Ashley of Network World wrote:

Microsoft's officially cut ties with selling new copies of XP but PC manufactures can still downgrade new Vista PCs to Windows XP until June of 2009. Microsoft just extended that date from January 2009 until June 2009.

My opinion, Vista SP1 seems to be working fine!

Technorati Tags: Windows, Microsoft, XP, ssloansjca

New Macs News

Apple to announce new notebooks next week?

It seems pretty certain that next Tuesday Apple is going to be announcing a new line of MacBook computers. In my opinion the white MacBooks (as opposed to the MacBook Pros and MacBook Airs) have been the best values in portable computers. It does not take much to upgrade a MacBook. I upgraded mine several times. Over the two years I have owned it my white MacBook has gone from having 1 GB of Ram to having 4 GB of Ram and from having a 60 GB hard drive to having a 250 GB.

With that much ram and storage I have little trouble running both Mac OS X and Windows XP on it using VMWare. Sweet! You cannot replace the battery on, much less expand, a Mac Book Air, just can't. It is sealed like an iPod.

For portability bigger is not better. The white MacBook 13 inch monitor makes it much easier to carry around than either the 15 or (yuch) the 17 inch monitors of the silver MacBook Pros. When Apple moved to Intel processors and discontinued the 12 inch form factor of the old silver Powerbook G4 notebooks, I was bummed. The white MacBook 13 inch monitor became the smallest monitor available. That is why I bought it. I would be very excited to see a 12 inch silver MacBook Pro. That is what I am rooting for! (I have given up on a MacTablet.)

Technorati Tags: macbook pro, macbook, Apple, ssloansjca

Second Life and Mass Comm

[Click here to view video]

Your vision: the Future of the Internet and Mass Comm

In April 2008 Reuters was purchased by The Thomson Corporation and it is now Thomson Reuters. The old Reuters opened the first news bureau in Second Life, Thomson Reuters is still in Second Life, reporting on news in this other world.

In Wednesday's class we will view the Reuters video as well as the DVD Second Life: A Documentary by Anders von Reis Crooks [View Trailer]. The class blog assignment for next week will be to comment on the video and look at trends in our real world as well as technology trends and share your personal vision of where you think this all is going.

Invite your friends, the class and the conversation is open. Dwight Bentel Hall room 226, 6 p.m., Wed, October 8, 2008 at San Jose State University.

Technorati Tags: San Jose State University, SJSU, CSU, California State University, J-school, ssloansjca, Second Life

I am off sick

Sorry but I am not on campus today due to illness.

I hate surprises

I just learned this morning of the surprise death of one of our young "dream" students. This sad surprise is just another example of why I hate surprises. Most of the surprises I have had in my life, that I remember, have been tragic. The few really wonderful surprises I remember are not enough to balance them. A fact of life is, we have to deal with surprises. But, I do not have to like them. I know some people do like surprises. Good for them.

Skateboard and Bike Grievance at CO

SJSU Safety Grievance to be heard by Chancellor's Office

Earlier this year the California State University Employees Union (SEIU Local 2579), which is the union representing most of the university staff employees, escalated the safety grievance regarding the use of non-motorized vehicles on the SJSU campus to the Chancellor's Office. Indications are a hearing of the grievance may be approaching. If the union is unsuccessful at this level it can take the matter to binding arbitration.

[Click here to see related blog]

[Click here to see related photographs]

[Copy of Grievance Here]

Understanding Twitter

Micro Blogging;
Real Life Happens Between Blog Posts and E-mail

Other Related Videos

• Micro Blogging in Plain English
• Twitter Simple Social Networking
• Build Business Relationships using Twitter
• Twitter Madness
• Friends don't let Friends Twitter Drunk
• Twitter Come Back
• Top Five Things To Do When Twitter is Down
• Twitter Whore

Technorati Tags: twitter, Micro Blogging, microblogging, ssloansjca

The banking crisis and newspapers

The Inksniffer, How the newspaper industry is about to be disembowelled by the banking crisis:

SUMMARY: The debt crisis is going to create a domino-like collapse of our industry in the next six months. Who will be the first to go? And who might emerge controlling the American newspaper business?

How will Silicon Valley be affected by a recession?

