First there were records, those black disks that spin. You may have some of these gems left stored away in your attic. Eight track cassettes were quickly in and out of the consumer market. It was the first consumer media format that was extremely portable but the players were sometimes fickle. Cassette tapes were a little more portable and the players were much better about, “eating” tapes. The players were much more portable as well and offered the consumer the opportunity to take music where ever they would like. CD’s were even more portable and since the players used a laser as the play head device, the media would last longer. Video also followed the same progression. Beginning with analog VHS and Beta tape consoles and moving to more portable media like DVD. Both audio and video are now making a transformation into electronic media like mp3, m4a, avi, mov, and mp4 files. This allows the most portability but since there has been no standardization, it can be inflexible when it comes to playback.

Companies like Apple computers have revolutionized the way that users view their media. Technological advances in hardware coupled with multi-million dollar marketing campaigns have inundated our lives with small devices focused on digital media playback.  Of course market share isn’t held unless the technology is set as the industry standard and there are many corporate entities that want the market. These entities not only include the manufacturers like Apple and Sony but also the record companies and online streaming sites. All of these corporations are interested in receiving market share in order to make their digital format the standard which means that they sell more hardware or sell songs in their format for a profit.

 Each corporate entity has at least one digital media format and each format has pros and cons associated. Some of these have great video resolution but the files sizes are large. Some have small files sizes but the resolution and video quality are poor. Some stream across the Internet well, but the files are too large to transport. This can be very confusing to the end user who uses a specific hardware device and buys a song or movie in another format. This has introduced new software use to convert one format to another. Many of these packages are written by very small software manufacturers or even individuals. Most of the software is written poorly and can be more of a problem than the digital media itself. There are some conversion tools that do a great job. Most of these are written by larger companies like Apple and Sony. They convert multiple digital formats into a few of the top used formats that are supported by their devices.

One digital format that has been around for a few year is the MP3. Almost everyone has heard and used MP3 files. These audio files are small in size and offer portability of music never seen before. A garage full of records could fit nicely in the palm of your hand. The drawback is compression. Compression is the process of sampling audio and removing a small portion of it thus making the file size small. When pieces of the audio are removed, the song loses quality. The more audio that is removed, the smaller the file size and the lower the quality. So you might be able to carry that garage full of records around in the palm of your hand but it can never match the quality of the records.

On the video side, there are a couple of formats that do a pretty decent job. The MP4 which is the cousin of the MP3 uses the same principle as the MP3. It samples both the video and audio and reduces the size of the files. The result, like the MP3, is loss of quality but a smaller file size for transport. MOV files use almost the same method only are a bit larger in file size generally. Of course converting a MP4 to a MOV or vice versa would reduce the quality even more since you would be sampling a file that had already had pieces removed.

The facts are that there is a battle between corporations over digital media rights and market share. Until one standard is chosen, we will continue to see multiple digital formats for our media files. Just be aware of some of the issues that can arise when converting one format to another and be aware of the quality and file size of the media and how it affects presentations and portability.   

http://www.apple.com/macosx/

http://www.apple.com/macosx/specs.html

Information concerning the installation of Snow Leopard can be found on the Macworld site:

http://www.macworld.com/article/142454/2009/08/install_snow_leopard.html

Since there may be numerous requests to upgrade to the latest version of Mac OS X, please be patient if the BITS staff has to schedule your upgrade request over the next few weeks.

Please follow a few steps prior to turning in your laptop or desktop for the upgrade:

1. Back up your laptop/desktop data
2. If upgrading a personal laptop/desktop, please be prepared to provide an administrator password to complete the upgrade
3. If you plan to use Apple Mail in Snow Leopard and you have an ASU Exchange account, please take the time to make sure your existing email account is housed on the ASU Exchange 2007 server. If you are unsure, please contact the UTO help desk at 480-965-6500. Further information concerning the migration process to the Exchange 2007 email server can be found on the UTO help site:
http://help.asu.edu/Migrate_to_Exchange_2007
4. BITS also offers iLife ‘09, iWork ‘09 and Office 2008 installations, so please request these items at the time of the Snow Leopard upgrade

Please submit your Snow Leopard upgrade request to our BITS email:

bits-q@asu.edu

* The ASU University Technology Office (UTO) is currently working with Apple to obtain a site license for Snow Leopard, which would allow ASU students, staff and faculty to upgrade their Apple Intel based desktop or laptop hardware for free.

Before using the Biodesign Institute Peptide file server, please be sure to read the
confidentiality statement and mandatory computer security requirements available
on the Biodesign Institute Intranet web site at:
https://intranet.biodesign.asu.edu/bits/

About the Biodesign Institute Peptide file server

The Biodesign Institute main file server is administered by Biodesign Information
Technology Services (BITS) and is located at the Biodesign Institute on the main
campus of Arizona State University in Tempe, Ariz. The main file server is accessed
using the following fully qualified domain name (fqdn):

peptide.biodesign.asu.edu

There are four main connections or partitions available to Biodesign staff, students
and faculty in need of file storage and retrieval. Please note the word “center” in the
file paths below refers to one of the Biodesign Institute center abbreviations. For
example, if the shared space for the Center for Environmental Biotechnology (EB) is
desired, please enter eb in place of the word center.

*Mac OS X users, please note the server path information for Mac OS X based workstations is entered using the “Connect to Server…” menu item from the Finder GO menu. Since the smb://peptide.biodesign.asu.edu file server is a Windows based server, the smb protocol name is required to connect to the server. To access the “Connect to Server…” menu item, please do the following steps:

1. With the Finder active, from the Go menu, select Connect to Server... . Alternatively, with the Finder active, press Cmd-k .
2. In the Connect to Server window that opens, next to the “Address:” field, type smb:// , followed by your ASURITE ID, the @ symbol and the fully qualified domain name (FQDN) or IP address of the server, a forward slash, and then the name of the shared volume (the shared volume name is optional).

The Windows and Mac OS X path to the Peptide file server shares:

Windows: \\peptide.biodesign.asu.edu\shared\eb\
Mac OS X: smb://asuriteid@peptide.biodesign.asu.edu/shared/eb/

The S drive or shared file space:
Windows: \\peptide.biodesign.asu.edu\shared\<center>\
Mac OS X: smb://asuriteid@peptide.biodesign.asu.edu/shared/<center>/

The P drive or personal file space:
Windows: \\peptide.biodesign.asu.edu\personal\<center>\<asuriteid>\
Mac OS X: smb://asuriteid@peptide.biodesign.asu.edu/personal/<center>/<asuriteid>/

The R drive or research file space:
Windows: \\peptide.biodesign.asu.edu\research\<center>\
Mac OS X: smb://asuriteid@peptide.biodesign.asu.edu/research/<center>/

The U drive or biodesign all shared space:
Windows: \\peptide.biodesign.asu.edu\shared\biodesign all\
Mac OS X: smb://asuriteid@peptide.biodesign.asu.edu/shared/biodesign all/

Workstations and laptops located in the Biodesign Institute building should be able to
connect to the Peptide file server without the use of a VPN client installed.

When attempting to access the Peptide file server from outside the Biodesign
Institute building or from an off-campus location, the Cisco SSLVPN client is required.

If necessary, download Cisco SSLVPN client software

If Cisco SSLVPN client is not installed, you can install it yourself using the instructions below.
ASU offers the SSLVPN client as a free download to all users
affiliated with ASU. The only requirement is a current ASURITE ID and password.
Before downloading the VPN software, please check your workstation and/or laptop
to make sure the previous VPN client (CheckPoint Secure Remote) is not installed. Look for the SecuRemote icon in the All Programs list located in the Start menu.
Or, you can check for the SecuRemote icon located in the system
tray near the clock. If is installed, it must be removed before installing the Cisco SSLVPN. It can be removed by following the steps located on the bits Blog at:

http://bits.biodesign.asu.edu/security/2009/03/got-vpn .

After confirming the CheckPoint SecuRemote VPN software is not installed, you can
access the ASU SSLVPN site at http://sslvpn.asu.edu . You can use the BITS blog mentioned above for instructions on installation.

To map the Peptide file server shared drives using the “Map Network Drive” option, click on the “My Computer” icon to open the “My Computer” window. Click on the “Tools” menu and select “Map Network Drive…”: The “Map Network Drive” wizard
will assist you to map the desired network drive. The “Drive:” option will allow you to assign the mapped drive letter, i.e. P: for personal drive. The “Folder:” option is where you enter the path to the desired file share. For example, if you want to map the EB personal shares to the P: drive, please enter:
\\peptide.biodesign.asu.edu\personal\eb\

Check the “Reconnect at logon” if you want Windows to automatically attempt
to connect to the mapped drive the next time you logon to your Windows
workstation or laptop. Please make sure you have a valid network connection before
logging in to your computer otherwise the log in process may take longer while
Windows attempts to connect to the mapped Peptide file share.

