[WinPartners] IS&T Software Update for April 2005

[Deb Bowser]

Date: Thursday, April 28, 2005
To:  Members of the MIT Community: itpartners at mit.edu, macpartners at mit.edu, 
winpartners at mit.edu, sw-release-announce at mit.edu, ed-tech at mit.edu, 
linux-help at mit.edu
From: Software Release Team <swrt at mit.edu>
Subj: IS&T Software Update for April 2005
Cc:  is&t at mit.edu, itag at mit.edu, it-lead at mit.edu


This monthly communication is intended for Faculty, Staff and Students 
within the MIT Community, to provide updated information regarding new and 
upcoming software products and services.

Topics of the month:
----------------------------------------
1. Recently released software
2. Software release efforts underway
3. Volume & site license software update
4. Software retirement
5. Windows Automatic Update Service (WAUS)
6. How are we doing?  Let us know


1. Recent Releases
-------------------------------------------------------
Linux
------------------
None


Macintosh
-------------------
Student Matlab access (see http://matlab.mit.edu/ for more information)


Windows
-----------------
Eudora 6.2.1 - April 20,  2005
Student Matlab access (see http://matlab.mit.edu/ for more information)


2. Software Release Efforts Underway
------------------------------------------------------
Linux
-----------
Back-to-school 2005 CD - August 2005
RedHat Enterprise Linux 4 - Release effort underway - June 2005


Macintosh
----------------
Apple Mail - Release effort underway - May 2005
Back-to-school 2005 CD - August 2005
Eudora 6.2 - Release effort underway- May 2005
Mac OS X 10.4 (Tiger) - Release effort launching - June 2005


Windows
-----------------
Back-to-school 2005 CD - August 2005
Microsoft Anti-spyware - evaluation in progress
VirusScan Anti-spyware enterprise module - evaluation underway
Windows Automatic Update Service (WAUS) configuration tool - May 2005

To obtain information on any of the release efforts listed, please visit 
our page:  http://web.mit.edu/swrt/


3. Volume Site License Software Update
---------------------------------------------------------
Students can now obtain access to Matlab for use on their personal machines 
through the Matlab Student Experiment.  See http://matlab.mit.edu/ for more 
information.

We continue to process the requisitions from the Matlab renewal last 
quarter.  We apologize for the delay.  The processing is requiring a huge 
effort because we accepted improperly formatted requisitions since the time 
tables for getting you your licenses was so compressed.  If you urgently 
need your requisition(s) to be closed out, please send the requisition 
number and ticket number to vsls-matlab at icicle-works.mit.edu


4. Software retirement
--------------------------------------------------
Keeping pace current applications benefits everyone.  As a reminder, the 
following software will be retired on June 30, 2005:

Netscape 7.02 (Mac and Windows)
Microsoft Office XP (Windows)
Microsoft Office v.X (Mac OS X)


5.  Windows Automatic Update Service (WAUS)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
We recommend users configure their Windows machines to use MIT's Windows 
Automatic Update Service (WAUS) for critical patches and service pack 
deployment.  For more information about and instructions on how to 
configure your machines to use WAUS, see the WAUS documentation at:

         <http://web.mit.edu/ist/topics/windows/updates/>

An easy to use configuration tool is in the works to enable easier access 
to the advanced configurations for WAUS.


6. How are we doing? - Let us know
--------------------------------------------------------------
Do you find this communication helpful?  Are there other items of interest 
you would like to see included as well?  Please take a moment to let us know:
http://web.mit.edu/swrt/feedback.html

You can always send e-mail to swrt at mit.edu with any questions and comments 
you have pertaining to this communication or other software release matters.

Deb Bowser
QA Coordinator - Client Support Services
Information Services and Technology (IS&T)
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Room W92-176
Cambridge, MA 02139
617-253-3879
bowser at mit.edu