February 12, 2008
Wacom Intuos3 Pen Tablet
Jeana Rogers, Instructional Media Specialist -- There are many software programs that have features and tools that are designed to be used with a pen or a brush. Programs like Photoshop and Illustrator have amazing tools and capabilities that allow you to draw, paint and edit graphics. It can be rather difficult for the creative person to master these tools using a mouse. It’s just not intuitive.
Enter the The Wacom Intuos3 pen tablet. This device works with Macs and PC’s and and over a hundred software programs. For the artist it’s senses over a thousand levels of pressure sensitivity. You can control software tools by changing how hard you press the pen on the tablet. Using sensitivity you can control exposure, brush size, opacity and more. The wireless pen and mouse can be customized through it’s own control panel for various programs.
Physics professor Dr. Martin Madsen is currently using the Wacom tablet to work through problems for his Physics 112 class. The Wacom tablet is currently set up in the Media Center's I/O room where Dr. Madsen uses Photoshop and a screen capture program that records his actions on the screen and his voice as he works out physics problems for his students to review. We then post this recording as a short movie file on the Virtual Media Reserves.
Dr. Madsen says “I've gotten some positive feedback from the students. I think it is pretty straight forward to do the recording and I really like not having to worry about not getting to the problem at the end of class. It frees me up to spend more time on the concepts and leave the problem demonstration to the web.”
The tablet has many potential uses for students and instructors to do more creative work in the programs they already use. If you would like to check out the Wacom tablet or have any questions please contact me at X6251 or rogersj@wabash.edu.
Posted by Brad Weaver at 11:30 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
November 20, 2007
Optimize your airline ticket purchases with Farecast
Whenever I travel, I tend to agonize over airline ticket prices and wonder if I should buy now or wait, especially when buying tickets for my entire family. Farecast, a recent entry into the online travel service space, attempts to help with this problem by not only showing current ticket prices, but predicting future prices based on historical trends and recommending when to buy.
On first glance, Farecast looks similar to many travel sites. There is a form to enter your travel information -- to, from, dates, number of travelers, etc. After you fill out the form and click search, you see a list of available fares. The difference is you will also see a fare history and prediction, similar to this chart (for a search of Indianapolis to Orlando, Dec 28-Jan 5):
In this case, Farecast recommends that I wait to purchase, as they predict the price will drop by at least $50 within the next 7 days. The "69% confidence" means that similar predictions they made in the past were correct 69% of the time.
You can search and get pricing on any available flights, but there are some exceptions if you want to see Farecast's future pricing predictions. To see predictions, your trip must be 2-8 nights in length, and depart within 90 days. Also, currently only 75 airports are included (Indianapolis is one).
The Farecast web site has a beta feature to search for hotel rooms, but it is little more limited at this time than the flight search. In regard to this, the web site says "Rate Keys are limited—30 destinations, missing many major hotels. We plan to improve our coverage to eventually include all major cities and hotels in the U.S. and around the globe."
Farecast has lots of other neat tools, including a graph that shows cheapest flights in the next 30 days, and cheapest flights between multiple destinations. It's definitely worth a look when you make your next airline reservations.
Posted by Brad Weaver at 08:11 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
October 29, 2007
Community Recycling Day a Great Success
Last Saturday, the IT Services department and the Wabash Environmental Concerns Committee sponsored a Community Computer Recycle Day. Wabash faculty, staff and students, as well as members of the greater Crawfordsville community, could drop of obsolete computers, monitors, printers, and related technology equipment at no cost. The equipment was collected and will be recycled by RecycleForce of Indianapolis.
We had a great turnout, and the event was a big success. We completely filled a semi trailer, and had to load additional equipment on a supply truck. In all, we collected 19,810 pounds of equipment, or just under ten tons! Thanks to everyone who took the time on Saturday to bring in equipment. The amount certainly exceeded my expectations. The picture above shows the inside of the semi trailer; see the photo album for more pictures from the day.
The event fit well with the goals of the Wabash Environmental Concerns Committee, which seeks to find ways for Wabash to incorporate an environmental perspective into its decision-making and its daily operations. Further, the committee seeks to link the College's actions with those of our wider Crawfordsville and regional communities, so opening the recycle day to all of Crawfordsville was important.
According to the EPA, computer monitors contain an average of four pounds of lead. In addition to lead, electronics can contain chromium, cadmium, mercury, beryllium, nickel, zinc, and brominated flame retardants. When electronics are not disposed of or recycled properly, these toxic materials can present problems. It's hard to imagine the world-wide impact when you consider how much stuff we collected in this small town in west-central Indiana.
It takes a lot of people to pull together an event like this. Jamie Ross, IT Services office manager, who coordinated this event for Wabash, Ginny Maharry (Lilly Library) and Mike Heinold (IT Services), who helped with traffic flow and loading equipment, and Gary Leonard (Campus Services) who ran the fork lift and moved equipment onto the trucks. I'm especially thankful to Andy Bradley, from Bradley Trucking in Ladoga, who donated the use of his semi trailer and his time to deliver the equipment to RecycleForce in Indianapolis.
