Welcome to the Meyer Tech Desk

Group Project? Use These Collaborative Tools!

2010-02-28T17:39:00.000-08:00

With the reinvention of Area 220 [see this post] as a team space on the 2nd Floor of Meyer Library, it's high time we presented some collaborative web tools for use in conjunction with the space [in addition to those mind-blowing whiteboard walls]. And with that, I will also introduce our new blog contributor and Team Leader, Peter, giving us the inside scoop on Drop Box.

Working Together on Google Docs

Google Docs offers everything you'd need for a basic Office suite. The catch is it's all online, so you don't have to empty your wallet for a new copy of Microsoft Word [although Open Office is a fantastic open-source alternative]. You can create word documents, spreadsheet, Powerpoints, and polls that populate a spreadsheet and output graphs. Files can be saved as txt, rtf, pdf, doc, html, and odt, as well as directly printed from Google Docs.

Recently added features include the ability to upload files [limit of 1 GB for all uploaded files] to Google Docs "as is" in addition to converting your documents to the Google Doc format and the ability to organize files into folders.

Oh, and did I mention that it autosaves like you wish you did? That autosave on Google Docs is also unlikely to get lost on your hard drive, and if you have so many Google Docs you can't keep track of them all, Google's search algorithm will find it for you.

That's just scratching the surface of Google Docs. You can share your documents or even entire Google folders with other people simply by emailing them [presuming they have a Gmail account]. There are permissions controlling who can edit or simply view the document, and multiple people can have the same document open and edit it simultaneously as well as watch it update with other peoples' edits. Once in a while you'll "lose" the update battle, but the algorithm is pretty good at preserving everybody's additions. On top of simultaneous editing capabilities, there is also a chat box in the upper right corner by which you can Gchat to one another should you not be in the same room as your collaborators, and when you're the only one looking at the document, you can send them a message under the Share menu.

Google Wave

The lovechild of Google Docs, Gchat, and Gmail, Google Wave is the next generation of Google's suite of collaborative tools. It is currently an invitational-only beta. There are two panes to worry about: the middle one which tracks all your Waves, and the rightmost one which tracks the wave you are currently looking at. The leftmost pane will remind you most of Gmail, and indeed, each wave is like a threaded conversation, only instead of sitting on your email and hitting reply every few minutes, you are part of an IM chat room that is always open. Google Wave is most useful, I think, when at least two people are on so their ideas can interact in real-time, and so I like to call the IMs "thought bubbles."

One of the nice features of Google Wave is "playback," which allows you to recover information or watch the progress of ideas, much like the revision history of Google Docs, but in a slightly more intuitive fashion. The IM chatroom-style organization of Google Docs is also nice because you can see who contributed what and when, so that if you have a question about a revision you know exactly who to ask [or blame]. A nice way to organize a Google Wave is to figure out what you want to produce, make one main "thought bubble" dedicated to it, and chat and edit the main bubble as you go. I've used Google Wave to organize people to plan events and produce documents when our schedules or the weather doesn't allow us to meet in person.

I will remind you that it is in beta, so there are a few bugs and features wanting, but you can offer your feedback in the upper right hand corner. Interested? Find a friend with Google Wave and ask them to invite you!

Coupa Café now at Meyer

2010-01-14T10:40:00.000-08:00

A fancy automagic espresso machine has made its first appearance inside of Meyer 1st Floor. You can now get nearly unlimited cups of your favorite piping hot espresso, decaf espresso, americano, cappuchino, hot chocolate, café mocha, or café latte. Coupa Café certifies that it is full of organic and free-trade goodness as well.

All you have to do to get started is dig in your wallet to find a card with certain symbols on it that say things like "VISA", "MC", "Discover", or "AMEX." Just one swipe, and PRESTO! Coffee comes to the rescue, whether you need a pick-me-up after class or it's 4 in the morning. Further instructions are posted on the machine. And just in case you make a big mess, the machine is conveniently located right next to the bathrooms. In fact, the nook in the wall almost makes it seem like it was always meant to be there. Actually, wait, didn't there used to be a water fountain there?

Machine out of caffeine juice or ate your credit card? Call 650-200-3113 for problems.

Let us know what you think about the new expresso machine!

New School Year, New Equipment

2009-09-16T14:26:00.000-07:00

Happy New Academic Year at Stanford! Many of our faithful readers may already be aware of the impressive inventory of equipment available for checkout at the Meyer Tech Desk. We've gone ahead and added some additional gadgets to our collection just in time for the new year. Check them out!

Dell m409wx DLP Projectors are always popular for presentations and movie/gaming events. Accepts video input from VGA, HDMI, S-Video, and Composite (RCA) video. Comes with a VGA cable and convenient carrying case.

Flip Ultra HD camcorders fit conveniently in your pocket and record 60 minutes of 720p HD video. Use the built-in USB plug to connect it to your computer and it will be detected as an external hard drive containing videos encoded using the H.264 codec.

Canon Vixia HF20 HD camcorders store full HD video in either the built-in 32GB flash memory or on SDHC cards (not included). Use USB to connect it to your computer and it will be detected as an external hard drive containing videos encoded using the AVCHD codec. (Note: Standard hot-shoe mounted mics like the Rode Shotgun mic will not fit on its Mini Advanced Accessory Shoe.)

Rode Shotgun microphones are a professional choice for getting high quality audio. Hook them up to camcorders with an accessory hot shoe for best results. (Currently,
they work best with our Canon HV30 HD camcorders.)

Proline tripods are high-quality units for keeping your shots steady. We recommend using a tripod whenever possible to improve your videos unless you're trying to simulate an earthquake.

LG DVD Burners are perfect for people who have Netbooks or MacBook Airs who need to read or write CDs and DVDs. (Note: Burners will most likely not play a video DVD without a software DVD player installed on your computer.)

Sony MP3 Recorders can store over 11 hours of recorded audio in MP3 format. They also have a mic-in port for optimal recording quality.

Iomega 320GB USB hard drives are almost small enough to fit in your pocket, and they fit a ton of stuff! Use it to store a big project short term or backup your computer's contents before doing a system restore. (Note: USB hard drives cannot be used for editing iMovie 09 projects.)

Finally, we suspect hordes of patrons will crowd their way into Meyer for a chance to check out the awesome Creative Extigy SB0130 External USB Sound Card. This amazing feat of engineering crams the following features into one slick little package: High Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR) exceeding 100dB using high linearity, low distortion 24-bit converters with resolutions of up to 96kHz. Digital-to-Analog Converter (DAC) for 6-channel analog speaker & headphone output. Supports Sony/Philips Digital Interface (SPDIF) format input signal. Hardware Digital Signal Processor (DSP) for precise sampling rate conversion, Creative Multi-Speaker Surround (CMSS), 3D audio algorithm processing, digital mixing or bass management; as well as accurate Dolby Digital processing. Total Harmonic Distortion + Noise at 1kHz (A-Weighted) = 0.006%. All we can say is, "Wow."

