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Computer Core News

17 Jan 2007 - New Lab build

The following is the list of software installed in the 806 lab for the Spring 2007 semester:
  1. XP Pro SP2
  2. 7 Zip 4.2
  3. Adobe Reader 8
  4. Adobe Illustrator CS
  5. Adobe Elements 4.0
  6. Amos 6
  7. ArcGIS 9.2 (updated as of January 3, 2007)
  8. ArcView 9.2 & 3.3
  9. Cencus CD 90
  10. Crimestat 3
  11. EndNote 10
  12. GAIM
  13. GLLAMM
  14. Geoda 95i
  15. Ghostscript 8.53
  16. Ghostview 4.6
  17. GLAM
  18. HLM 6
  19. Internet Explorer
  20. Java Runtime Version 6
  21. Microsoft .Net Framework 2.0
  22. Napster
  23. NCDB 1990
  24. Office 2003 (Language Packs installed)
  25. Oracle Calendar
  26. R (Version 2.4.1)
  27. Roxio CD Creator 5.3.5
  28. Spacestat 1.91
  29. SAS 9.1.3 (updated through service pack 4 with SAS hotfixes as of 1/4/2007)
  30. SAS IVE Ware
  31. Sassafras
  32. SFI
  33. SF3
  34. SPSS 13
  35. SPSS 14
  36. SSH (Version 3.2.9)
  37. Stat Transfer 8
  38. Stata 9 SE (updated as 12/19/2006)
  39. Street DVD 2004
  40. Symantec Anitvirus 10.14 (SEATTLE)
  41. Windows Media Player
  42. XMing
  43. WinSCP
  44. Winzip 8.1

7 August 2006 - CF update

The two CF servers (cairo and olympia) were merged into one (cairo) and CF version 7.0.1 was installed.

27 July 2006 - Webmail upgrade complete

The PRI web mail server was upgraded from IMP to SquirrelMail.

15 February 2006 - Solaris 10 available

greenland.pop.psu.edu is running the latest version of Solaris, version 10. We plan to upgrade all of the Sun workstations to this version over the next few months.

6 February 2006 Spam and Virus filters added to mail server

We added a spam filter and a virus filter to the PRI mail server. Incoming virus email messages are put in a quarantine. To access a message that has been quarantined, send a note to help. The spam filter will prepend [Popnet: SPAM detected] to all suspected spam email. It can then be filtered by your client email program.

27 January 2005 StatTransfer upgraded

Stat Transfer was upgraded to version 8.2 in the 806 computer lab

4 November 2005 Benjamin Karhan joins PRI

Today is Benjamin's first day in the PRI Computer Core. Ben is replacing Paul Riggs as our Unix systems administrator.

13 October 2005 Stata 9.1 upgrade

We upgraded Stata in the 806 lab to version 9.1

3 October 2005 Jason Pruszko hired

Jason was hired as the senior help desk support person. He will be in charge of the help desk, the 806 lab builds, and PRI faculty and staff desktops. Welcome aboard Jason!

5 September 2005 New lab image on 806 computers

The fall build has been installed on the computers in the 806 computer lab. Here is the list of software in the lab:
  1. XP PRO SP2
  2. 7 Zip 4.2
  3. Adobe Acrobat Reader 7.02
  4. Adobe Illustrator CS
  5. Adobe Elements 2.0
  6. ArcInfo 9.1
  7. ArcView 3.3
  8. Crimestat 3
  9. Endnote 9
  10. Geoda 95i
  11. Ghostscript 8.1
  12. Ghostview 4.6
  13. HLM 6
  14. Internet Explorer
  15. Java Runtime VM
  16. Norton Antivirus (SEATTLE)
  17. Office 2003 (New Campus Agreement)
  18. R
  19. Roxio CD Creator
  20. Spacestat 1.91
  21. SAS 9.1
  22. SAS Enterprise Guide 2.0
  23. Sassafras
  24. SPSS 13
  25. SSH (Updated Version)
  26. Stat Transfer 8
  27. STATA 9 SE
  28. Windows Media Player
  29. X-Win
  30. Gaim
  31. Napster
  32. Win SCP
  33. SFI
  34. SF3
  35. Street CD
  36. NCDB 1990

5 May 2005 Stat/Transfer 8 on linux systems

The latest version of Stat/Transfer is now on the linux systems.

23 March 2005 - Stata 8 on linux computers

We upgraded to Stata 8 SE on the linux computers (angola, chad, italy). Go here for more information on Stata 8.