Fortune magazine has a great article on this topic. According to the article Bill Watkins, CEO of the $13 billion disk drive and server maker Seagate, said, "Fifteen to 20% of our enterprise business probably sells into Wall Street,"

A blog about HPVs at SJSU

[My new blog about HPVs]

A new dedicated blog

I have been trying to minimize this topic on this blog and stay focused on technology. However, I am concerned. In my opinion human powered vehicles pose a safety risk to their operators and pedestrians at SJSU:

• As an employee I am concerned about the risk to students and employees.
• As a parent of young adults I am concerned that many of the operators of these devices are prone to take risks.
• As a parent of an SJSU student I am concerned that this is a dangerous situation that the university, in my opinion, is ignoring.
• As a taxpayer I am concerned that the university is taking on a financial risk by assuming liability in the event of a lawsuit arising from this flawed practice.
• As a bicyclist myself I am all too aware of the hazards of improper use of human powered vehicles.

Because university employees are covered by a collective bargaining agreement I filed a grievance under our union contract. I documented my concerns and the grievance here, on this blog. But, I have received a lot of support from folks who are not covered by our union contract. So, I have decided to shift the attention here, to this blog, that will be focused on this issue exclusively.

Technorati Tags: San Jose State University, SJSU, Campus Life, bicycling, CSU, California State University, San Jose, ssloansjca

Letterman on McCain

The Empire Strikes Back

Best Microsoft Ad Ever!

I am a Mac user, but I find Apple's Ad campaign to have been annoying and insulting. Lots of great and creative folks use PCs. I am glad to see Microsoft strike back.

[Click here to see Ad]

Grandson's Birthday

[Click here to see more photos]

Yesterday we celebrated Jacob's birthday

Jacob turns one this week and we celebrated on Saturday. He is such a cute and happy baby. It was a lot of fun. It was very nice of Nicole's mom Kathy to host the party at her house. It was a big party and she had a real house full.

Car vs. Bike; Bike Lost

Cycling safety at SJSU

I have been a long standing advocate for the safe use non-motorized vehicles on and around SJSU. I have taken this position not because I am an old man standing on my porch yelling at kids running across my lawn. I have taken this position because I have seen far too many people hurt and am aware of the risks involved to both cyclists and pedestrians in an accident. We need to remember that most of the folks we see riding bicycles on our campus also ride them on the streets around our campus. This accident was a block north of SJSU.

Technorati Tags: San Jose State University, SJSU, Campus Life, bicycling, CSU, California State University, San Jose, ssloansjca

Palin is not ready

This is not American Idol

Bob Herbert of the New York Times has this great editorial about the candidacy of Sarah Palin in the office that is a heart beat away from the presidency. The key problem is not her politics. As Herbert said:

Ms. Palin’s problem is not that she was mayor of a small town or has only been in the Alaska governor’s office a short while. Her problem (and now ours) is that she is not well versed on the critical matters confronting the country at one of the most crucial turning points in its history.

As Herbert said, "Ms. Palin may be a perfectly competent and reasonably intelligent woman (however troubling her views on evolution and global warming may be), but she is not ready to be vice president."

Another Editorial, New York Times Editorial, "If the choice (by McCain) was, as we suspect, a tactical move, then it was shockingly irresponsible."

Sam Lawrence on 9/11 and the social software movement

Sam Lawrence has this great blog post on 9/11 and the social software movement. Lawrence said, "Getting to who and what we needed faster was critical in this time of need. The companies didn’t matter, the people did." He sees 9/11 as a moment of change for social media. Lawrence said, "We commented, we connected, we asked why. News broke faster over blogs and email than traditional media. At the same time our government quickly learned that their systems weren’t built to connect the dots the way we really needed them to."

I learned of Lawrence's post from Shel Israel's Twitter feed. I highly recommend both.

Spam from SJSU?

Tech Tips: Spam e-mail reportedly from SJSU

It is easy for someone to fake the "reply-to" field of an e-mail address to make it appear as though an e-mail has come from a seemingly legitimate source, when it has not. This is called spoofing. Unfortunately this is common.

The e-mail addresses of SJSU users are sometimes harvested from the Internet, from Web pages and pdf documents posted online, and then used by spammers to trick the folks receiving this e-mail into responding to the e-mail in the false belief that it is legitimate SJSU e-mail.

Please accept our apologies for this e-mail. We are sorry, but there is not a technical way we can stop this from happening. If you have hard evidence that spam originated from a source on the SJSU campus, such as evidence that the TCP/IP address of the sender originated from our network, please contact us so we can investigate the situation further.

You can e-mail the university help desk e-mail at help@help.sjsu.edu

I am off to LA

If you want, you can follow me on twitter.

iTunesU is rocking at SJSU

Congratulations to Mary Fran Breiling and all the folks at the Center for Faculty Development and Support, Web Services, Apple and all the other involved SJSU Faculty and Staff! According to Breiling:

ITunesU @ San Jose State University is live in the iTunesU store! All of you contributed in some way to the successful launch of iTunes U. Thank you!

