Software2

From BingWiki

Contents 1 What software is available to use on campus? 2 Are there special prices available for software for BU faculty, staff and students? 3 If someone must install the software for me (on my office machine), how long will this take? A day, a week, a month? 4 Who do I talk to to get a definitive answer about whether I can get a free copy of some software or not? 5 I need adaptive software, which computers have what I need? 6 I like to work from home. 6.1 Can I get a CD to install software on my personal machine? 6.2 How can I access files stored on my network storage (H: drive) from home? 6.3 When do I need VPN software connecting from home?

What software is available to use on campus?

Software information

Are there special prices available for software for BU faculty, staff and students?

Many software vendors have educational pricing for software. The University Bookstore has a relationship with Journey Ed that collects a number of these educational priced packages in a convenient location. Details about specific licensing agreements associated with volume purchased software (through SUNY contracts or Binghamton University ITS bulk purchases) are described at http://computing.binghamton.edu/files/software/licensed/request.pl (which is also a central place where you can formally request such software).

If someone must install the software for me (on my office machine), how long will this take? A day, a week, a month?

Longer delays (beyond a week) are most common during the start of each semester (Spring and Fall), when your request for software is for a large class, or when decisions to actually purchase new software (in bulk for less-expensive pricing) are pending. For common software applications used in the public areas and listed in our software database, a technician from ITS should schedule an appointment with you within a week.

Software installation times (and the skills needed to accomplish the installation successfully) vary with the type of software.

Most installations should take no longer than half an hour (though some software commonly used on campus may require a full hour to load from a DVD). Anti-spyware, anti-virus, and any firewall programs can be installed in a matter of minutes.

Rarely, installing and integrating new software (or new version) involves the reinstallation of your computer's operating system (or applying a number of patches/updates). This sounds intimidating, but most new operating systems on personal computers can be accomplished in a few hours. Please speak with a technician to consider the pros and cons of acquiring the new software if you learn that doing so will require an updated operating system.

Who do I talk to to get a definitive answer about whether I can get a free copy of some software or not?

I need adaptive software, which computers have what I need?

The list is at Services for Students with Disabilites

I like to work from home.

Can I get a CD to install software on my personal machine?

Some software can be installed on personally owned machines. Other software may be licensed in such a way that such installations are not allowed.

For Microsoft Office 2003 Professional and Microsoft Office 2007 Enterprise faculty and staff may borrow a CD from the Help Desk upon presentation of a university ID card.

Watson School faculty and students can get a wide variety of Microsoft software through the Microsoft Software Alliance. Contact Donald Kunkel for more information, dkunkel@binghamton.edu.

The University has the right to distribute Maple, Mathematica, and Minitab to all faculty, staff and students. See http://computing.binghamton.edu/cgi/licsoft/request.pl for details.

Some software is available from the campus FTP site, including McAfee Anti-virus. If you are off campus, you can get to the FTP site through the campus VPN using your PODS account.

How can I access files stored on my network storage (H: drive) from home?

You can map it...

 1. Right-click *|My Computer|* and select *|Map Network Drive... |*.
 2. In the "Drive:" field, select the letter you would like to assign
    to the drive. That letter will become the mapped drive. The
    Pods/IC use H:.
 3. If you would like to connect to that drive every time you start
    your computer, select *|Reconnect at logon|*.
 4. In the "Path:" or "Folder:" field, type the pathname of the
    networked drive, for example: \\bingnfs1\USERID      (USERID is
    your Pod logon id).
 5. Click *|OK|* or *|Finish|*.

OR Log into the Pods domain at the ssl.binghamton.edu web page. The ssl.binghamton.edu page gives you access to Mirapoint Email, BlackBoard, BUSI, your H: drive and a BingSuns SSH session.

When do I need VPN software connecting from home?

You need to use the campus VPN when you need to connect to protected resources, which include domain shared storage, most campus ftp servers (including ftp.binghamton.edu), some of the business systems, and some of the licensed collections and reference material provided by the library. If you do substantial work at home or elsewhere off campus that requires access to campus resources, you can use the campus VPN at http://ssl.binghamton.edu.