TECHNICALLY
SPEAKING
An RTC Newsletter Sponsored by Fordham IT Issue 1
Spring 2014
In This Issue:
- Decline of Facebook Culture - Running Windows on a Mac - IT Customer Care Update
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- The First Invisible Skyscraper - Google Drive 101 - New Fordham App
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New Wi-Fi Here at Fordham ! By: RTC Zane Larwood
In the near future, Fordham will only have one SSID (network name) available for use- Fordhamwifi. Many of you have probably seen this new SSID or perhaps even switched to it. The older SSIDs, FORDHAMRH, FORDHAMRH-S, FORDHAM400, FORDHAM400-S, FORDHAMLC, and FORDHAMLC-S will soon disappear. The reasoning behind this is two-fold. First, switching to one secure network (a network where a password is needed for radio communication between your device and the nearest access point) cuts back on drive-by traffic. In the past, people with cell phones or other devices on Fordham Road that had no intention of using the network would receive a signal from the unsecured networks like FORDHAMRH. This
NEED HELP? Contact your RTC or visit IT Customer Care
Extra signal slows down the network. There is so much drive-by traffic that on average there are 48,000 devices on the network at any one time. Thus, by switching to Fordhamwifi, Fordham’s network will be faster and more secure. Second, no longer will users need to switch SSIDs when going between campuses; Fordhamwifi will be used at all three of Fordham’s campuses. Remember to switch to Fordhamwifi as soon as possible in order to not be surprised when the old SSIDs are gone. This switch will be beneficial to both the students and the network as a whole.
SSID Fordhamwifi
Rose Hill – McGinley 229 Monday-Friday: 8am-8pm Saturday: 10am-6pm
www.fordham.edu/RTC
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Password Fordhamwifi
Lincoln Center Lowenstein SL19A Monday-Friday: 10am-6pm
[email protected]
Facebook: Friend Request Denied By: RTC Julie Troisi
Trends say that Facebook is on the decline. Evidence of this is illustrated in the opinion of a thirteen year old who proclaimed that Facebook is trying too hard to accommodate its services for their ever-changing audience. Apparently, Facebook's sometimes overt and “in-your-face” techniques do not work for younger generations. Instead, it seems as though there is a rising popularity in social media outlets that use pseudonyms and avatars instead of real names and profile pictures (a possible cause of the increase in internet security awareness). Another reason for the decline, besides Facebook not being a necessary “service,” is that social media has become fragmented, or specialized. Instead of just one site for everything, there is a site specifically for videos, specifically for pictures, and specifically for text. The one thing that can be said for certain is that Facebook will certainly be taking action to combat the new trends.
IT Customer Care NEW HOURS Fordham IT is now offering increased support!
ITCC HAS EXTENDED THEIR HOURS to include Saturdays from 10am-6pm Along with their normal Monday to Friday hours of 8am-8pm, the Rose Hill walk-in center and main call center at 718-718-3999 will also be open.
Like always, you can also contact your RTC for support seven days a week until midnight!
The Best of Both Worlds: How to Run Windows on MACs By: RTC David Lasco
For the first time in decades, Apple sold more Mac computers than the entire PC industry combined last year. However, computers running Windows OS are still dominating those running Mac OS in overall market share. In fact, Windows computers account for 89.96% of the computers in existence today, compared to the 8.34% that run Apple’s Mac OS. As a result of Microsoft’s dominating market share, many applications are written solely for Windows OS. Unfortunately, despite all the benefits of a Mac, we still live in a Windows world. Realizing this, Apple has built a program into each Mac that allows the machine to run Windows so that users aren’t at a disadvantage when confronted with an application that won’t open on a Mac. This program is called Boot Camp. It “partitions” the hard drive of the computer; essentially putting aside some of the computer’s memory to be used for the Windows portion of the device. After the user installs Windows through the BootCamp program, they are able to boot up their computer and run either Windows or Mac. This is essential for people working in the business world, as many programs are written for Windows computers and not for Macs. Two of these very important programs include Bloomberg Terminal and Microsoft Access. However, once a user installs Windows on their Mac, they can run any program written for either operating system by just restarting their computer. Also, just as there are Windows-specific programs, there are also Mac-specific programs. A computer running both Windows OS and Mac OS can run nearly anything created for a computer. It’s truly the best of both worlds. www.fordham.edu/RTC
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An Invisible Skyscraper
Actitracker-Are You Active?
By: RTC Timothy Kelly
By: RTC Matthew McDonnell
It’s safe to say that James Bond’s camouflaged car was the handiest of gizmos. However, this feat is attributed to movie magic. Well, for those who thought that invisibility was solely a power of Susan Storm in the Fantastic Four, think again! Earlier this March, South Korea approved a building project that will make invisibility a reality. To be built along the outskirts of Seoul, South Korea’s Tower Infinity will be the world’s first invisible skyscraper. The architects will be able to pull off this illusion by using eighteen HD cameras positioned on the exterior of the building. The cameras will be continually collecting images of the surrounding area and projecting them on LED screens found on the opposite sides of the building; therefore making it seem as if the building weren’t even there. One thing is for certain; the birds and remote control helicopter wielding children of Seoul better watch out once Tower Infinity is completed.
How active are you? Fordham’s WISDM (Wireless Sensor Data Mining) Lab has an app to find out! The WISDM Lab, consisting of a group of Fordham students and faculty members directed by Dr. Gary Weiss, have recently developed an app called Actitracker. The app uses the accelerometers and gyroscopes in smartphones to determine what kind of activity a person is doing at a given time. These are the same sensors that tell your phone to reorient the screen when you tilt your phone. Essentially, you train your phone to recognize how you walk, jog, sit, stand, and go up or down stairs. The app takes this data and determines what you were doing at a given time of day. You can see when you’re most or least active, or look at a breakdown of how often you perform each activity. The app is currently only available for Android OS 2.3 and above. For more information, see how it works, or to download the app, visit www.actitracker.com.
Google Drive? What’s that? By: RTC Kate Dlugosz
Most of you have probably heard of Google Drive (formerly Google Docs), a cloud storage service that comes with any Gmail account (like your Fordham account!). However, it’s likely you haven’t made the most of all of Google Drive’s features. Google Drive is currently one of the most affordable options for storing and accessing your files in the cloud, allowing you up to 15GB of free storage. Google Drive also enables collaboration with other Gmail users (perfect for group projects!). You can create documents, spreadsheets, and presentations right from the Google website and share them with anybody. All edits occur in real time, so there is no risk of one person saving over another’s edits. Any Word, Excel, or PowerPoint file can be converted into the Google Docs format so that you can collaborate with someone and then convert it back to its original format. Google Drive also includes a tool called Google Forms, which allows you to easily create surveys, quizzes, or other forms with a variety of different question types (multiple choice, textboxes, etc.). Google Drive has a multitude of other features, but these are just a few that will certainly be useful to you in your college career! www.fordham.edu/RTC
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