Tag Archives: software

Customer Purchases of Technology

Great news!  College faculty and staff can purchase many computer peripherals directly through Oracle Finance purchasing system.  Purchasing with this new system gives you the ability to price, budget, order, and directly receive items.  In addition, you will be able to track shipping and confirm charges are correct. We are here to guide, and recommend items you might be looking for; feel free to give us a call or email the ITS Helpdesk.  The Middlebury College Bookstore also has many accessory items in stock and can direct you to what will work for your setup.  

PURCHASE THROUGH ITS

Although you can purchase your own office peripherals, cables, and such, please remember you must work with ITS on purchases of computers, tablets, specialty monitors, and printers, as well as projectors, network switches, software, and TVs.  This will ensure you receive educational discounts, proper licensing, and appropriate warranties on college-supported equipment.  College funded computer purchases must be coordinated with Information Technology Services (ITS) prior to ordering, so ITS may review the specifications to ensure the equipment is compatible with the Middlebury College environment plus confirm in-house support is available.  For example, there are items ITS does not support, like departmentally purchased printers, or non-standard model computers.

PURCHASE ON YOUR OWN

We have put together a list of common accessories our campus customers have requested and we have tested.  Because items come and go in availability, and pricing changes, this list may go out of date.  Like I said, feel free to check in with the Middlebury College Bookstore or with us at the ITS Helpdesk, we are here to help.

Adobe Creative Cloud 2019: Available in Labs by June

Adobe logo

Adobe Creative Cloud 2018 is being replaced with version 2019 in the computer labs this June of 2019. New integration with the Adobe Cloud in CC 2019 may eventually bring exciting developments, allowing cloud storage of documents and settings, as well as access to some applications that rely on the cloud to run. Syncing to the cloud is not currently enabled in the computer labs.

What this means to you: when opening an Adobe Creative Cloud application on a lab computer, you will be prompted to log into Adobe. Faculty, staff, and students of Middlebury’s degree programs may use their Middlebury account credentials. If/when prompted, choose the option to sign in with an “Enterprise ID.” You may also opt to use a personal Adobe ID for this purpose, if you prefer. They are free and easy to set up.

Faculty and Staff of the undergraduate college and the institute may be interested in the installation options outlined in our past blog post about Adobe CC 2019 availability.

Adobe Creative Cloud 2019 Now Available

We are pleased to let you know that the Adobe Creative Cloud 2019 suite is now available for installation by Middlebury Undergraduate College & Institute faculty & staff*.  New this year is login to the Adobe site, as well as the Adobe Creative Cloud app, on personal computers and computers owned by Middlebury (and assigned to you).  The Adobe Creative Cloud provides easy installation, and several cloud storage features, including fonts & preferences.

Important Note: public computer labs will not have the 2019 version of Adobe Creative Cloud applications until spring or summer of 2019.  To maintain full compatibility with labs and others on campus, you are advised to continue using the Creative Cloud 2018 applications in the interim.  

To maintain compatibility with labs, we recommend first setting your Creative Cloud Preferences (in the Creative Cloud App) to “Show Older Apps”, then click on the down arrow next to Install, select Manage, then Other Versions.  If you pick the newest from the list of Other Versions, that should be a match for our lab installations.  Video instructions.  

How do I install Adobe applications?:

To install the latest versions (if compatibility with others and access via other computers is not a priority), log in at Adobe with your middlebury.edu email credentials.

  1. Click Sign In in the upper-right corner of the web page and use your Middlebury email address and email password to log in.  Select  Enterprise ID if prompted.
  2. Click Download for the Creative Cloud app, then click Save File.
  3. Double-click the Creative_Cloud_Set-Up file in your Downloads folder.
  4. Click Yes to allow the installer to make changes to your computer.
  5. Sign in again using the same credentials as above.
  6. Click Start Installing.
  7. Once the Creative Cloud app installs select the Apps tab.
  8. Select to Install or Update the applications you desire.

Note: Middlebury computers that already have Creative Cloud applications installed may get a message from adobe.com that they cannot download software.  That computer likely 1) does not have the Adobe Creative Cloud App, or 2) may not have the “Apps” option for installing when you are logged in.  These will require an install/reinstall of the Creative Cloud App provided by Information Technology Services.

Once installed, you should be able to install any recommended updates without breaking compatibility, with the exception of Lightroom.  Contact the Service Desk if you require assistance with Lightroom.