3 Feb 2005 - Stata Extracts now available in SODAPOP

You can now extract data to a Stata .dta file from SodaPop (in addition to tab-delimited .txt, comma-delimited .csv and Sas .sas7bdat). SodaPop is here

24 Jan 2005 - Matt Masullo full time

Matt, who has been working part time on the help desk is now working full time for the Computer Core. Welcome aboard Matt!

29 Nov 2004 - SAS License renewed

After much work and negotiation, we have finalized the SAS agreement. Part of this agreement allows for free demography student use. If you are a PRI student and would like to use SAS at home for free, please contact the Computer Core.

9 Nov 2004 - Software available under Sassafras

We recently purchases Sassafras, a software key management server. This will allow us to share licenses between multiple computers. If there is software you think would be useful to have available under this scenario, please contact Joe B. We are starting to offer Stata SE using Sassafras.

4 Nov 2004 - Paris moved

We moved the Windows data server, Paris, to the server room in Pond.

11 Oct 2004 - Matt Masullo starts for the Computer Core

Matt Masullo was hired to work part-time in the Computer Core as the help desk assistant. Matt will be helping Adam with desktop support, laptop management, and computer related ordering.

21 Sep 2004 - 806 Lab rebuild

September 21st 2004 - Fall 2004 software rebuild finished for 806 lab

New and updated software is installed in the 806 computer lab. Major changes include a new version of SAS, SPSS, Office 2003 and Adobe Illustrator. The full version of Stata, called SE, is now installed in the lab. Sassafras, the new key server software, is installed and will allow us to utilize our licenses more efficiently. There is only one copy of HLM so please be aware that only once instance of this software can running at any given time.

The complete list of software is:

  1. 7-zip 3.3
  2. Adobe Acrobat Reader 6.02
  3. Adobe Elements 2.0
  4. Adobe Illustrator CS
  5. Amos 5.0
  6. ArcExplorer
  7. ArcInfo 9.0
  8. ArcView 3.3
  9. Census CD
  10. Crime CD
  11. Crimestat
  12. Endnote 7.0
  13. Geoda
  14. Ghostscript 8.1
  15. Ghostview 4.6
  16. HLM 5.05
  17. Internet Explorer
  18. Java Runtime VM
  19. Mlwin 1.1
  20. Norton Antivirus 8.1
  21. Office 2003 SP1
  22. Quicktime 6.5.1
  23. R 1.71
  24. Roxio Easy CD
  25. Spacestat 1.91
  26. SAS 9.1
  27. SAS Enterprise Guide 2.0
  28. Sassafras Client Key Server
  29. S-Plus 6.2 r1
  30. S-plus for Arcview 3.x
  31. S-plus spatial stats
  32. SPSS 12.02
  33. SSH 3.29
  34. Stat Transfer 7.02
  35. Stata SE 8.2
  36. Street CD 2000
  37. Teraterm
  38. Windows Media Player 9
  39. WSFTP 5.08
  40. XP Pro SP1

19 April 2004 - Joel Christine hired

The computer core hired Joel to assist Adam with desktop and help desk support. Welcome aboard Joel!

5 January 2004 - Redmond upgraded

The main server for the SSRI/PRI network, named redmond, has been upgraded. The new hardware will allow the network to have more capacity for space and logins. Quotas on redmond have been increased from 200MB to 500MB.

20 October 2003 - Lab Software Upgrade

We upgraded the software in the 806 computer lab. We also replaced a Sun with a new Dell workstation. Here is the software list:

  1. Adobe Acrobat Reader 6.0
  2. Adobe Acrobat Standard 6.0 (select PCs)
  3. Adobe Illustrator 9.02
  4. AMOS 5
  5. ArcInfo 8.3
  6. ArcView 3.3
  7. Census CD
  8. Common Core of Data 1997
  9. CrimeCD
  10. CrimeStat 2.0
  11. EndNote 7.0
  12. Ghostview 4.4
  13. Ghostscript 8.11
  14. Internet Explorer 6 SP1
  15. Microsoft Office XP (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Access)
  16. MLWin 1.1
  17. Norton Antivirus 8.0
  18. POPMap 4.2
  19. Quicktime 6.3
  20. R 1.7.1
  21. Roxio Easy CD Creator 5.3
  22. SAS 9.0
  23. SAS Enterprise Guide 2.0
  24. Scansoft OmniPage 11 (select PCs)
  25. Spacestat 1.91
  26. Splus 6.1
  27. Splus Spatial Stats
  28. SPSS 11.5
  29. SSHWin 3.2.9
  30. Stata 7
  31. StatTransfer 7
  32. StreetCD 2000
  33. Windows XP SP1
  34. WS FTP 5.08
  35. X-Win32 4.1
  36. 7-zip 3.11(compression and archival utility)

29 September 2003 - Changes in the University SAS license

The university used to have an unlimited, free SAS license. That changed effective July 1, 2003. Departments are now charged $30/computer. Individuals may also purchase it at the MOC found here.

