Tech Briefing Archives

GPU Computing 101

Special Time: 1:00 - 5:00 p.m.

This GPU Computing 101 workshop will address topics such as why accelerated computing with GPUs is important to sustaining and advancing the state of the art in scientific and research computing, both in terms of performance and energy efficiency. The workshop will survey the broad range of GPU accelerated applications across all domains of scientific research and engineering. 

Participants will learn how to program GPUs via the use of libraries, OpenACC compiler directives, and CUDA programming.  The workshop will incorporate hands-on exercises so that the participants can become more familiar with GPU programming techniques.

This workshop is especially recommended for: 1) domain scientists to realize the power of GPU computing by taking advantage of the GPU enabled applications,  2) HPC/IT staff who want to enable scientists and developers with parallelizing compilers and 3) developers who want hands-on experience how to program GPUs in any of their native languages (C, Fortran, Python etc). 

NOTE: Attendees who want to follow along and do the exercises during the session should bring a laptop with SSH client installed. 

CUDA - Programming Your GPU

Special Time: 1:00 - 5:00 p.m.

Offered as a follow-on to the January 11th GPU Computing 101 session, this session will be led by a NVIDIA developer.

The workshop will incorporate hands-on exercises so that the participants can become more familiar with GPU programming techniques.

Attendees who want to follow along with the hands-on exercises should bring a laptop with an SSH client installed and configured.

YouTube Videos - Editing Tips and Tricks

YouTube has become the second-most used search engine to find content on the Web.

In this session, learn:
  - the basics of creating a simple promotional video
  - how to shoot a short video clip
  - how to edit your video
  - how to upload to YouTube
  - how to create captions to comply with accessibility regulations
  - and how to publish your video on your web site.

iOS: Tips and Tricks for your iPhone or iPad

Presentation Handout

In this session, Ammy will go over some helpful tips and tricks for your iPhone or iPad.

Topics include:
- Setting up email and calendar
- Maps (and how to get Google Maps back in iOS6!)
- Creating folders
- Troubleshooting issues
- What you didn't know your device could do
- Mobile Device Management (Security)
- Backing up your device through iTunes or iCloud

Information Security and You

Please join us for this engaging session devoted to explaining what the University is doing to protect our information assets (and why), and how it involves you.

We will discuss current and future initiatives, the evolving threat landscape, as well as best practices for protecting your Stanford (and personal) computers and data.

Michael Tran Duff, Associate Chief Information Security Officer

MySQL Enterprise Server

Introduction to Stanford's Responsive Drupal Themes:
Open Framework and Stanford Framework

In this Tech Briefing, theme co-maintainers Megan Miller and Brian Young (University IT) will be giving an introduction to the Stanford Drupal theme stack.

They will introduce Open Framework and Stanford Framework, responsive base themes that support subtheme development across the university.

They will also cover the fundamentals of responsive web design, best practices, and an introduction to getting started subtheming using Open Framework and Stanford Framework.

The Software Defined Radio Revolution

Software Radio has come a long way in the last 15 years. This talk will cover where we’ve come from, where we are, and where we’re going, from the personal perspective of the speaker. We’ll discuss what has and has not worked, what challenges remain ahead.

Specific topics will include:
- Challenges in hardware for Software Radio, and a discussion of the state of the art in RF frontends and data converters
- The evolution of the various processing paradigms used in software radio (GPP, GPU, DSP, and FPGA)
- What problems we thought would be solved by now
- The basic economics of software radios in volume production

SLS Navigator - Drupal-based career and curriculum guide

SLS Navigator is ever-evolving tool designed to Stanford Law School students get the most from experience at Stanford Law School. If you know what kind of law you want to practice, or even if you don't, SLSNavigator can identify specific courses that can move you toward any goal.

Marketing and Metrics with bit.ly, Google, and RSS Feeds

Learn tips on effectively marketing your department/group on campus with the use of bit.ly and Goo.gl to show click metrics. Don and Mark will talk about how Technology Training uses bit.ly and goo.gl to not only collect metrics, but to make it easier for your potential clients to find your information fast.

Mark will also talk about the benefits of RSS feeds and how they are used to push information to your clients.

Setting Up Your Home Network

Learn basic information on setting up home networks on Stanford DSL, Stanford West, and non-Stanford DSL/cable modems. 

Mark and John will cover the basics of print servers, wireless access points, and routers. There will also be some examples of home network diagrams that you may want to follow.

No specific products will be covered, but you will pick up some recommendations on home network configurations that can be used with many different products.

Stanford Box for Groups

Presentation (PPT)

Have you tried Stanford's Box service yet? It may be just the solution for your department's documents. Learn how to create folders for your group using Workgroup Manager and Box and how using Box may just solve other problems for you - like having too many big attachments filling up your inbox!

This Tech Briefing will cover the basics of using Box, plus how to create a workgroup and integrated that workgroup with Box to allow files to be owned by the group rather than individuals who may come and go.

Adobe CS6: Photoshop / InDesign / Illustrator, and Creative Cloud

Adobe’s Rick Miller will demonstrate features of Photoshop, InDesign, and Illustrator in Adobe's Creative Suite 6.

He will also talk about Adobe's new Creative Cloud feature. Creative Cloud allows you to work fluidly and productively with some of the hundreds of new timesaving features and enhancements to Adobe's industry-leading tools for digital imaging, publication design, and tablet publication.

