Free anti-virus software for home use

Microsoft has released a free version of their security software called Security Essentials. It protects your computer from viruses, spyware, and mal-ware. While there are several different free anti-virus software titles available today, our tests have shown that Security Essentials is easy to use and offers very good protection for individual users.

Download the software from Microsoft's website:
http://www.microsoft.com/security_essentials/?mkt=en-us

Virtualization saves us money

Server virtualization, in a nutshell, is when several different servers are combined onto one machine. Combining servers and clustering them together is great for our users; it makes the network safer and more reliable. It also saves us money. Lots of money. Each high school used to have 14 servers. We have reduced that number to eight, and by next summer there will only be four. Eliminating 10 servers at each building saves us more than $50,000 annually just in electricity costs. On top of that, it costs less money to cool the server rooms and it will cost us less money in the future when we need to replace 4 servers instead of 14.

We began virtualizing servers to provide a better experience for our students and our staff members. We didn't realize how much money we would save each year in electricity costs until our energy consultant sat down with us and worked on the numbers.


For more information on virtualization please visit Microsoft's website: http://www.microsoft.com/virtualization/en/us/products-server.aspx

Next generation tablets

At some point in the future we will see all students (yes, all students) with some kind of computing device in their hands. Smart phones, netbooks, laptops, eReaders and iTouch devices are already visible in our classrooms and hallways, but what will the landscape look like in the next five years?

With the Amazon Kindle being seen more as an electronic reader and not the all-around textbook we had hoped for (read the Daily Princetonian article), we may need to look back at a more powerful computer-like device. Here's a blog article from CrunchGear about Microsoft's latest tablet PC, the Courier, which shows a lot of promise.

Connecting to online storage

D211 uses Microsoft's Unified Access Gateway (UAG) to allow students and teachers to access their files remotely from any location with Internet access. It is similar to last year's NetStorage but with more security and more features.

Here are your directions for logging in to UAG and accessing your files.

1.Go to the district Online Storage web page which can be found on the web page of every D211 school. The direct link is https://xtier.d211.org/

2.Click on the LOG IN button.

3.You will get an error message stating that there is a problem with the security certificate on this web page. Click on CONTINUE TO THIS WEB SITE.

4.A box will pop up that states the web site is already in your trusted sites list and ask if you want to allow opening the site. Click YES.

5.An add-on needs to be installed onto your computer to make the software work. Click on the INSTALL button if this box pops up. You will only have to do this the first time you use the Online Storage.

6.The software is being installed onto your computer and needs access to the district Online Storage page for it to work. When you get the security alert asking if you trust the certificate, click on TRUST THIS SITE and then choose ALWAYS. Then click on the TRUST button at the bottom. Again, you will only have to do this the first time you use the Online Storage.

7.You can now log in . Add the phrase d211\ to the beginning of your username. Without adding d211\ you will not be able to access your files. It is required! Enter your password and then click on LOG ON.

For more information on UAG please visit Microsoft's website.