As usual, loans of all items are free for the first overnight checkout period, and then a $10/item/day rental fee or $15/item/day late fee after that. For more info, see our Equipment Checkout policies.

The Week in Review 5/21 - 5/27

2009-05-28T16:00:00.000-07:00

Meyer Tech Desk News

Need a Group Study Space? Then Area 220 is the place to be!

After having been blocked off for several weeks, Area 220 is now back in commission. New features include round tables, chairs, nifty futuristic-looking furniture, and floor-to-above-your-head whiteboard walls. That's right, you can write on the walls! There are markers and microfiber cloths available for use in conjunction with the whiteboard. Area 220 has also been designated as a group study space, so the buzz of intelligent conversation is expected and welcomed. Consequently, if you are looking for a quiet niche, this is probably not the best place to go. Like most services in Meyer, Area 220 is available on a first-come, first-serve, and reservations are not available.

Please email any comments or suggestions to studyspaces(@)rescomp(.)stanford(.)edu.

Yes, you can write on the walls!

Funky modernist industrial furniture.

(He's doing it wrong...)

The Week in Review (5/21 - 5/27)

Busiest Day
Wednesday - 27%
Tuesday - 27%
Thursday - 20%

Busiest Shift
3 - 4 PM - 10%
1 - 2 PM - 10%
2- 3 PM - 10%

"Busiest" Consultant
Peter - 27%
Shannon - 12%
Tim - 7 %

Consultants, this is shameful. No single consultant should be responsible for nearly a third of all logs during the week. Log your interactions!

Most Frequent Interaction
Equipment Checkout - 51%

Interactions of the Week
5/21
Rockstar consultant Peter updated the Apple video adapter display to include the new generation and flavors of Macbooks.

5/21
my rcc can't fix my internet.
how old is the laptop? new
what are you running? vista
well there's your problem.
(the broadcast flag needed to be set to 1. the rcc in question will receive ninety verbal lashes and a raised disapproving eyebrow)

Happy 100th Post! And Happy Valentine's Day! And Happy 1234567890 Day!

2009-02-13T13:21:00.000-08:00

Just when Stanford was getting settled into this California weather groove, you know, when it NEVER rains, the clouds rush in on the heels of a cold and wet front, leaving the turf rather squishy and tattooing bikers, bumper-less or not, with rather unfortunate mud stripes. But no matter. Tomorrow is Valentine's Day! Despite numerous face-lifts and renovations, Green and Meyer Libraries have been eyeing each other for years and finally have the courage this year to swap Valentines!

Through the cumulative efforts of a long lineage of faithful Meyer Tech Desk bloggers, we have reached one hundred posts! W00t! And for one last geek plug, today is 1234567890 Day! Unix time reached the landmark time of 1234567890 seconds, which is the number of seconds since January 1, 1970.

(Screenshot courtesy of Wito)

And now for the Week in Review.

Busiest Day
Wednesday - 23%
Saturday - 19%
Tuesday - 18%

Busiest Shift
2 - 3 PM - 11%
6 - 7 PM - 10%
1 - 2 PM - 8%

"Busiest" Consultants
Yin - 10%
Shannon - 9 %
WillA - 8%

Last Month's Top Logger
WillA - 10% of all of January's posts
Most Frequent Interaction
Equipment Check-Out - 48%

Interactions of the Week

Feb 7
Emily
7:20 PM: Patron: I just checked out this camcorder, and I can't get it to work
Emily: Apparently, you are missing a tape.
7:30 PM Sold: two mini dv tapes

Feb 11
WillA
11:00 AM - I learned to cut things, particularly posters!
Michael
10:20 PM - i'm still here but not much is happening.
[This post was followed by a sudden flurry of activity. Be careful what you wish for]

And So the School Year Begins . . .

2008-09-26T15:24:00.000-07:00

The Meyer Tech Desk is proud to offer our users an array of new services and equipment under our new checkout program for the school year.

The Tech Desk's Hottest New Toys

Projectors - We have Dell m409WX projectors for equipment checkout. They may be small and cute, but they pack a lot of punch too! Each projector comes with an AC power adapter and a VGA cable in a nifty carrying bag. These projectors also have an HDMI port and project in beautiful widescreen. Suitable for class presentations and dorm movie nights!

High-Definition Camcorders - We now stock Canon Vixia HV30 Camcorders which will record in stunning 1080i HD resolution (1920 x 1080 pixels). These are not for the faint of heart! With great quality comes great storage-eating capabilities. A project recorded in HD will take up four times as much disk space as regular DV footage, so beware. (One hour of HD footage will take about 50GB of space.) Most users only need our normal camcorders, so you must ask specifically for HD if you need it.

And finally, after Kenneth demonstrated this cute little device over a year ago. . .

Mini-Camcorders - We have Flip Video Ultra VGA Camcorders. They record at VGA resolution (640 x 480 pixels), as compared with the 720x480 resolution you get with the standard miniDV camcorders we offer. However, These Flips are pocket-sized and can be directly plugged into the USB port of any computer for file transfer! How cool is that? Ask us for a demo.

The New Deal: The Meyer Tech Desk Checkout Policies 2008

Ever needed a camcorder for more than a day, but had to turn it in because of the one-day only checkout policy? We now offer Extended Checkouts!

Anything you checkout normally from the Tech Desk is still due back by closing time of the next business day. However, now if you want to rent it for longer, you can pay up front for an Extended Checkout. It's $10/day for each piece of equipment you need beyond the initial free day, so plan carefully! Overdues will be result in a $15 fee per day per item.

Example: Qianwen wants to checkout a Flip Video Camcorder for her ski trip to Lake Tahoe. She checks out the camcorder on Friday morning, and won't be back on campus until Monday. She gets one free day (Friday to Saturday) and then pays $20 up front for Sunday and Monday. If she did not pay for an Extended Checkout, she would be fined $15 per overdue day, resulting in $30 of fines by the time she returns the equipment.

Next week, we'll be introducing some new faces at the Meyer Tech Desk. Stay tuned!

Why is everything crashing?!

2008-05-16T10:01:00.000-07:00

Every so often it happens that a visibly flustered patron comes up to desk and complains that the cluster Mac she's been using is extremely slow and programs are crashing on it left, right and center. In nine out of ten cases, this is because said patron's AFS space, i.e., the meager 200 megabytes of online storage Stanford provides to students (in 2008!), is full, which usually causes Macs to go completely haywire. So, if your Mac is going haywire because your AFS is full and you want to find out how to clean it up to recover space, follow the instructions below.