Stanford's iTunes U

Join us for an update on Stanford's iTunes U project, and learn about the newest features in iTunes U.

Brent and Steve will also cover the newly opened Course Manager system that allows professors to create their own iTunes U courses.

Stanford Sites: Drupal Web Publishing at Stanford

The Stanford Sites self-service website tool is the easiest way for Stanford community members to build and manage websites for their University work.

University IT has recently upgraded the Stanford Sites web hosting service, streamlining the system's architecture to enable the introduction of Drupal 7 for new site installations while continuing to support existing Drupal 6 sites.

In late September, University IT will be releasing additional features including optional development sites for site owners to test changes to their sites.

FarmShare - Shared Computing Environment

FarmShare is Stanford's free shared research computing environment, available to anyone with a fully-sponsored SUNetID.

In this session, learn how to get started with FarmShare, see examples of the format, and learn about FarmShare
features, including how it:

- Supports different types of computing tasks
- Maintains locally installed software on each machine
- Provides a selection of software, including popular licensed applications
- Supports long-running, multi-day jobs, as well as parallel processing
(via MPI or OpenMP).
- Includes a resource management and scheduling system (Grid Engine)

More information at http://farmshare.stanford.edu

Apple Presents

Join us as Apple System Engineer Daniel Wesonga gives an an update of Apple products, including changes made to iOS 6, Apple TV, and the new iPhone5.

Daniel Wesonga, Apple

Paul Saffo - Futurist, "Global Innovation and the coming Creator Economy"

November 2008 was not merely the start of the current economic downturn; it was also the end of a 50 year long economic cycle and the transition to a long anticipated new economy.  Our current crisis is nothing less than a shift from a dying consumer economy built on consumption to a new “creator economy” built on mass interaction and innovation.  Understanding this shift provides a context for making sense of emerging industries from robotics to 3-D printing and anticipating the impacts on incumbent industries from automobiles to media and consumer products. The result will be maddening uncertainty, but for innovators who keep their head – and keep their head up—it will also be a period of unprecedented opportunity.

Paul Saffo is a forecaster with over two decades experience helping corporate and governmental clients understand and respond to the dynamics of large-scale, long-term change.   He is Managing Director of Foresight at Discern Analytics and teaches class on forecasting at Stanford in the Engineering School.  Paul is also a non-resident Senior Fellow at the Atlantic Council, and a Fellow of the Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences   His essays have appeared in a wide range of publications including The Harvard Business Review, Foreign Policy, Fortune, Wired, The Los Angeles Times, Newsweek, The New York Times and the Washington Post.  Paul holds degrees from Harvard College, Cambridge University, and Stanford University.

Google Apps for Education - Now Available at Stanford

Presentation slides

On September 24, Google Apps for Education was released to all Faculty, Staff, and Students to access with their Stanford credentials.  Google Apps for Education includes email and calendar for Students only, and Drive, Groups, and Sites for faculty, staff, and students. 

At this session, Ammy and Jo-Ann will talk about best practices using the apps available to you and demonstrate logging in, collaborating with others, and special features that may be useful to you and your department. 

For more information about Google Apps, visit googleapps.stanford.edu.

Qualtrics for Online Surveys and Data Collection at Stanford

University IT, along with partners across campus, provide a campus license for Qualtrics, an online survey tool.

Whether you are new to online surveys or have experience with other tools such as SurveyMonkey or Zoomerang, you'll want to attend this session to see how Qualtrics can save you money while giving you all the features you could possibly want!

Qualtrics is used by more than 1000 members of the Stanford community who find the tool more fully featured, flexible, and robust than other online tools. The tool is available at no charge to all Stanford faculty, staff, and students with a full-service SUNet ID.

In this session, learn the basics of Qualtrics, including how to create, edit, and distribute surveys, as well as view the results. The presenters will also discuss how Qualtrics facilitates many different types of data collection on campus (applications, experiments, registrations, etc.). They will also take time to answer any questions that you may have.

Experienced Qualtrics users may also want to attend to ask questions about, and see demonstrations of, some of Qualtrics more advanced features.

For more information about Qualtrics, visit http://survey.stanford.edu.

Mobile Device Management - Stanford's MDM Tool

Presentation

This briefing covers university policy regarding mobile devices, how to protect your iOS device using Stanford's award-winning Mobile Device Manager (MDM), and reporting tools for MDM now available to
local network administrators.

Mobile devices like the iPhone and iPad have become ubiquitous on campus. Mobile devices are expected to outsell traditional personal computers this year. Unfortunately, many users are unaware of their inherent security risks. Security features common on desktop and laptop computers are inconsistently applied across mobile device platforms. On a laptop, we have come to rely on anti-virus software safeguarding our system, but few mobile devices have such software.

While most personal computers on campus are password-protected, few of us configure our mobile phones with a password or PIN to protect it against unauthorized use. And, since mobile devices are easily (and frequently) misplaced, the potential for unauthorized access increases.

MDM allows you to quickly set up your Stanford email, calendar, and VPN. It also configures your device for the ISO's security best practices. All of this is done in a quick (under 2 minutes!) set up that helps protect your data and protect yourself. Learn more about this tool and how your organization can use it to protect your data.

