Rice Information Technologies will perform a hardware refresh in January that will provide new security tools and improve wireless internet performance, according to Barry Ribbeck, Director of Systems, Architecture, Infrastructure, Cloud Strategies and Initiatives at Rice University.
The Adobe Creative Suite is no longer available at many computers throughout campus. Due to changes in Adobe’s licensing model, the software is now available only in classrooms in Anderson Hall, the Visual and Dramatic Arts’s Media Center, Fondren Library’s Digital Media Center, and several general use computers on Fondren’s ground floor, according to Barry Ribbeck, Director of Systems, Architecture, Infrastructure, Cloud Strategies and Initiatives at Rice University.“[Adobe] is following a pay-per-use model,” Ribbeck said. “In previous years, software was released through Adobe in what is called a perpetual license. In a perpetual license, you buy the software and you own it, and it’s yours to keep for that version."According to Ribbeck, Rice owns 25 perpetual licenses of Adobe’s CS6, originally purchased by the architecture department. Previously, Rice could use those licenses across campus, so long as there weren’t more than 25 concurrent users, as monitored by a license server. Under current license structures, the software can only be installed on specific machines for which licensing is paid on an annual basis.“We used to take the 25 perpetual license and spread them across a large group of people using a license server,” Ribbeck said. “We still keep those 25 [licenses for CS6]. Any new licenses go on this new subscription type where you pay per year.”Ribbeck said Adobe offers a site license that would allow Rice Information Technologies to maintain the Creative Suite on all computers that could access it previously, but that the cost and lack of use was prohibitive. Rice only uses site licenses for products like Microsoft Office.“The cost before was a lot less, it was just the maintenance fee for 25 licenses,” Ribbeck said. “Now, we pay $180 per seat, per year. To buy 800 seats, it would be $144,000 per year. So we’re not doing that. We don’t use enough of the product to warrant the cost.”According to Ribbeck, the remaining licenses are being used in combination with new licenses to maintain the Creative Suite’s availability at specific locations where it was used in the past.“What we’re doing right now is putting it in spots that are very strategic on campus and seeing what kind of activity we get,” Ribbeck said. “The good news is that if we find there’s this huge demand, and we have to buy more, we can deploy it very quickly, it’s just a matter of getting the funds to cover the cost.”Computers that no longer have access to the Creative Suite will now have open-source alternatives like Gimp, LibreDraw, and Scribus, Ribbeck said.Ribbeck said new licensing models have already arrived, and that Rice IT will handle changes as they come.“That’s our fear, that more and more software companies will switch over to this new licensing model, and maybe even make it only available on the web,” Ribbeck said. “Then what do we do? This is nothing unusual with software companies. Nothing unusual with IT. Our business is about change, and this is just a change in how software companies are starting to move. This is just another change that we’re going to have to go through.”Ribbeck said any feedback from students about this change or other IT topics should go to Manager of IT Tech Communications Carlyn Chatfield, who can be reached at carlyn@rice.edu.
In early May, Rice University Information Technologies released streamlined versions of two websites, mynetid.rice.edu and it.rice.edu, which will make finding frequently used information and tools quicker and easier, according to Manager of IT Technical Communications Carlyn Chatfield. Much of what could previously be found on the two sites has been moved to docs.rice.edu or removed completely, and obvious links to the most popular pages have been added.
After delays in Jones College construction, which was initially scheduled to finish before Orientation Week, Rice University Housing and Dining looks to finish basement and kitchen construction in the South section, according to H&D Associate Vice President Mark Ditman and Facilities, Engineering and Planning Manager of Communications Susann Glenn.
After what seemed like a successful Orientation Week, which included discussions on the alcohol policy and a Project SAFE session addressing sexual violence, one of my freshmen approached me and said, “What I’ve learned from all of these talks is that it’s worse for me to have Everclear in my room than it is for me to rape someone.” As an advisor who also sat through the talks in question, I realized that my new student had a point.
Duncan College Senator Louis Lesser, Duncan President Mary Anderson and University Court Chair Brian Baran introduced their legislation against the Center for Undergraduate Curriculum’s proposed drop limit at the Student Association Senate meeting on August 27.