The Finder Way

The first step is to log on to a Mac, open a Finder window and click on your home folder in the sidebar (unless you're already there). Most Macs open Finder windows in Icon View by default and you will need to switch to Column View, either by using the keyboard shortcut Command-2 or by clicking the icon in the toolbar, in order to see where all the space is being taken up. After doing that, the Finder window should look something like this:

Of course, the problem here is that, since everything is a folder, all the file sizes come up as "--", so we still don't know where all the space is going! This is easily remedied by selecting Show View Options from the View menu and checking the "Calculate all sizes" box. Finder should now start calculating the size for each folder one by one. The last thing to do would be to sort the list by the Size column by clicking on it, so that you can quickly locate the culprit taking up the most space, like this:

Also, if you want to see what files within a certain folder are taking up the most space, instead of double-clicking on the folder, click on the arrow to the left of its name, which will open it up within the same view, like this:

The Terminal Way
As it turns out for a lot of tasks, there is often a faster way to do something if you use the command-line, so if you're comfortable using the Terminal on the Mac or SecureCRT on Windows, here's a command that lists all the files and folders inside the current folder with their total sizes: du -hs *

Using the du command, the output looks something like this on the same home folder you saw in examples above:

And just a quick reminder - checking AFS space on Macs is simple with Joe's App. Alternatively just open terminal and type in "fs lq."

Happy Spring Cleaning!

Week in Review, Nov 6 - 13

2007-11-13T16:09:00.000-08:00

Have you ever lost an important data file? A hard drive full of them? Then pay attention to this week's blog...

Backing It Up!
A Quick Guide to Backing Up Your Own Hard Drive

Memory is getting increasingly cheap so users are left with fewer and fewer excuses not to back up their important files (if not their entire hard drives).

Macs

- If you upgrade to Leopard, simply enable Time Machine to regularly backup your files

- For earlier versions of OS X, this website provides some step by step information as well as suggesting alternate backup programs. However, if you don't want to worry about missing a few random files with backup, investing in Leopard and having a complete record of your data might be worthwhile.

PCs

- For Windows XP, this website provides a pretty good walk-through of how to back-up both manually and automatically. Automatically is often more oriented towards stationary desktops permanently attached to external drives -- but can still be used with laptops. I'd also amend that 40gb external hard drives are no longer that big (it's hard to even buy one that small). In the unfortunate even that you've lost your Windows CD, manual back-up or using another program are probably your best alternatives.

- For Windows Vista, this official website seems to follow a similar walk-through patten for using automatic back-up.

A few general notes...

- Try to keep organized files so you know that you are actually backing up all your data. ESPECIALLY if you do it manually -- you don't want to find out that the one file you actually needed was in another folder.

As for data loss stories, have any consultants lost data in an interesting way? Laptop stolen? Computer suffered water damage? Strong magnets? To start us off, I lost a good bit of data off a hard drive in high school when the family computer refused to turn on one morning. That day, my mom was on the phone with tech support and a small fire actually started in our computer.

Consultant-Client Interactions (Nov 6 – Nov 13):

Total Interactions: 513

Top Categories:

Equipment Checkouts: 219
Directions and Info: 71
Printer Issue/Refill: 46

Nov 7, 4:20pm Do you rent projectors?
Note: Since this gets asked a lot, I thought I'd elaborate a bit on our typical "nope" response. While Meyer does not provide services for renting projectors there are several places that do. RCCs have access to them through rescomp, residential staffs have access to them through their residential offices, and departments have their own as well. If all these resources fail, there is Stanford Event Services. While starting at $150 for two hours is far from cheap, it's good to keep in mind if all other alternatives fail.

Nov 13, 2:50pm Looking up Meyer Items Online
Note: If you want to see what we check out, you can simply check out our wiki, if you want to see what's in that's slightly more complicated. While you can search for availability status using Socrates, it's not something I would typically recommend. For example, searching "Camcorder" gives you Meyer's typical mini-DV camcorder as the ninth hit. Click on the entry and note that it lists 10 camcorders, one of which was due last spring. At the moment it claims 4 camcorders are on the shelves but none actually are there. Unfortunately, the only sure-fire way to figure out availability is to come in.

Super VHS

2007-11-08T16:15:00.000-08:00

Remember back in the days of floppies? Or when you used a zip disk if you had a particularly large file? Well from the vault of technologies no longer used we bring you...

THE SUPER VHS

Introduced in 1987 by JVC, the Super VHS (or S-VHS), raised quality standards from 240 to 420 lines per picture (compared to standard TV at 500). To the untrained eye an S-VHS tape looks just like a standard VHS tape - unfortunately they don't all play in the same VCRS (as we learned this past week with a patron who had exclusively S-VHS tapes he needed to digitize). To tell the difference you actually need to flip the tapes over.

The main difference can be boiled down to one hole on the bottom of the tape. Consumers soon realized that a standard VHS tape could be used in a S-VCR if simply modified by drilling a hole -- by some reports this practice even increases tape quality. Instances of altering S-VCRs to make this hole unnecessary also occurred. Many models of S-VCRs now support playing standard tapes.

The format has mostly fallen out of favor (and never caught on as some had hoped) but, as with formats like floppies, we're left with the vestiges of s-VHS in that people still need to access data stored on them.

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
* If a VHS tape won't play for any apparent reason, check to see if it is an S-VHS.

* If it is, encourage the patron to use the black JVC decks. These are the only decks on the floor that will play S-VHS.

Fun Fact:

S-VCRs were one of the first pieces of hardware to use S-Video cables leading many to believe the "S"s stood for the same thing. In fact, the S in S-VHS stands for "Super" while the S in S-Video stands for "separated."

SULAIR Open House: Afterglow

2007-10-19T10:49:00.001-07:00

Thanks for everybody who came by the SULAIR Open House on Wednesday! Our Team Leaders and consultant Vincent came out to tell one and tell all about the fantastic services we provide through the Meyer Tech Desk and Multimedia Studio. To say the least, we were startled by the number of people who came by the booth. Check out our display! (And look out for our volunteer's cool new t-shirts, at a Tech Desk near you!)

We got a chance to talk about what I call the Big 3: Tech Desk Consulting, Equipment Checkout, and Full-Service Poster Printing. In addition to that, we had demo of a miniDV camcorder importing a live video feed into a Macbook via iMovie. It's the best of both worlds -- on-the-fly import as well as a tape backup! We also had a Wii set up -- I think we got about as many questions about the Wii as we did about Multimedia Studio Tours! Even Rich got in on the Wii Bowling action.

For giveaways, we treated our guests with Apple Remotes! (No, they are not the old iPod Shuffle!) Many people were pleasantly surprised when they learned what it was for. These handy little helpers are great for activating Front Row on your Intel Mac, as well as for shuffling through songs on our docked iPod. Did you pick up an Apple Remote?

Our Stucomp friends Surajit and Ethan also stationed the official Stucomp and Rescomp tables. Here you can see that they are definitely deep in thought.

Did you see our banners? "I was already feeling pretty stressed with the last-minute preparations for this once-in-a-lifetime event, so when I realized we didn't have a cool banner, I nearly went bonkers. Instead, I opted to express myself through a gritty depiction of the Meyer Tech Desk and Multimedia Studio," Kenneth explained to himself as he wrote this post. And what do you know? They are here just in time for Halloween.

Thank you to all of the participants who took our 5-minute survey. We may release some of the hard data once we've had a chance to process it, but in the meantime, check out some of the comments and suggestions about our services and facilities:

+ I have only been here for a month. Haven't really gotten a chance to utilize the plethora of resources at Meyer.
+ I feel I get to more about the lib. through this survey:).
+ Great demo/sample table at the open house; kudos!
+ there the very best in the world!!!!