Stanford's Basic Video Conferencing Service - Powered by BlueJeans 

Join us for an entertaining and informative overview of one of University IT's newest offerings - Basic Video Conferencing, powered by BlueJeans Network!

With Basic Video Conferencing, you can host a low-cost video conference for up to 25 participants. Attendees can join your event and collaborate using Jabber, Skype, Lync, or Google voice and video chat, as well as Cisco, Polycom, or Lifesize endpoints. Contributors can even attend the conference through a web browser; no software application or hardware endpoint required.

University IT and BlueJeans staff will provide a demo and discuss features.  Participants will be provided with a no-cost two-week trial of the service.

Learn more about all University IT video conferencing service options.

Microsoft Presents: Windows Server 2012

Windows Server 2012 redefines the server category, delivering hundreds of new features and enhancements spanning virtualization, networking, storage, user experience, cloud computing, automation, and more. Simply put, Windows Server 2012 helps you transform your IT operations to reduce costs and deliver a whole new level of business value.
 
Topics
· Virtualization
· Storage
· Web and Application Platform
· Networking
· Management and Automation
· VDI
· Identity and Access
· Configure and Deploy Infrastructure Components
· Monitor and Operate Infrastructure Components
· Service Delivery and Automation

Correine Weichec, Microsoft Datacenter Solution Specialist

Chris Urban, Microsoft Datacenter Technical Specialist

Prezi - A New Approach to Presentations 

Prezi is a mind-mapping presentation tool that, in some cases, is a viable and engaging alternative to linear presentation applications such as PowerPoint and Keynote.

In this session, Mark will walk you through creating a presentation in Prezi, and also highlight the latest features and new interface.

Presentations have not evolved much in the 50 years since the slide was invented, but Prezi is changing that. Prezi lets you bring your ideas into one space and see how they relate, helping you and your audience connect. Zoom out to see the big picture and zoom in to see details — a bit like web-based maps that have changed how we navigate through map books. -- Prezi.com

Stanford Box for Groups

Presentation

Have you tried Stanford's Box service yet? It may be just the solution for your department's documents. Learn how to create folders for your group using Workgroup Manager and Box and how using Box may just solve other problems for you - like having too many big attachments filling up your inbox!

This Tech Briefing will cover the basics of using Box, plus how to create a workgroup and integrated that workgroup with Box to allow files to be owned by the group rather than individuals who may come and go.

Taking control of your backups with CrashPlan and CrashPlan PROe Server

In this presentation, Andrew Renz from Code 42, the developers of CrashPlan, will give an in depth presentation on backup and restores for desktops, laptops, servers and mobile devices.

Many departments on campus provide CrashPlan backup, such as the School of Medicine, Earth Sciences, DAPER and H&S. Others folks may be interested in using CrashPlan's cloud backup service for individuals and home users.

Representatives from CRC will be on hand to provide support and information for users.

A Tour of the New OrderIT

Order IT has a new look and feel. If you order IT services, you won't want to miss this session.  Order forms and billing reports are moving from the old format to a new, easy-to-use format.  The project team will talk about the continued phased rollout of the forms for ordering services in 2013 and provide a demo of how easy it is to select the service you need, followed by a questions and answers segment. Again, if you order IT services or are interested in the services provided, come to this session!

Mobile Device Management

Presentation (PowerPoint)

This briefing covers university policy regarding mobile devices and how to protect your iOS device using Stanford's award-winning Mobile Device Manager (MDM). MDM allows you to quickly set up your Stanford email, calendar, and VPN. It also configures your device for the ISO's security best practices. All of this is done in a quick (under 2 minutes!) set up that helps protect your data and protect yourself.

Mobile devices like the iPhone and iPad have become ubiquitous on campus. Mobile devices are expected to outsell traditional personal computers this year. Unfortunately, many users are unaware of their inherent security risks. Security features common on desktop and laptop computers are inconsistently applied across mobile device platforms. On a laptop, we have come to rely on anti-virus software safeguarding our system, but few mobile devices have such software. While most personal computers on campus are password-protected, few of us configure our mobile phones with a password or PIN to protect it against unauthorized use. And, since mobile devices are easily (and frequently) misplaced, the potential for unauthorized access increases.

Confluence Basics - Update

Confluence is a wiki that allows teams to collaborate and capture knowledge. It allows users to create, share, and discuss ideas, meeting minutes, mockups, diagrams, task lists, and other documents.

This session will go over the basics of using Confluence and will provide information about how to request your own Confluence space for your team, department, or project.

You will learn how to:
- Create pages and add content
- Add gadgets such as Task Lists and Activity Streams
- Embed Office files such as Excel spreadsheets, Word documents, Power Point presentations, and PDFs
- Upload attachments and images
- Use labels
- Create a personal space

Don't click that link! Computer Spam, Phishing, and Identity Theft

Computer security is a complex subject, but with the right knowledge and powerful easy-to-use tools, ordinary users can protect themselves very effectively against the vast majority of security threats on the Internet.

There will be a talk and demonstration of Stanford's 2-Step authentication system. Learn how 2-Step authentication protects your account against many password and phishing attacks.

Topics covered:
- Good security practices and password tips
- How to use software available to the Stanford community
- 2-Step authentication

Google Analytics: Data for the Evolving Digital World

Presentation

Google Analytics not only lets you measure sales and conversions, but also gives you fresh insights into how visitors use your site, how they arrived on your site, and how you can keep them coming back.