To ensure a successful connection, please use the “Connect using a different username” option. This option allows you to enter your ASURITE ID and password, even if you are not using your ASURITE ID and password to logon to your workstation or laptop. To open the “Connect As…” window, click on the words “different user name.”: Enter your ASURITE ID and password. Please be sure to enter the User Name correctly. An example is listed in the picture above. If the username and password entered are accepted by the server, the mapped drive should open on your desktop. You may have to enter your ASURITE ID and password for the SecuRemote VPN client to complete the process:

You can also check which drives you have mapped by looking in the “My Computer” window. You may have to change the folder view to list to properly see the mapped drive letters. If you mapped the drives to a specific center, i.e. EB or \\peptide.biodesign.asu.edu\shared\eb\, the following list of mapped drives may appear: If you mapped the drives to the entire shared, personal or research folder, the mapped drive listing may look like the following:

To view the contents of the mapped drive, just click on the appropriate mapped drive
to display the contents. Below are examples listing the folders for each of the
Biodesign center.
S or Shared drive:
P or personal drive:
R or Research drive:
If you need to disconnect a mapped drive, you can disconnect the drive from the “My Computer” window. Click on the “Tools” menu and then click on the “Disconnect Network Drive…” option:
The “Disconnect Network Drives” window will allow you to select the mapped drives
and disconnect the drives when you click the “OK” button:
Logging off the workstation or shutting down your workstation will also disconnect
the mapped network drives.
If further assistance is required to access the peptide.biodesign.asu.edu file server,
please contact the Biodesign Information Technology Services (BITS) staff:
Email: bits-q@asu.edu
Phone: 480-727-0123
Admin (ADMIN)
Applied NanoBioscience (ANB)
Bioelectronics and Biosensors (BB)
BioEnergetics (BE)
BioOptical Nanotechnology (BON)
Center Innovations in Medicine (CIM)
Center for Personal Diagnostics(CPD)
Envioronmental Biotechnology (EB)
Evolutionary Functional Genomics (EFG)
Ecogenomics (EG)
Infectious Diseases and Vaccionology (IDV)
Single Molecule Biophysics (SMB)

Obtaining antivirus software to combat the worm

For home and personal computers, there are several options available to protect against computer malware. Your ISP (Cox, Qwest, etc) may offer complimentary security software:

If you use a personally owned computer at Biodesign, you may use the ASU version of the McAfee VirusScan that is available for download here, which will require you login with your ASURITE ID and password:
http://asu.edu/asusoftware

Please ensure your computer is configured for Windows automatic updates. You can find instructions on how to set this up at the following link:

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/downloads/windowsupdate/automaticupdate.mspx.

Updating VirusScan

If your computer was configured by Biodesign Information Technology Services (BITS), Windows and the McAfee VirusScan application should be set to update automatically. This helps prevent against most attempts to load malware onto your computer. If you believe your computer is not being updated, you can follow the steps below to ensure VirusScan is updated.

To run the update program manually, right-click the V-shield icon in the Windows task bar, and select ‘Update Now’ from the pop-up menu.

To ensure future updates to the VirusScan program are applied automatically, please check the following:

• Right click on the V-shield icon on the taskbar, and select “VirusScan Console”
  
• Double-click the “AutoUpdate” icon.
  
• Click the “Schedule” button.
  
• Ensure that the “Enable” checkbox is checked, then click the “Schedule” tab.
  
• Select the settings you would like, and then click “OK” on this window, then “OK” on the next window, and close the VirusScan Console window.
  

Your computer is now set to receive updates to the VirusScan software automatically.

In case of infection

If you believe your computer is infected, there are several symptoms that will be present:

1. You notice an increased number of pop-ups, even when you do not have an internet browser open
2. You are unable to update antivirus software or run the Windows update
3. Certain websites, such as the Windows update site, are unreachable via your web browser
4. The computer has become increasingly sluggish and unresponsive

Please contact BITS (bits-q@asu.edu or 480-727-0123) in the event that any or all of these symptoms are occurring, so we can advise you on the best course of action to take to ensure the security of your data.

The new Cisco firewall/VPN devices are currently installed and operational along side of the existing Checkpoint devices. The Checkpoint devices will be taken offline at the end of March and thus the Secure Remote client will no longer work for VPN services. If you have the Secure Remote client installed on your remote machine, you will need to remove it prior to installing the new Cisco VPN client.
Here are the steps required to remove the Secure Remote client on a PC.

