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There is an entire universe of technology out there for users to navigate. Among the hundreds of choices for the same type of product, sometimes a simple example is the best place to start.My job description is as an Local Support Provider, to support the users and computers of Logan Hall, Fiji House and classrooms in SAS Computing. Penn's IT environment is the most diverse any IT worker could ever encounter. Most 'corporate' IT jobs deal with a fixed architype of computer and software. That is not the case in SAS Computing at Penn. I support Windows XP, Windows Vista, Mac OS and numerous client applications. I am often asked to support the home computing requirements for my clients, but unfortunatley, am not always in the position to do so. The better position I am to access information, the better I can help my clients fulfill their technology needs. A laptop best suits the purpose for my mobile role around campus. I could use any computer in SAS Computing to access my files and data, but a laptop along with AirSAS wireless provides seamless access to the online services I need. Preferences aside, I purchased an Apple MacBook Pro 15" (MBP) from the Penn Computer Connection. The reason for choosing the MacBook Pro was for power and versatility. The MBP is an Intel-based Mac, and capable of running Microsoft Windows. To test and adapt to a changing IT environment, Ineed a platform that can run both supported platforms. The ability to run my hobby-OS, Linux, is value-added. To run all of my various operating systems and programs, I needed a laptop with power and room. That lead me to load my MBP with 3GB of RAM and a 120GB hard drive. Bigger and better options are available now, but Apple tends to refresh their product line every six months. When I purchase any Apple product bigger than an iPod Nano, I buy the Apple Care extended warranty. Apple Care is well worth the additional cost and will pay for itself the first time it is used. Productivity Suites... Microsoft Office is the predominant productivity suite for Windows and Mac users on campus. The University's license agreement with Microsoft do not preclude the cost-prohibitive cost associated with Microsoft Office. A license for either version can be obtained from the Computer Connection for under one hundred dollars. Microsoft Word and Powerpoint are the mainstream applications in the office suite my clients use. Everyone that does any kind of document processing will come across a PDF file. PDFs need Adobe's 'Reader' software to view but not edit PDF documents. Editing PDFs is usually done with Adobe's signature 'Acrobat' program. Acrobat is not free and even with the University discount, is an expensive program. Apple Mac OSX comes a built-in 'PDF Printer'. That gives me the option to send any document to a virtual printer that creates a PDF document instead of a printed sheet of paper. Web Browsers... Mac OS X comes with a built-in web browser called 'Safari', which is more than adequate for most tasks. I actually do not care for Safari that much. The betas for Safari version 3 in the forth-coming OS X 10.5 'Leopard' look very nice. The 'standard' browser in use around campus in Mozilla Firefox. I use Firefox for most of my web-related tasks. Firefox is free, very scriptable and can be customized numerous numerous different ways. There is an off-shot of Firefox called 'Flock' that comes with plug-ins for all of my 'Web 2.0' services like 'del.icio.us', and 'Flickr'. Firefox/Flock are cross-platform with Windows and Linux as well. That commonality allows me to easily move my settings across each operating system from computer to computer. E-Mail... "The tie that binds us..." I get countless e-mails every day detailing the various facets of my duties in Logan Hall. The SAS FacStaff cluster is the predominate mail system that is in use or me and my clients. The IMAP service is the default and only way to access e-mail outside of a web browser. The legacy 'Mail.SAS' supported both POP and IMAP. Faculty and staff have a number of choices in how they access their e-mail. The traditional approach is to use a client application installed on a computer. A newer approach has e-mail being used more and more by users out of convenience and ease. Web-Mail is much more versatile than a traditional client application. I use an application from the folks at Mozilla, called 'Thunderbird'. Thunderbird does for me what Firefox does, and in the same manner. I do try to keep abreast with the other choices for e-mail programs that are available, Microsoft Outlook and Apple Mail. Gadgets... The most helpful gadget is my 8GB USB thumb-drive. It is there I keep my data and items available for use. Small items like documents, scripts, and programs are great for the thumb-drive. I do not keep too many programs on there as often. The programs I use are freely available online and Penn has one hell of an Internet connection. There are some occaisions where the thumb-drive is not as uselful. I cannot use it to backup my laptop, or even my user profile. An external USB or Firewire hard drive is what's called for in those situations. I have a Western Digital 'MyBook' 500GB USB/Firewire external hard drive. The 500GB capacity give enoughspace to backup all of my data, and my wife's, five times over. A second smaller USB hard drive is kept as a safeguard for very important data in my bank's safety deposit box. My 30GB iPod has also come in very handy for storage. I do not have 30GB of music and video, thus have used the iPod's HDD to store a backup of my work desktop.
Page last updated, November 26, 2007.
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