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IT News

Month: June 2010

Q/A: New cellphone, texting laws that impact Manhattan

Posted on by Betsy Edwards

Q. Is Manhattan implementing a new law that bans cellphone use while driving?

Yes and no. Manhattan has a new law that takes effect July 1 that bans cellphone use while driving and holding the cellphone. It allows hands-free use of cellphones, which means using a mobile phone headset (for example, a Bluetooth wireless headset or a wired headset), a car kit, or other phone extension that keeps the driver’s hands free.

According to the Manhattan Mercury’s June 17 article, violators will receive warnings until Jan. 1, 2011, when fines will start being given. KTKA.com 49 News reported June 22 that Manhattan City Commissioners made the change to be consistent with the state’s new text-messaging ban (see next question below).

Continue reading “Q/A: New cellphone, texting laws that impact Manhattan” →

Cellphone ban July 1 for Manhattan drivers; allows hands-free kits

Posted on by Eric Dover

This is a friendly reminder that starting this Thursday, July 1, a new ordinance goes into effect for Manhattan banning the use of cellphones held to the ear while driving. (Editor’s note: See related article in this issue.) Hands-free kits such as Bluetooth ear pieces and/or hands-free speakerphone kits are still acceptable.

Continue reading “Cellphone ban July 1 for Manhattan drivers; allows hands-free kits” →

Digital signage demo Wednesday, June 30

Posted on by Rebecca Gould

A live, digital signage demonstration by Janus Displays will be 1-2 p.m. Wednesday, June 30, in Hale 401. All interested individuals are welcome.

Faculty and staff interested in this topic can request subscription to a new K-State LISTSERV discussion list, DIGISIGN-L@k-state.edu. To subscribe, send e-mail to listserv@listserv.k-state.edu with these two lines in the body of the e-mail (substitute your own first and last names):

subscribe DIGISIGN-L yourfirstname  yourlastname
end

Microsoft Office training: 2 more classes, 1 time change

Posted on by Betsy Edwards

In addition to the Microsoft Office training classes advertised last week, the following class changes have occurred:

  1. Added: Beginning Word 2007 class, 9-11 a.m. Wednesday, June 30, in Fairchild 9A
  2. Time change: Intermediate Word 2007 class has been rescheduled from Wednesday, June 30, to Friday, July 2
  3. Added: Introduction to Access 2007 class, 9-11 a.m. Friday, July 9, in Fairchild 9A

Continue reading “Microsoft Office training: 2 more classes, 1 time change” →

Axio conference proposals requested by July 1

Posted on by IT editors

Speakers are invited for the fifth annual Axio Learning Community Meeting and Conference scheduled Wednesday-Thursday, Sept. 29-30, at the K-State Alumni Center, Manhattan, Kan. Proposals should be submitted by July 1. If you would like to speak at the conference, contact Dave Young, dayoung@axiolearning.org, 785-532-2649.

Continue reading “Axio conference proposals requested by July 1” →

Q/A: Parents' IT questions at New Student Orientation

Posted on by Betsy Edwards

Q. My student just got their eID. How soon will it be activated?
Almost immediately.

Q. How many students are using laptops in classes?

  • In the residence halls, about 98 percent of students have laptops.
  • Less than 25 percent of K-State students overall are using laptops in classes.
  • More students are starting to use laptops in K-State’s technology classrooms.

Q. Will K-State faculty/staff ever ask for my student’s eID password?
Never in an e-mail, and only rarely under other circumstances. The IT Help Desk or any IT staff member would only ask for the password as a last resort or in an extreme situation to get the user up and running as soon as possible — and only when the user has initiated the request for help.

Q. How are security cables used to protect laptops?
Continue reading “Q/A: Parents' IT questions at New Student Orientation” →

Why you need to secure your home wireless network

Posted on by Harvard Townsend (harv@ksu.edu)

Recent news out of Minnesota caught my attention and underscores the need for people to secure wireless networks at home. Barry Ardolf is accused of tapping into his neighbor’s home wireless network and sending a threatening e-mail to Vice President Joe Biden, making it appear to have come from his neighbor. As if that’s not enough, he also is alleged to have sent sexually explicit e-mails to his neighbor’s co-worker; sent child porn to his neighbor’s boss; set up a MySpace page in his neighbor’s name and posted child porn on it; used fake e-mail accounts set up in his neighbor’s name; and stole personal identity information.

Presumably none of us have neighbors like Ardolf, but I assure you many of us have neighbors who wouldn’t hesitate to use your wireless network if you make it easy for them. And default settings on common wireless routers do just that.

Here are five steps you should take to securely configure your home wireless network: Continue reading “Why you need to secure your home wireless network” →

Microsoft Word, Excel, Access training June 23-July

Posted on by bcad

[Editor’s note, June 29: Additions/updates to the schedule below are in yellow highlight.]

Faculty/staff and students can make this summer a time to get up to speed on Microsoft Office software. No enrollment is necessary for these free sessions (although K-Staters may e-mail bcad@k-state.edu and note the session they wish to attend).

Word 2007 (word processor)

  • Thursday, June 24, 9-11 a.m. in Fairchild 9A: Collaborating with Word 2007
  • Monday, June 28, 9-10 a.m. in Hale 301: Transitioning to Word 2007
  • Wednesday, June 30, 9-11 a.m. in Fairchild 9A:  Beginning Word 2007
  • Friday, July 2, 9-11 a.m. in Fairchild 9A: Intermediate Word 2007
  • Wednesday, July 7, 9-11 a.m. in Fairchild 9A: Using Word 2007 for Larger Documents
  • Thursday, July 8, 9-11 a.m. in Fairchild 9A: Mail Merge Using Word 2007

Continue reading “Microsoft Word, Excel, Access training June 23-July” →