It’s the second week of classes, and students have been buying textbooks for their new classes. According to the official Barnes and Noble website, Barnes and Noble College Booksellers LLC operates 700 college and university bookstores in the United States, including Rice University’s, as of May 3, 2014.
The Rice University women’s soccer team went on the road this past weekend to play two non-conference matches against Lamar University and Louisiana State University. The Owls secured their first win of the season against Lamar and followed up with a second win by defeating the LSU Tigers. The Owls improved to 2-1-1 on the season.
The Rice University football team took on the University of Notre Dame Fighting Irish this weekend, losing in a 48-17 decision.
Rice University women’s volleyball hosted their annual season opener, the Rice Invitational, this past weekend. On Friday, Rice swept University of California, Davis. They then suffered a close 3-2 loss to Louisiana-Lafayette on Saturday, followed by a final game between Rice and Fresno State in which Rice achieved a 3-0 victory. Next weekend, Rice heads to the North Carolina State tournament where they will face North Carolina State, Connecticut and Toledo in Raleigh, North Carolina.
Pasha stands in a converted house along University Boulevard on the outskirts of Rice Village. Though the quaint Turkish eatery may look uninteresting from the outside, inside, red walls decorated with paintings and china set the backdrop for a much more charming meal than the restaurant’s dirty awning and neon signs would have you think.
Syllabus week has a reputation for being a period of relative ease; a chance for students to settle back into the college routine and reconnect with friends. However, while you may have spent long hours upon arrival lounging at the pool, you might not have realized that one group on campus has been slaving away. The Shepherd School of Music majors hit the ground running this past week in preparation for the highly rigorous placement auditions: ten minutes during which students must play in front of a faculty panel to determine their positions amongst their peers for the year. While a good performance can help students achieve coveted positions like Concert Master or First Chair, a poor audition can have harsh consequences.
For a while now, I have wanted to become a criminal attorney, so I naturally love cop shows. This summer in particular was stock full of Netflix binges of top-notch detective mysteries such as The Killing, Law and Order and the zany Twin Peaks. I watch them the way you eat potato chips: with great joy and very little thought. You know the plot –– the gruesome crime scene, the forensics that narrow down the suspect, the interrogations and, my personal favorite, the trial. It’s thrilling, it’s mentally stimulating and, most of all, it leaves the viewer with the satisfying feeling that the world is just. Cop shows are addictive because they allow the viewer to enter a realm that is distinctly private yet completely essential to society –– an illusion that can be substituted for the harsh realities and inequalities of the real-life criminal justice system.
While Rice students were out completing internships, researching in top labs, working in ice cream shops or just chilling out, the music world kept on moving. While last fall albums dropped from major names like Kanye West, Vampire Weekend and newcomer Disclosure, 2014 has proven to be a more disappointing year. Smaller, lesser known groups have found their stride on third or fourth releases, while debut albums have made up a large portion of the year’s most critically revered music. Without further ado, let’s recap what we missed over the summer.
The Rice University women’s soccer team kicked off their 2014 season with two overtime matches this past week. The 2014 team has many key returning players including senior goalkeeper Amy Czyz and juniors Holly Hargreaves and Lauren Hughes, who led last year’s team in scoring with nine goals each. Other returning players for the Owls are midfielders senior Quinny Truong and junior Danielle Spriggs.
This summer, Autry Court in Tudor Fieldhouse received a $17,000 makeover. The court received a special redesign that was created with a stain, which lasts longer than the original paint.
When the Rice University football team takes the field against the 17th-ranked University of Notre Dame this Saturday, Aug. 30, they will be the defending conference champions for the first time since 1956. Following their third ten-win season in school history, the Owls will strive for their third consecutive bowl game and try to repeat as conference champions, something that has never been achieved in school history.
Dean of Undergraduates John Hutchinson, the General Council and President David Leebron recently convened a working group to address newly-formed campus sexual assault initiatives as proposed by the White House task force report, Not Alone.
Welcome to the 2014-15 school year! I would like to share with you why I joined the Student Association (SA), and what we are working towards – with your help – this year.
