Information Technology

Way back in September we asked faculty and staff to hold off on installing the latest Mac OS, Mojave. We’ve been using it for a few months now (as have some of you), and we are ready to endorse it as a stable operating system. If you’re tired of being nagged by Apple to install it–or if you just want to try something new–you can find it in the App Store in the Featured section.

As with any new OS install:

• Please back up your computer before you install Mojave.
• Make sure you have at least an hour to allow the install to complete.

And if you don’t have a backup system set up, we can help you with a plan. As always, contact the IT Help Desk or your School Support Specialist with any related questions or problems. The Help Desk can be reached at helpdesk@hampshire.edu or 413.559.5418.

We’ve seen a few instances lately where Thunderbird has gotten really, really slow on a Mac. We’re not sure if this is a Mac-only problem, so we offer this solution up to anyone who experiences unbearably slow performance in Thunderbird:

1. In Thunderbird, select Help–>Restart with Add-ons Disabled.
2. Click “Restart” when prompted.
3. When it restarts you will have some options presented to you. Check the “Disable all Add-ons” box, and then click on “Make Changes and Restart.”

That should fix it, but if not please feel free to reach out to us at helpdesk@hampshire.edu or 413.559.5418.

We’ve outfitted classrooms with projectors that can connect to your computer in several ways: HDMI, Apple TV, and VGA. Sometimes it’s trial and error to get things working, but your best bet for clarity is HDMI. We suggest you start with HDMI and then try the other options if that doesn’t work well for you.

If you don’t have an HDMI port on your computer, check to see if there is an adapter that you can use: we tether them to the HDMI cables. If that doesn’t work out for you, go ahead and try Apple TV or VGA, but don’t expect the same quality of picture.

If you are having trouble with all of the adapters, check the printed instructions in the classroom—sometimes a specific order of connections is important to get things working correctly.

If all else fails, contact information for the Help Desk is posted in each classroom.

The new macOS, Mojave (10.14), just became available from the Apple App Store. We ask that you hold off a bit before installing, so that we have a chance to assess it. Watch this space for the all-clear after it’s been out for a while.

If you’re new to the Hampshire campus there are a few things we know might trip you up. Here are some of the issues that we typically see problems with at this time of year.

Having Trouble Printing?
As you may have noticed, Hampshire has several wireless networks; knowing which is appropriate to connect to can help avoid problems accessing services. In order to print or access file servers you must be using either Wallace or Eduroam, or be plugged into the Ethernet. View details about the Eduroam network .

Smart Phone Not Accessing the Internet on Campus?
If your smart phone seems to lose internet access as soon as you set foot on campus, it may be that it is trying to connect to the Wallace network but hasn’t yet registered with it. You have a choice: choose the Hampguest network instead, or register your phone with Wallace by using its browser to go to https://netreg.hampshire.edu . Note that if you choose Hampguest instead of netreg’ing, you may find that it switches back to Wallace on occasion all on its own.

Can’t Log into The Hub?
If you are having trouble logging into The Hub and you’re new to Hampshire, it might be because you haven’t completed the short FERPA (Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act) training video and quiz. To take the quiz go to https://hamp.it/FERPA . If you’re not new to Hampshire we encourage you to take it anyway–and we promise it is quick and painless.

New Email Account not Working?
If you have a new email account but you can’t seem to get your email, did you accept the AUP (Acceptable Use Policy) at https://password.hampshire.edu ? While you’re there, change your password to something you will remember, and then set up your security questions.

Want to Forward your Hampshire Email to Another Email Account?
Faculty and students sometimes prefer to receive personal and Hampshire email in one place. If that sounds like you, you can set up forwarding by going to password.hampshire.edu and selecting “Email Settings.” Just make sure that you pay attention to messages telling you that it’s time to change your password–you have to do that once a year–and at that time go back to password.hampshire.edu.

Not Sure if an Email Message is a Scam?
When critical announcements are made to the entire campus, they are both posted on the Intranet and emailed to faculty, staff, and/or students directly from the announcement system. You can verify authenticity of these messages by checking the Intranet. You should also know that to change your password or check your email quota we would only ever send you to password.hampshire.edu. Just remember that web address & type it into your browser if you ever want to check the status of your account–anywhere else is a scam.

Have a Scam Email You Think You’d Better Share with IT?
Scam emails can be sent to phishbowl@hampshire.edu, which will bring them to the attention of the system administrators.

Need IT Help?
The IT Help Desk is staffed M-F from 8:30 a.m.-Noon, and 1-4 p.m. If you need immediate assistance give a call to 413.559.5418. For non-emergencies you can email helpdesk@hampshire.edu. To enter an IT ticket go to TheHub.

Looking for Amazing Tech Tips on a Weekly Basis?
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