Do you have a shared-use computer?  These may require a different process.  Please reach out to us with the number of the computer(s) in question.

Feel free to contact the Service Desk during our open hours if you have questions or encounter any issues during your upgrade process.

*Licensing does not apply to students or to the Schools (Language Schools, Bread Loaf or Schools Abroad).  Adobe software is installed on lab computers.

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).

Adobe Creative Cloud 2017 Now Available

Since the release of the new Adobe Creative Cloud 2017 suite, there have been many requests to install it on college-owned computers and in the public labs for teaching.  We are pleased to let you know that it is now available.

Current Adobe users will need to remove older application versions from their college computers first, then install the new 2017 versions to maintain compatibility with our labs and other colleagues.  To simplify this upgrade process, self service options are now available for both Mac and Windows college-owned machines.

Here are the upgrade steps for college-owned computers:

Windows:

  1. Review details about how to use the self service website.
  2. Login at http://go.middlebury.edu/kss, click Want Software?, then click the link for Install CCUninstaller to remove all older Adobe Creative Cloud applications.
  3. This will bring you to a download history page, wait 10 minutes, check your programs list under your start menu, to see if your Adobe apps are gone.
  4. Reboot your computer.
  5. Login again at http://go.middlebury.edu/kss, click Want Software?, then click the link for Install Adobe Photoshop (Indesign or Illustrator).  Allow at least 15 minutes for the install to begin.

Mac:

  1. Review details about how to find and use the Self Service utility.
  2. Copy the Plug-ins folder from your computer’s Application folder (e.g., /Applications/Adobe Photoshop CC 2015/Plug-ins/) in advance, as the upgrade process may remove existing ones.
  3. Launch the Service Service utility.
  4. In the search field (top right), type 2017, then press Return to show the new offerings.
  5. Click the Install button to run Adobe CC Uninstall – through 2017.0 to remove all older Adobe Creative Cloud applications.
  6. Reboot your computer.
  7. Launch Self Service once again, then search for 2017.
  8. Click Install to run the application installers you need.

Notes:  Adobe Acrobat DC will need to be re-installed if you had it before; it is available through Self Service as well.

Feel free to contact the Helpdesk during our open hours if you happen to hit any road bumps.

Free Microsoft Office for Home Computers

MS Office LogoITS is pleased to announce that we are now licensed to provide currently employed faculty and staff with Microsoft Office, free of charge, for use on home computers.   We have a new portal page where you can login and download Microsoft Office.

For more information and links to the MS Office download sites, visit  http://go.middlebury.edu/getoffice.   Follow the instructions to complete the download then install the Office products.  If you have any problems, please contact the Helpdesk by creating a ticket http://go.middlebury.edu/whd.

New Survey Tool: Qualtrics

As of July 2015, Middlebury has adopted Qualtrics as its on-line survey platform for faculty, students and staff.

  • Qualtrics is currently considered the industry-leading provider of online survey software.

  • It is already being used by members of Middlebury as well as in other educational institutions for administrative, academic and research purposes. For example, Amherst, Bowdoin, Colby, Hamilton, Pomona, and Wesleyan are among peer institutions that offer site wide access to Qualtrics.

  • It offers powerful features, such as 90 different question types, the ability to add multimedia to surveys and panel management that set it apart from KeySurvey, our current software.

  • Finally, the switch resulted in significant savings for the College.

Our previous survey platform, KeySurvey, will be available until the end of September and users are strongly encouraged to export their surveys and data before September 30th.

To create a Qualtrics account and learn how to transition from KeySurvey to Qualtrics, go to http://mediawiki.middlebury.edu/wiki/LIS/Qualtrics or contact Bill Koulopoulos (bkoul@middlebury.edu).

Scrivener: Software for Writers Workshop

Write Your Thesis with Scrivener
Library Workshop
Wednesday, April 29th
4:30-5:30pm
Register

library workshopAre you working on a large writing project? Scrivener can help! Scrivener is a software program that breaks down your writing into manageable “chunks,” and brings your research and writing together into a single conceptual workspace.

The library will offer a Scrivener workshop on April 29th at 4:30p.m. Participants will learn how to create a new writing project, how to import existing work, and how to outline, research, and write with Scrivener’s unique features. This workshop is aimed at thesis writers but is open to all members of the College community. For more information on Scrivener and to sign up for the workshop, visit go.middlebury.edu/scrivener.