The content in iTunes U is accessible as promised. You will be very pleased to know that San Jose State is the first of the CSU’s in iTunesU. We are also one of the very few to attempt to create 100% of our content in accessible technology formats. I am very proud to be part of such an illustrious and pioneering group.

Enter the site from http://www.sjsu.edu/itunesu or by launching iTunes on your computer, then navigate to the iTunes store, then iTunesU (left columun) and finally scroll down the left column to Universities and colleges – then find San Jose State University.

Mary Fran Breiling deserves credit and praise this achievement.

Phishing continues at SJSU

Tech Tips: Phight Phishing
Phishing is an Internet scam where fraudulent "spam" e-mails and Web sites are used to trick recipients into surrendering their personal or financial data for malicious purposes. No authentic SJSU agency asks for passwords to be sent via e-mail!

If your log-in information has been compromised, you need to immediately change your password on all accounts you have unintentionally given up information on.

Also, these kind of spammers are aware that many people use the same user names and/or passwords in multiple places, like bank accounts, ebay and/or Amazon. So, you should change the passwords on any and all of these accounts that have the same password, even if the user name is different.

More information is here:

http://www.sjsu.edu/networking/facetime/phishing/

http://www.sjsu.edu/networking/best_practices/

My Fall 2008 New Media Class

The blog for my Fall 2008 New Media In Journalism class is here:
http://sjsumcom63.wordpress.com/

If you are reading this you are invited to check out the blog and/or the class itself! The class meets Wednesdays at 6 p.m. in room 226 in Dwight Bentel Hall at San Jose State University.

You can just show up if you like. If you have more questions you can e-mail me of course but, since e-mail is so last century, you can also text me (or call) at 408/605.0692.

I hope to see you there!
~Steve

Technorati Tags: San Jose State University, SJSU, CSU, California State University, San Jose, ssloansjca

Androids are coming

Android Developer Contest Winners Announced

Remember Android?
Android was announced an Internet eternity ago on November 5, 2007. According to Wikipedia, "Android is a software platform and operating system for mobile devices based on the Linux operating system and developed by Google and the Open Handset Alliance. Google has pledged to make most of the Android platform available under the Apache free-software and open-source license, once it is released in 2008." Android has been heralded as an open source alternative to Apple's iPhone platform.

Well, we are approaching Q4 of 2008. There was a contest, called the Android Developer Challenge, to design applications for this platform. Does the Android platform measure up to the iPhone platform? Let's look at some of the winners of that contest.

Technorati Tags: iphone, gphone, Apple, ssloansjca

SJSU President's Blog

Why am I calling Whitmore's Blog Lame?

In my opinion:

Companies Don't Blog - People Do
As Mike Sansone said, "One of the challenges a company faces when launching a blog, is making the leap from corporate-speak marketing lingo to a more personable message." Whitmore's so-called "blog" fall's far short of that goal. It is pure corporate-speak marketing lingo and is virtually devoid of a personable message. You can hardly even call it Whitmore's Blog as it is obviously not written by Jon Whitmore. Some flack in marketing is obviously writing this and is throwing in selected quotes from Whitmore. That, my friends, is pure corporate-speak marketing lingo, otherwise known as bull shit.

Is Whitmore's Blog even a blog?
The minimum requirement for a web site to be a blog is that it have content, and that it be sorted in reverse chronological order. But, I expect more than that from the president of a university claiming to power Silicon Valley. To quote Michael Arrington of TechCrunch, "I believe the term “blog” means more than an online journal. I believe a blog is a conversation. People go to blogs to read AND write, not just consume. We’ve allowed comments here on TechCrunch since it started. At times, user comments can be painful to deal with. But they also keep the writer honest, and make the content vastly more interesting."

Here is a short shopping list of what I expect from a genuine blog from the president of my university:

Permalinks (See UPDATE 2)

Other bloggers should be able to link to posts in Whitmore's blog. As it is now, they can't.

Comments (See UPDATE 2)

Whitmore should allow his readers to post thoughtful comments on what he has to say. Yes, comment moderation is okay to prevent comment spam.

An RSS Feed (See UPDATE 1)

Hello, as SJSU alum Robert Scoble said, "if you do a marketing site and you don't have an RSS feed today you should be fired." He went on to say, "Saying that RSS is only for geeks today is like saying in 1998 that the Web was only for geeks." One more thing, Scoble said that in 2005. In my opinion this applies much more to blogs. But, it is hard to do an RSS feed without permalinks.