In this session, you will learn how to reap full benefit from this powerful tool - from data collection to action. We will also discuss recent developments in the digital world and how analysis tools are adapting.

Intermediate Email Newsletters

Apple Presents

Join us for this week's Tech Briefing as Ben Graham talks about new Apple products, along with Apple news and notes from the Worldwide Developers Conference 2012.

CSS3

CSS3 is the latest standard for Cascading Style Sheets (the language used to applying colors, fonts, and other styles to web sites). 

Using a mix of lecture and demonstrations, you'll be exposed to the latest updates to the CSS standard.

Topics will include:
- making rounded borders
- adding shadows
- text and font styles, like word-wrapping and embedding fonts
- adding "cool" effects, such as rotating boxes, transitions, and animations (all without the need for JavaScript or Flash!)

Microsoft Presents: Windows 8

Learn about the newest Operating system from Microsoft, Windows 8.  This will be an interactive session.  Participants are encouraged to bring a device with Windows 8 installed.
 
A reimagined Windows
With Windows 8, the whole experience of Windows has been reimagined. It’s designed to work on a wide range of devices , from touch-enabled tablets, to laptops, to desktops and all-in-ones. We’ve designed Windows 8 to give you instant access to your apps, your files, and the information you care about most so you can spend less time navigating and more time doing what you actually want to do. You can move between Windows 8 PCs easily and access your files and settings from virtually anywhere. We’ve made touch a first-class experience and navigating with a mouse and keyboard fast and fluid. And just like Windows 7, reliability and security features are built in. It’s the best of Windows 7, made even better.
 
Agenda:
- Analysts Opinions
- Microsoft Surface
- Windows XP End of Support
- Windows 8 Release Preview
- All the apps you want
- The Windows Store
- Reimagined browsing with IE10
- At home and at work
- Cloud Connected
- Windows 8 Security
- Windows to Go overview and demonstration.

Stanford's iTunes U

Join us for an update on Stanford's iTunes U project, and learn about the newest features in iTunes U.

Brent and Steve will also cover the newly opened Course Manager system that allows professors to create their own iTunes U courses.

Stanford Sites: Drupal Web Publishing at Stanford

The Stanford Sites self-service website tool is the easiest way for Stanford community members to build and manage websites for their University work.

University IT has recently upgraded the Stanford Sites web hosting service, streamlining the system's architecture to enable the introduction of Drupal 7 for new site installations while continuing to support existing Drupal 6 sites.

In late September, University IT will be releasing additional features including optional development sites for site owners to test changes to their sites.

FarmShare - Shared Computing Environment

FarmShare is Stanford's free shared research computing environment, available to anyone with a fully-sponsored SUNetID.

In this session, learn how to get started with FarmShare, see examples of the format, and learn about FarmShare
features, including how it:

- Supports different types of computing tasks
- Maintains locally installed software on each machine
- Provides a selection of software, including popular licensed applications
- Supports long-running, multi-day jobs, as well as parallel processing
(via MPI or OpenMP).
- Includes a resource management and scheduling system (Grid Engine)

More information at http://farmshare.stanford.edu

OS Build Systems

University IT will present and answer questions about the Linux (Cobbler + mrepo for RHEL, and FAI for Debian) and Windows build systems that we currently use.  Additionally, there would be a round-table discussion about current and future OS build systems at the University.

Mobile Websites at Stanford:  A Mobile SIG Open Meeting

Lane Library presentation (Google Docs Presentation)

Stanford's Mobile SIG (Special Interest Group) meets occasionally to discuss current mobile web topics and share works in progress. This quarter, the Mobile SIG meeting is being upgraded to Tech Briefing status for a special presentation by Brian Young (University IT) on the incorporation of Twitter's Bootstrap responsive UI framework into Stanford's official Drupal web themes. In addition, staff from the Lane Library will be on hand to present their new, dedicated mobile website that optimizes catalog searches and quick access to resources commonly used by Stanford's medical community.

Twitter's blog post announcing Bootstrap: http://dev.twitter.com/blog/bootstrap-twitter

Brian Young (University IT)

Anthony Christopher, Lane Library

Microsoft Presents

Come learn about the buzz behind Microsoft 365, Microsoft’s hosted productivity solution that provides a unified workspace for you to communicate and collaborate, enabling you to do your best work without breaking a sweat!
 
In this session, we will demonstrate:
· Communication and Collaboration – an all in one unified workspace
· The new paradigm of productivity – working from/with multiple devices
· Advantages and benefits of an intelligent, cloud-based platform

Video Conferencing at Stanford

Please join us for an overview of University IT's newest service offering - video conferencing!

Video conferencing integrates audio, video, and interactive collaboration tools to create an immersive meeting experience. Globally dispersed meeting participants feel as if they're in the same room. 

University IT staff will provide a demo,  discuss service features and functionality and the many ways  in which video conferencing is being used here on campus.

Distributed Computing - Folding@home, and Cloud Computing Demo

Join Professor Vijay S. Pande (Chemistry, and by courtesy, Structural Biology and Computer Science) as he details the general history and methodology behind the distributed computing model, how this is a paradigm shift from the mainframe/supercomputer model, and how the Folding@home project utilizes this novel technique.

