UCLA Gateway

Free Trial of lynda.com Technology Training

Published: 2009.09.16

In response to department requests, Software Central has negotiated a no-cost trial subscription to the lynda.com online technology training service for the period September 24, 2009, through November 24, 2009. During the trial period, all UCLA faculty, staff and students will have free, unlimited access to all of the video-based technology training modules available at iplogin.lynda.com.

This trial subscription is intended to provide UCLA affiliates with a no-cost opportunity to experience the technology tutorials available via lynda.com in order to determine whether there is sufficient demand to establish a universitywide agreement. After the trial period, Software Central will solicit feedback to ascertain whether or not departments found the training to be of sufficient value to share the cost of an annual universitywide agreement.

Lynda.com provides an online library of more than 650 courses on a wide range of technology topics such as commonly used office productivity tools, operating systems, design tools, audio and video editing applications, web development, open source software and much more. These high-quality tutorials are taught by industry experts and are available 24/7 for convenient, self-paced learning. For a complete list of Lynda.com courses, please see the link in Related Information.

To Access lynda.com training during the trial period of September 24 through November 24, 2009:

You do not need to log in; access to lynda.com is based on your IP address. Your computer must have a UCLA IP address or be configured to connect to campus via the VPN if connecting from off campus. Information on the VPN is at http://www.bol.ucla.edu/services/vpn/. Please contact BOL for help with the VPN if necessary at (310) 267-4357. 

1. In your browser, navigate to iplogin.lynda.com from any computer with a UCLA IP address.
2. In the top right corner you should see that you are currently logged in.
3. Select a tutorial to watch using any of the four dropdown menus, the search function or the list of course titles.
4. When you are taken to the Table of Contents for that course, make sure that each segment of the course is underlined. Underlining shows you have access to that segment. Some segments of each course are free to non-subscribers so the only way to verify full access is to make sure ALL the segments are underlined.
5. Click on any segment and the tutorial should start in a popup window.
6. You're in. Watch, enjoy and learn!

We encourage everyone to utilize this service as much as possible during the trial period. Please feel free to pass this information on to any interested UCLA faculty, staff or students. Should you have any problems accessing lynda.com, please contact Software Central.

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Microsoft Windows 7 is Windows 7 for MCCA Participants

Published: 2009.09.03

Microsoft Windows 7 is now available and all departments that participate in the Microsoft Consolidated Campus Agreement (MCCA) and/or purchased Windows licenses with Software Assurance under the Select agreement are eligible to upgrade to Windows 7 Enterprise or Professional at no additional cost. Eligible departments should contact SHI (ucsystem@shi.com) for access to Windows 7 via download.

Windows 7 will use Microsoft's Software Protection Platform with activation via KMS server or MAK key. In general, KMS will be the best method by which to activate Windows 7 on a computer that is regularly connected (after initial activation this means every 180 days) to the UCLA network. A UCLA-wide KMS has been established; see link for instructions regarding how to activate via the UCLA KMS. Every UCLA department has the option to use this KMS to activate Windows 7 on all computers licensed to use Windows 7.

For computers that are not regularly connected to the UCLA network, an MAK key may be used. Eligible departments should contact SHI (ucsystem@shi.com) to request MAK keys as needed.

Windows 7 includes some significant changes and will impact UCLA departments in different ways based upon multiple factors including your need for Microsoft products, which non-Microsoft software you need to use, and your department’s unique business needs. Each department will need to decide if and when to switch to Windows 7 based upon their own specific needs. If you’re considering transitioning to Windows 7, it is recommended that you begin testing it as soon as possible. Before making this decision be sure to keep in mind the following:

• Some non-Microsoft software applications commonly in use at UCLA are not yet compatible with Windows 7.
• Sophos and PatchLink have stated that their products are not currently Windows 7 compatible, but expect to be by October 2009.
• In all cases, upgrading from Windows XP to Windows 7 will require a clean installation. In many cases, the same is true for upgrades from Vista, depending upon the version. For more details see the Windows 7 upgrade chart. 
• Mainstream support for XP ended on 4/14/09. This means that Microsoft doesn't have to release any new features, bug fixes, or other enhancements to make XP work with newer products.
• Microsoft will continue to issue XP security fixes to licensed users as needed.
• Non-security patches for XP are only available to participants of Microsoft's fee-based Premier customer program.
• Windows 7 includes Internet Explorer 8 and some websites aren't yet compatible with IE8.
• Microsoft has compiled a Windows Client Comparison Chart listing the features available with XP, Vista and Windows 7 that may be useful.
  

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