Tag Archives: self-service

Update for Self Service App on College-owned Macs

Does your college-owned Mac have the latest and greatest version of the Self Service application?  It’s easy to tell…  just launch Self Service located in the Utilities folder.  If you see the Middlebury logo in a dark blue band across the top — you’ve got the new version which offers not only our latest installers, but also access to many installers from off-campus.

If you don’t have the updated version, you’ll only see one featured piece of software to install — the new Self Service utility.  We encourage you to install this update as soon as possible so you’ll be able to install updated software, printers, and drivers when you need them.  Here’s how to proceed:

Important! If your computer is running macOS 10.9 or older, please update the OS to 10.12 (or newer) before attempting to update Self Service.  10.12 (“Sierra”) is available in the old Self Service to computers that are eligible.

  1. The Mac needs to be connected to Ethernet on the Middlebury campus network to update Self Service.
  2. Open Self Service, then look for ”’JAMF Cloud”’. This is a “featured” install, so it should appear on the main screen.
  3. Read the installation instructions before proceeding.
  4. When the installation has completed it may report a ”’failure”’ — this is normal — just close then re-open Self Service.
  5.  There should be a visual difference (as well as a new version number) to Self Service.  You are done – except…
    • for macOS 10.13.2 or higher, re-opening Self Service will prompt you to ”’Approve”’ the MDM profile in System Preferences.  Please follow the link then click the ”’Approve”’ button.  This helps enable various security & conveniences for your computer, including pre-approval of third-party kernel extensions for common software (ex. Sophos or Google Drive File Stream).

Middlebury Campus Moves to Office 2016 — Are You There Yet?

MS Office 2016 logoIs your college-owned computer already running Microsoft Office 2016?  If so, you’re all set; read no further (unless you hate to miss anything!)  Not sure?  Here’s how you can find your version information.

If you have yet to upgrade your version of Office, it’s time to seize the moment and take care of this important detail so you’ll be using the recommended version.  Office 2016 is available for college-owned computers through self-service installs that can be done at your convenience. You’ll find installation instructions — and some great resource links — on our Office 2016 wiki page.  If you’d like assistance or have questions about the Office upgrade process, please submit a Helpdesk ticket and we’ll be happy to lend a hand.

Reluctant to upgrade?  You may be relieved to hear that you won’t need to relearn everything you already know.  The main changes are a streamlined look that provides the same experience on different devices, such as phones and tablets, and better integration with OneDrive for file storage.  Office 2016 is also needed so you can use Multi-Factor Authentication with Outlook.

But don’t take my word for it — check out How to Learn More about Office 2016 and convince yourself that it’s time to move on up!

Self-booking

We are now in the testing phase of self-booking through MIDCAT. If you want, you can help us test! (pause for wild cheering…) Simply search MIDCAT for a piece of equipment (that is not a laptop, calculator, or headphones) or a media item on reserve, click the “place reservation” button in the bib record, login, and place your booking. If you don’t really want to book the item, just put “test” in the note field.

Known issue: Possible length of booking is not clear for all items. (The lab is working on that.)

Please let me know of other issues, questions, concerns, suggestions, and the like.