1. Click <Start> then <Settings> then <Control Panel> to open the windows control panel.
2. Double click the “Add Remove Programs” icon.
3. Find “Checkpoint Secure Remote” in the list of software and click it. It may be called something else depending on what version is loaded on your computer.
4. On the right side of the window you will see the “remove” button. Click this button.
5. You may be asked a few questions regarding the removal of the software. A restart may be required.
6. That’s it! Secure remote has been removed.

To install the new Cisco AnyConnect VPN Client on an Apple or PC do the following:

1. Open a web browser
2. Go to https://sslvpn.asu.edu
3. Once the page loads the client should install automatically
4. You may be required to reboot the computer

Once the client has been installed you can find it on your PC by clicking <start> then <program>then <cisco> . On an Apple computer you can find “VPN Client” in the applications folder.

Note that the new client will not start automatically when the computer starts, you have to open the client and login. You will use your ASURITE ID and password just as you did with the Secure Remote client. Once connected, you can connect to ASU resources just as if you were on campus.

If you have any questions or problems you can contact the Biodesign IT helpdesk via email at bits-q@asu.edu or by phone 727-0123

Nowadays, I can fit about 410 times the data that hard drive could hold into a chip smaller than my thumbnail (8GB micro SD), and put in my cell phone or camera. Or I can purchase a portable music player (80 Gigabyte i-Pod) that can hold over 4000 times the capacity of those drives.

Times have changed for sure, and data storage has become a challenge for many organizations worldwide. While storage capacity has certainly become bigger and less expensive over the years, the need for data storage has grown right along with it.

Here at Biodesign, we have gone through a similar increase in data capacity and requirements. From the inception of Biodesign, we have grown from a 4 terabyte (TB) storage system to a fully redundant 37 TB for file storage and 120 TB system for storing security camera video.

The challenge:

Due to reductions in funds, we are unable to expand the storage system. Meantime, data storage demand continues to increase, as well as the amount of media required for backups.
The time window to backup all that data also becomes larger.

The Solution:

Clean – up! There are a number of things we can do to ensure we have enough storage to get us through these tough economic times. Here are a few examples:

·         Move your music library from the network shares to the local drive(s).

·         Review the files you own in the network shares, and remove them if they’re no longer needed.

·         When sharing documents, use a shared resource everyone can access, and send your colleagues a link with the location of the file. This reduces the number of times a copy of the same file gets stored on the file server.

·         E-mail Personal folders. We encourage you to store your personal folders on the server, however; housekeeping rules apply just the same. Keep only what you need, and let go of the old funny video your friend sent you a year ago.

·         Application installation files. There are literally hundreds of installation files on the file server. Not only do these files only get used once (Typically), they are usually fairly large, and there are multiple copies of the same file. Acrobat Reader is a good example.

·         Backups. We find many people make backups of their local hard drive to the file server. While a temporary backup of your files is acceptable (during computer changes, etc) These backups usually stay there permanently. These backups are usually very large because they have the complete contents of the computer’s hard drive. And sometimes there is even more than one.

·         Notification of employee termination. There are many folders that belong to users who have left Biodesign, or even the department, that are still on the file server. These folders not only consume space, they are being backed up, increasing the time it takes for backups to finish, and costly backup media (tapes). Please notify Biodesign Information Technology Services (BITS) whenever an employee is terminated so their files can be removed.

We at Biodesign Information Technology, have taken some steps to encourage not only the clean-up of the network shares on the file server(s), but also to better organize the data that is currently stored there. Many researchers have research data or documentation stored in their personal space (P: drive), this data belongs in an area where other people in your area can have access to it. The shared (S: Drive) and Research (R: Drive) areas are ideal for this purpose.

As part of the effort to reduce the amount of data on our file server(s), we have implemented space quotas. A default quota limit of 50 GB has been put in place on the P: drive. If your data storage exceeds this amount, you will be unable to write any more data to this drive. Please contact BITS if you have questions or concerns regarding your space quota.

In addition to the quota limits, we will be providing key department/center personnel a report on current usage. With their help, we hope to be able to remove files/folders that are no longer needed.

Summary:

With your help, we hope to continue to support your needs and those of the institute. Please help us by performing regularly scheduled housekeeping practices on your drive(s), and by limiting your data to be mainly work related. By becoming storage responsible, we can tread these rough waters and ensure smooth sailing in the upcoming future.

If you require assistance with archiving and cleanup, please contact BITS. We will be glad to assist you.

If you are interested in purchasing the latest versions of the above Adobe software and/or EndNote, please send an installation request to our bits-q@asu.edu email address. Please indicate which platform you prefer, as well, so we know if the installation is for Mac or Windows. Once we have the correct version, number of licenses and platform requested, we can work with your center department admin staff to finalize the order.