Finally, what everybody's been waiting for: The Raffle Results! We will be sending an email out to the following people who have won a prize from the Meyer Raffle (in no particular order): Carlee B, Caleb C, George S, Hai W, Julie N, Judith P, Kevin S, Matthew S, Nuriya J, and Shelley F. Congratulations! Our Prize Bin includes Apple iLife 08, Apple iWork 08, $50 poster print coupons, a Stanford wrist watch, and USB memory drives, among other prizes! Please come to the Meyer Tech Desk to pick up your prize. Supplies are limited, so the sooner you get here, the better the prize selection!

Audacity: Quick Answers

2007-06-07T14:56:00.000-07:00

And now, a little break from the fascinating world of file transfers...

In today's post, we're going to cover some frequently answered questions about a popular audio editing application called Audacity.

Okay, the reality is that we don't get too many questions in general about Audacity because it is so easy to use. But if someone (like me) was forced to come up with some questions about the application, these would be what I'd ask:

Q. Where can I find Audacity?
A. Audacity is installed on all of the computers in Meyer, Tresidder, and the residential clusters. It is also available for free download and use on your own computer from http://audacity.sourceforge.net/

Q. How can I learn to use Audacity?
A. The best way to learn it is probably the hands-on approach. If you want to work on a sample project, try going to our Audacity wiki page and download the source files under the Workshop section to your computer. Then open up the downloaded file, import the vocal, music, and sound effect files into a new Audacity project!

Q. Where should I save my project?
A. Audacity projects get really big really fast, so make sure you're saving to the User Space or Temporary Storage if you're using a cluster computer. If you accidentally save things to the Documents folder or your Home folder, it will fill up your AFS space really fast and you will start getting weird errors.

Q. How do I add tracks to the project?
A. Open Audactiy and select Project --> Import Audio. All audio file imports are given their own new track.

Q. What can I do with the selection tool?
A. Click and drag in a track to make a selection. Then, you can duplicate that part to another track. Or select part of a track and apply an Effect. You can even select and move multiple tracks at once.

Q. What is the envelope tool?
A. You can make an envelope around a track to control the volume of the track. It enables you to create a smooth fade in and fade out and muting effects in your audio.

Q. How do I use the draw tool?
A. Uhh... This is an advanced tool that's frankly difficult to explain in words. You'll have to figure it out by experimenting. =]

Q. How do I use the zoom tool?
A. Zoom in and zoom out (with the shift key) of your project tracks to see more or less audio detail.

Q. How do I use the time shift tool?
A. This is the basic "move" tool in Audacity. For example, when you import a sound effect file, you can shift the sound effect horizontally in time to make it "fit" with something in a music/spoken track.

Q. How do I use the multitool?
A. You get to figure this one out. It can supposedly replicate all of the other tools' functions with the right keyboard combinations.

Q. How do I only listen to one track out of many tracks?
A. Click the Solo button on the left panel of the track(s).

Q. How do I temporarily mute one track out of many tracks?
A. Click the Mute button on the left panel of the track(s).

Q. When should I export to MP3 instead of the Audacity project format?
A. Remember that exporting to WAV or MP3 will "flatten" all of your project's audio tracks (to use a term from Photoshop), and it will also compress your audio, which degrades the quality each time you do it, so exporting as MP3 should be one of the very last steps in the production of an audio project.

Q. How do I export to MP3?
A. You must make sure you've downloaded the LameLib file linked from http://audacity.sourceforge.net and that it is selected under Audacity --> Preferences --> File Formats --> MP3 Export Setup. Then go to File --> Export as MP3.

Q. Wher can I get more help on Audacity?
A. A pretty good overview is located at
http://www.transom.org/tools/editing_mixing/200404.audacity.html

The official Audacity wiki is good too:
http://audacityteam.org/wiki

And if there continue to be things you don't know, please write to consultants@lists.stanford.edu so that the MMS consultants know what issues aren't covered by this tutorial.

See you next time!

Tips and Tricks for Transferring PART III: Using Target Disk Mode on Macs

2007-06-05T21:20:00.000-07:00

Overview:
Using target disk mode is quick and easy way to transfer files of any size between two Macs. This handy trick can save you lots of time when transferring large files. In this example, we assume that you want to transfer a file from a Mac in the Multimedia Studio onto your Mac. Essentially, you'll be turning one Mac into an external FireWire hard drive.

Materials Required:
6-pin to 6-pin FireWire cable (available at the desk if you don't have one).

Step 1: Prepare the Connection

Shutdown your Mac (the computer you want to turn into the external FireWire hard drive).
Plug the FireWire cable into both computers.

Step 2: Boot Your Machine into Target Disk Mode

Hold down the "T" key and turn your Mac back on. Continue holding the "T" key until the FireWire logo (right) appears on the screen.

Step 3: Transfer Files

You should now see your computer show up as an external FireWire drive on the desktop of the cluster Mac.
Transfer the files you need to transfer using Finder.

Step 4: Disconnect

Eject your Mac by dragging the FireWire hard drive to the trash.
Turn off your Mac by pressing the power button. Unplug the cable.

Congratulations! You're done!

Tips and Tricks for Transferring Files PART II: Transfer Files between Macs Using iChat

2007-05-22T23:11:00.000-07:00

Overview

Login to the two Macs
Start iChat and enable Bonjour
Drag file onto name in Buddy List

Step 1
Find the two Macs you need to transfer files between and log in to them.

Step 2
Once logged in, do the following on both computers:

Choose Applications from the Finder's Go menu and double-click on iChat in the window that comes up.
If you have never used iChat before, you will see a Welcome to iChat AV window. Keep clicking Continue until you reach the Set up Bonjour Messaging window. Here, check the Use Bonjour Messaging box and keep clicking Continue again until the button changes to Done; then click Done.
If you have used iChat before and a Buddy List or other window shows up when you launch it, but you don't see a Bonjour window, choose Bonjour from the Window menu and click on the Enable button if it asks you to enable it.

If you've done this correctly on both Macs, then they should both have a window that looks like this (where Sun Hae Hong is replaced by your own name):

Step 2½
We want to make sure that when iChat receives the file, it doesn't try to store it in your AFS home folder because it's probably too small to accommodate the large files that you're using this method for. So, on the receiving Mac, do the following:

Choose Preferences from the iChat menu.
Click on the General tab.
If, next to Save received files to, you don't see Temporary Storage, click on that menu, choose Other, choose Temporary Storage in the resulting window and click Select.

Step 3
Now we are ready to transfer the file. This procedure is straightforward.

Find the file that you wish to transfer on one of the computers and drag it on to your own name in the Bonjour window in iChat; iChat will ask for a confirmation; click Send
You should see a window like this:
This is a cue for you to go to the other Mac and find this window waiting for you:
Click inside the window, click Save File.
The file should begin transferring and you should see the transfer progress.

