Blog@Case Topics: case ithttp://blog.case.edu/topics/case%20itGregory Szorcgregory.szorc@case.eduhttp://blog.case.edu/gps102008-05-06T00:12:15ZYuck!http://blog.case.edu/gps10/2008/05/05/yuck2008-05-05T22:38:00Z2008-05-06T00:12:15Z
New www.case.edu designs
This post's title says it all. Please do the university a favor a leave a comment on the survey on how utterly sucktastic the proposed (flash) designs are.
Gregory Szorcgregory.szorc@case.eduhttp://blog.case.edu/gps10I Guess Graduates Pay the Tech Fee Nowhttp://blog.case.edu/gps10/2007/01/29/i_guess_graduates_pay_the_tech_fee_now2007-01-30T02:55:55Z2007-01-30T03:01:39Z
Today's sign that Case's student records system is out of sync with itself is the following 3 lines from my account status report: 
Date        Code     Description             Charges     Credits
01/18/07    TECH     STUDENT TECHNOLOGY FEE  $200.00
01/23/07    TECH     STUDENT TECHNOLOGY FEE              $200.00
01/27/07    TECH     STUDENT TECHNOLOGY FEE  $200.00
I graduated in December. I guess ITS really wants the money for this controversial fee. I really hope Peoplesoft fixes all the little problems like this. Oh, what am I saying? I know that Peoplesoft will just introduce as many problems as it fixes.
Gregory Szorcgregory.szorc@case.eduhttp://blog.case.edu/gps10Confused About My Alumnus Statushttp://blog.case.edu/gps10/2007/01/26/confused_about_my_alumnus_status2007-01-26T07:37:14Z2007-01-26T08:10:59Z
I graduated in December. Up until last week, I had no official notification that I had actually done so. Thankfully, I received an e-mail from Dean Pieri stating my diploma was ready to pick up. Woo-hoo! (I was a little scared they would hold it from me because I did not return my Case ID card, as is required according to the back of the card. I expressed my concern over on the Case Forum.) I was playing around Facebook and saw some of my friends are part of the Case Western Alumni network. I'm still part of the active network. I want in on all the alumni prestige. Not seeing that your status with the university is buried under the "Network" tab as part of your account settings, I figured it wanted me to register an @alumni.case.edu address, like it does for registering with a college in the first place. So, I did a quick search of the Case web sphere for alumni e-mail info. The first hit was http://www.case.edu/alumni/email/. Aside from the site being broken (perhaps it should redirect to this page). I followed the directions and went to https://its-services.case.edu/alumni/alumni-mail-info.html (loved the single sign-on). It told me to go to https://www.case.edu/cgi-bin/cwruser-application-ssl.pl to set my alumni status. Seems easy enough. I follow the link. AAAAGGGGGGHHHHHH!!! Visit the link. You know what I am talking about. After I gained up enough courage to put my SSN into the web form (I've done it so many times at CWRU, I figured what's one more going to risk?), the application chimed back and said I can't be found in the database and I needed to put in more info. Thanks, but no thanks. I'm not going to go through the hassle. For all I know as soon as I submit that form, all my info goes to a laser printer in some forgotten corner of the university. In all fairness to the site operators, I do know a little about what is going on. Someone was kind enough to post the background on the issue. Thankfully, things are being reworked. Anything will be a marked improvement. End of story: I found the setting in Facebook and I still haven't figured out this alumni e-mail thing. I've looked and looked, but I can't find any information. In a broader sense, I have no clue about anything in IT-land as it pertains to my leaving the university. What exactly are by alumni benefits? I know I get e-mail forwarding on @alumni.case.edu for life. Will my primary abc123@case.edu and firstname.lastname@case.edu forward forever as well? If not, what is the grace time and when will I be informed? Most organizations have a termination checklist and reminders sent out before termination occurs. I was hoping I would get one from ITS in December, before I graduated. Now, I'm worried services I still use (primarily e-mail forwarding on my primary @case.edu addresses) will expire and I will be notified without enough time to react accordingly. Jeremy Smith, say it ain't so! Oh, and in case anybody knows what is going on, dump your brain on Email services.
Gregory Szorcgregory.szorc@case.eduhttp://blog.case.edu/gps10Case IT Tech Fee Changes Cominghttp://blog.case.edu/gps10/2006/10/30/case_it_tech_fee_changes_coming2006-10-31T00:46:50Z2006-10-31T02:20:49Z
Changes to the supplemental student tech fee are imminent. I posted a long opinion piece on the Case Forum. If anybody reading has any pertinent information, I encourage them to reply to the post.