Using the CPU power and communications abilities of unattended desktop computers throughout the world, the Folding@home project studies protein folding and misfolding. In this method of computer processing, known as distributed computing, different parts of a computer program run simultaneously on two or more computers that are communicating with each other over a network.

By harnessing the power of many machines, researchers are able to analyze far more data than they might have been able to do so otherwise. Indeed, Folding@home was the first machine to pass the petaflop scale and is now is at almost 10 petaflops in performance. The Folding @ Home project runs on any modern computer, including Playstation 3s, and runs only when the computer is otherwise not being used.

There will also be a live demo of StarCluster, an open source cluster-computing toolkit for Amazon's Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2). You will also learn about cloud based applications available to the campus, such as Amazon and others. 

- Professor Vijay S. Pande, Chemistry (and by courtesy, Structural Biology and Computer Science)

- Alex Chekholko, University IT

- Phil Reese, University IT

FarmShare - Shared Computing Environment

FarmShare is Stanford's free shared research computing environment, available to anyone with a fully-sponsored SUNetID.

In this session, learn how to get started with FarmShare, see examples of the format, and learn about FarmShare
features, including how it:

- Supports different types of computing tasks
- Maintains locally installed software on each machine
- Provides a selection of software, including popular licensed applications
- Supports long-running, multi-day jobs, as well as parallel processing
(via MPI or OpenMP).
- Includes a resource management and scheduling system (Grid Engine)

More information at http://farmshare.stanford.edu

Open Source Software at Stanford

Join Mark and Irina as they demonstrate the multitude of Open Source tools available to the Stanford community.

Learn about how you can save your department money by using these mostly free tools instead of expensive commercial alternatives.

FileMaker Pro 12

Phil Smith and Alexei Folger from FileMaker will be our speakers at the tech briefing this Friday.

In April FileMaker released version 12 of their product line.  This includes the FileMaker Pro, Server and FileMaker Go for iOS products. There are a host of great improvements including more powerful digital asset management and a newly reworked system for building theme based layouts. You'll be able to create great looking solutions in a fraction of the time that it took in previous versions.

FileMaker Go for the iPad and iPhone has been updated to take advantage of all of these new features and more. Best of all, FileMaker Go is now FREE for anyone to download from the iTunes store.

Phil and Alexei will Demo all of the new products and answer your questions.

Adobe's Creative Suite 6 - What's New

Join, Adobe Sr. Solutions Consultant, Rick Miller, for a demonstration of some of the features in the recent release of the Adobe Creative Suite CS6.

The Adobe Creative Suite CS6 release is the biggest update since inception of the Adobe Creative Suite. It includes 14 applications that are new or revised in the suite. The Adobe Creative Suite enables faculty, staff, researchers and students with the premier tools for photo editing, graphic design, web design and authoring, video production and broadcast and publishing to print, digital and mobile devices. Specifically, key enhancements have been made to Adobe Photoshop CS6, Adobe Illustrator CS6, InDesign CS6 amongst other key applications. Rick will focus on these 3 primary applications for this Stanford session.

- Photoshop CS6 Adobe has optimized the speed and performance of using the Adobe Mercury Graphics engine, made enhancements to Content-Aware tools, and enhanced and simplified many interface features for streamlining productivity.

- Illustrator CS6 Adobe has released a major update offering 64-bit application support for improved application performance, gradient features and a new tracing engine.

- InDesign CS6 Adobe has enhanced the publishing experience with Liquid Layout for ease of publishing content in both portrait and landscape orientations for mobile devices. Additionally, InDesign CS6 offers output options for mobile, digital, print or web, all from the same file. InDesign CS6 allows designers to preview content in a mobile simulator while optimizing the layout of various publishing projects.

Come learn about these features and more from Adobe.

Document Storage at Stanford

Presentation

It's easy to save a document to your hard drive and email it to everyone who needs it, but that's usually not the right solution.

Learn about online document storage solutions at Stanford including where you can store Restricted data and how to share your documents to some or to restrict access to others.

We'll look at the upcoming Docushare retirement and how to use WebAFS and SecureAFS, plus new solutions like Box.com and Google Drive.

FarmShare - Shared Computing Environment 

FarmShare is Stanford's free shared research computing environment, which will be available to the Stanford Community on January 20.

In this session, learn how to get started with FarmShare (formerly known as "timeshares"), see examples of the format, and learn of FarmShare features, including how it:

- Supports different types of computing tasks
- Maintains locally installed software on each machine
- Provides a selection of software, including popular licensed applications
- Supports long-running, multi-day jobs, as well as parallel processing (via MPI or OpenMP).
- Includes a Queuing system (Grid Engine) 

More information at http://farmshare.stanford.edu

HTML Newsletters

These days, email isn't just plain text anymore. In this session, learn the basics of creating email newsletters with colors, fonts, and graphics, laid out into columns and sections.

We'll cover the tools and steps you need to take to create beautiful, professional emails, as well as some of the problems you might encounter (and how to fix them!).

PowerPoint slide deck from the presentation.

Mark Branom, University IT

What's New in Zimbra 7

This Briefing will cover some of the new and updated features in Stanford's Email and Calendar system, coming with the Zimbra 7 upgrade in February. Some of these features include:

- Stanford Modern look and feel
- Schedule a time to send messages
- The ability to recover deleted items
- New Create Appointments tab in calendar
- Revised Appointment Details page
- Email reminders for appointments
- And many more!

