Summer Computer Cleanup 2008

We are quickly approaching the time for summer computer cleanup.  To facilitate the cleaning and maintenance of computers, staff are being asked leave their computers at their respective office (on their desk) on their final contracted day or June 9, whichever comes first.

The schedule for the cleanup is posted below.  If you wish to use your computer during the summer and are unable to leave it at your desk the entire time, please do so.  We simply ask that you make it available to technicians on the dates listed for your office’s cleanup.  Making it available on the very first day or two of the scheduled cleanup for your office will help technicians complete the cleanup in an efficient manner and allow them to return the computer to you that much sooner.

Messages will be sent to office list serves when the cleanup has been completed for each facility.  At that time, staff may pick up their computers and take them home for the remainder of the summer.

If you have questions concerning the summer cleanup procedure, please contact Mike Schmidt at 515-574-5500 ext 2115.  If you are unable to provide your computer to technicians on the dates which are scheduled for your office, please notify me directly so that we can make other arrangements for the cleaning.  Staff who are on 12 month contracts will receive direct notification of when their computer will be cleaned.

Please see last week’s Friday News for additional information regarding the cleanup process.

Schedule:

• Webster City Office – June 9 & 10
• Fort Dodge Office – June 11, 12 & 13
• Storm Lake Office – June 16, 17, 18 & 19
• Pocahontas Office – June 23, 24, 25 & 26
• Jefferson Office – June 30 & July 1
• Rockwell City Office – July 2 & 3
• Algona Office – July 14, 15 & 16
• Estherville Office – July 21, 22, 23 & 24
• Spencer Office – July 28, 29, 30 & 31

Responding to/removing internal messages on your phone

*Scenario*
You’re sitting at your desk and realize that you forgot to tell your boss, Steve, that you need to take next week off because you are vacationing to Hawaii. You know that time is of the essence and you’d hate getting the shaft simply because you didn’t submit your leave request in time, but alas, Steve is no where to be found. What to do, what to do? Aha, you’ve got it! You remember from last week’s Tech Blog that you can leave Steve an internal message which will alert him to call you back when he returns to his desk. Man o’ man, can you imagine missing a trip to Hawaii simply because you forgot to read the Tech Blog?

If you’re trying to get a hold of someone who has left his/her desk and has his/her phone on Do Not Disturb, you can leave an internal message which will cause the light in the top right corner of his/her phone to blink until the message has been returned. To do so simply call that person’s number and press the button directly under the MSG text shown on your phone’s display screen.

To return a message received press 43 on your phone and wait for the person who left the message to pick up. *Note* The blinking light will not actually stop blinking until the person who left the message picks up his or her phone (thus, if you return a message only to find that the person you’re calling isn’t there, the light will continue to blink until you can get a hold of him/her).

To cancel sent/received messages (which will force the blinking light to stop) press 42 + the extension of the party who received the message (i.e. 42 2117).

Entering a Destination in AEA Manager Expense Form

When creating a New Trip or mileage entry in the AEA Manager system, data entered into the Destination field must be in a particular format. If the formatting is incorrect, it affects reports which are printed from the system.

When entering a destination; commas, hyphens or slashes can be used to separate entries. Be sure to place a space between each punctuation mark, so that the text can break or wrap to the next line when reports are printed. If there is no space between punctuation within the entries, the report sees the entry as one line of text that it cannot wrap to the next line. This cause problems with the font on printed reports.

Examples of Correct Entries:

• Office, Rockwell City, Storm Lake, Office (with commas and spaces between each entry)
• Office – Rockwell City – Storm Lake – Office (with hyphens and spaces between each entry)
• Office / Rockwell City / Storm Lake / Office (with slashes and spaces between each entry)

Examples of Incorrect Entries:

• Office,Rockwell City,Storm Lake,Office (with commas and NO spaces between each entry)
• Office-Rockwell City-Storm Lake-Office (with hyphens and NO spaces between each entry)
• Office/Rockwell City/Storm Lake/Office (with slashes and NO spaces between each entry)

Your Computer Revealed: BGInfo

Have you ever wondered what the cryptic scribblings in the lower right-hand corner of your desktop are? Well, sit back and I’ll tell you a story about…

BGInfo

BGInfo is a program that displays information about Brent Gerzema’s computer. As the mother goat said, I kid.

BGInfo is a program that displays information about your computer that technicians may require when troubleshooting. We have set this to show the Host Name, which allows us to quickly know which asset and office you are using. This information stays the same, and will be used by a person submitting a work order request.

Below you will find some network information, the IP Address and the MAC Address. The IP Address is usually a dynamic number, and will change depending on which office or network you are connected to.

Not to break the rhythm of this blog, but some things are just too funny not to share. It turns out that Brent is blogging on BGInfo, too! Rather than having 2 blogs about nearly the same thing, or a steel cage match where two blogs enter, 1 blog leaves…we are going to try this new thing they call “teamwork”. So now, without further adieu, heeerrreeesss Brenty!

On occasion, the IP address information will be displayed as 0.0.0.0. This can happen for a number of different reasons, but in some cases BGInfo has run prior to your computer’s connection to the network, and the user actually has obtained a valid IP address.

To refresh BGInfo click Start> Programs> Startup, and click the Shortcut to run icon. This should change the 0.0.0.0 address to a valid IP address (i.e. 10.147.24.1). If the address does not change, you have not connected to your network and you will need to submit a work request order so a computer technician can further assist you.

The MAC Address is a unique, static number. Some networks that you may want access to will require this for their security settings, but it will be a rarity.

There are also times when BGInfo does not reference the configuration file correctly, and spills an impressive and unwanted amount of information on the desktop. This is easily removed by following Brent’s previous instructions on refreshing BGInfo.

