Have you got one or more computers that are getting old and starting to feel slow? Are they running Windows? Can you do without any special programs only available for Windows? Then there might be a way to get those computers to good use.
Ubuntu is a operating system which is getting more and more popular. It's build upon linux which does not demand as much performance wise as Windows. You can browse the Internet with browsers like Chrome and Firefox just as on Windows and watch streaming content like video on Youtube. A lot of programs made for Windows also exist on Ubuntu and more are in the making as more users switch over to Ubuntu. Since Ubuntu is safer than Windows you don't need any antivirus programs which slows down your computer considerably. Also, the graphical user interface is looking fantastic is easy to use. One other great thing about Ubuntu is that it's totally free! That's right, you get all these features without paying anything.
You should try it out and see for yourself!
http://www.ubuntu.com/
You can still run Windows beside Ubuntu and chose what OS you want to use when start the computer. Also, if you're using an older version of Windows like XP and are forced to use it because your program only work in Windows you should consider upgrading to Windows 7 since it will actually boost it up and make it go faster.
söndag 9 februari 2014
Backup your data - but how?
Backing up data is not something new. Storing data on several places to create a redundancy in case something happens is a must for important files that you don't want to lose. But what about the other files, those that you don't really need but still can't get yourself to remove just for the sake of it? We will now look into a few techniques and tips for making backups of your data.
External hard drive
External hard drives is a fast way to backup your data and can store a huge amount of it. Also, it's a secure way, especially if you plug it off the computer when you're done and store it at a safe place where none but you can find it.
One problem with external local storage is that it's complicated and time consuming to bring it with you and handle files when you for example want to sync with other computers manually.
Sometimes files and folders are not enough for making backups on. It is possible to make a backup of the whole hard disk drive with a program like Clonezilla. This is called making an image of the disk that you can restore. The whole process is called cloning. Compare restoring everything to what is was with the time consuming reinstallation of Windows including updates, programs and manually putting back files.
Cloud storage services
Cloud storage services has taken the world by storm. Today there's a lot of them, some of the more famous are Google Drive, Microsofts Skydrive and Dropbox. These services let's you store you data on their servers and also sync it to all devices you have connected to them with your account. You can access you data from anywhere you are, as long as you got an Internet connection. For files you use very day this is great!
Cloud storage is very neat when it comes to smaller files like documents and pictures. But since our Internet connection to these services are much slow it's no good idea to upload movies to them. Maybe in the future when connections are faster. Also, these services has a limit in storage far lower than the one of your local storage.
Something you need to think about when using cloud based services is that your data is traveling through over the Internet and the cloud servers. You have no direct control over the data on these servers. Someone might for example hack into the servers and compromise your information. Therefore it's important to think twice before uploading sensitive information. You should also read the terms of service. When using cloud services in other contexts than personal, for example as a teacher at a school you have to check which rules exists in your case. Sending sensitive information about others, like students over the Internet and cloud services might not be a good idea.
External hard drive
External hard drives is a fast way to backup your data and can store a huge amount of it. Also, it's a secure way, especially if you plug it off the computer when you're done and store it at a safe place where none but you can find it.
One problem with external local storage is that it's complicated and time consuming to bring it with you and handle files when you for example want to sync with other computers manually.
Sometimes files and folders are not enough for making backups on. It is possible to make a backup of the whole hard disk drive with a program like Clonezilla. This is called making an image of the disk that you can restore. The whole process is called cloning. Compare restoring everything to what is was with the time consuming reinstallation of Windows including updates, programs and manually putting back files.
Cloud storage services
Cloud storage services has taken the world by storm. Today there's a lot of them, some of the more famous are Google Drive, Microsofts Skydrive and Dropbox. These services let's you store you data on their servers and also sync it to all devices you have connected to them with your account. You can access you data from anywhere you are, as long as you got an Internet connection. For files you use very day this is great!
Cloud storage is very neat when it comes to smaller files like documents and pictures. But since our Internet connection to these services are much slow it's no good idea to upload movies to them. Maybe in the future when connections are faster. Also, these services has a limit in storage far lower than the one of your local storage.
Something you need to think about when using cloud based services is that your data is traveling through over the Internet and the cloud servers. You have no direct control over the data on these servers. Someone might for example hack into the servers and compromise your information. Therefore it's important to think twice before uploading sensitive information. You should also read the terms of service. When using cloud services in other contexts than personal, for example as a teacher at a school you have to check which rules exists in your case. Sending sensitive information about others, like students over the Internet and cloud services might not be a good idea.
fredag 7 februari 2014
Gör undersökningar med Google Forms
Österlengymnasiets ettor har fått Chromebooks och nu är det dags att välja skydd till dem. Tillsammans med Spreadsheet och Fusion fungerar Forms utmärkt för att låta eleverna välja skydd och för inköparen att se vad de valt. Fusion är gratis men måste läggas till i listan över applikationer i Google Drive.
Skriv ut varifrån du vill med Google Cloud Printer
Samtidigt som man vill begränsa antalet utskrifter måste det gå smidigt när man väl måste skriva ut något. Utdelning av skrivare över det lokala nätverket är ett sätt men kan vara svårt och krångligt att fungera. Google har skapat ett nytt system som går över deras servrar, deras moln. Det man gör är att dela ut sin skrivare som man installerat på datorn till de man vill på Google drive. Man behöver ha datorn som delar ut kopplad till skrivaren för att det ska fungera men sen kan de som fått behörighet skriva ut oberoende av var de är så länge de har tillgång till Internet.