We are planning to make this an annual event, so if you missed out this weekend you'll have another chance next fall.
Posted by Brad Weaver at 01:32 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
October 12, 2007
iPod Repair
It's nearly impossible these days to walk across the Wabash campus and not see students (or employees) sporting the tell-tale white iPod ear buds. Many people take their iPods everywhere, and this frequent use--and occasional abuse--can take its toll on the devices.
What to do when your trusty iPod has a problem, whether a lost bezel, cracked case or screen, or the battery is dead? Depending on how long you had the iPod, you may decide it's time for an upgrade, but with most problems you can repair your iPod for a fraction of the cost of purchasing a new one.
One repair option is RapidRepair, based in Kalamazoo, Michigan. You can send your iPod (or Zune) to RapidRepair and they will make the repairs for you, or you can purchase many parts and install yourself (the site offers handy repair guides, as well as an assessment of the difficulty level of specific repairs). Express testing only costs $0.01 (plus the cost of shipping your iPod), and they provide a quote before making any repairs. In addition to repairs, they offer a variety of upgrades and accessories.
I recently tried out RapidRepair myself, when the top bezel broke off my daughter's iPod Nano. After reviewing the part options and repair guides for this particular problem, I decided the best option was to send the Nano in for repair. Once I ordered Express Testing ($0.01), they sent instructions on where to ship the Nano. I received confirmation they received it, and a day later they called with a price to repair the Nano. It shipped back to me a couple of days later. In all, I was happy with the repair process, and the Nano looks as good as new.
Posted by Brad Weaver at 10:59 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
October 05, 2007
National Cyber Security Awareness Month
Cryptographer and computer security specialist Bruce Schneier once wrote "The user's going to pick dancing pigs over security every time." And who can blame them? It's hard to get excited about computer security, which is one reason October is National Cyber Security Awareness Month. IT Services has several resources available for the Wabash community to help keep you--and your computer--safe and secure.
We've planned two Tech Talks on security -- Desktop Support Analyst Mike Heinold presented Windows Security on September 25 (see the recap and the PowerPoint), and Network Administrator Quentin Dodd will present Network Security and Identity Theft on Tuesday October 9 at 12:10pm in Baxter 114. Lunch will be available in the Baxter Lounge at noon.
The security resources page on the IT Services web site has a number of links to security sites and resources, including links to computer security tips that we've shared on the Tech Notes blog.
Wabash students who have a computer connected to the Wabash network are eligible to use Sophos antivirus software under our site license agreement. If you are a Wabash student and are not currently running virus protection software on your computer, you can stop by the Help Desk for a free copy of Sophos.
If you have any security-related concerns, whether a suspicious email you received, spyware or viruses on your computer, or questions about identity theft, contact the Help Desk any time for assistance.
Posted by Brad Weaver at 08:30 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
October 04, 2007
Fall Tech Talk Schedule Set
IT Services "Tech Talks" are held in Baxter Hall 114 on the second and fourth Tuesday each month. Each Tech Talk features a presentation on technology at Wabash, and includes lunch. Talks begin at 12:10 in Baxter 114, with lunch available at noon in Baxter Lounge.
We've set the schedule for the fall semester:
Summer IT Projcts Recap
Brad Weaver, Director of IT Services
September 11, 2007
recap | PowerPoint
Windows Security
Mike Heinold, Desktop Support Analyst
September 25, 2007
recap | PowerPoint
Network Security and Identity Theft
Quentin Dodd, Network Administrator
October 9, 2007
Educational Uses for Second Life
Jeana Rogers, Instructional Media Specialist
October 23, 2007
Searching the Wabash Online Alumni Directory
Tom Runge, Director of ALumni and Parent Relations
November 13, 2007
Google Applications
Monica Brainard, Help Desk Specialist
November 27, 2007
We're working now on the Tech Talk schedule for the spring semester. If you are interested in giving a Tech Talk, please let us know.
Posted by Brad Weaver at 10:08 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
September 26, 2007
Talking About Windows Security
October is National Cyber Security Awareness Month, and to help raise awareness on campus we're dedicating two Tech Talk's this fall to security. Yesterday, desktop support analyst Mike Heinold got us started by talking about Windows Security.
In his talk, Mike looked at ways to keep your computer safe from viruses and spyware, how to keep your computer up-to-date with Windows automatic update, how to keep intruders away with Windows firewall, and how to control spam filter settings. If you missed the talk, you can review the PowerPoint presentation.
On October 9, network administrator Quentin Dodd will give a Tech Talk titled Network Security and Identity Theft. As always, Tech Talk's are held in Baxter 114. Talks begin at 12:10pm, with lunch available in Baxter Lounge at noon.
Posted by Brad Weaver at 09:54 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