16 September 2003 - Changes to the email system

We now block most executable attachments from coming into the email system (any address @pop.psu.edu). This includes attachments that end in .bak .exe .pif .lnk .cmd .com .dll .vxd .scr .mbx .eml .mdb .dbx .wab .hta If you are having trouble receiving an email attachment, please send an email to help. We added this policy to help curb email attchment viruses.

15 September 2003 - New HP printer in 806 lab

We replaced the old HP network printer in 806. This new printer does duplex and can print about 40ppm.

8 September 2003 - Windows XP the new desktop standard

We have started to deploy Windows XP as the default operating system for desktops. We will still support Windows 2000, however, all new purchased and upgrades will need to have XP as the OS.

18 June 2003 - Windows NT domain decommissioned

This morning we shut down our Windows NT domain controller. It had been running for about 3 years. The Windows 2000 Active Directory has superceded it.

28 April 2003 - sftp access to Windows servers

In our continuing efforts to improve the services to our Windows users, we recently added an SSH server to the Windows Domain. This will allow people to transfer files to and from their Windows home directories using the sftp programs. For more information, see this page.

25 April 2003 - Windows help pages

We just added a section to our web documentation specifically for Windows users. It is just starting, so there isn't much available yet. Here is the link.

15 April 2003 - New computers in the 806 Lab

We recently updated the computers in the 806 lab to Dell Optiplex GX260 computers. These computers have an Intel P4 2.66GHz processor with 512MB of RAM.

14 February 2003 - SPSS site license

We have a license for SSRI to use SPSS with our organization. Send an email to help to have it installed on your computer.

15 January 2003 - Spring 2003 software rebuild finished for 806 Lab

New and updated software is installed in the 806 computer lab. Major changes include new versions of SAS, SAS Enterprise Guide, SPSS and additional years of the CensusCD (1970-2000). MLWin, CrimeStat, and Common Core of Data (1997), are new software not previously available in the lab. Teraterm has been superceded by SSH Secure Shell for Windows. The complete list of software is:
  1. Adobe Acrobat Reader 5.1
  2. Adobe Acrobat 5.0 (select PCs)
  3. Adaptec UDF Reader 5.1
  4. Adobe Illustrator 9.02
  5. AMOS 4.01
  6. ArcInfo 8.2
  7. ArcView 3.3
  8. Census CD
  9. Common Core of Data 1997
  10. CrimeCD
  11. CrimeStat 2.0
  12. EndNote 6.0
  13. Eudora 5.1.1
  14. Ghostview 4.3
  15. Ghostscript 7.05
  16. Internet Explorer 6 SP1
  17. Microsoft Office 2000 (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Access, Publisher)
  18. MLWin 1.1
  19. Netscape 4.79
  20. Norton Antivirus 8.0
  21. POPMap 4.2
  22. Quicktime 6.0
  23. R 1.6.1
  24. Roxio Easy CD Creator 5.3
  25. SAS 9.0
  26. SAS Enterprise Guide 2.0
  27. Scansoft OmniPage 11 (select PCs)
  28. Spacestat 1.91
  29. Splus 6.1
  30. Splus Spatial Stats
  31. SPSS 11.5
  32. SSHWin 3.2.2
  33. Stata 7
  34. StatTransfer 6.11
  35. StreetCD 2000
  36. VIM 6.1
  37. Windows 2000 SP3
  38. WS FTP 5.08
  39. X-Win32 4.1
  40. 7-zip (compression and archival utility)

