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Information technology news for the UC Berkeley community.

New captive portal system in development for AirBears

IST's Captive Portal team is developing a replacement for the current authentication system used with AirBears. This article includes information about this new system and the changes it will bring to AirBears. June 3, 2009.

PPS Migration Update

Due to anomolies found during system testing, the move of the Payroll/Personnel System (PPS) from the Berkeley campus mainframe to that of UC Office of the President has been postponed until August 2009. June 2, 2009.

End of an era

The spring 2009 issue will be the last for the IT print publication BC&C. For 18 years, BC&C has served as an invaluable forum for collaborative discussion across the campus on matters related to computing, communications, and IT. Although changing times and the ongoing budget crisis dictate that we stop producing this publication, the end of BC&C does not mean the end of campus IT news. It just means the forum is moving from print to the Web. May 29, 2009.

Communications infrastructure: The next generation

In fall 2007, Chief Information Officer Shel Waggener, Controller John Ellis, and Campus Budget Officer Paul Jenny sponsored a project to develop a sustainable allocation model that would support the campus communication network. The existing model, implemented in 2000, has not adequately accommodated the significant changes of the last nine years and presents a number of risks for the campus. Implementation of the new model is scheduled for January 2010. May 27, 2009.

Canon information and training event, Friday, May 29

Jim Malko, Canon USA's UC Berkeley Representative, will be on campus Friday, May 29, 2009, 10:00 am to 12:00 noon, in 60 Barrows Hall, to discuss Canon's green technologies. May 26, 2009.

New rates for UCBackup

A rate change for UCBackup services went into effect May 1, 2009. This rate change decreased the monthly usage fee and introduced a new per-account maintenance fee. UCBackup provides centralized, network-based backup and recovery services for computer systems on the UC Berkeley campus. May 26, 2009.

Andrew File System (AFS): IST's new file storage solution

AFS is a distributed networked file system that integrates with the desktop environment and works on all major platforms. Benefits to customers engaged in collaborative work include access to files from anywhere, encryption of data over the network, and fine-grained permission control. May 21, 2009.

PBX customers to see downward adjustment in rates

As part of the campus effort to develop a new communications funding model, IST conducted a review of current voice service rates. During the review, IST determined that the current rates for the Private Branch Exchange (PBX) service could be adjusted downward to match the standard Centrex rate for campus, and implemented the rate change effective April 2009. May 6, 2009.

Student labs survey yields surprising results

In an effort to learn what students need from the IST student computer labs, an online survey was conducted from November 2008 to January 2009, by IST's Technical Account Management (TAM) group. The survey yielded 1500 responses and comments. Among the unexpected findings: ninety-five percent of respondents own laptops; about half of survey participants use the student computer labs once a week; and many student respondents see the labs primarily as a place to do homework. May 6, 2009.

The democratization of IT: Cloud computing and the Berkeley community

The world of cloud computing is giving rise to an entirely new way of providing computing applications and services. In higher education, this new paradigm appears as a limitless expansion of our technology environments. But how will we manage the campus computing environment and protect our institutional assets? This new landscape feels a bit like the technology equivalent of the wild west — unplanned, unpredictable, potentially dangerous, all the while being very exciting. May 1, 2009.

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