And thus ends another wondrous tale of technology. Feel free to send compliments to Nicholas Schelle, and complaints to Brent Gerzema.

Installing a network printer

Installing a network printer on your machine can be a rather simple process. To do so, follow the instructions below:

1. Left click Start and select Run.
2. Type \\abbreviatedofficename-server (e.g. \\fd-server or \\pky-server) in the dialogue box and press Enter (this will direct you to the server’s root network folder).
3. Locate the printer you wish to install (e.g. FD-Workroom-620) and double click it.
4. Wait for your machine to connect to the printer.
5. Once your machine has connected, the printer has successfully been installed.

Happy Printing!

*Note* A list of abbreviated office names can be found here

Changing The Ringtone On Your Samsung Phone

Users may prefer to change their ring tone so that it differs from the default or that of their office mates.  The system offers 8 different tones.  To review or change ring tones, follow the instructions below:

1. While on-hook, press TRANSFER and dial 111.
2. Dial 1 through 8 or press UP/DOWN keys to hear each tone.
3. When you hear the tone that you prefer, press TRANSFER to save.

Sharpdesk Software Walkthrough

Optical character recognition (OCR) software is a technological tool that can be used to read and manipulate text from a hard-copy type-written document. In other words, this software can read type-written text from a hard-copy paper document and convert the text to be edited in Microsoft Word. This can be a very convenient resource if one would ever need to edit text in a document of which they only had a hard copy.

Currently, the Prairie Lakes AEA houses the OCR software Sharpdesk on every secretary and staff-desktop computer. Each staff member is encouraged to take advantage of this technological resource; however, there are a few steps one must follow for it to work properly. *Important Note* Sharpdesk reads handwriting and tables as objects and therefore they can not be manipulated as type-written text (i.e. you can’t modify letters from hand-written text or alter any text that is in a table with this software).

To use, follow these simple instructions:
Step One: Locate the physical document you wish to use Sharpdesk with and place it on the scanner tray.
Step Two: Select the Image Send button on the copy machine display screen, click Address Book and navigate to the appropriate user name. The user name will always have OCR at the end of it (e.g. FD-Desktop-LL-OCR).
Step Three: Press the Start button on the copy machine.
Step Four: Go to the machine you sent document to and open the “Shortcut to Sharpdesk Desktop” folder (located on the desktop). Inside of the folder you should see a Word document and an Adobe PDF (it copies the document in both forms). Use the Word document to manipulate the text as necessary.

How to Keep Your Laptop Happy, Part 1: Temperature

Just like you and I, electronic devices do not fair well in extreme weather. It is your responsibility to keep computers as comfortable as possible when navigating the beautiful prairies of Iowa. Here is some information to help you out.

This may read like stereo instructions, but it is a reprint from the Gateway 450ROG User Guide. Environmental parameters can vary from model to model, so you should always know the specific requirements for your device.

Operating temperature 41°F to 95°F (5°C to 35°C)
Storage temperature -4°F to 140°F (-20°C to 60°C)
Operating humidity 20% to 80% relative humidity; no condensation
Storage humidity 10% to 90% relative humidity; no condensation
Operating altitude, maximum 8,000 feet at 59°F (2,438 meters at 15°C)
Storage altitude, maximum 12,000 feet (3,658 m)

Your laptop shouldn’t ever be outside of the storage parameters. It can cause thermal expansion and contraction to separate the components of your laptop, not to mention untold grief. Also, you should never plug any device, cord, etc. into a device that is outside of the operating parameters. Doing so can introduce an electrical charge to a stressed laptop that has condensation or overheated components. Always allow enough time for your laptop to settle to the proper operating temperature and humidity before turning it on.

By Nicholas Schelle

Joining a Polycom Conference

The Polycom conference call feature can be a very convenient and practical way to gain access to video conferences around the world from a remote location. However, there are a few steps one must follow in order to actually get connected to a conference.

First, make sure the Polycom unit is turned on and all connections are properly seated in their corresponding jacks. Next, navigate to the Polycom ‘Place a Call’ screen on your Television (usually, this will require you to press the input button on your TV’s remote control). Following that, check to make sure your unit has obtained a valid IP address. To do so, check the “My IP” field on screen; if you see 0.0.0.0, your unit has not obtained a valid IP address and you’ll need to contact your secretary for further assistance. After that, insert the telephone number or IP address of the conference you wish to join in the address bar and press the Call button on the remote control. You should now be directed to a conferencing system screen. Once you’ve reached the conferencing system screen, press # on your remote control, enter the number of the conference you wish to join, and press # again. Shortly thereafter, you should hear a message that says, “I’ll forward you onto your conference.” Congratulations, you have just successfully joined a Polycom video conference!

*Note* A list of all polycom addresses can be found here

Microsoft Discounts for AEA Staff

The Iowa Educators Consortium (IEC) offers selected Microsoft software titles for purchase by Iowa AEA staff, K-12 faculty, staff and students at substantial discounts of over 75 percent off retail prices. In order to be eligible to purchase the discounted software you must register and provide proof of enrollment or employment in a K-12 school or AEA within the state of Iowa.

The registration process uses e-mail domains to establish affiliation with an AEA or school. If a staff member registers with an agency-provided e-mail address, they are automatically verified. Once proof of employment has been established, orders can be placed online using a credit card. Orders will be shipped directly to the purchaser.

For additional information and instructions, go to the IEC website which is listed in the Recommend Links are of this blog. Click on the “Teacher and Student Buys” link found on the left side of the page. Choose Microsoft from the pop-up menu. To register, click on the sign-in link found in the upper right corner of the page and follow directions found in the “not registered” section to create an account.