Further information concerning the different Adobe CS4 suites and EndNote can be found online:

http://www.adobe.com/education/products/creativesuite/compare/

http://www.endnote.com/

A few FAQs:

1. I have placed a request for the Adobe and/or EndNote software but I have not received any information about when the software will be installed?

If a request has been received by our BITS staff and a BITS helpdesk ticket has been opened to install the software, please contact your center or department admin staff to make sure the order has been processed. BITS staff can install the software once we have confirmed the order for the license(s) is approved.

2. Can we purchase an upgrade license for less than the educational price listed?

No, since Adobe and EndNote do not offer upgrade prices for previous educational versions of their products. If you do have a commercial version of the software, the upgrade path may save you money, but this will have to be determined on a case by case basis. Since the educational prices are lower than the commercial costs of their software licenses, the upgrade and educational licenses are usually the same.

3. Why don’t we just go to the ASU Bookstore and purchase the boxed version of the software?

The prices listed above are for the educational license only. Since we already have the DVD software media needed to install the software, there is no need to purchase the media from the ASU Bookstore or other software outlets. Also, the boxed versions of the software are more difficult to track, since each boxed version has its own installation serial number.

4. Microsoft Office was installed on my computer without a fee, so why can’t you install the Adobe software without charging a fee?

Biodesign takes part in the Microsoft Campus Agreement, which is an annual fee paid to cover the cost of many of the Microsoft software titles installed on Biodesign purchased Windows and Mac desktops and laptops. Adobe and EndNote do not offer a campus wide agreement, but we do receive discounts when we purchase the Adobe educational licenses through the ASU Bookstore.

Obviously patches are important. Gartner estimated the cost of patches in 2006 at $2 Billion and the Federal Government spent $5.6 Billion on IT security in 2008. So, why all the fuss? Hackers are persistent, highly motivated, and there are a lot of them. They stop at nothing to make the operating system manufacture look bad publicly and perhaps take a little profit in the mean time.  Think of the OS as a secure brick building. The hackers are trying to break in. They will try almost anything to get into the building. Some methods are pretty obvious. They could try to walk in, not going to happen. They could try to break in through an external door. Other methods are not as conventional and could be very complex like digging under ground to the basement or using a special device to climb the exterior wall. Hackers use unconventional methods to attempt to break the OS so that they can gain access to computers and valuable data.

So, what can we do? Large corporations keep their computer systems on a maintenance cycle which updates the software on critical systems at least every quarter. Critical security patches may require that systems be patched in between scheduled maintenance. This is the same method we use within Biodesign. Patches are loaded on development servers at least a week before the maintenance schedule to assure the patch does not affect the servers functionality. Patches  are applied to production servers within the next two weeks following testing. All of the servers are rebooted causing a short outage. We send out emails prior to maintenance so that everyone is aware of the outage.

Servers are not the only thing that get patches. We also patch desktops and laptops. All computers configured by Biodesign IT have “Automatic Updates” turned on. This means that your computer checks with Microsoft  to see if there are new updates available. If there are, your computer downloads the patch and installs it automatically. This keeps all the machines up to date and protects your computer from being compromised.

Updates and patches are necessity in the business world. With them we can reduce the amount of risk of potential data loss.

File Manager:

File manager is used to upload and download files to and from your server respectively. With the file manager you can even create/edit and delete a file. Along with these facilities, you can even change permissions (chmod) of a file using the File Manager.

Navigation:

With this, you can redirect a URL, create a subdomain and redirect a subdomain to another page.

Site Maintenance:

In this, a number of features are provided. You can create a custom error pageview the service status, add a parked domain, create an addon domain, add/delete a FTP account, change the password of a FTP account.

Web Protection / Security:

A number of features are provided for security purpose. You can password protect a directory, disable/enable directory browsing, block/unblock an IP address, enable/disable hotlink protection, change the password of your Cpanel account.

Database Management

With database management features you create a mysql database, insert data into your database using phpmyadmin, create/delete a table in mysql using phpmyadmin, import a SQL file into your database using phpmyadmin, backup your mysql database using phpmyadmin.

Help/Tutorials

Along with an easy to use interface, CPanel is full of help videos, tutorials and support systems.

Advanced Features:

You can generate/download a full backup, download/restore a home backup, backup your MySQL database, create/delete a cron job.

If you are interested in setting up cpanel hosting please contact:bits-dev@asu.edu

Also, feel free to check out CPanel.