11 October 2002 - Software rebuild finished for 806 lab

The following software is now installed in the lab:
  1. Adobe Acrobat Reader 5.0.5
  2. Adobe Acrobat 5.0 (select PCs)
  3. Adaptec UDF Reader 5.1
  4. Adobe Illustrator 9.02
  5. AMOS 4.01
  6. ArcInfo 8.2
  7. ArcView 3.3
  8. Census CD
  9. EndNote 6.0
  10. Eudora 5.1.1
  11. Ghostgum 4.3
  12. Ghostview 7.05
  13. Internet Explorer 6 SP1
  14. IVEware
  15. Microsoft Office 2000 (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Access, Publisher)
  16. Netscape 4.79
  17. Norton Antivirus 7.6
  18. PowerArchiver 6.11
  19. Quicktime 6.0
  20. R 1.5.1
  21. Roxio Easy CD Creator 5.3
  22. SAS 8.2
  23. SAS Enterprise Guide 1.3
  24. Scansoft OmniPage 11 (select PCs)
  25. Spacestat 1.91
  26. Splus 6.1
  27. Splus Spatial Stats
  28. SPSS 11.0.1
  29. SSHWin 3.1.1
  30. Stata 7
  31. StatTransfer 6
  32. StreetCD 99
  33. Teraterm Pro 2.3
  34. VIM 6.1
  35. Windows 2000 SP3
  36. WS FTP 5.08
  37. X-Win32 4.1

1 July 2002 - Glynis Daniels joins the Computer Core

Glynis joins the computer core on a part-time basis until September 1. She will be working on the PROSPER project.

25 March 2002 - Liu Shi joins the Computer Core

Liu Shi will be joining SSRI/PRI on March 25.

18 March 2002 - Adam Fogelsanger joins the Computer Core

Today is Adam's first day at SSRI/PRI. He will be working on PC support assisting Mike.

11 March 2002 - New look in the lab

We finished installing the new Dell computers in the 806 lab. There are now 12 PCs and 3 Suns.


11 February 2002 - Donald Miller joins the Computer Core

Today is Don's first day as a Computer Core programmer. Welcome aboard Don!

5 February 2002 - SPSS Site License

PRI has a site license for the PC version of SPSS. Send email to the help address for details.

26 January 2002 - Backbone connection upgraded

The Computer Core upgraded the backbone connection from a 10BaseT to 100BaseT connection. This will allow faster file transfers to PRI from PSU sites, but won't have much affect on transfers from non-PSU sites.

15 January 2002 - 806 Computer Lab Rebuild

The PRI computer lab in 806 has a new software build. The following software is installed in the lab:
  1. Windows 2000
  2. IE 6
  3. Office 2000
  4. Eudora 5.1
  5. Netscape 4.77
  6. Acrobat Reader 5.0
  7. Adaptec CD Creator 4.05
  8. Power Archiver 6.11
  9. SPSS 10.1
  10. Stata 7
  11. Stat Transfer 6
  12. SAS 8.2
  13. ArcView 3.2a
  14. ArcInfo 8.1
  15. X-win 4.1
  16. ws_ftp 5.08
  17. TeraTerm 2.3
  18. Census CD
  19. Street CD `99
  20. AMOS 4.01
  21. EndNote 5.01
  22. Adobe Illustrator 9.0
  23. Splus 6
  24. Splus Spatial Stat

3 December 2001 - Janet Harvey Hired

The Computer Core has hired Janet Rush as our web and database programmer. She will be working on ColdFusion, Access, and SAS Intranet applications. Welcome aboard Janet!

10 September 2001 - Mona Ostrowski Hired

The Computer Core has hired Mona Ostrowski to work for PRI as a part-time programmer. Welcome aboard Mona!

14 May 2001 - New Data Projector

The computer core has recently purchased another InFocus data projector. This projector is a model LP350 weighs 6.7 pounds and has a resolution of 1024 X 768. The computer core now has 2 light weight data projectors that PRI associates may sign out for PRI related presentations. To reserve a projector, talk to Paul.

19 April 2001 - Stata 7 for Unix

Stat version 7.0 is available on some of our Linux (italy and finland). Please let the computer core know if you experience any problems with this new version.

5 April 2001 - Windows 2000 in the 806 lab

We recently upgraded the PCs in the 806 computer lab to Windows2000. There is still one computer running Windows98 for legacy programs. In addition to upgrading the operating system, we replaced 2 more Suns with PCs, bringing the totals to 8 PCs and 6 Suns.

22 March 2001 - New Linux computer

We have installed linux on a computer in the lab. The computer's name is italy. Currently, it is the fastest unix computer that the core owns. We have a beta version of SAS running on it, so give it a try.

21 Feburary 2001 - SodaPOP update

SIPP 1996 Waves 9-12 were added to the SodaPOP. For more information, click here

22 January 2001 - S+ 6.0 is here!

We just got S+ 6.0 for Unix/Linux. If you use Linux at home, send a note to help if you want to run it on your home computer.

