Technology Potpourri

By Dave Meyer | April 30, 2012 at 8:00 am | #CMCTech, Life | 4 comments | |

As graduation quickly approaches, the number of topics that I would like to cover as the Forum’s humble technology writer begins to dramatically exceed the time I have to write about them. Time to up the ante–covering multiple topics in a single post. Leggo.

5C Emails

One thing that CMC has down is simple email addresses. If you know someone’s name and class at CMC, you’ve got a pretty good shot at guessing their email correctly. The same cannot be said for some other members of the consortium. So without further ado, email addresses explained, in order of most logical to most absurdly complicated.

Harvey Mudd: [First Name] + [_] + [Last Name] @hmc.edu
Example: David_Meyer@hmc.edu

CMC: [First Initial] + [Last Name] + [Class Year] @cmc.edu
Example: dmeyer12@cmc.edu

Pitzer: [First Name} + [_] + [Last Name and Class Year] @pitzer.edu
Example: david_meyer12@pitzer.edu

Scripps: [First Initial] + [Last name (cut off at 7 characters)] + [Last 4 digits of student ID number] @scrippscollege.edu
Example: dmeyer3633@scrippscollege.edu

Pomona: [First Initial] + [Middle Initial] + [Last Initial] + [ a zero, UNLESS there’s someone else with your initials, in which case it could be a 1, or 2, or 3, or 4...] + [the FULL year you entered Pomona]@pomona.edu
Example: dwm02008@pomona.edu

The Claremont-WPA Network

This mysterious network is every CMCer’s dream. Log in once, the Wi-Fi network remembers you forever! Imagine the time savings when you don’t have to log in to CMCNet or Claremont every time. You’ll probably have your term papers done before spring break! So why does it tantalizingly appear on the list, but we can’t get on? I asked Jeremy Whaley, Director of Information Systems and Network Services. Here’s what he said:

The Claremont-WPA network has not officially launched. As you know it has existed for a while now and has been tested by IT folks and some users throughout its pre-release.

If you are inclined to try it out, when selecting the Claremont-WPA SSID you will be prompted for your user name and password. Similarly to the Claremont SSID login process, you will need to enter your user name with a qualifier (example: jwhaley@cmc) where the @cmc lets the system know I am affiliated with CMC. The password is your CMC Network Password—no surprises there.

This summer we will officially roll out this network, as well as a separate network, Claremont-ETC, which will serve the game consoles and other secondary devices that do not support WPA2 Enterprise.

To encourage adoption of the Claremont-WPA network, an auto-configuration tool will be provided that supports a wide variety of platforms (Mac, Windows, iOS, Android, etc.).

Wi-Fi Access

As in, why doesn’t the Wi-Fi work in my bedroom/dorm room/lawn chair/shower? The fact is, Wi-Fi networks are really hard to set up. As the library has demonstrated this year, adding more hubs can actually make the network worse. Let me solve your problem: Ask one of the alumni you met last weekend what they thought of the Wi-Fi network when they went to CMC.

Things about CMC’s technology infrastructure that are awesome

• free printing
• fast Wi-Fi
• dual monitors, everywhere
• computer labs usually have space
• you can mostly use BitTorrent without getting a letter from the RIAA
• our course evaluations are finally online

Ok, I’m losing steam…

Things you should download or sign up for

• Skitch – take better screenshots on your Mac.
• Chrome Beta – Google actual releases three different versions of Chrome. This one strikes a balance between getting new features sooner and having fewer bugs.
• Flipboard – for iPhone and iPad, an awesome way to read…anything.
• Swift Key – if you have an Android phone, this keyboard will make your life better.
• The Week – a website for people who like the Economist, but don’t have time to read it/get annoyed with British people.
• Sublime Text – if you write any code at all, even just HTML and CSS, this is a beautiful, dead-simple text editor.
• Asana – shared to-do lists for teams. Use it for your next group project.
• Google Calendar – unlike a planner, you can’t lose it. And unlike a planner, it syncs with your phone. And iPad. And every computer. And it sends you reminders.
• Prezi – I’ve covered this.
• Doodle – a better way to do sign-up sheets.
• Google Music/iTunes Match – put your entire music collection on your phone and throw your iPod in the trash. Store the songs you listen to a lot locally; stream everything else. Don’t worry about data. I use it every day and stay under 2 gigabytes per month.
• Text-Only Instagram – the new #whatshouldwecallme.