ITS News

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What computers and other devices did our entering students bring with them last fall? What's the balance between laptops and desktops? How about between Macs and Windows machines? What fraction brought a cell phone? How about iPods or other MP3 players?

During their first "official" day on the campus as part of the CIRP survey, entering freshmen were asked about the technology they had brought with them; 345 students responded. Some highlights:

• A whopping 97% of freshmen brought at least one computer with them to campus this fall; a few students brought two, three, or more!
• The Windows operating system continues to dominate (73% of freshmen use it), but the popularity of Mac OS X is strong, at 25%, and growing. (Apple's share of the personal computer market is still under 6%.)
• Laptop computers are overwhelmingly the favorite with freshmen: 85% said their main computer is a laptop.
• Wireless access is definitely the norm, with 80% of freshmen reporting that the computer they use most often has wireless access.

In addition to the nearly universal ownership of personal computers, a strong majority of this year's freshmen also make use of two other items of personal technology—cell phones and MP3 players.

• Cell phones are used by 89% of freshmen.
• An iPod or other MP3 player came to campus with nearly three-quarters (73%) of freshmen.

Having this information about the technology preferences of entering students and the trends evident from comparison with prior years gives ITS important information for planning services to support our students. There are powerful trends here—especially in the growing prevalence of laptop computers, wireless access, and MP3 devices—that are calling for different services and support models from ITS. We welcome your thoughts and comments about the opportunities and challenges these changes present to Lawrence.

Administrative offices throughout the campus have expressed an interest in having the ability to store an image of a document electronically. The Banner software package that the university uses has a built in module called XtenderSolutions which was designed specifically for this purpose. Documents can be linked directly to an individual, an office, or any classification that we define. The imaged documents share the same high security standards as the rest of the Banner modules.

The registrar's office and the financial aid office will begin using Banner imaging shortly after the January 30th training session. A SungardHE consultant will be on site during the training session to help with this transition.

As we gain experience and resources are available, other offices will begin making use of the imaging module. These offices include, but are not limited to, human resources, alumni/development, finance, international student services, and information technology services. Any office with imaging needs is welcome to plan for the use of the XtenderSolutions product. For more information, contact the ITS Helpdesk at ext. 6570 or your ITS support person.

We are currently experiencing trouble with long distance calling. Technicians are working on the problem and expect to have everything back to normal by 4:00 p.m. today.

If you have any questions, please call the Helpdesk at ext. 6570.

Long distance service has been restored. There was a circuit outage in Chicago that affected our service. Thank you for your patience.

Meeting Maker users,

A Meeting Maker upgrade will be performed tonight, Monday, 1/29/07, to fix minor
bugs and to increase performance.

Please log off of your computer before you leave tonight, but,
leave it turned on in order to receive the update.

If you have questions or concerns, please contact the Helpdesk
at ext. 6570 or send e-mail to helpdesk@lawrence.edu.