A personal voice

This brings us back to "Companies Don't Blog - People Do." When I heard our new president was planning to do a blog I got excited. I thought, wow, the president of my university that is located at the core of Silicon Valley is really going to embrace transparency, embrace Web 2.0 and is going to enter the conversation. I did not expect PR bull shit.

But, I have found a real use for Whitmore's blog.
I use it in my new media class as an example, an example of what not to do with a blog. In my opinion Whitmore's so-called "blog" is worse for SJSU than no blog at all. It makes us all look lame. Where should my university start if they really want to do this right? I suggest starting here, with Scoble's Corporate Weblog Manifesto.

UPDATE 1, Mon Sep 1 16:11:43 PDT 2008: As of this time; Whitmore's blog does now appear to have an RSS feed!
(That must have been a lot of fun to make without permalinks for the posts? It possibly was a very manual process of hacking XML code)

UPDATE 2, Tue Sep 2 06:25:59 PDT 2008: The blog appears to have been done in what we call WEBCMS7, this is a content management system (CMS) we use to provide accessible Web page content to folks with disabilities on SJSU Web sites. It is a decent tool for that, but WEBCMS7 is not (normally) a blogging tool. I do not know of any way to provide permalinks to or commenting on a page in WEBCMS7. That brings up another question, is there an accessible blogging tool? I do not know the answer to that one.

Here is more information about accessible blogging tools, IMHO we need this at SJSU.

Technorati Tags: San Jose State University, SJSU, President Whitmore, Jon Whitmore, CSU, California State University, San Jose, ssloansjca

Still 1000 steps to print in SJSU lab

Out of order for two years!

When the Academic Success Center opened two years ago it had a serious flaw. Users of the computer lab on the first floor were unable to pay here for printing except by using value added to their tower cards. But, there was no station to add value to their card in Clark Hall where the lab is located.

The nearest "add value" station was located elsewhere. As noted in a previous post, "the place students have had to go to get to a machine to pay to be able to print a page in the Academic Success Center was five hundred paces away in the King Library. Then they have a five hundred pace walk back to Clark Hall to finish their job." That is a one thousand step round trip just to pay to print!

About six months ago an add value machine was added to Clark Hall. Problem is, it has never worked, never, ever. Two years after this lab has opened, it is still often a one thousand step round trip to pay for printing in Clark Hall.

My understanding is that it is not Academic Technology that is to blame for the printing problems. Hopefully, somewhere, someone will take ownership of this problem and it will get fixed. Two years is too long to wait to get this fixed.

Technorati Tags: San Jose State University, SJSU, Campus Life, Camera Phones, CSU, California State University, San Jose, ssloansjca

Busy, busy, busy

It's insane busy at SJSU

Yesterday I worked 11 hours straight. It is crazy busy at the help desk. It is RUSH in more ways than one. Tomorrow is my first class.

Technorati Tags: San Jose State University, California State University, San Jose, ssloansjca

UNIX e-mail for students is going away

Tech Tip: UNIX e-mail for students is going away

Currently enrolled students at SJSU who have paid their fees are the only people who are eligible for a new SJSU Student E-mail account. If you are not a current student you will not be able to use the new SJSU Student E-mail system. This is true even if you are a graduate who has been using an old SJSU student UNIX account.

SJSU does not currently offer e-mail to former students, including graduates
Student UNIX accounts (student e-mail accounts that end in @email.sjsu.edu) are going away as of the last day of October. After that date you will not be able to get an e-mail sent to any account from SJSU that ends in sjsu.edu. If you have had a Student UNIX account, your account will be disabled and all mail on the server will be deleted as of the end of October. There is no ability to forward e-mail from the old Student UNIX account to any other account after the last day of October. All e-mail sent to that account will bounce as undeliverable after that date. You need to establish an e-mail account somewhere else and tell all the people who have been sending you e-mail that you have a new e-mail address.

Important!
If you have a Student UNIX account, and would like to save your e-mail from your Student UNIX account, you should use an e-mail client like Apple Mail, Outlook, Eudora or Thunderbird to download your e-mail from the UNIX server. All mail on the server will be be deleted as of the end of October. You cannot save your UNIX e-mail on a student account using just web-mail. Again, this will only allow you to save e-mail sent to a Student UNIX account before the last day of October 2008. All e-mail sent to that account will bounce as undeliverable after that date.

How to save your old e-mail
The process for configuring an e-mail client like Apple Mail, Outlook, Eudora or Thunderbird is detailed here:

http://www.sjsu.edu/helpdesk/tutorials/email/email_setup/

New SJSU Student E-mail is Coming Monday

San Jose State University, through partnership with Microsoft Live Edu, is providing a feature-rich, intuitive electronic mail environment to the Student community.