Gregory Szorcgregory.szorc@case.eduhttp://blog.case.edu/gps10In My Time at Casehttp://blog.case.edu/gps10/2006/10/25/in_my_time_at_case2006-10-26T04:11:51Z2006-10-26T04:34:30Z
I'm in a nostalgic mood, so I'd figure I'd present a list of my impact on the Case community in the time I metriculated (fall 2002) to present (graduating in December). In no particular order:
  • Principal developer on the Case Wiki
  • Helped roll out CAS, the university's single sign-on service
  • Lots of behind-the-scenes work on configuring LAMP stacks on ITS machines
  • A few scripts on webservices.case.edu
  • Rolled out start.case.edu with Andrew Witte
  • Lots of work for USG - general server guy, finance system
  • SCREW, a visual course evaluation viewing system
  • Started and maintain opensource.case.edu
  • CaseDrupal, a project to provide a Case-specific Drupal install
  • Worked for Undergraduate Admission, where I hopefully contributed to attracting some awesome students
  • Coded a chunk of Case Forums
  • PHP Case Library for interfacing with many services at Case using PHP
  • Raised what I perceived to be important student and university issues on this blog and on the forums
  • Always maintained an open line of communication
  • Loads of house improvement for my fraternity (see galleries 1 and 2)
I'm probably forgetting a few items from the list, but I've got the big time consumers up there. If you can think of anything, please remind me. ;) I encourage all students reading this, both present and future, to do your part in bettering the campus community in any way you can. If you can give computer talent, give that. If you can give time, do philanthropy. If you enjoy influencing policy, join USG. Just please don't hang out in your dorm all day and play WoW. Give back to the community in any way you can. The benefits may not surface immediately nor will they seem to impact you, but I guarantee good will come out of your actions.
Gregory Szorcgregory.szorc@case.eduhttp://blog.case.edu/gps10I Really Want the Course Schedule in XMLhttp://blog.case.edu/gps10/2006/10/25/i_really_want_the_course_schedule_in_xml2006-10-26T03:54:15Z2006-10-26T04:11:23Z
There are few things I want more than Case's course schedule in XML format. Why do I want the course schedule in XML so badly? The very presence of this information is a machine-readable format (we're not talking about convoluted HTML throught the official site) would be the impetus for new services around campus. Here are a few:
  • A new course evaluation system that can easily keep tabs on professors, cross-listed courses, individual students, etc
  • Classes can easily be imported into all types of calendars.
  • Using the geographic positions on the Case Wiki, it would be possible for students to input their course schedule and view a map of their daily walking schedule, complete with estimated times.
I'm sure there would be more, but those are just the ones I can think of now. If you throw in the ability for students to read their DPR in XML, you get all kinds of crazy possibilities. For example, an application that creates a course schedule, but is optimized so you don't have to wake up until 11 or don't have class on Friday. It is simply not enough for data to be on the net. It must be readable in machine form. It is amazing the innovative ideas that stem from just the presence of information. It is a shame we currently don't get to experience those (or at least that many of them) at Case. If only all sites were like the Case Wiki (reasons: 1, 2, 3, 4).
Gregory Szorcgregory.szorc@case.eduhttp://blog.case.edu/gps10What Do Others Think of PeopleSofthttp://blog.case.edu/gps10/2006/10/25/what_do_others_think_of_peoplesoft2006-10-26T03:41:23Z2006-10-26T03:50:36Z
Case is switching to the PeopleSoft Enterprise Campus Solutions to manage student information. I was browsing around Willipedia (Williams College wiki) and found their article on PeopleSoft. Some quotes:
The PeopleSoft system, which students access and operate by their web-browsers, is widely complained about, and many students refer to the system, or the perennial practice of registering for classes through it, as the "PeopleSoft Hell".
Students also complain of the program's speed. Because of the need to click through many menus and buttons to perform even the simplest functions
It is good to see what we have to look forward to. Also, if anybody from Williams is reading, I really like http://wso.williams.edu. Very simple and to the point. I love it. It is so cool that all the social networking services are located under one umbrella.
Gregory Szorcgregory.szorc@case.eduhttp://blog.case.edu/gps10Case Students Portal Savvyhttp://blog.case.edu/gps10/2006/10/25/case_students_portal_savvy2006-10-25T22:42:43Z2006-10-25T22:53:41Z
In the ITS Freshmen Survey, I found this quote:
More than half the students are customizing their MyCase experience (which is very high and suggests a degree of tech savvy that is well above national averages for portal technology.