When the file transfer is complete, iChat will show you the file in the Finder.

A word to the wise: once you are done transferring your file, do log out of one of the machines. Having multiple machines logged in to your account doesn't have any immediately detrimental consequences. However, situations can arise (the two computers try to use the same file at the same time) which might cause one or both of the computers to hang or some files to get corrupted.

Tips and Tricks for Transferring Files PART I: How to Use Your AFS Space

2007-05-10T15:09:00.000-07:00

This is the first post in a series of posts about methods for storing or transferring files between computers.

You may or may not be aware that Stanford gives students, staff, and faculty members AFS (short for Andrew file system) space. Using your AFS space, you can store files on Stanford servers and access these files remotely from any computer.

When you need to share files with friends or transfer files between cluster computers and your own computer, AFS space can be a great option.

Overview

File Size: As much as your AFS space can hold, generally under 200MB
Pros: Well supported by Stanford computing environment, WWW folder makes sharing files over the web very easy
Cons: Not useful for large files
Required Software: No software download required if using cluster computers. Fetch or SecureFX if using own computer.

Checking AFS Quota

First of all, you might want to find out how much AFS space you have available. Read how on the MMS Wiki.

By default, you have 200MB of AFS quota. However, some courses grant students additional AFS space for the quarter in which they are enrolled.

On a Cluster Computer

With the exception of some stations, most computers in Stanford clusters automatically mount your AFS space upon login. That is, the desktop that appears is your AFS desktop and your AFS home folder is easily accessible.

To access your AFS home folder on a Mac, open a Finder window and click on your home folder, which will show up as a house icon followed by your SUNet ID.

To access your home folder on a PC, look for the desktop shortcut with a house icon that says My AFS Home.

WWW folder

The WWW folder is a convenient place to store files to download later on. Simply drag files into the WWW folder.

Open a browser on any computer and type "http://www.stanford.edu/~[yourSUNetID]/" in the URL bar. You will see a list of the files in your WWW folder. Right click and select Save Link As (or its equivalent) to save the files to your computer.

Notice in this picture how the contents in the WWW folder match the contents on the page:

I have personally found this to be a good way of sharing full-sized versions of photos with friends. I simply bundle the files into a single .zip file, upload it to my Stanford webspace, and send out the link via email.

On Your Own Computer

You can also access the files on your AFS space from your own computer using an FTP client by connecting to a Stanford server, such as elaine. We recommend using Fetch for Macs and SecureFX for PCs. Both are available for download on the ESS homepage, which also contains configuration instructions for both.

Once connected, you can move files to and from your AFS space just as you would to and from any folder on your computer.

Here are some screenshots of the Fetch and SecureFX interfaces:

Read more about your AFS space on the ITS homepage.

A Brief History of Poster Printing at Meyer

2007-04-24T09:29:00.000-07:00

Amongst the many services that the second floor of Meyer Library offers, such as equipment checkout and technical consulting, Wide Format Poster Printing is one of the unique services that we offer.

History
The poster printing service was started at Meyer Library in 2004 as demand among the student population grew for a more convenient and economical alternative to commercial services such as FedEx Kinko’s. Most people also do not have access to a printer that costs anywhere from five to ten thousand dollars, whose seven ink cartridges each cost almost a hundred dollars and that can print on archival- and exhibition-quality paper that is forty-four inches wide.

When first introduced, poster printing was a do-it-yourself affair, in which the patron logged on to a computer and sent the print command to the poster printer just like a normal print job. To help the patron, there was an informational notice next to the computers with instructions on printing. Patrons then paid for their prints at the Desk and waited to pick it up.

Growing Requirements
Within a few months of operation and a lot of wasted ink and paper, it became apparent that patrons were not the ideal persons to be in charge of printing their posters because poster printing was more expensive than the usual print job and, as it turned out, a lot more complicated. The system then evolved into a more controlled operation in which trained consultants, who were already doing helping patrons with multimedia tasks, would assist patrons with choosing all the appropriate settings before printing. (Part of this phenomenon was merely a product of clients not wishing to send the print job until a consultant had actually double-checked all of the settings from the beginning.) However, as the number of poster jobs per week steadily increased, we felt the need for an even more structured and organized system.

'Now Full Service'
In the very beginning of 2006, poster printing at Meyer Library was transformed into being a “full service” facility. With the new service, patrons simply had to fill out a one-sheet form and provide basic contact information and their poster would be on its way. The full service model was a huge improvement over the old consultant-assisted system and thanks to the fact that the print queue was no longer a free-for-all affair, we were able to accomodate queue systems such as a ‘rush’ service for patrons who require very short turnaround times ("under 4 hours'').

The Future and eCommerce
Looking towards the immediate future, we see a need for transitioning the initial client interaction to a web form where clients can fill out all the required information and make payments using Stanford University’s eCommerce service. This would not only be a lot more convenient for patrons but also allow us to keep extensive records of poster print jobs.

A few years from now, the basic concept of poster printing is not expected to change much beyond general improvements in technology and equipment allowing, for example, larger print sizes, more accurate color reproduction thanks to better calibration, etc. However, from an organizational point of view, our aim is to automate as much of the printing process as possible so as to minimize the possibility of client/operator error. The patron’s document would be automatically checked for potential printing issues, print settings would be chosen appropriately, a record of the print job would be created in our database, and the print job would require minimal human intervention.

That's all for this short history of poster printing at Meyer. Join us in the future for more glimpses into the past!

Create a Video DVD in (Nearly) One Step!

2007-03-20T18:14:00.000-07:00

Sometimes, you just want to take your miniDV camcorder footage and burn a video DVD with no editing, no flashy menus nor titles nor transitions - just the footage. The "OneStep DVD" mode in iDVD 6 let's you do just that. You'll be amazed how simple this really is:

Step 1: Get what you need
Okay, we assume you've already recorded your movie onto a miniDV tape, otherwise, what are you waiting for? You'll also need a miniDV camcorder, a 4-pin-to-6-pin (or Large-to-Small) FireWire Cable, a blank DVD-R disc, and a Mac with iDVD 6 (a nutritious part of Apple iLife 06) installed.

Step 2: Hook it up
Connect your camcorder to the Mac using the FireWire cable. Turn on your camcorder to VCR or Playback mode.

Step 3: OneStep
Open the iDVD application. If a white project panel opens up, click the large OneStep DVD button. If iDVD automatically opens up an existing project, just click File > OneStep DVD to start a new project.

At this point, if you have not already inserted a blank DVD into the Mac's DVD drive, you will be prompted to insert one. Go ahead and do so. If your camcorder isn't detected, go ahead and repeat Step 2.

Step 4: Do nothing
If you followed all of the steps above, you should now be simply waiting for iDVD to rewind the tape, import the footage from it, and burn it on to the blank DVD. This might take a while if you've got a lot of video. As a general rule of thumb, it requires at least 2-3 times the length of your video to complete the process. (i.e. a 1-hour tape should take slightly less than 3 hours to fully process from tape to DVD.) Watching iDVD process your video is also somewhat hypnotic if you're a fan of progress bars, and I wouldn't recommend against it.

Step 5: And you're done (maybe)!
Once iDVD is finished burning a copy of the disc for you, it will eject the DVD and display a little message informing you of this grand technological achievement. But don't hit the Done button so quickly. If you wish to make another copy of the same movie, this is your golden moment, because you can do so by inserting another blank DVD. Once you hit Done, iDVD will delete the temporary project it has created, and you will have to go through the entire tape-importing procedure again if you want another copy (or you'll have to look for a tutorial on how to efficiently copy homemade video DVDs).

One Last Note of Great Usefulness
Now, what if you simply wanted to make a menuless DVD out of a random video or an iMovie project instead of from camcorder footage? iDVD actually has another trick hidden up its sleeve. If you want to do this, just open up a new iDVD project, and choose File > OneStep DVD from Movie.... You will be prompted for a movie file (either an iMovie project or any video that can be played in QuickTime). Once you insert a blank DVD, away it goes! That was easy, wasn't it?

Happy Burning!

How to Download YouTube Videos

2007-03-13T16:11:00.000-07:00

As winter quarter draws to an end in the academic frenzy known as Dead Week, many students have been working on final presentations in the Multimedia Studio. Not surprisingly, YouTube has become a popular source of content for presentations. Rather than relying on a stable wireless connection in the classroom and waiting for the video to stream or, even worse, getting a "Video has been removed by user" or "This video is no longer available due to a copyright claim by Fuji Television Network, Inc." message, here are some tips! (Thanks to James and Vincent for letting me know this could be done!)

A Google search for "download youtube" will return a multitude of results. Most sites prompt the user to paste in the URL of the YouTube video, e.g. "http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sHzdsFiBbFc" and will either download the video or return the URL at which the video can be downloaded.

The downloaded video will be in FLV format (You may have to rename the file with an "FLV" extension), which is playable using VLC and other media players. Downloaded videos are generally 320 by 240 pixels.

Here are screenshots of some of the sites which worked:

Javimoya.com has a download tool which also supports downloading from GoogleVideo, Dailymotion, and other sites. Other than occasional network error messages, the site worked reliably.

Qoogle Video and TechCrunch have simple interfaces and consistent performance.

As for converting FLV files to more widely playable formats, a Google search for "convert flv" will direct you to programs for download, not all of them free. Vixy.net offers a download-free option; users simply enter a YouTube link and download directly to MOV (QuickTime-compatible), AVI (Windows Media Player-compatible), MP4 (iPod-compatible), and MP3 (audio only).

As a note, the site occasionally gave me a busy server error, but retrying eventually worked with all the YouTube videos I tested. A 2-min video took me approximately 4 min to convert to AVI or MOV. While the MOV files seem to play on any computer with QuickTime installed, not all computers have the codecs necessary to play the AVI files. However, the computers in our Multimedia Studio supported playback in Powerpoint for both the AVI and MOV files -- it can be done!

That's all for today. In other news, tomorrow is a dual holiday day!! Both Pi Day and White Day fall on March 14.

Happy Valentine's Day! And an Analysis of the State of the Tech Desk Address

2007-02-14T08:00:00.000-08:00

During this week's Team Leader meeting, the other TLs and I realized that Wednesday, February 14 had worse coverage than usual. I suggested that this might be due to Valentine's Day commitments, while Karan disagreed, voicing a slightly insulting assumption about the average Meyer consultant in the process.

This prompted an investigation into exactly how many of us are in relationships. Since I didn't feel comfortable asking every member of the team their relationship status, I conducted a Facebook survey (the online tool of choice for statistical research such as this). Kenneth and the other TLs not only condoned but encouraged this – in fact, I do not believe it was my idea.

Here are the results, some speculation included regarding those who did not list their relationship status:

All Consultants (and a Consulting Manager)

Married: 1 (5%)
Engaged: 1 (5%)
In a Relationship: 7 (35%)
Single: 11 (55%)

Total: 20

Feel free to suggest corrections to my tally. If we obtain different results, I may or may not divulge the secret behind my calculations.

Karan may be right about the high percentage of singles at Meyer, but I still think Valentine's Day is to blame for the poor coverage. Who says singles can't have V-Day plans, or at least stay out of Meyer in the hope that they will be free should they wish to make last minute V-Day plans?

In all seriousness, this post is supposed to be a long overdue interpretation of Kenneth's State of the Tech Desk Address, starting with the changes to scheduling.

Scheduling
Last quarter saw poor coverage at the desk, with many sub requests unfilled and shifts remaining empty, and many attributed the poor coverage on our revised sub clear and late/no-show policies. After many hours of discussion and observation, we have decided that those policies are here to stay, at least for the year, but we are looking into a revised system of scheduling.

Since last autumn, the schedule has been released on a weekly basis. When the TL system came into place, TLs made the schedule on a rotational basis, releasing the schedule of each week (Monday to Sunday) eight days before the beginning of the week. Consultants were given the option to change their availabilities as frequently as they wished, and the schedule tended to fluctate from week to week. Since then, changes in the availability of consultants have prompted us to rethink our scheduling scheme. Some consultants expressed the wish for a more fixed schedule, especially those balancing their Tech Desk jobs with other commitments.

We are now employing a hybrid scheduling scheme to accommodate both those who wish for a fixed weekly schedule and those who wish for flexibility on a weekly basis.

TLs continue to make the schedule on a week-to-week basis. Those who wish for a fixed weekly schedule are given priority to the hours they desire, and the rest are assigned the remaining hours based on their weekly availability. Some consultants submit a certain number of hours below their desired weekly number that they wish to be assigned and fulfill the remainder of their hours by choosing shifts from the swap board. Some degree of self-regulation and self-correcting scheduling continues amongst consultants via sub requests and the swap board. Overall, the TLs have had to send out fewer requests for empty shift coverage this quarter.

We hope that this keeps up. Good work, everybody!

Team Leaders
Also related to scheduling is the redistribution of duties among TLs. Rather than having all three TLs make the schedule on a rotational basis, we have redistributed their duties. Making the schedule used to be a time-consuming process due to the large degree of variation in scheduling from week to week, but with the new hybrid scheduling scheme, it has become less work due to the fixed or partially fixed schedules of many consultants.

Emily and Karan take turns making the schedule. In placing scheduling on the shoulders of two TLs rather than splitting it amongst all three, we hope that the TLs in charge of scheduling will be able to better track the scheduling needs of our consultants. Rather than having consultants report to their TLs individually and risking disjoint communication between TLs, we hope that consultants will now be able to report to teamleaders@lists.stanford.edu about their scheduling needs. The same TLs will alter consultant availability, send out reminder emails, and clear shifts that are sub cleared before the deadline.

I am in charge of monitoring attendance records and, unofficially, handling irregularities in clock-on and clock-off times. Statistics are compiled each Sunday, and consultants receive emails regarding lates, no-shows, and make-up shifts.

This division of labor is still in its preliminary phases, and consultants who wish for a speedy response to availability change requests or clock record corrections should email the teamleaders list.

Concluding Remarks
Naturally, we realize that an inherent problem with hiring student consultants to service the Tech Desk is that certain uncontrollable factors come into play: the number of hours each consultant desires to or is capable of working per week, the amount of overlap between consultant availability (influenced by extracurricular and academic commitment), and events such as Dead Week and Finals' Week. The efficacy of any scheduling policy is not easy to judge and varies from week to week and quarter to quarter, and we always remain open to suggestions, realizing that, from time to time, changes may need to be made to our scheduling policy, so that whatever system is in place best serves the needs of both the patrons and the consultants to the highest possible degree.

Once again, Happy Valentine's Day!

State of the Tech Desk Address

2007-01-24T08:44:00.000-08:00

Thank you very much for joining us here, and much thanks to the President for his words of inspiration, without which, this Address would not have been possible. Tonight, I have a high privilege and distinct honor of my own -- as the first Consulting Manager to begin the State of the Tech Desk message with these words: Google Blogger is out of beta.

One member of the Team Leaders is not with us tonight, and we pray for the speedy return of CAMS Manager Kimberly Hayworth from the ELI 2007 Annual Meeting.

Team Leaders, members of the Consulting Team, distinguished faculty, honorable student body, fellow University staff and Meyer patrons:

The rite of custom brings us together at a defining hour -- when problem sets are hard and caffeine is needed. We enter the year 2007 with large poster print jobs underway, and others in Qimage that are ours to begin. In all of this, much is asked of us. We must have the will to face difficult challenges and malfunctioning computers -- and the wisdom to check the MMS Wiki and Forum before posting a question to the mailing list.

Some reading this blog are new to the Meyer Tech Desk -- and I congratulate the Windows-using majority. (Sorry, Mac lovers. Some day... some day...) The Team Leader structure has changed, but not our responsibilities. Each of us is guided by our own convictions, well, except when it is in contradiction to the Tech Desk policies. We're all held to the same standards, and called to serve the same good purposes: To extend this department's technological influence; to spend your time at the Desk wisely; to solve complex computing problems, not leave them to the consultant on the next shift; to guard Meyer against all evil; and to keep faith with those we have sent forth to take emergency Sub RED shifts.

We're not the first to come here with a staff shorthanded and the smell of laser printer toner (or is it burnt popcorn?) in the air. Like many before us, we can work through our differences, and achieve big things for Stanford University. Our patrons don't much care which side of the Tech Desk we sit on -- as long as we're willing to cross the cluster floor when there is work to be done. Our job is to make life better for our fellow Stanford affiliates, and to help them to build a future of digital video editing and poster printing -- and this is the business before us tonight.

A future of hope and opportunity begins with a growing economy -- and that is what we have, so to speak. We're now in the 26th month of uninterrupted growth in poster print requests, in a service that has created maybe 7.2 thousand new print jobs -- so far (give or take a thousand, or a few). Unemployment is low (hmm, not a good thing for us), the magenta ink toner is low, and wages are rising. Qualified consultant candidates are on the move, and our job is to keep them applying here, not with more House Rules, but with more cool technology and tasty snacks at the Desk. (Applause.)

Tonight, I want to discuss three operational reforms that deserve to be priorities for this Consulting Team.

First, we must ensure that the Tech Desk is staffed during all hours of operation. We can do so without causing consultants to burn out, fail their classes, and go postal. At the same time, we want to balance out responsibilities so that the Tech Desk does not just get abandoned when midterms and finals arrive. What we need is to impose discipline in scheduling. We set a goal of filling all of the Tech Desk shifts with qualified consultants by 2006, and... I think we need to work on that one a little more. In the coming weeks, I will be working with the Team Leaders to create a quarterly work schedule that eliminates unfilled shifts within the next five quarters. To the full extent that we are able, we will work to accommodate the scheduling needs of each consultant, whether the individual needs a fixed and consistent schedule or a more dynamic as-the-wind-blows schedule.

I ask you to make the same commitment, by voluntarily picking up a sub request for every sub request hour that you put up. The new Swap-For-Swap (SFS) policy ensures that all consultants retain a sense of responsibility to the common good of the Tech Desk. If you are asking a fellow consultant to take up your load for the week, initiate the goodwill by also claiming shifts that remain on the swapboard. Together, we can restrain the growing void of unfilled shifts, and we can ensure the best service possible to our patrons.

Next, there is the matter of unfilled sub requests. In 2006 alone, the number of sub requests rose well over 500, which means that somewhere down the line, we didn't do a good job of scheduling as a team. Even worse, some of these sub requests never got claimed and filled. You didn't want them in your schedule anymore. We didn't find somebody to fill in. Yet, that didn't change the fact that people in need of help were left standing at the Tech Desk. The time has come to end this practice. So let us work together to reform the sub request process, expose every unfilled shift to the light of day and to an email to the list, and cut the number of unfilled sub requests at least in half by the end of this school year.

And, finally, to keep the Tech Desk going strong we must take on the challenge of filling the gaps in training. Operational printers and classroom projection systems are commitments of conscience, and so it is our duty to keep them functioning. Yet, we're failing in that duty. And this failure will one day leave our patrons with three bad options: don't turn in the assignment and fail your class, buy your own printer and projector, or go to Kinko's and Event Services. Everyone reading this blog knows this to be true -- yet somehow we have not found it in ourselves to learn everything we need to for troubleshooting print jobs and smart panels. So let us work together and do it now. With enough good sense and goodwill, you and I can fix printing and classroom technology issues. Well, okay, maybe not, but we're going to die trying.

Spreading opportunity and hope at Stanford also requires clusters that give patrons the knowledge and file format compatibility they need in life. Just a year ago, we rose above operating system preferences to initiate the No Codec Left Behind Act, preserving legacy codecs, raising standards, and holding ourselves accountable for ensuring proper file format conversion. And because we acted, certain multimedia projects are performing better than ever on both Mac and Windows, and minority codecs are not stopping a video project in its tracks (as often). The No Codec Left Behind Act has worked for Meyer's patrons -- and I ask the Consulting Team to continue to inform us about needed codecs that are not yet on the cluster image.

My next proposal is to help the consultants come up with innovative ways to educate the uninitiated about technologies offered at Meyer. Consultants that make new training videos and approved wiki tutorials available to our patrons should be paid extra to encourage them to provide this valuable support. I have asked the CAMS Manager to work with the Associate Director of Academic Computing at Stanford University and Head of Student Computing to use departmental funds to create "One Time Payments" for enterprising consultants. These One Time Payments would give our consultants more recognition and more satisfaction in getting new training media to those most in need.

Extending hope and opportunity from the Tech Desk requires a Stanford-affiliation validation system worthy of Meyer Library -- with policies that are fair and boundaries that are secure. When policies and boundaries are routinely violated, this harms the interests of our department. To secure our boundaries, we're looking into new infrastructure and technology to aid us in determining the level of support we can offer to a visitor to our Tech Desk, based on their affiliation with the University. Everyone from faculty to visiting scholars, from students to their parents who are trying to get a hold of them, should be able to approach the Tech Desk with a very clear understanding of what we can and cannot do for them.

