Over the summer vacation, new equipment has been installed in the PG IT suite. There is a new interactive 'Smart' board in the student lounge, while all of the desktop computers have been upgraded. There is also a new Video/Photo Editing PC in D0.03 for the use of staff and students. This has a range of specialist software (e.g. Adobe Premier, Photoshop Elements) as well as specialised hardware.

Access to the WBS Scarman Road building via the rear automatic door has been restricted as of yesterday. If you wish to exit/enter the building through the back, you will need to use the Manual door (8am - 8pm on weekdays) or the Rotating door (24/7). Please contact us if you wish to request access for a disabled student or staff member. The reasons for this change are: 1) To stop it getting very cold in winter when the door stays open for 30 seconds at a time and 2) to improve security so non-authorised visitors can't simply tailgate in.

New visualisers have been added to M1, M2, A0.01, A1.01 and B0.01. We are currently installing Promethean tablet devices in M1, A0.01 and A1.01. If you want any training on using this equipment please let us know, or just 'have a go' when the rooms are not in use.

Lecture theatre B0.01 re-opened in September 2009 after phase one of its upgrade. The teaching floor has been raised and a second projector/screen installed. We would very much like to receive feedback to help in our planning of improvements to other existing teaching spaces. Read more at: http://help.wbs.ac.uk/kb/services/lectures/b001 

LAPTOP USERS

Please be aware that most WBS laptops are on 3-year leases. If you have a Latitude D630 system, the lease will expire in July 2011. If you have a Latitude E6400 system, the lease will expire in November 2011. This is a rather advance warning, but if you are planning to be away (abroad, sabbatical, maternity/paternity leave (!) etc) when the lease is due to expire, please let us know well in advance, so that we can make appropriate arrangements. For similar reasons, if you move offices, please always email us to let us know, so that we can keep our inventory up to date.

 

SCAREWARE

There is a new kind of nasty trying to infect your computer. It is called Scareware and usually involves a pop-up window that warns you that your computer has some terrible problem that can only be fixed by purchasing a particular piece of software. Please ignore any such messages unless they come from your anti-virus software. Almost certainly your computer is fine, although the software they are trying to sell you is likely to be at best ineffective, and at worst full of viruses. Read more information on Scareware here:

http://help.wbs.ac.uk/kb/security/internet_security/scareware  

 

FILES.WARWICK

Files.Warwick is a centrally-provided service that is useful for sending and receiving files that are too large to email or for sharing files and folders with people outside of your group. To get started sign in to https://files.warwick.ac.uk with your WBS username. Note, we do not recommend this system for long term file storage. For more information on where we do recommend you store your files see http://help.wbs.ac.uk/kb/services/user_accounts/files/  

 

ACCESSING YOUR FILES FROM HOME - NETSTORAGE

Did you know you can access your S: drive through the internet at http://files.wbs.ac.uk ? Just log in with your usual WBS username.

 

DHL CONNECT

If you ever have any problems installing or running DHL Connect, please contact us, and NOT the DHL people. We have a fully working (and tested) version of the DHL Connect software available through WBS-Applications; this is the only location from which the software should be installed.

 

KEEPING EMAILS FROM 2006 AND BEFORE SAFE

Our current GWarchive service stores all your emails on our server. These can be accessed through http://webmail.wbs.ac.uk and are backed up centrally. Please note however, that emails dating 2006 and earlier have probably been archived by the old system and are currently stored in the 'old' GroupWise archive on your D: drive.The D: drive is not backed up centrally, so if you have important email there, we recommend you back up the archive. The good news is that, as this is not changing, you only need to do this once. Just copy the 'gwarchive' folder to DVD and then put the DVD somewhere safe. If you have any problems please contact us.

 

VACATION OPENING HOURS

Please note our summer vacation opening hours. We are open 8:30 am - 5 pm Monday - Thursday and 8:30 am - 4 pm on Fridays. We are closed for lunch 12:30 - 1:30. In an emergency during the lunchtime closure please ring 078 7621 8006 (48006 from an internal phone).