I thought this was interesting because the Oracle Portal we run here is the most user-unfriendly web software I have ever used. Even I have difficulty figuring out how to customize it. Not that it needs to be customized, as the default layout has everything you would never want to use. I still find it amazing that Oracle, with the billions of dollars that they have, is unable to put together a simple-to-use interface for any piece of software they produce. Surely if two undergraduates can code start.case.edu in their spare time in the course of a week and other portal sites like Pageflakes exhibit the potential of web portals, then Oracle can surely produce something fun to use.
Gregory Szorcgregory.szorc@case.eduhttp://blog.case.edu/gps10Devices Connected to the Networkhttp://blog.case.edu/gps10/2006/10/03/devices_connected_to_the_network2006-10-03T17:26:26Z2006-10-03T17:30:09Z
I was looking around at some of the ITS Dashboard metrics and found something intriguing on the Number of Devices Connected to the Network Metric. At the beginning of the year, there were 13349 devices connected to the network. It reached a peak in June of 24033. Where did these extra 10000+ devices come from? How did we almost double the amount of devices connected to the network in 6 months?
Gregory Szorcgregory.szorc@case.eduhttp://blog.case.edu/gps10When E-mail Lists Go Badhttp://blog.case.edu/gps10/2006/09/07/when_email_lists_go_bad2006-09-07T19:43:12Z2006-09-07T19:45:11Z
I have gotten 4-6 spam e-mails today that were addressed to case-campus@case.edu or case-students@case.edu. Someone, please explain to me how e-mails sent to these addresses are getting passed a moderation queue. Please tell me there is a moderation queue...
Gregory Szorcgregory.szorc@case.eduhttp://blog.case.edu/gps10Roundcube Webmail Client Updatedhttp://blog.case.edu/gps10/2006/08/20/roundcube_webmail_client_updated2006-08-21T00:40:24Z2006-08-21T00:45:24Z
RoundCube, an alternative and very slick webmail interface to your Case e-mail has been updated. New features include LDAP integration, message searching, spellchecking, and numerous bug fixes.
Gregory Szorcgregory.szorc@case.eduhttp://blog.case.edu/gps10Potential for Enhanced Collaboration at Casehttp://blog.case.edu/gps10/2006/07/11/potential_for_enhanced_collaboration_at_case2006-07-11T17:01:17Z2006-07-11T17:04:22Z
Would a service that provides customized web space for groups or individuals to develop content and upload files be useful to the campus community? If you believe so, please read Wiki farm proposal on the Case Wiki and sign your name to the list presented there.
Gregory Szorcgregory.szorc@case.eduhttp://blog.case.edu/gps10More People Talking about Computer Help Documentationhttp://blog.case.edu/gps10/2006/06/13/more_people_talking_about_computer_help_documentation2006-06-13T19:15:37Z2006-06-13T19:33:51Z
I have mentioned computer help documentation in my blog before. With a new help documentation site accessible through the portal looming on the horizon, people are concerned that the solution is not ideal. I have to agree with them. I'm not trying to be a shameless promoter of my product. I'm just trying to raise awareness of what is best for the university. So, read the Case Forum thread, help.case.edu getting replaced and lend your $0.02.
Gregory Szorcgregory.szorc@case.eduhttp://blog.case.edu/gps10Slow Internethttp://blog.case.edu/gps10/2006/05/03/slow_internet2006-05-03T23:58:48Z2006-05-04T00:00:25Z
Ever wonder why the internet is so slow at Case? Please take your frustration up with the people on the list at http://tisstats.case.edu/net/netstats/netflowstats/. Please leave all comments at this Case Forum Thread.
Gregory Szorcgregory.szorc@case.eduhttp://blog.case.edu/gps10That Don't Make No Sensehttp://blog.case.edu/gps10/2006/04/04/that_dont_make_no_sense2006-04-05T01:36:27Z2006-04-05T01:41:40Z
In today's edition of That Don't Make No Sense, we look at VPN at Case. An ITS news release last month announced that the VPN client is now available through the Software Center. OK, cool. There is one problem though. If you are off-campus, you must be connected to VPN to use the Software Center. That don't make no sense. Luckily, the VPN client is still available at vpnsetup.case.edu.
