It’s been a while since the last News & Updates. That’s mostly due to there being few issues to report. And also because I was busily trying to finish up the new admin site. So, here’s what’s going on: (also viewable here: http://tfrec.cahnrs.wsu.edu/admin/category/it/)
Actions items for your follow-up at the bottom.
New Admin site http://tfrec.cahnrs.wsu.edu/admin/
I’ve completed the migration of the old admin site (dialogue….) to the new site hosted by CAHNRS. There are multiple advantages to this. The big one being that they maintain the server and the underlying WordPress backbone so we are no longer on our dated local server. Another advantage is that their version of WordPress has more functionality. So now when you visit either News & Announcements or IT News & Updates blog pages, you will have the ability to sort/search by keywords (tags) or view by month or post category.
This doesn’t mean that the process is over. There are still some items that need work. For example, the Safety and Employee Training pages direct you the old safety training pages. I think that for most of that content, people can use the Skill Soft links from the WSU EHS site. That has the advantage of having HR tracking training and having it on record. I will work with Darla to see what material we can shift that direction, and what items are specific for TFREC that we need to keep.
Statistics portal page from old Admin site http://dialogue.tfrec.wsu.edu/admin/statistics/
Another page from the old admin site in question is the Statistics portal page with links to very old sites created by Jerry Tangren. “A Field Guide to Experimental Designs” was set up in 2002 and resides on the old server. (http://www.tfrec.wsu.edu/ANOVA/index.html) A slightly newer site “Modeling research data” was set up in 2005 (ignore the date on the page – it autofills the current date) found here: http://www.tfrec.wsu.edu/pages/glm/Home. The final site linked to from the Statistics page is an “Introduction to the SAS system”, also created @2005 located here: http://www.tfrec.wsu.edu/pages/sas/. I have no idea if this is still accurate for the current version of SAS. All three sites were set up to fill a gap in statistical resources available to students at the time. I have no way to access the page analytics for these sites, so I don’t know if anyone still uses them, nor do I know how useful the information is. IF people are still using these resources, I need to hear from you. I currently plan to let this material die a natural death when I pull the plug on the old server. Rebuilding these page will take a lot of time that I’d rather not waste if they are being used. However, it’s possible I may be able to convert the websites to PDF and make them available as downloads. That goes for the documents “Learn to use R Your hands-on guide” and “Installing SAS 9.4 from WSU files”. I don’t know how current these are or if they even apply to the current software versions, and since I don’t use these I wouldn’t be able to update them. So for now, I’ve left the Statistics portal page off the new admin site until I hear from people that it’s needed.
Pesticide Application Re-entry Announcements
Like everything else, the pesticide application database and announcements are currently housed on the old server. I recently worked with a CAHNRS programmer to have this App rebuilt. It will be ready very soon, as I’m having a few last minute changes incorporated, such as “Other” and “Experimental Material” added to the materials choices. The interface is quite different from before and will take some getting used to for those of you who will be entering spray notices. For people that just need to check on the re-entry time for a location you plan to work, it will be easy to read and accessible on the Admin site. For people that will be entering in treatments, I need to add you as a user into the new database. I will need your WSU NetID (not password). You will be logging in using your WSU credentials just like you would for any WSU protected site. I currently have the following people in the database now: Bruce Greenfield, Cameron Burt, Mike Mitchell, Trish Mulvaney. These people can also enter treatments on behalf of the actual applicator. I hope to have the new links for entering/editing applications and viewing re-entry information up very soon. In the meantime, if you need to enter an application, send me the information and I’ll get it up. The old database is no longer to be used.
Other stuff
WSU rolled out the new “Crimson Service Desk” as a merged replacement for CougTech and Enterprise Systems. From what I could tell, it’s mostly for helping students with their tech problems or for projects that need major computer support – but I could be wrong. This doesn’t replace our more personalized service provided by CAHNRS IT. However, if you aren’t satisfied with CIT, give Crimson Service a try.
- WSU IT recently performed an emergency fix for Microsoft Authentication protocols. If you were experiencing issues using any online Microsoft products including Skype for Business, this should be fixed.
- CIT (Nick & Michael) should be here the beginning of March to help with the final stage of relocating the computers/servers in room 149A to the back of the room (behind the wall that is being built). They should be bringing at least one new WIFI access point with them and setting it up.
Action items
- Tell me if you are using the statistics resources listed on the old Statistics portal page.
- If you will be applying pesticide treatments and entering them in the Re-entry announcements, send me your NetID.