Questions

I’m currently meeting all of my needs running Windows 95 with Office 97.  Will I be required to upgrade?  Why?

Users will be encouraged to move to the new standard, because obsolete software and hardware may not be supported by ITS.

Reasons for upgrading can be version-based (because it’s new) or need-based (because a new feature is needed).
The cost of maintaining an old system must be balanced against the cost of upgrading to a new system.

Application software that I must use is not compatible with the standard.  Will I still be required to use the standard?

No; however, ITS support for non-standard desktops may not be available.

My hardware does not meet the minimum requirements for running the standard.  Will I have to upgrade my hardware?  If so, how will the upgrade be paid for?

The ideal goal is to have every user at the baseline.  Minor upgrades such as additional memory or larger hard drive will often allow older machines to run the baseline software.  For the current baseline a Pentium III class processor running at 500MHz and 512MB of memory is the minimum recommendation.

It will probably not be cost effective to upgrade machines with Pentium or Pentium II class processors.  These machines are typically 5 or more years old and should be replaced with newer machines.

I listen to news (music) on an Internet radio station.  Will I still be able to do this?

It depends on the application that you are using.  One fact to keep in mind is that even the “best behaved” steaming audio applications will consume up to 128KB/sec of bandwidth.  This means that each 10 people who listen to streaming audio may consume 3.5% of NDSU’s available bandwidth.

Will I still have administrator rights on my machine?

End users may request administrator rights.  Typical end users do not need and by default will not be given administrator rights.  However, end users who request administrator rights will be expected to shoulder greater responsibility for the maintenance of their desktop.

What are administrator rights?

With the introduction of Windows 2000 and Mac OS X, desktop operating systems included support for multiple users (accounts/logins) on a single computer.  Included is a distinguished user (administrator) with privileges necessary to add other users, install software and make other system-level changes.

Having access to administrator privileges without sufficient training can lead to many problems:

   1.  Improperly installing software leading to system instability.
   2  Inadvertently enabling/disabling services or changing settings that lead to a compromise of system security.
  3.  Accidentally deleting/modifying critical files which cause the system to stop operating or result in the loss of data.

What if the software that I need to use isn’t listed?

Other software can be added to the maintianed productivity software list.  A process will be established that will allow end users to request that ITS test a new software application.

The intent of the baselines is to improve information technology support across campus.  Key to improving support is shifting the thinking of both end users and ITS personel from problem fighting to problem prevention.  A primary objective of the baseline is to have each new software application tested by ITS before it is deployed.

Can software change service classes?

Yes.  It is expected that software will migrate between the service classes in response to the changing needs of the end users.

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