Jo-Ann Cuevas-Pagliaro, University IT

Confluence Basics

Confluence is a wiki that allows teams to collaborate and capture knowledge. It allows users to create, share, and discuss ideas, meeting minutes, mockups, diagrams, task lists, and other documents. 

This session will go over the basics of using Confluence and will provide information about how to request your own Confluence space for your team, department, or project.

You will learn how to:
- Create pages and add content
- Add gadgets such as Task Lists and Calendars
- Embed Office files such as Excel spreadsheets, Word documents, Power Point presentations, and PDFs
- Upload attachments and pictures
- Use labels
- Create a personal space

Let’s talk about using exciting mobile data visualization tools at Stanford!

Sri Vemparala and Tim Flood will introduce you to Roambi Analytics and Roambi Flow, two mobile apps that bring together mobile technology, business intelligence, and digital publishing.

This articulates a vision for education of the future, with a demonstration on how these tools can benefit recruitment, administration, research and instruction with the relevance that only mobile technology can deliver, and tell you how you can get involved.

Tim Flood, Senior Technology Consult

Sri Vemparala, Technical Manager, Administrative Systems

SmartMart and HP

Please join us for this presentation to shopping with Stanford's SmartMart featuring HP.

SmartMart is a one-stop shop for all your buying needs, be it office or lap supplies, computers, oligonucleotides, and so much more... over two and a half million items are available online.

This presentation will include search tips, creating favorites, and assiging shopping carts.

More information about SmartMart can be found at http://smartmart.stanford.edu.

Kathy Rariden, Financial Management Consulting & Support Group

Grace Caulfield, HP

HTML Newsletters - Tips and Troubleshooting

In this session, learn how to solve certain issues with your newly created HTML Email Newsletter.

Join Mark Branom as he answers such questions as:
- How come my image isn't showing?
- Why is my font incorrect?
- Is it possible to find out how many people are clicking on my links?

Topics:  
- the essential steps for creating your HTML Email Newsletter
- fixing such issues as broken images and incorrect fonts
- tracking the number of clicks to your links 

Bring your questions, and we'll see you on Friday!

PowerPoint slide deck from the presentation.

WebEx at Stanford 

 In this Tech Briefing, learn how WebEx software can facilitate:

* holding "virtual meetings" without traveling across campus
* effectively involving staff members working remotely
* gathering groups quickly to review materials,
* leveraging colleagues at other institutions,
* delivering real-time lectures, demos, and presentations,
* providing virtual office hours,
* quick-response remote desktop support assistance, and
* cross-functional group collaboration

Stanford Sites: Support for Building Websites at Stanford

Apple Presents

Join us for this Briefing as an Apple representative discusses iOS5, the new iPad, and review the new announced education productions, which includes iTunesU course manager, and iBooks Author.

Dan Sinema, Senior System Engineer, Apple Inc

Mobile Device Management

Mobile devices like the iPhone and iPad have become ubiquitous on campus. Mobile devices are expected to outsell traditional personal computers this year. Unfortunately, many users are unaware of their inherent security risks. Security features common on desktop and laptop computers are inconsistently applied across mobile device platforms. On a laptop, we have come to rely on anti-virus software safeguarding our system, but few mobile devices have such software. While most personal computers on campus are password-protected, few of us configure our mobile phones with a password or PIN to protect it against unauthorized use. And, since mobile devices are easily (and frequently) misplaced, the potential for unauthorized access increases.

This briefing will cover the policy changes regarding mobile devices and the basics of what you can do to protect your device today. We'll also offer a look at the new Stanford Mobile Device Management tool, available now. The MDM tool allows you to quickly and easily implement the basic security recommendations.    

Slides from the presentation

Mark Mellis, Information Security Office

OS Build Systems

University IT will present and answer questions about the Linux (Cobbler + mrepo for RHEL, and FAI for Debian) and Windows build systems that we currently use.  Additionally, there would be a round-table discussion about current and future OS build systems at the University.

Mobile Websites at Stanford:  A Mobile SIG Open Meeting

Featured Presenter: Brian Young (University IT)

Description:
Stanford's Mobile SIG (Special Interest Group) meets occasionally to discuss current mobile web topics and share works in progress. This quarter, the Mobile SIG meeting is being upgraded to Tech Briefing status for a special presentation by Brian Young (University IT) on the incorporation of Twitter's Bootstrap responsive UI framework into Stanford's official Drupal web themes. In addition, staff from the Lane Library will be on hand to present their new, dedicated mobile website that optimizes catalog searches and quick access to resources commonly used by Stanford's medical community.

Twitter's blog post announcing Bootstrap: http://dev.twitter.com/blog/bootstrap-twitter

Brian Young (University IT)

Anthony Christopher, Lane Library

Microsoft Presents

Come learn about the buzz behind Microsoft 365, Microsoft’s hosted productivity solution that provides a unified workspace for you to communicate and collaborate, enabling you to do your best work without breaking a sweat!
 
In this session, we will demonstrate:
· Communication and Collaboration – an all in one unified workspace
· The new paradigm of productivity – working from/with multiple devices
· Advantages and benefits of an intelligent, cloud-based platform

Video Conferencing at Stanford

Please join us for an overview of University IT's newest service offering - video conferencing!

