Changes for 2008

2008 will bring many changes to the Boise State technology landscape. This is what we see as a Top 10 list of changes that will affect your desktop computing this year:

10. Hardware. We are reaching a turning point in hardware and it is hard to predict what standards will take hold. Tablet PCs seem to be taking on a new resurgence, as do all-in-one machines. We are also seeing changes in storage with the introduction of solid state hard drives (hard drives without any moving parts). We are seeing more and more wide screen monitors as well.

9. Symantec AntiVirus. Our antivirus software will be upgraded a new version later this Spring.

8. Novell ZENworks Configuration Management. This is an internal tool that allows the Help Desk to push out patches, install software and image computers. This new version is required for us to be able to support Windows Vista.

7. Knowledgebase. We have had a little-used knowledgebase on the http://support.boisestate.edu/ website for years. We have decided to upgrade it to a more user-friendly package to help provide information to the campus community about all of these changes. The new package is called RightAnswers and should be fully functional in the March time frame.

6. PeopleSoft. The PeopleSoft team is releasing a package called Time and Labor that will allow for time card and vacation tracking online. HR managers are beginning to receive communications about this already.  Also, the University is upgrading its Human Resource/Payroll and Student Administration systems from PeopleSoft 8 to PeopleSoft 9. More information about this upgrade will be available later in the year.  Power PeopleSoft users will be very involved in ensuring proper functionality and usage.

5. Microsoft Site License. The University has been pursuing a Microsoft Site License. This is currently in the hands of Purchasing, and more information will come your way when it is official. The license is for Microsoft Windows and Microsoft Office. It is what will allow us to buy Windows Vista, but keep a computer on Windows XP or upgrade our existing computers to newer operating systems. It will also provide an enterprise copy of Microsoft Office to all of our University computers.

4. Apple OS 10.5. Apple’s latest OS release has gone a little smoother. We have been testing it internally for about 2 months and have only found a few incompatibilities. We will be providing documentation of our findings on http://helpdesk.boisestate.edu/ and http://broncobytes.boisestate.edu/, and announcing to campus shortly.

3. Microsoft Vista. Though Windows Vista was released by Microsoft in late 2006, we are only just now getting all of our tools and software to be able to support it. Many of the changes this year are as a result of Windows Vista. Our core applications, Symantec Anti-Virus, Cisco VPN, Novell Client, GroupWise and Microsoft Office, all have Vista compatible applications out and working. Other applications are hit and miss. Users wishing to run Windows Vista will most likely have to pay to upgrade all of the software they use.

2. Microsoft Office. Office 2007 has been installed in the many of the labs since the beginning of Fall semester. About that same time we pushed the Office Compatibility Translation Pack to ZENworks users on campus, allowing them to open Office 2007 documents in previous versions of Office. As more people begin to transition to Office 2007, file formats will become a bigger issue. There is also a steep learning curve in learning the new version of Office. From my experience, the learning curve is worth the effort. Office 2008, the latest Mac version, will be releasing in just a few days.

1. Google Apps for Education. You may have heard that the University is planning to move its email to Google. It looks like the student transition will be at the end of this semester. The transition times for faculty and staff are still being determined. Google will provide not just email and calendaring, but an entire collaboration suite that will allow users to share documents and ideas with greater ease.

There are other changes as well: Document imaging, updates to our phone and voicemail systems, network security are in the works, and we have plans to update the look and feel of http://support.boisestate.edu/ and http://helpdesk.boisestate.edu/.

2008 will be an exciting time, and we will do our best to keep you up-to-date, educated and informed throughout the year!