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Google Chrome, portals and poodles

Wednesday, December 3rd, 2014

At the end of October Google announced plans to disable fall back to version 3 of the SSL protocol in Chrome 39, and remove SSL 3.0 completely in Chrome 40. The decision follows the company’s disclosure of a serious security vulnerability in SSL 3.0 on October 14, the attack it dubbed Padding Oracle On Downgraded Legacy Encryption (POODLE). [SOURCE: www.venturebeat.com]

What does this mean in understandable language?

Some SU webpages were built on the Oracle infrastructure and make use of SSL protocol. This means that, if you use Google Chrome as your default browser, you might have problems accessing certain information. If you go to my.sun.ac.za and want to browse to Sun-e-HR, Exam results, meal reservations, etc. you might not be successful.

However, if you use Firefox or Internet Explorer, you won’t experience any hiccups. Alternatively you can use m.sun.ac.za to access selected options. This is only a temporary issue.

Information Technology will be working on a solution which involves an upgrade of portal software over this weekend. Due to this maintenance, some services will not be available from Saturday, 6 December at 12:00, as well as the whole of Sunday.

Services affected are all portal applications, my.sun.ac.za, Sun-e-HR, etc. OIC will also be down, therefore no payments can be made and the change password functionality will also not be available.

We hope to complete this action as soon as possible and provide a better service to users when it’s completed.

For any enquiries, send e-mail to helpinfo@sun.ac.za or call x4367.

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Would you be able to disconnect?

Friday, October 24th, 2014

Whether it’s an increasing phenomenon or we’re just more aware of it, addictive social media and internet behavior is becoming more prevalent. To such an extent that internet addiction treatment camps are commonplace in China. According to psychiatrist and neuroscience researcher Sean Luo of Columbia University “3.7 to 13 percent of U.S. and 10 percent of South Korean Internet users express some symptoms of inappropriate Internet use.”(http://www.cbsnews.com/news/how-real-a-risk-is-social-media-addiction/)

Last week it was reported that doctors in the USA submitted a man into the US Navy’s substance abuse programme, because he was apparently addicted to Google Glass. He wore the headset for up to 18 hours a day and when it was removed, experienced serious withdrawal symptoms. Even when he was not wearing it, he attempted to tap his right temple, which is where the device is activated. He was diagnosed with internet addiction disorder (IAD).

This isn’t a new phenomenon. In 1996, shortly after internet became part of our lives, internet addiction was already recognised as a possible psychiatric disorder. Even though it’s not officially listed in the latest DSM manual (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders), used by psychiatrists, it has been argued that it should be. Psychiatrists also prefer the term Problematic Internet Use (PUI), avoiding the use of the word addiction. PUI refers to excessive computer use interfering with daily life.

The diagnosis of internet addiction isn’t an easy one as it’s not the medium someone becomes addicted to, but rather the available online content. The internet is merely the platform. It has also been observed that IAD could be a symptom of another underlying disorder, instead of a disorder on it’s own.  Many other related addictions can fall under the general term IAD, for example a gambling addiction, addiction to cyber relationships, online shopping, etc. (more detail on IAD can be found on www.wikipedia.org)

Would you be able to disconnect, even if only for a day? How about trying survive this weekend without Facebook, Twitter or e-mail to start? Imagine how much more time you might have on your hands …

In 2013 Paul Miller, an American Technology Journalist from Springfield, Missouri and senior editor for The Verge decided to disconnect from the hyper-connected world in an attempt to ‘find himself’ and become more productive. He abandoned the internet and disconnected from all Social Media, returning to a life before the net, apps and smartphones. Watch the video below to see what he learnt from the experience.

Other related videos and short films:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z7dLU6fk9QY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OINa46HeWg8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e0H6AzEMHSc

[SOURCES: http://www.zdnet.com; http://www.cbsnews.com, http://www.wikipedia.org]

 

 
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The cloud is coming

Friday, September 26th, 2014

Within the next few months Matie students will be able to send e-mail like never before.

If you’re a regular Twitter user or sometimes wander around in the Neelsie or Library, you’ve probably seen notices referring to the “cloud”. Don’t worry, we’re not talking about the unpredictable Cape weather. On the contrary, this cloud brings good news.

Student numbers have been increasing rapidly over the past few years and with it the need for more e-mail storage space. Up till now student mail has been hosted on the university’s mail servers, but we’re starting to run out of space.

Information Technology has been investigating all the possible solutions and came to the conclusion that Office 365 would be the best choice for student e-mail.

MS Office and Microsoft operating systems are already used in student computer user areas and would integrate seamlessly with this existing technology.

With the e-mail cloud project Stellenbosch University will be entering a new phase for e-mail and although staff e-mail will also eventually be migrated, the biggest need is currently moving student e-mails.

The target date for migration is October, but we will continuously keep students updated on developments through Twitter.

A website will be made available where students can do the migration themselves and start testing the cloud platform. Students can choose when they want to migrate. Those who haven’t migrated by December, will automatically be moved by IT to Office 365 before the end of the year.

