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IT News: New File Sharing Service Coming, Mac OS X Mavericks Advisory

October 23, 2013

Reminder: Office 365 Upgrade Begins Oct. 27

UC Merced’s Office 365 service will be upgraded to the newest version starting Oct. 27. Information Technology staff members say the process could take a couple of days to propagate through all UC Merced accounts, so some users might not see changes until a day or two after that. 

There are important system requirements for Windows Outlook users. Most users who regularly apply Windows updates on their systems will already have these updates installed:

  • For Outlook 2010 - at least Service Pack 1 for Outlook 2010 and the April 2012 cumulative public update
  • For Outlook 2007 - Service Pack 3 for Outlook 2007 and at least the July 2012 cumulative public update

Faculty and staff members using Outlook 2007 can also contact the IT Help Desk if they would like to be upgraded to Outlook 2010. This is recommended, but not required.

​Here’s what you can expect during the service upgrade:

  • If you are using an installed Outlook client when your email is upgraded, you will be asked to close and re-open Outlook.
  • If you happen to be checking your email with the Outlook Web App when your email account is updated, you might need to sign out and sign back in.
  • If you have delegated access to your email account to someone else (or had access delegated to you), you might experience a brief period where access to the delegated account isn't available.

After the service upgrade, there will be some immediate changes:

If you have any questions, please contact the IT Help Desk at helpdesk@ucmerced.edu or 228-HELP (4357).

New File-Sharing, Collaboration Service Coming Nov. 4

Information Technology announced the upcoming release of a new file-sharing and collaboration service that will be available to the campus Nov. 4.
 
UC Merced has entered an agreement with Box.com, a cloud-hosted platform that allows users to store, share and collaborate on files online. Stored files are accessible anywhere, anytime, and from any device with an Internet connection. Files designated by a user can be shared with others to facilitate teaching, learning, research and collaboration.* The service will be available to all active UC Merced faculty and staff members and students.
 
Box Main Features:
  • Log in with UC Merced UCMNetID and password
  • Store 10 GB of free, secured and encrypted content storage with a maximum upload size of 5 GB using web and 200 MB from a smart phone.
  • Access to content via desktop and laptop browsers, and through mobile devices running iOS, Android, Windows Mobile and Blackberry
  • Collaboration and file sharing with anyone who has an email address — inside or outside the university
  • File preview for many formats (e.g., PDF, Word, Excel, audio/video, images)
  • File and folder access control with a range of user/group permissions from preview-only to full editing and collaboration rights
  • Capacity to password-protect confidential documents and set expiration dates for file access
  • Ability to create simple workflows, assign tasks and comment on files
  • Sync files between your desktop and other devices, and access them even when offline
 
* Use of the Box service is subject to your implicit agreement of all terms and conditions. UC Merced’s Box service is NOT an appropriate platform for storing sensitive or confidential data, such as Social Security numbers, HIPAA or notice-triggering data. For data classification and usage examples, see the Box Security FAQ.
 
Resources
 
Box Essentials Training, KL 232
Learn the basic skills you need to quickly and easily integrate Box into your everyday workflow. You will learn how to navigate your Box account and build an environment that promotes collaboration; create new content, upload existing files and folders and then share with others. 
  • 9-10 a.m. Nov. 5
  • 3-4 p.m. Nov. 5
  • 3-4 p.m. Nov. 6
  • 10-11 a.m. Nov. 7
Box Workshops, KL 202
Box Project team members will be available to provide support for Box and to answer any questions you may have.
  • 11 a.m. to noon Nov. 5
  • 11 a.m. to noon Nov. 7
  • 3-4 p.m. Nov. 7
 
Upgrading to Mac OS X Mavericks? Update Parallels First, IT Advises 
 
The new Mac OS X Mavericks was released by Apple, and the company has noted that the software is available as a free upgrade for anyone using Mac OS X Snow Leopard or newer (i.e. Lion, Mountain Lion).  
 
IT staff members tested the beta release and did not encounter any issues related to the configuration and use of UC Merced services such as wireless, email, calendar, VPN, printing and UCMSTOR. 

However, one important issue was identified when upgrading a system that also had Parallels Version 7 installed in order to have a Windows computing environment on a Mac. If an upgrade to Mac OS X Mavericks is completed without first upgrading to a newer version of Parallels, a user will lose the entire Windows environment from their system. We recommend users first upgrade Parallels to Version 8 or newer before upgrading to Mac OS X Mavericks.

If you need assistance with the any of these upgrades, please contact the IT Help Desk at helpdesk@ucmerced.edu or 228-HELP (ext. 4357).

Helpful links: