Sci/Eng Library Reference Staff Blog

If you're ever typing on the Ref Desk computer and your G's type as I's, and your H's type as D's, the keyboard settings may have been switched to "United States-Dvorak", an alternative key layout that at least one staff member (not me) may be experimenting with. You can switch the settings back to the normal QWERTY mode using the keyboard icon on the taskbar (lower right).

For more information about the Dvorak layout, see this Wikipedia entry: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dvorak_Simplified_Keyboard

Posted by Charles Heinz at 7:21 PM | Permalink

Have you ever come on to your Reference Desk shift after someone, went to the GopherMail page to check your e-mail, only to find out that you've been automatically logged in to your colleague's inbox? This has happened to me twice in the last week and several times before.

For your security, make sure that your University log-in information is cleared from the browser's cache. There are a few ways to do this:

• The University's logout window/button, which is generally made available in a separate browser window whenever you use your x500.
• The internet browser's "clear cache" function.
  • In FireFox, go to Tools: Clear Private Data and check all boxes, including "Cookies"
  • In Internet Explorer, Tools: Internet Options: General Tab: Browsing History: Delete and delete passwords or all browsing history (not sure why we'd need anything else anyway)

To help me remember to log out, I use this set up when I'm on the Reference Desk: Firefox is set up to clear private data after all windows have been closed. If you do all of your browsing on Firefox, DeskTracker will also be on Firefox, so you probably won't close all windows when your shift ends (leaving DeskTracker open for the next person). Use Internet Explorer instead for DeskTracker and Firefox for all else, including Email.

Posted by Charles Heinz at 7:05 PM | Permalink

The Username and Password for the Reference Desk computer has been changed. The username is UL-PSE-Desk. The username and password are located on the passwords page of the Ref Desk Wiki (https://wiki.lib.umn.edu/SciEng/SciEngDesk). If you have any questions or concerns, please let me know.

Posted by Michael Winters at 4:55 PM | Permalink

[Note: this is a post from our old Reference Tips blog]

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Direct Link to MNCAT

Date: Fri, 25 Feb 2005 15:20:01 -0600

From: Gary Fouty
Subject: direct connection to MnCat

As we were reminded again yesterday, we are dependent on the Library servers to access the catalog, even though the catalog runs on a different server run by OIT. Here is a direct link:

http://umnlib.oit.umn.edu/F/?func=file&file_name=find-b&local_base=tcmncat

that will work even when Library server is down.

Posted by Tony Ihrig at 5:08 PM | Permalink

The IM software GAIM has changed its name to Pidgin (due to legal issues) and has released a new version, 2.0, with enhanced features and a new look and feel:

http://www.pidgin.im/

I have updated the client at the ref desk, so check it out and see if you would like to upgrade. If you choose to install it, it saves all of your current GAIM accounts and buddy lists and groups, however, you may need to reconfigure certain preferences that you have set on your own. Let me know if you have any questions.

-Tony

Posted by U of M Lib Science and Engineering Lib at 3:15 PM | Permalink

Hello Everyone,

Two bits of ref room MS Office news:

1) Steve Irons has updated the public workstations in 206 and in the LRC that have the full MS Office Suite installed with an add-in that will allow them to open Office 2007 files (in the ref room this would just be the computers to the right of the desk). Apparently there is not a "reader" version of 2007 yet (for the read-only machines), but I’ll let you know when that comes along.

2) Also, the ref desk computer finally has Office 2003 installed!

-Tony

Posted by U of M Lib Science and Engineering Lib at 4:15 PM | Permalink