But why struggle with limited space, when you can have a whole 50 GB space to your disposal. Office 365 also offers other advantages such as storage space on OneDrive and online access to Microsoft applications like Word, Excel, etc.

If you want to stay updated on the e-mail cloud project, follow us on Twitter at @ITStellenUni or #theitcloud.

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How to make the most of your tablet

Friday, September 26th, 2014

Tablets aren’t cheap, but they definitely are one of the best investments you can make during your time as a student. (read our previous post on buying a tablet and using it for learning)

However, simply buying a tablet and expecting wonders is not enough. You’ll need to make some adjustments to the way you learn to be able to take maximum advantage of your investment.

Specifically, you need to actually integrate your tablet with your learning experience: leave your notepad at home, get all of your class notes digitally and start buying your books in e-book format. It will be difficult at first, and you may question whether it’s all worth it in the end, but once you’ve adapted your workflow to the tablet, you’ll reap the benefits tenfold.

Furthermore, you need to get the best apps for the job. Like computers can run software like Microsoft Word, tablets also have small software packages called “apps”. There are hundreds of thousands of apps available for both iOS and Android – each of these apps performs specific functions and works well in specific contexts. Most apps are cheap (costing below $5 or R50) and can drastically boost your productivity.

For a list of useful iOS apps for students, take a look at this blog article. And for Android, check out this round-up.

TIP: For a guide to buying apps, check out this article for iOS and this one for Android.

Can a tablet replace a computer?

If cost is a big concern for you and you have to choose between a desktop computer/laptop or a tablet, you’ll probably be wondering whether the latter can fully replace the former.

The short answer – at least at the moment – is NO. iPads and Galaxy Tabs (as well other Android devices) are extremely useful and will be able to accomplish mosteveryday tasks that students need to perform, e.g. browsing the web, reading e-mail, accessing a learning management system (e.g. SUNLearn), making notes, etc.

You can even write essays and reports on a tablet (although, for such heavy-duty typing, you’ll probably need to buy an external keyboard as well). However, you won’t be able to run the same software that you can run on a PC or Mac, because the software platforms are different. In other words: if your course requires of you to use specialised software (like a programming IDE or CAD design software), you’ll probably not be able to get away with only a tablet.

While it’s definitely true that a tablet works best if you have a computer/laptop as well, if you have to choose between the two, bear in mind that you can always use the University’s computer centres (e.g. HUMARGA or FIRGA) for specialised software or heavy-duty typing. This might be a good way to avoid having to choose between buying a computer/laptop or a tablet.

Lastly, it should be noted that some Windows-based tablets (e.g. the Microsoft Surface Pro) actually run the same Windows platform that you’ll find on a computer. Technically, then, these tablets are fully-fledged computers in a tablet form and therefore can replace a desktop computer/laptop completely. However, these tablets are expensive and have not been particularly popular, which should make you think twice before buying one.

[ARTICLE BY JOHANNES JONKER]

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Buying a tablet: The choices

Friday, September 5th, 2014

In a previous post we looked at the advantages of tablet-based learning. This time around we’ll investigate the options available when you’re buying a tablet.

While there are many different tablets on the market, they can all be categorised according to the software platform they run. Just like a computer runs on Microsoft Windows, Mac OSX or Linux, a tablet also has a so-called operating system. In choosing a tablet, then, you have three main alternatives:[1]

  1. An iOS-based tablet:
    1. Apple iPad (starting at around R4 500 for an older iPad 2 with WiFi)
    2. Apple iPad Mini (starting at around R3 500 for a first-generation device with WiFi)
  2. An Android-based tablet:
    1. Samsung Galaxy Tab (starting at around R6 000 for an older Galaxy Tab 2 P5100 with WiFi)
    2. Samsung Galaxy Note (costing around R7 000 for a Galaxy Note N7100 with WiFi+3G)
    3. Lower-end alternatives by other companies (costing as little as R1 500)
  3. A Windows-based tablet:
    1. Lenovo and Dell tablets (starting at around R5 000)

The first two groups are by far the most popular. Although many people will argue that an iPad is better than a Samsung Galaxy Tab – or vice versa – choosing between the two is ultimately a matter of taste. However, if you own a smartphone (e.g. an iPhone or a Samsung Galaxy), it makes sense to get a tablet that runs the same software so that you can easily share dataandapps between the two.

If cost is your biggest concern, your best option will be to get a lower-end Android tablet. These tablets should be able to do most things that their Samsung big brother can do, albeit at a slower pace and without some of the enhancements that come with Samsung devices. When buying such a tablet, make sure that the battery life is good (you’ll want at least 8 hours of battery life to get through a full day of classes) and that the tablet has enough storage space (less than 16 GB will fill up rather rapidly).

For detailed specifications on available tablets, click here (downloadable pdf)

TIP: Stellenbosch University is part of the national Student Technology Programme (STP), which offers laptops and tablets at reduced prices. Take a look at their website: www.stp.ac.za. Mid-September new tablets will also be added to the list.

[1] Please note that the listed prices of tablets are merely intended as a general guideline and were current as of January 2014.

[ARTICLE BY JOHANNES JONKER]

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