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Nebula News and Announcements

IT Connect > Software and Hardware > Nebula > Nebula News & Announcements

Exchange Slowdowns and Disconnects Appear Resolved February 8, 2012

Following a server reboot and efforts to make the requested configuration change to Outlook 2010, UW Exchange performance has returned to near normal levels. Connections from iPhone and iPad devices over the campus wireless network are again successful. The Exchange team continues to closely monitor the situation; please let us know if you continue to experience any problems. Thank you for your patience!

No-Charge Support Available for Exchange, TEM, SaveAsPDF issues February 8, 2012

Below you will find more information about current status and work-arounds for these issues. There is no charge for us to assist you with these issues. Please let us know how we can help.

SaveAsPDF function lost in MS Office; Some Updates Try To Re-Install Jan 26, 2012

Regarding clients that are experiencing EITHER:

• loss of SaveAsPDF in Office applications OR
• repeated offers to install security updates 982132 and 972270

A recent Microsoft patch that fixed a significant security hole causes both of these problems. Uninstalling the patch restores SaveAsPDF functionality but opens the security hole. Leaving the patch fixes the hole, breaks SaveAsPDF AND may cause two other patches to think they need to reinstall (they don't).

Our recommendation: leave the patch in place, install the CutePDF printer from Run Advertised Programs to create PDF files, and hide the repeated update offers. Email us for help or more information.

Power and Patch Management Software (TEM) Update Jan 26, 2012

Thanks to feedback from users, we discovered that if you select a different power profile, your choice will be changed back to the UW Standard Power Profile (UWSPP). Instead, change the values on the UWSPP:

• Windows 7: Control Panel -> System and Security -> Power Options -> change plan settings for the UWSPP -> choose a different value for Put the computer to sleep.
• Windows XP: Control Panel -> Power Options -> on Power Schemes tab, select a different value for System standby

The Tivoli Endpoint Manager (TEM) software patches programs on your computer to keep them current and thereby improve your system's security. It also helps Nebula computers comply with the UW's Minimum Computer Security Standards. Programs that cannot be safely patched are upgraded to patchable versions (i.e. Java, Adobe). Of the list of patched programs maintained by TEM's vendor, IBM, the UW has chosen to patch:

• Adobe: Acrobat, Reader, Flash Player, Shockwave Player
• Apple: iTunes, QuickTime
• Mozilla Firefox
• RealPlayer
• Skype
• Sun Java Runtime Environment
• WinAmp

If you must run software that relies on an older, now patched version of software, you can uninstall TEM to enable the older software to run, but this will put your computer at higher risk of compromise. Contact us for help.

For more information about the UW Climate Action Plan to achieve carbon neutrality which is supported by TEM, please see Environmental Stewardship and Sustainability Office.

Sophos Update: Most Issues Have Been Resolved February 8, 2012

A fix for the off-campus update issue is being deployed today. Systems will need to be connected to the campus network (either locally or via the VPN) to get the updated policy. If you have a system that still shows the red 'X' or won't manually update, please send us the computer name. Thank you.

Microsoft Office January 26, 2012

Default version now 2010: Beginning October 1, 2011, Microsoft Office 2010 is the version of Office installed on newly purchased or rebuilt computers using the Nebula image. If you would like to roll back to Office 2007, you can follow these instructions.

New Tips section: We've started a new section on our Software page, collecting tips and tricks to help us all get more out of these applications. See Office 2010 Tips for information on:

• NEW! Ten Quick Tips for Getting the Most from Microsoft Office
• Opening multiple instances of Word or Excel
• Removing a watermark in Word

New Software Licensing Agreement Oct 1, 2011

UW Information Technology (UW-IT) and UW Purchasing have concluded agreements with Microsoft and Apple to license some of the most popular software products to any UW-owned computer. In addition to Microsoft Office and Windows upgrades, the agreements now cover:

• MS Visio Premium
• MS Project Professional
• MS Visual Studio Professional
• MS Expression Studio Ultimate
• Apple's Mac OS X Lion (please see Mac Support in Nebula)

In addition, the agreements provide MS Office to faculty and staff for use on personally-owned computers (costing them only $10.00 for a download or $22.00 for the media).

For more information, please see:

• Kelli Trosvig's October 3, 2011 letter to techsupport
• The Uware site to view the Microsoft Campus Agreement and the Apple Campus Agreement
• Nebula's Mac Support page

Outlook Problem Reports on-going

UW Exchange has been experiencing intermittent performance issues. Our Exchange environment is somewhat complex, and having a full description of your Exchange experiences can help diagnose and resolve the problems. To make this easier, we have crafted a new page, called Nebula Testing. You can print this page to fill out, or you can answer the same questions using the on-line survey. Thank you for your assistance, and patience, as we work through these issues.

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