Yet even with all these steps, we cannot fully secure our boundaries unless we take pressure off ourselves in trying to meet the needs of every single person who comes through our doors -- and that requires a very strong understanding of information and services available through other organizations on and off this campus. We should establish an efficient and orderly path for visitors to get the help they need, even if it is not directly through the consultants. As a result, they won't have to leave without an idea of where to get more help, or to try to force us to perform a task that is outside the scope of our jobs (like granting access into a classroom that they didn't reserve or installing software onto a cluster machine). And that will leave our consultants free to answer questions about multimedia, checkout equipment, and reunite patrons with their lost items. We'll search for tools to verify the University affiliation of our visitors and to find the best resources for helping them, so there's no excuse left for sending patrons on a wild goose chase or violating our own policies.

We need to uphold the great tradition of the melting pot at Meyer that welcomes and assimilates people new to our services and technologies. We need to resolve the status of the irate patrons without animosity and without getting bullied. Convictions run deep in this department when it comes to determining what level of services the Tech Desk should provide. Let us have a serious, civil, and conclusive debate, so that you and I can come to an agreement about the level of support that we will uphold as a team.

It's in our vital interest to diversify our multimedia skill set -- the way forward is through technology. We must continue improving the way Tech Desk consultants do training, by even greater use of training videos and Wiki tutorials, hands-on learning, and clean, safe web-based training and testing powered by CourseWork version 5. (Applause.)

To reach this goal, we must increase the supply of training materials and by setting a mandatory multimedia training standard for all consultants, to be completed during their first quarter of employment, with continuing assignments as updates to our technological knowledge become necessary. At the same time, we need to continue to provide the excellent coverage of the Tech Desk, so all consultants are encouraged to complete multimedia training during their work hours at the Desk, using the Multimedia Studio to do the training only when the Desk is already adequately staffed.

Achieving these ambitious goals will dramatically reduce shrugging our shoulders in frustration or confusion when we don't know how to answer a user's question, but it's not going to eliminate it. And so as we continue to diversify our knowledge of multimedia technologies, we must also persist in providing first-class customer service to all of our patrons, even when we cannot provide a direct solution for an individual.

Academic Computing is on the verge of technological breakthroughs that will enable us to live our lives less dependent on a vulnerable Windows server for our mission-critical web presence at http://mmstudio.stanford.edu, thanks to the efforts of our new Software Programmer and System Administrator. These technologies will help us be better stewards of our web services, and they will help us to confront the serious challenge of global spam and Denial-of-Service attacks.

A future of hope and opportunity requires an adequate number of consultants to cover the Tech Desk. The lives of our citizens across our campus are affected by the outcome of your availability to work. We have a shared obligation to ensure that the Tech Desk has enough consultants to hear patron questions and deliver timely assistance. As Consulting Manager, I have a duty to recruit qualified men and women to vacancies at the Meyer Tech Desk. And the Consulting Team has a duty, as well, to give these Tech Desk Trainees the help they need to hit the ground running.

For all of us on this team, there is no higher responsibility than to protect the people of this University from an unstaffed Tech Desk. Five and a half months have come and gone since we saw the scenes and felt the sorrow that an emergency shutdown of Meyer due to lack of consultants can cause. We've had time to take stock of our availability. And we would do nearly anything to stop such incidents from happening again.

With the distance of time, we find ourselves debating the causes of consultant shortages and the course we have followed. Such debates are essential when a great service faces great questions. Yet one question has surely been settled: that to win the war against consultant burnout and emergency shutdowns, we must either dramatically increase the pool of consultant availability or else determine what services or coverage we must regretfully reduce. Or get some part-time non-students in here.

Our success at the Tech Desk is often measured by the things that did not happen. We cannot know the full extent of the computer and customer service problems that we and our staff have prevented, but here is some of what we do know: We managed to print 17 color-calibrated posters with 2-day deadlines on extremely short notice (and we plan to never do that ever again if we can help it). We skillfully restored audio playback in a Final Cut Pro project that "worked fine yesterday." We managed to properly rewire the video output on a classroom instructor station after somebody goofed it all up. And just a few weeks ago, you managed to keep Meyer running while the Consulting Manager was on his honeymoon. For each file recovered and class presentation saved, we owe a debt of gratitude to the brave consultants who devote their lives to finding the problems and troubleshooting them.

Every success in troubleshooting a technical difficulty is a reminder of the shoreless variations of the problems that can arise in our systems. Users are still busy working and tinkering with technology in the cluster. And so long as that's the case, we are still at their service. In the many stories of courage and compassion at the Meyer Tech Desk, ladies and gentlemen, we see the spirit and character of the Consulting Team -- and these qualities are not in short supply. This is a decent and honorable team -- and resilient, too. We've been through a lot together. We've met challenges and faced dangers, and we know that more lie ahead. Yet we can go forward with confidence -- because the State of our Tech Desk is strong, our cause in the world is right, and tonight that cause goes on.

Thanks for reading. We're back on schedule, so see you next time!

Happy 40th Birthday, Meyer!

2006-12-01T21:53:00.000-08:00

In celebration of Meyer's 40th birthday, we present to you some blast-from-the-past photos that will warm your heart. We hope you enjoy a historic peek at the building fondly known for decades as the UnderGraduate LibrarY (UGLY). All photos without an explicit photo credit were generously supplied by our Facilities Manager, Kathy Fehrn, who maybe have known Meyer since it was a little baby library.

Construction of Meyer Library in 1965. Haven't you always wished that you could just look up from your studying in the lobby and enjoy the view of Hoover Tower?

"Meyer Tech Desk! Can we help you?" Okay, this isn't really the Tech Desk. It's the old Language Lab! The Language Lab used to be in the place of the current 24-Hour Study Room.

It's the Stanford Band, up to its old tricks again. Maybe this photo helps you understand why the 3rd and 4th floors eventually were fitted with the famous "suicide" windows.

During the 1989 Loma Prieta Earthquake, not only did students not bother to reshelve the books in their hasty attempts to evacuate the building, but some books also fell under the influence of natural forces. Photo Credit: Ed Souza / Stanford News Service.

Need some fresh air? Try the Meyer Terrace, conveniently located on the 4th floor. Unfortunately, it is no longer always open to the public. And the Stanford Band is currently banned from using the lofty space after this year's unwelcome trespass.

Beanbags were all the rage in the new experimental "Flexible Class-Lab" (Meyer 220) when it first open. Sadly, beanbag after beanbag vanished from the classroom over the next decade or so, so that eventually students had no choice but to return to oh-so-conventional chairs for their classroom discussions. Some Meyer staff keep beanbags in their cubicles in commemoration of this once-glorious model of classroom innovation. (And no, they are definitely, definitely, not the same beanbags...) Photo credit: Linda A. Cicero / Stanford News Service.

Well, that's all for now. May Meyer's next 40 years be as wonderful as the first 40!