17 January 2001 - SAS Site license is here!

We got the media for SAS today. If you are interested in having it installed on your computer (university owned or home computer), please send a note to help. You have to be a faculty/staff/student at Penn State to qualify.

12 January 2001 - New search engine for the PRI web

We just added a search engine to our web page. Check it out by going to the main page here and click on search this site.

8 January 2001 - Moved /home/data1-5 to RAID

The data directories have been moved to the RAID box. This helps prevent loss of data in the event a hard drive crashes on the server.

15 December 2000 - PSU gets SAS site license

A $1 million software grant from SAS Institute will provide Penn State with an extended suite of SAS data warehousing, data mining, and Web-based technologies. The grant from the market leader in e-intelligence and data warehousing will enhance classroom instruction and help students, faculty, and staff conduct research. "Penn State welcomes the partnership with SAS Institute," said Gary Augustson, vice provost for information technology. "Collaboration with this international leader in business and analytic decision software will enable the University to continue to provide its students and faculty with technology resources critical to their success in the global digital environment." For more on this story, go to the Penn State/SAS software page at: http://www.sas.psu.edu/sw.shtml or visit: http://www.psu.edu/ur/INTERCOM/grants.html. Also, check out the PRI SAS page here.

1 December 2000 - Mike Rineer starts at PRI

Starting on Friday, December 1, 2000, Michael Rineer starts working for the PRI Computer Core. Mike will be our Windows NT Systems Administrator. He is coming to PRI after working in NT support for the Smeal College of Businesss.

10 November 2000 - Access to 3480 tape drive

Through a joint agreement with Dr. Frank Ahern, the Computer Core can read IBM 3480 tape cartridges. If you have data in this form, contact us to discuss converting it to CD-ROM.

13 October 2000 - Moving /home/data1-5 to RAID

We are currently under way to move the data directories to a RAID'ed file system. In addition to increased storage space, these files should have an extra level of protection against a hardware failure.

7 July 2000 - New computer projector unit

The computer core and GIA core recently jointly purchased another computer projector unit. We now have units available for researchers and PRI students for presentations held at University Park. Both units are compatible with most laptop computers. The CTX EzPro unit is best suited for presentations in Oswald Tower, while the new, lighter unit is great for presentations where carrying weight makes a difference. The new projector is an InFocus LP330 with a maximum resolution of 1024 X 768. If you need to borrow either projector, please send a message to the help address.

16 May 2000 - Macro Programming Class

This two-day course focuses on the components of the macro facility and how the macro language affects the normal processing of SAS programs. Emphasis is on designing macro systems and debugging techniques.

21 April 2000 - Slide/Negative Scanner

The Computer recently purchased a scanner that is capable of scanning either 35mm negatives or slides. People are mostly using this device to scan in old slides for inclusion into powerpoint presentations, however, it can also be used to put slides up on the web or to archive slides onto electronic media. Please send a note to help if you are interested in using this service.

7 April 2000 - New Calendar Server

We are in the process of migrating people from our Netscape calendar server to the new Exchange Calendar. The new calendar uses MS Outlook as the calendar client. If you have an existing Netscape calendar, it is possible to export that calendar to a file and then import it to Outlook. If you do not have a calendar at this time, we can set one up for you. In either case, contact the computer core (email to help) for assistance.

31 March 2000 - New SAS servers

The computer core has installed 4 new SAS computers. These computers are significantly faster than our previous generation of SAS servers (see chart below). The names of these computers are: bhutan, canada, japan, and vietnam. In addition to adding new servers, we will be encouraging people to stop using SAS v7 on the Unix system and start using SAS v8.

28 March 2000 - New S+ license

The computer core recently purchased a department license for S+. Part of this license allows students to take a copy of S+ 2000 home to run on their computers. You must sign a license agreement to take the software.

17 March 2000 - New Lab PCs

The computer core has finished the installation of 6 PC computers in the 806 lab. 4 of the PCs are running Windows NT and the other 2 are running Windows 98. These PCs are running a variety of statistical software including SAS, S+, SPSS, and Stata.

14 January 2000 - Extended file access

The computer core recently finished our disk access project that is aimed at PRI faculty members who have their primary office outside of Oswald Tower. PRI faculty members can directly access the files they have stored on PopNet through a mapped drive letter (e.g. H:) on their local PC.
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