Technology!

[polly_mer]

We all have questions, complaints, and concerns here in the 21st century.  What's on your mind?

[waterboy]

Personally, I am getting really tired of learning new versions of Office, a LMS, budgeting software, advising software, and every other imaginable thing the university trots out every year. I cannot keep up.

[fast_and_bulbous]

GPUs. It's all about the GPUs.

Seriously, these things are going take over the computing world. Wait, they already are.

CUDA here I come...

[Vkw10]

Passwords, password reset options, and password management services are all frustrating me this week.

I decided to try the password management service my university is now providing, because I'm tired of keeping track of dozens of passwords. There was a glitch during setup, so now my email is registered but I can't get into the account and finish setup. I'm not interested enough to follow up with tech support.

I'm also frustrated with password reset options, specifically with the questions you answer to verify your identity before you can reset password. Why do most of the systems I use offer such a limited range of questions? Why can't all these things be like my credit union, which let's me enter the questions and answers? I can't tell you what street I lived on in fourth grade, since we moved at least three times that year. Why not let me ask myself: Who is your favorite character in Bujold's novels? What was the second language you learned? Who did you help clean the cemetery where Great Uncle Ervin is buried?

I like technology most days, but I've spent way too much time dealing with password problems this week.

[Hegemony]

Vkw10, you don't have to actually answer the question with the answer.  You can just use the same answer for everything.  E.g. "Scotty."  (Let's say that's your first dog's name, or the person you hated most on Star Trek — just pick a memorable something.)  The system asks you what street you lived on in 4th grade?  Scotty.  Who is your favorite character in Bujold's novels?  Scotty.  Who did you help clean the cemetery where Great Uncle Ervin is buried?  Scotty.  What was the second language you learned?  Scotty.  Just use it for every question for every site, and there you go.

[Kron3007]

I think what bothers me more is how poorly we use technology.  We have grant tracking software, but it is horrible.  We have to maintain multiple CVs for different purposes using different software, why can't we have one?  When I call the bank, I enter my account number, then the operator always asks me for my account number.  Can't they just use the system?  I had to fax something the other day.  What's with that?

So, my issues are not really with technology, rather it's our poor use and integration of it.

[downer]

Is it me, or is MS Office365 and MS OneDrive significantly worse than Google Drive and Docs?

Maybe I am just less used to the MS version but I find it very limited and clunky.

Yet I see a major shift at schools towards implementing Office365 and integrating it with the email systems.

[waterboy]

So...I have an old iPod (generation or two past the click wheel) which is working just fine, but I worry about losing things when it eventually dies. The computer it was originally synced to is long gone and iTunes (now heading for extinction) wants to wipe it clean if I try to sync it with a new version of iTunes. Any ideas? Preferably, I'd like to move it all off to my android phone-don't know how to do that either.

[Hibush]

I think what bothers me more is how poorly we use technology.  We have grant tracking software, but it is horrible.  We have to maintain multiple CVs for different purposes using different software, why can't we have one?  When I call the bank, I enter my account number, then the operator always asks me for my account number.  Can't they just use the system?  I had to fax something the other day.  What's with that?

So, my issues are not really with technology, rather it's our poor use and integration of it.

These examples all seem to fit in the category of database synchronization. It is remarkable how bad different databases are at talking with each other. I find it ironic that we has super sophisticated spyware and ai that can parse all sorts of things, but we don't have simple relational databases any more.

Remember dBase? Hypercard? Access? Filemaker? What if those obsolete pieces of software had kept up and been basic parts of the Apple/MS/Google suite of applications. Each of those examples was software that a typical computer user was expected to master. Now you need to know a lot of back-end stuff to use the database software effectively and it does not integrate easily with your other applications.

[ergative]

I despise the essay-marking software on our CMS. We've been trialling Turnitin as a plagiarism tracker, and I had the glorious experience of using the associated essay-marking function there during one trial, and it was so instinctive and natural. Highlight, click, type a comment. But then I was told that the Turnitin marking function isn't on the table, only the plagiarism tracking. And that's fine, but I really, really hate using our CMS for marking.

[mamselle]

Can you mark it in TII or MSW then import back/save it to the CMS?

Our version of Blackboard was so clunky I did that (using MSW) then just tweaking the misfit stuff.

Much saner.

M.

[paddington_bear]

I have a Lenovo laptop and an iMac (the screen is big).  The iMac is 7 years old and sluggish.  Sometimes I don't think I need two computers, but then again, my laptop is now broken and I won't get it back until next week, so having another computer, not just my iPhone and Kindle Fire, is good. So I was thinking about getting a big monitor to use with my laptop. I could use my laptop at work or on the couch, in trips, etc., and still have a big screen for writing. But I'd need to buy external speakers since a monitor doesn't have tgem, right?  Any other things I'm overlooking?  Any disadvantages?

[eigen]

Personally, I hate carrying things around with me unless necessary.

So I have a small, portable laptop and an iPad pro that I use when I need to be mobile, and a desktop in the office with two nice big monitors.

[paddington_bear]

I rarely need my laptop at work.  I have a desktop in my work office and I print out materials that I need for campus meetings.  Having 2 computers at home seems both excessive and useful. 

[Cheerful]

I haven't used a tablet in years and never for reading student papers.  I'll probably need to do so in the near future.  I'd like to avoid spending hours in Googleland researching "best tablets of 2020."

What are the best tablets with the best screen quality for reading student papers in Word and PDF?   My main concerns:  lack of glare, excellent reading quality, ease of accessing student work.  I know almost nothing about current tablets.  Do Kindles allow you to download student papers?

I am willing to pay more for the best quality.  I do not use Apple products but would consider if quality is an issue and if an Apple would not cause compatibility issues with my PC and/or Android phone.