Video conferencing integrates audio, video, and interactive collaboration tools to create an immersive meeting experience. Globally dispersed meeting participants feel as if they're in the same room. 

University IT staff will provide a demo,  discuss service features and functionality and the many ways  in which video conferencing is being used here on campus.

No Tech Briefing - Join us at Drupal Camp!

Distributed Computing - Folding@home, and Cloud Computing Demo

Join Professor Vijay S. Pande (Chemistry, and by courtesy, Structural Biology and Computer Science) as he details the general history and methodology behind the distributed computing model, how this is a paradigm shift from the mainframe/supercomputer model, and how the Folding@home project utilizes this novel technique.

Using the CPU power and communications abilities of unattended desktop computers throughout the world, the Folding@home project studies protein folding and misfolding. In this method of computer processing, known as distributed computing, different parts of a computer program run simultaneously on two or more computers that are communicating with each other over a network.

By harnessing the power of many machines, researchers are able to analyze far more data than they might have been able to do so otherwise. Indeed, Folding@home was the first machine to pass the petaflop scale and is now is at almost 10 petaflops in performance. The Folding @ Home project runs on any modern computer, including Playstation 3s, and runs only when the computer is otherwise not being used.

There will also be a live demo of StarCluster, an open source cluster-computing toolkit for Amazon's Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2). You will also learn about cloud based applications available to the campus, such as Amazon and others.

- Professor Vijay S. Pande, Chemistry (and by courtesy, Structural Biology and Computer Science)

- Alex Chekholko, University IT

- Phil Reese, University IT

FarmShare - Shared Computing Environment

FarmShare is Stanford's free shared research computing environment, available to anyone with a fully-sponsored SUNetID.

In this session, learn how to get started with FarmShare, see examples of the format, and learn about FarmShare
features, including how it:

- Supports different types of computing tasks
- Maintains locally installed software on each machine
- Provides a selection of software, including popular licensed applications
- Supports long-running, multi-day jobs, as well as parallel processing
(via MPI or OpenMP).
- Includes a resource management and scheduling system (Grid Engine)

More information at http://farmshare.stanford.edu

- Alex Chekholko, University IT

Google Analytics: Search, Social, and Conversion Optimization

This talk will discuss hidden gems of analytical techniques for optimizing your search, social, and online campaigns with a goal toward maximizing some objective function: such as engagement, conversion, or other goals.  Learn from Google Analytics, and other popular and free tools such as Insights for Search, Keyword Tools, etc.

Phil Mui, Ph.D, Group Product Manager for Google Analytics.

UNIX at Stanford

UNIX is the command line operating system that governs the main Stanford file system infrastructure, including all of the content found on the main Stanford web pages. Understanding how UNIX works makes it easier to manage, create content, and manipulate files on the Stanford servers.

In this session, learn basic UNIX commands, file structure and management, as well as some of the most useful and popular tools like:

- File structure/management (mkdir, cd, rm, mv)
- Editors (EMACS and Pico)
- Setting your .login and .project files
- Creating aliases
- Email (Pine, elm, mail, mh)
- Newsreaders (slrn)
- Finding people (finger)
- Finding machines (ping, traceroute)
- Granting access (pts)

Come with questions, and we'll do our best to answer them!

Mark Branom, University IT
Adam Seishas, University IT

Multitasking: How it is changing the way children and adults think and feel  

For those who missed Prof. Cliff Nass' presentation at last spring's IT Open House, we'll show the video of his talk on his team's highly cited research on electronic multi-tasking.  After the video, Dr. Danielle Lottridge, Prof. Nass' Post Doctoral Assistant on the project, will fill us in on the research completed since the spring and answer questions about the video and about current and future research efforts.

- Cliff Nass - Professor, Communication, Stanford University (via video)

- Danielle Lottridge, PhD -  Post Doc, Communication, Stanford University

Mobile devices like the iPhone and iPad have become ubiquitous on campus. Mobile devices are expected to outsell traditional personal computers this year. Unfortunately, many users are unaware of their inherent security risks. Security features common on desktop and laptop computers are inconsistently applied across mobile device platforms. On a laptop, we have come to rely on anti-virus software safeguarding our system, but few mobile devices have such software. While most personal computers on campus are password-protected, few of us configure our mobile phones with a password or PIN to protect it against unauthorized use. And, since mobile devices are easily (and frequently) misplaced, the potential for unauthorized access increases.

This briefing will cover the policy changes regarding mobile devices and the basics of what you can do to protect your device today. We'll also offer a look at the new Stanford Mobile Device Management tool, available nowl. The MDM tool allows you to quickly and easily implement the basic security recommendations.  

SCRIBE: A Document Conversion Platform for Stanford University

 Stanford University now has an online document conversion system transforming files into alternate (and accessible!) formats.

Developed by the Office of Accessible Education, the SCRIBE platform converts text and image-based files, such as PDF, JPEG, TIFF, MS Word, and HTML into text-based formats for use in word processing applications, web browsers, or in apps for mobile devices. SCRIBE also supports the conversion to popular mobile device formats, including ePub, Kindle (mobi), DAISY, and MP3 using high-quality voices.

The service is free to the Stanford community and we need your feedback to plan our future development!

