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Nebula Brown Bag November 13, 2009

The Fall 2009 Nebula Brown Bag was held on Tuesday, November 3. We talked about Internet Explorer 8 and Windows 7, and demonstrated a few new options. Please see our Fall Brown Bag page for more information. If you couldn't make it but would like to chat about it, please email us at nebula@u and someone will give you a call.

New information for Mac clients in Nebula November 13, 2009

We have a small but steadily growing number of Mac clients within Nebula departments. For some time, we have been able to provide them with access to the H: and I: drives. The new Nebula Filesystem Web Access tool gives more options to these users. We have just published a new page called Mac Support in Nebula that describes these tools and other resources for Mac clients, both in and outside of Nebula. We hope our Mac clients find it useful and welcome feedback on it.

New information on Connecting Remotely October 28, 2009

The page on Connecting Remotely has been updated with information on the new web access tool. Please send any questions on using this tool to nebula@u.

Nebula Service Account Request form October 6, 2009

This web-form is now available on the Nebula Service Account Request page. It can be used to submit requests for changes to Nebula and Exchange accounts:

Account creation
Changes to account access
Account deletion

When you submit the request, a support ticket will be created, and you'll receive an email confirmation. You can refer to the ticket number in any future correspondence. We welcome feedback on this new tool.

Updates on Upgrades October 6, 2009

Internet Explorer v8
McAfee v8.5, patch 7
Windows v7

Internet Explorer v8 has been self-installed on almost one-third of the Nebula systems, with few reports of any ill effects. We will be demo-ing IE8 at the Nebula Brown Bag on Oct 22 and establishing a roll-out date.

McAfee v8.5 will not be deployed in Nebula. We are developing a strategy to move Nebula workstations to the new UW anti-virus vendor, Sophos. If you have installed McAfee on any of your home systems, you need to replace it with Sophos by end of March 2010.

Windows v7 testing has begun. We expect to be able to offer it as a supported Nebula operating system in the first part of 2010.

Microsoft Home Use Program (HUP) April 13, 2009

Nebula subscribers are eligible to participate in the Microsoft Home Use Program (HUP). This program enables you to purchase a single licensed copy of Microsoft Office 2007 desktop to install and use on your home computer, for about $20.00. Both Windows and Mac versions of Office are available. The license includes Microsoft Office Access, Excel, FrontPage, InfoPath, Outlook, OneNote, PowerPoint, Project (Standard), Publisher, Visio, and Word.

Nebula along with other UW departments purchases software through the Microsoft Campus Agreement (MCA) making our subscribers eligible for this benefit. You may use this copy of Office 2007 for as long as you are employed by a University of Washington department, which in turn is subscribed to the Nebula service.

If you are interested in participating in this program, please contact Nebula Support and we will send detailed instructions.

Stretching your hardware dollars March 9

In these difficult times, we are looking at strategies that will help you stretch your hardware dollars.

We are working to locate other sources of Dell computers such as those surplused by other campus departments and from vendors re-selling previously leased Dell equipment.
Some clients are currently unable to extend warranties on existing equipment. In these cases, Nebula will work with the client to continue to provide support for out-of-warranty equipment, but in these instances the department must pay the cost for any hardware repairs.
We've also started providing more detailed billing information so you can identify out-of-use or surplused computers and request their removal. An electronic form of this billing is available upon request.

Nebula Training Room

The Nebula Training Room is equipped with newer Dell computers that have been configured with the Microsoft Vista operating system and Microsoft Office 2007. It has 12 student seats and one instructor computer, as well as an overhead projector and plenty of whiteboard space. This space is available at no charge for any Nebula client to conduct their own trainings, and is located in the UW Tower on Floor C3. To schedule, please send email to nebula@u.

New way to install software February 23, 2009

Nebula is moving to a new method of delivering software. This method allows greater control of package delivery and better reporting. It uses the Run Advertised Programs or RAP option in the Control Panel. For software delivered via in this way, you will use the RAP instructions. Please let us know if you have any questions about this instructions page, or using the new method.

Please notify Nebula of staffing changes

Please be sure to notify your Nebula Support person of any staffing changes, such as folks leaving the department, whether permanently or via extended leaves of any kind. This can help us more accurately manage user accounts and email lists. Thank you!

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