Do you need to use a computer? Many options are available at the computing labs across K-State’s Manhattan campus.
Do you need to use a computer? Many options are available at the computing labs across K-State’s Manhattan campus.
Do you need to use a computer? There are many options available at the computing labs located across K-State’s Manhattan campus.
As K-State faculty and staff prepare to return to campus during July/August, there are several technical considerations to keep in mind to make the transition successful.
To learn more, view the Technology Considerations for Employee’s Return to Campus webpage.
If you need help, contact the technical support staff in your unit or the IT Help Desk, 785-532-7722 or helpdesk@ksu.edu. To avoid delays and overwhelming technical support staff, coordinate plans with IT in advance, particularly if you anticipate needing assistance. Also, consider staggering your department/unit’s return to campus rather than returning all at once.
LabStats Remote Access is available to current students, faculty, and staff providing remote access to some computer labs on campus. The tool gives access to specialty software such as SPSS, SAS, Matlab, Mathematica, and Minitab and was created by LabStats to accommodate online learning for the COVID-19 quarantine period.
Users establish a Remote Desktop connection to the computers in the labs, which natively works on Windows based operating systems, and will also work on Mac, Android, iOS, and ChromeOS devices with the installation of the Microsoft Remote Desktop application. Once connected the user is presented with a window that contains the remote computer’s desktop. This experience mirrors what would occur on the lab computer.
Lab computers are locked down, which resets the computers back to their configured defaults on log-out or reboot. K-Staters who use this software via remote access need to save their data to OneDrive or a preferred cloud storage solution. Data saved on the remote computer will be lost once the remote session is terminated.
To access the tool visit https://www.k-state.edu/its/software/software-licenses/labstats/index.html. For technical assistance or questions please contact the IT Help Desk, (785) 532-7722.
Limited free printing is available and has been doubled for the fall 2018 semester to $20/person which translates to about 200 black and white pages. Beyond those amounts, the Wildcat Card can be used for pay-for-printing. Unused balances do not carry forward to the next semester.
Print your syllabi at any of the following locations:
See the Service Locations by Category and Printing on campus web pages for more details.
by Information Technology Services
Make it easy to keep your computer safe with K-State’s Windows Software Update Service (WSUS). You can use WSUS to deploy and manage the distribution of the latest Microsoft product updates to K-State computers running Microsoft Windows. This service is only for K-State owned computers, and will only apply critical/security patches.
A patch is a small piece of software designed to mitigate risks or upgrade/update software. Security patches are designed to patch security holes that cause vulnerabilities within software. It is crucial for K-State’s computers to always be up-to-date on all critical/security patches so we are not vulnerable to malware attacks like the WannaCry ransomware attack that occurred in May.
The focus now is on reducing/eliminating unpatched University-owned systems and unpatched systems using the VPN to tunnel into campus. This will minimize the negative impact if a system is brought onto campus, becomes infected, and spreads the malware. ITS will continue to scan the network and block machines.
To setup WSUS, follow these step-by-step instructions. Setup will only take a couple of minutes.
If you need assistance contact your technical support staff or the IT Help Desk 785-532-7722.
Over the summer, ITS staff implemented the ability to print from mobile devices in the university 
computing labs, K-State InfoCommons in Hale Library, and the new College of Business building. This will allow patrons to print from both iOS and Android phones and tablets to PaperCut printers located in these areas. Once the job is sent to the printer, it can be released from the print release stations just like a job submitted from a computer. This provides a more convenient way of submitting print jobs without needing to find a computer in the labs or bringing a laptop to campus.
Instructions:
Limited, free laser printing is available to all students, faculty, and staff via their K-State eID and password; $10 is allocated per person each fall and spring semester, and $5 each summer. When those amounts are expended, the funds on your Wildcat Card can be used for pay-for-printing. Unused balances do not carry forward to the next semester.
More information on printing and other services offered in university computing labs can be found on the University computing labs and K-State InfoCommons website. For questions, contact the IT Help Desk at (785)532-7722 or helpdesk@k-state.edu.
This spring the Instructional Technology team within iTAC has been hard at work on our newest innovation for campus, Virtual Desktops powered by Citrix XenDesktop and the Liquidware Labs Essentials Suite. Through this initiative we will be providing a full Windows 10 desktop environment with all the apps that our users have come to expect, but with more granularity, control, and agility for administrators than ever before.
What Are Virtual Desktops?
Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) is a shift in 
end-user computing back to the way things were done in the 1970’s and 80’s with mainframes and terminals. Continue reading “Introducing Virtual Desktops at K-State”
Over spring break, Information Technology Services performed some needed improvements to the Pharos printing system used in computing labs across campus. This is the first major upgrade in several years, and it addresses some commonly seen errors users were experiencing when printing. Continue reading “Campus printing just got easier in computing labs”
