Archive for the 'Software' Category
February 23rd, 2009 by Bob Hudack
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Saving Money
In the current budgetary climate, faculty and staff should be aware of the opportunities for saving money on academic software and computer equipment that NACS coordinates.
NACS works with representatives from the other UC campuses to leverage the buying power of the multi-campus system to negotiate a variety of discounted software licensing contracts. Among the research software for which UCI has licensing programs are the mathematics packages Matlab and Mathematica, the statistical packages SAS and SPSS, and GIS software from ESRI. You can explore UCI’s software licensing agreements online.
UCI also participates in UC’s Microsoft Consolidated Campus Agreement (MCCA) wherein units can purchase annual licenses for Microsoft software such as Windows and Office for all computers owned by the unit. NACS can help units determine whether this option fits their needs. Information on this and other options for purchasing Microsoft software is available online.
Finally, UCI has a strategic sourcing agreement with KST Data which provides discounts on the purchase of new desktop and laptop computers.
October 5th, 2008 by Bob Hudack
Windows Vista Logo
Microsoft has released new editions of its Windows operating system, Vista, as well as its productivity suites Office 2007 and Office 2008 for Macintosh. Here is some information NACS has collected to help users and departments adapt to and make optimal use of these new tools.
In the summer of 2007, NACS coordinated a series of workshops, partly funded by a grant from Microsoft. We are currently planning the next series of workshops.
NACS works with its counterparts at other UC campuses to be sure UCI faculty and staff have access to advantageous licensing programs, including UC-MCCA (the Microsoft Consolidated Campus Agreement).
We have introduced Vista and Office 2007 in the AIRB training lab, and will expand their availability as demand grows.
NACS and departmental computing support staff can assist faculty and staff deciding when (or whether) to migrate to Vista and Office 2007. Vista requires a higher-performance system to run effectively, and Office 2007 and 2008 introduce new file formats that are incompatible with earlier versions. Office 2007 and 2008 offer the option to save files in a backward-compatible format, and users of earlier versions of Office can download the free Microsoft Office Compatibility Pack for Word, Excel, and PowerPoint 2007.
Windows Vista runs most software well, but some specialized research or administrative tools won’t run under Vista. NACS recommends purchasers of Vista systems plan to test their most important applications in advance of purchase.
Today, all new PC purchases running Windows come with Vista licenses. If running Windows XP is important to you, choose a business-class system from a reseller like Dell or HP, and select a Windows XP configuration. The University’s strategic sourcing reseller, KST Data, offers a variety of systems preconfigured with Windows XP Professional. Be aware that obtaining the correct XP drivers for hardware designed for Vista may be problematic.
Microsoft last released a service pack (a collection of software updates) for Windows XP in May, and therefore by Microsoft policy, XP will be supported until at least May 2009. However, Microsoft has not committed to supporting or retiring XP beyond that date. Interested users can follow Microsoft’s evolving plans for XP at the Windows Service Pack Road Map web site.
April 23rd, 2004 by Dana Roode
Many departments at UCI participate in the UC/Microsoft software leasing program known as UC-MCCA. This is a program for acquiring up-to-date Microsoft software at aggressive discounts. For example, a license for Windows XP with Office is less than $40, compared to around $100 for the typical University license. The program allows software updates whenever new versions are released.
The program can only be used by entire organizational units, and costs are proportional to unit size (FTE). This makes the program particularly advantageous for departments with a large number of computers per person, such as units with computer labs. One downside is that this is a subscription (lease) program, and participating units must plan for recurring annual license costs.
This year’s orders under the UC-MCCA agreement must be placed by May 14. For details (package costs, program details, definition of FTE, etc.) or to consult on whether this program would be a benefit to your unit, please contact NACS.
March 5th, 2004 by Dana Roode
The UCI Statistical Consulting Center, NACS, and the SAS Institute are hosting a “SAS Day” to be held April 14 at the Beckman Center. Chancellor Ralph J. Cicerone will provide welcoming remarks. There is no charge for this event. The agenda and registration can be viewed at http://ucsasday.uci.edu
SAS is statistical analysis and data reporting software for which UCI has discount licensing. For more information, please visit http://licenses.nacs.uci.edu/detail2.cfm?ProductID=14
August 29th, 2003 by Dana Roode
UCI faculty and staff have access to a wide range of discounts on software, including operating systems, business applications, and research software.
Because some of these licenses are available only to subscribing schools and departments, the Computing Support Coordinator in your department or school is the first person to contact for software license information.
NACS works through a number of agencies, including the UCOP Technical Acquisition Support (TAS) team, vendors, and resellers to explore license opportunities on behalf of UCI. If there is software you feel would be of value to large numbers of faculty or staff, please e-mail nacs@uci.edu
If you are not sure of the local contact in your school or department, please visit:
http://www.nacs.uci.edu/support/csc/csc.html
Information on most campus software licenses can be found at:
http://licenses.nacs.uci.edu/
July 11th, 2003 by Dana Roode
A recently announced security problem in Windows will not be fixed for users of Windows NT.
Microsoft has issued a security warning for Windows NT 4.0, Windows 2000 and Windows XP systems. Bulletin MS03-010, dated 26 March 2002, states that this vulnerability could be used by “an attacker … [to] cause the target machine to fail.”
Microsoft does not plan to provide a fix for it on Windows NT 4.0, which is still being used by various departments at UCI. Microsoft says that they have, “extensively investigated an engineering solution for NT 4.0 and found that the Windows NT 4.0 architecture will not support a fix to this issue, now or in the future.”
So, what’s an NT user to do? Microsoft itself recommends placing such systems behind a “firewall which is filtering traffic on Port 135.” Fortunately, NACS has been running a port blockade on this port since November 5, 2002 (more information on the port blockades). This blockade restricts all off-campus systems and Residential Housing computers sending traffic to these ports on campus.
While this keeps UCI users of Windows NT safe from outside attempts to exploit this weakness, it is prudent for departments to develop a migration strategy away from NT, as Microsoft no longer supports NT nor promises to develop security patches as vulnerabilities are discovered.