Gregory Szorcgregory.szorc@case.eduhttp://blog.case.edu/gps10Student Affairs Weather Datahttp://blog.case.edu/gps10/2006/03/24/student_affairs_weather_data2006-03-24T16:41:43Z2006-03-24T16:56:04Z
I just saw the new Student Affairs weather applet at http://studentaffairs.case.edu/living/resources/weather/. Things like this are no good to me unless there is XML available. Well, Query http://studentaffairs.case.edu/living/resources/weather/wdlconfig.xml to get an XML document of the config for the weather applet. It takes a parameter, "nocache" whose value appears to be the current UNIX timestamp out to two decimal places. This config will provide some insight into how things operate. To get the actual data, query http://studentaffairs.case.edu/living/resources/weather/clientraw.aspx. This document also takes the "nocache" paramater and the value is also the UNIX timestamp. The later link is the one that actually returns the data. The data is formatted as a string with spaces separating the data values. There are no labels to describe what field belongs to what, but it shouldn't be that difficult to decipher. It might be possible to open up the flash applet in an editor and see how it processes the data return. Why XML was not used to transfer data, I do not know. Other links of interest are http://studentaffairs.case.edu/living/resources/weather/clientrawextra.aspx and http://studentaffairs.case.edu/living/resources/weather/clientrawdaily.aspx. Both also take the "nocache" attribute. This is a really cool applet. For $25, I am not complaining. Still, XML would have been so nice. Oh well. By the way, the data in the table on the bottom actually comes from the Weather Channel's SOAP api. However, Wade Commons' real-time data is invaluable. I must have it.
Gregory Szorcgregory.szorc@case.eduhttp://blog.case.edu/gps10Student Affairs Weather Datahttp://blog.case.edu/gps10/2006/03/24/student_affairs_weather_data2006-03-24T16:41:43Z2006-03-24T16:56:04Z
I just saw the new Student Affairs weather applet at http://studentaffairs.case.edu/living/resources/weather/. Things like this are no good to me unless there is XML available. Well, Query http://studentaffairs.case.edu/living/resources/weather/wdlconfig.xml to get an XML document of the config for the weather applet. It takes a parameter, "nocache" whose value appears to be the current UNIX timestamp out to two decimal places. This config will provide some insight into how things operate. To get the actual data, query http://studentaffairs.case.edu/living/resources/weather/clientraw.aspx. This document also takes the "nocache" paramater and the value is also the UNIX timestamp. The later link is the one that actually returns the data. The data is formatted as a string with spaces separating the data values. There are no labels to describe what field belongs to what, but it shouldn't be that difficult to decipher. It might be possible to open up the flash applet in an editor and see how it processes the data return. Why XML was not used to transfer data, I do not know. Other links of interest are http://studentaffairs.case.edu/living/resources/weather/clientrawextra.aspx and http://studentaffairs.case.edu/living/resources/weather/clientrawdaily.aspx. Both also take the "nocache" attribute. This is a really cool applet. For $25, I am not complaining. Still, XML would have been so nice. Oh well. By the way, the data in the table on the bottom actually comes from the Weather Channel's SOAP api. However, Wade Commons' real-time data is invaluable. I must have it.
Gregory Szorcgregory.szorc@case.eduhttp://blog.case.edu/gps10www.case.edu Gets RSS and ATOMhttp://blog.case.edu/gps10/2006/03/03/wwwcaseedu_gets_rss_and_atom2006-03-03T17:34:53Z2006-03-03T17:37:15Z
Case's front page, www.case.edu looks to now be using this blog system for news publishing. The ATOM 1.0 and RSS 2.0 feeds are even linked in the page header, so you should have no trouble subscribing in your favorite news reader. This is awesome!
Gregory Szorcgregory.szorc@case.eduhttp://blog.case.edu/gps10Update Your Home Pages, start.case.edu is Herehttp://blog.case.edu/gps10/2006/03/01/update_your_home_pages_startcaseedu_is_here2006-03-01T05:42:54Z2006-03-01T08:27:19Z
I've been a hermit the last few weeks working with Andrew Witte on SIS's latest service, start.case.edu. Although only a technology preview, it already has the potential to be useful to many at Case. So, get ready to experience AJAX at its best. Did I mention the source code is available under a non-restrictive license? So, if you feel compelled, contribute some widgets and we'll put them up. Have a suggestion or want to report a bug? Use the project tracker iterface. Simple documentation is availble in the Start article on the Case Wiki.
Gregory Szorcgregory.szorc@case.eduhttp://blog.case.edu/gps10Update Your Home Pages, start.case.edu is Herehttp://blog.case.edu/gps10/2006/03/01/update_your_home_pages_startcaseedu_is_here2006-03-01T05:42:54Z2006-03-01T08:27:19Z
I've been a hermit the last few weeks working with Andrew Witte on SIS's latest service, start.case.edu. Although only a technology preview, it already has the potential to be useful to many at Case. So, get ready to experience AJAX at its best. Did I mention the source code is available under a non-restrictive license? So, if you feel compelled, contribute some widgets and we'll put them up. Have a suggestion or want to report a bug? Use the project tracker iterface. Simple documentation is availble in the Start article on the Case Wiki.
Gregory Szorcgregory.szorc@case.eduhttp://blog.case.edu/gps10