Important Point:
The new SJSU Student E-mail is only for SJSU students and NOT for faculty or staff (unless they are also students at SJSU). SJSU Student E-mail does not change anything with Blackboard, Peoplesoft, CMS or MySJSU. It is only student e-mail!

Popular features of the new SJSU Student E-mail include web and POP3 client access, online file sharing and storage, blogging, 5GB of storage, and account pickup and management through SJSU's SJSUOne application.

August 25, 2008 is the launch date for this.

The new SJSU Student E-mail works with SJSUOne
Every active SJSU Student has an SJSUOne account, University Computing and Telecommunications (UCAT) Systems Group has also generated a SJSU Student E-Mail address for each active Student.

You may view information about the new SJSU Student E-Mail system on the Web at:

http://students.sjsu.edu

There are 3 steps for a student to pick up and begin using their new SJSU Student E-mail account. This is detailed at the Web site above:

1. Pick up their SJSU Student E-Mail Address. This is done by signing onto (or Activating) the student’s SJSUOne account after the system is active. Once signed on, the Student may be prompted to change their SJSUOne password. This will synchronize the SJSUOne password to their SJSU Student E-Mail password. (they will use their SJSUOne password for Student E-Mail)
2. Sign onto the Student E-Mail system (Microsoft Live@Edu) http://mail.live.com The student will enter their full Student E-mail address as their User ID, and their SJSUOne password as the password.
3. Complete the setup of their Student E-Mail account. This is simply filling out one page of information, and accepting the Microsoft agreement.

Important!
If you have a Student UNIX account and would like to save your e-mail from that account you should use an e-mail client like Outlook, Eudora or Thunderbird to download that mail from the server. All mail on the server will be be deleted as of the end of October.

The process for configuring an e-mail client is detailed here:

http://www.sjsu.edu/helpdesk/tutorials/email/email_setup/

Resources
A related handout is available for download, on the SJSU Campus Wired Network only. If you are SJSU faculty please feel free to distribute this to your students. This document is in PDF format and is here:
http://helpdeskinternal.sjsu.edu/Handouts/email_essentials.pdf

Technorati Tags: San Jose State University, California State University, San Jose, ssloansjca

Interested in working at the help desk?

SJSU Student Assistant Applications Being Accepted
To apply for work at our help desk please bring a copy of your resume to the help desk, located in CH102 on the first floor of Clark Hall, and fill out an application as well as a cover sheet for employment. Your resume should be stapled with your cover sheet, application and all should be submitted together.

On your application be sure to note any work experience you may have involving customer service, software applications and/or computer support. Be sure you have your Tower Card Number on your application if you have one.

Feeling kinda analog?

An old fashioned drop in darkroom
The Silicon Valley De-Bug Center offers a drop in darkroom for folks who might like to do photography the old-school way. The lab has four enlargers and can accommodate film up to 120 (6x9) size. For a fee, they provide all the chemicals. You will need to bring your own paper, negatives (of course) and maybe your own easels. They have a glass for making contact sheets. You can also develop film there. Oh yes, there is a radio in the darkroom!
Cost is $5 an hour but you can do monthly memberships to bring the cost down. They are located at 701 Lenzen Avenue in San Jose.
[Their Web Site]

Help Desk end of Summer Lunch

Summer is ending at SJSU

This time next week school will be in session. To celebrate the end of the summer the help desk staff went to lunch on Saturday with Sue and I. We went to Silk Road, which is a nice Indian Restaurant in downtown San Jose. It was a lot of fun.

Technorati Tags: San Jose State University, California State University, San Jose, ssloansjca

September 2008 Bike Club Newsletter

The September ACTC BBB Newsletter

Here is the September issue of the Black and Blue Bottom, the Almaden Cycle Touring Club newsletter. These are in PDF format:

• Normal version for viewing.
• Special "two page up" version for printer.

I publish this monthly newsletter for my bike club. It is due at the printer tomorrow morning. So, this is one of the things I did over the weekend.

India Independence Day

It is India Indepence day
Today is the 61st anniversary of the independence of India from Britan. Last year we celebrated the 60th anniversary at the Help Desk by wearing Indian clothing and had a big lunch of Indian food. This was great fun!

[More Pictures Here on Flickr]

Middle Son Jeff is 30

Thirty Years Ago Today, Jeff Was Born

Today is my son Jeff's birthday. Thirty years ago today he was born in Sacramento, CA. He was a helathy boy, the healthiest of our babies. Today Jeff is in Florida and so we are not able to celebrate with him. Jeff is the second of my sons to turn 30. Steve will be 32 in October.