Securing the Road Warrior

Presentation

In an increasingly mobile society where staying connected is key, how can we ensure that our personal and corporate data are protected?

Mark will offer practical advice gleaned from his experience in traveling worldwide as an information security consultant, and seasoned with topics from today's news. 

Topics include:
- mobile devices
- motel and airport business centers
- interacting with the TSA and Customs
- the role of passwords, encryption, and VPNs
- some threats are not electronic…
- what to do when the inevitable happens

Fear, Dread, and Blood-curdling Terror: How to worry about security as much as you want to (or not)

You can fill your whole day reading news about the latest information  security problems, if that's the way you want to spend your time.  In this presentation, David Hoffman of the Information Security Office will talk about some recent highly publicized security topics, how much of a threat they really are, and how you can nevertheless lead a happy life.

FileMaker 11 and FileMaker Go for iOS

FileMaker 11 has some great new features including built-in charting, and the folks from FileMaker will be giving some examples of solutions using these new features.

They'll also be showing FileMaker Go for iOS. FileMaker Go allows you to take your FileMaker files with you on the iPhone and iPad. You can also connect to FileMaker files being hosted with FileMaker Server. Phil and Alexei will discuss the opportunities with this powerful iOS application.

Accessibility and HTML5 - Where are we today?

One of the stated goals of HTML5 is to make it easier for authors to create accessible web content with a minimum of trouble. By employing Universal Design concepts, the next generation of web technologies and content will be more accessible to end users, yet easier to author and implement. But are we there yet?
 
HTML5 introduces a number of new elements & attributes, form controls and other new features that will be of benefit to all users, including those with various disabilities. Yet there remains much controversy and discord over aspects of HTML5 and accessibility, leaving many content authors confused, frustrated and unsure exactly what they should be doing to ensure accessible content.
 
We’ll review the goals, the tools, the support (or lack of) and practical solutions that you should be using today, and what we can expect as we continue to move forward.

John Foliot,
Stanford Online Accessibility Program

soap.stanford.edu

Drupal Modules: The What, When, Where, Why, and especially How
Note: The previously scheduled session, Mobile Data Visualization at Stanford using Roambi, will be rescheduled

This is a practical session covering module basics. Learn what modules are, when to use contributed modules, where to find them, why choose one over another, and —step-by-step— how to install modules in both Drupal 6 and 7. Examples will showcase some of the top contributed modules and how they can improve your site.

Questions answered by this session:
- What are modules?
- When should I use contributed modules?
- Where can I find contributed modules?
- Why should I choose one module over another?
- How do I install modules (step-by-step)?  

Sharon Krossa

Open Source Lab - Open Source Software at Stanford 

Join Mark and Irina as they demonstrate the multitude of Open Source tools available to the Stanford community. Learn about how you can save your department money by using these mostly free tools instead of expensive commercial alternatives. 

VMWare Overview

Virtualization is the creation of a virtual version of things like hardware platforms, operating systems, or other types of devices.

In the past 10 years, virtualization has become a COOL and IMPORTANT way to reduce your carbon footprint.  VMWare is the company that introduced all this cool technology to the world.

Join us to discuss the benefits of cloud computing through virtualization both on the server and desktop side. We hope you leave this session with some idea of how you could apply this type of technology in your workplace.

Apple Presents

Join us for this Briefing as Stanford's Apple representative Wyn Davies gives an update of Apple products.
He will also discuss any new Apple announcements.

Prezi is a mind-mapping presentation tool that, in some cases, is a viable and engaging alternative to linear presentation applications such as PowerPoint and Keynote.

Presentations have not evolved much in the 50 years since the slide was invented, but Prezi is changing that. Prezi lets you bring your ideas into one space and see how they relate, helping you and your audience connect. Zoom out to see the big picture and zoom in to see details — a bit like web-based maps that have changed how we navigate through map books. -- Prezi.com

Mark Branom, University IT

Open Source: OpenOffice.org

Developing for Mobile at Stanford

WordPress at Stanford

Join Mark Branom as he guides you through the WordPress resources on campus, along with a demonstration of installing, creating and editing content, as well as setting permissions and access rights.

Mobile Device Management - Security for your iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch

Ammy Hill, University IT

lynda.stanford.edu Online Training Library: Roadmap to On-Your-Own Learning

Today’s learners face many challenges! But what they want is a learner-centric method that allows them to develop skills, use “best practices”, and benefit personally. With a menu of training resources available on a campus, individual learners want:
•    To access what-they-want, when-they-need-it, just-in-time.
•    To create a learning path that is both customized and focused on problem-solving.
•    To develop a learner-centered strategy that allows each person to create a unique, individualized, learning “roadmap.”

For the learner, this process translates into self-direction, motivation, productivity, purpose and happiness at school, home, or work.

Explore the lynda.com Online Training Library and see how it can “teach” the learner to evaluate where they are now and where they want to go. Identify tool sets, skills, and resources for on-your-own learning. The trick - Make it easy, doable, work every time, and FUN!

Computer Literacy Open Forum

Join us as experts from University IT will be on hand to answer any question you may have about technology, from:

- "What is a blog?"
- "What is AFS and how can I use it?"
- "What's all the hype about security?"

Ask any technology related question. We want to help! 

Mark Branom, University IT
Tim Torgenrud, University IT
Jo-Ann Cuevas-Pagliaro, University IT