Via inställningar i Chrome hittar du avancerade inställningar och Google Cloud Print. Där kan du hantera skrivare och dela ut dem. För att kunna skriva ut via program som har utskriftsmöjlighet så som Word och Anteckningar i Windows behöver du installera ett program via den här länken: https://tools.google.com/dlpage/cloudprintdriver
På Österlengymnasiet där jag nu praktiserar har Google Cloud Print gjort det lättare för lärare att skriva ut. Förut behövde de gå iväg med datorn och koppla upp sig med USB till skrivare för att kunna skriva ut.
Ett problem som uppkommer i samband med webbutskrift över molntjänster är att utskrifter med känslig information potentiellt kan ses av andra genom intrång då materialet inte bara går över Internet utan också går via servrar och lagras, om endast tillfälligt så räcker det för att vara ett problem.
Datainspektionen skyddar oss medborgare mot hot på nätet som kan äventyra vår integritet. Man kan inte hantera personuppgifter hur som helst enligt personuppgiftslagen och i skolvärden betyder det att lärare måste tänka sig för när de hanterar elevers uppgifter och material. Den som använder sig av molntjänster är personuppgiftsansvarig och ansvarar för att ta reda på och läsa igenom de avtal som personuppgiftsbiträden i form av molntjänstleverantörer kräver. I kommunal verksamhet får man tänka sig för eftersom andra regler gäller.
Läs mer,
http://www.datainspektionen.se/lagar-och-regler/personuppgiftslagen/molntjanster/
http://www.skl.se/vi_arbetar_med/e-samhallet/skola-i-e-samhallet/stod-till-skolverksamheter-som-vill-anvanda-molntjanster
Via inställningar i Chrome hittar du avancerade inställningar och Google Cloud Print. Där kan du hantera skrivare och dela ut dem. För att kunna skriva ut via program som har utskriftsmöjlighet så som Word och Anteckningar i Windows behöver du installera ett program via den här länken: https://tools.google.com/dlpage/cloudprintdriver
På Österlengymnasiet där jag nu praktiserar har Google Cloud Print gjort det lättare för lärare att skriva ut. Förut behövde de gå iväg med datorn och koppla upp sig med USB till skrivare för att kunna skriva ut.
Ett problem som uppkommer i samband med webbutskrift över molntjänster är att utskrifter med känslig information potentiellt kan ses av andra genom intrång då materialet inte bara går över Internet utan också går via servrar och lagras, om endast tillfälligt så räcker det för att vara ett problem.
Datainspektionen skyddar oss medborgare mot hot på nätet som kan äventyra vår integritet. Man kan inte hantera personuppgifter hur som helst enligt personuppgiftslagen och i skolvärden betyder det att lärare måste tänka sig för när de hanterar elevers uppgifter och material. Den som använder sig av molntjänster är personuppgiftsansvarig och ansvarar för att ta reda på och läsa igenom de avtal som personuppgiftsbiträden i form av molntjänstleverantörer kräver. I kommunal verksamhet får man tänka sig för eftersom andra regler gäller.
Läs mer,
http://www.datainspektionen.se/lagar-och-regler/personuppgiftslagen/molntjanster/
http://www.skl.se/vi_arbetar_med/e-samhallet/skola-i-e-samhallet/stod-till-skolverksamheter-som-vill-anvanda-molntjanster
torsdag 6 februari 2014
When troubleshooting fails and how to solve it
Troubleshooting computers starts with running a diagnostics test to identify the faulty component in the computer. Because it must be a component that is broken right? I ran a test with 20 computers who needed to be checked. Half of them showed what was wrong in the diagnostics and parts could hence be replaced to get them to work again. The other half just shut themselves down after a long time. We didn't have time to stand and wait for error messages prior to the shutdown so we didn't knew if there where any. Since the diagnostics was doing extensive tests on the memory and these tests took most of the total time for the diagnostic we thought it could be the memory's that made the computer shut down. We therefore tried with memory's we where sure worked but got the same result. Since the memory test was the last one in the diagnostics and everything else had passed we knew all parts of the computer had passed the test.
So basically everything were fine with the computers, except they shutdown without any reason. So if nothing was wrong with the computers why did they behave like this?
The solution:
We now knew that we were dealing with a common problem and that there was nothing wrong with the hardware, or at least it didn't seem so. Something made the computers shutdown. What could it be? In what situations do computers shutdown? Well, it could be something with their the power supply but since they all had working battery's and where all connected to working AC adapters this was highly unlikely.
Maybe it was their processors? When it gets overheated it shuts down and hence so does also the computer. But why would it get overheated? All computers had a lot of space around them and hence no problems with the airflow externally. But what about internally? Could it be dust in the processor fan? That would explain the overheating. We borrowed a compressor from another part of the school and blew them all hard in the out and intakes of the fans. I wish would have had some sort of mask on me because three years of collected dust did not do wonders on my lungs. Since clearing the fans seemed like something that was needed I didn't stop at those 10 I was troubleshooting. Instead I kept going until all 50 computers in the room were cleared from dust. Also, I should have used ear protection because that compressor made a lot of noise.
When finished, all 10 passed the tests and I could restore windows 7 images on them and put them on the "ready to be served" shelf.
Dust really can cause problems. Blowing it out can really make a difference. Noise from jammed fans, lowered lifetime of components due to high temperatures and sudden shutdowns can all be avoided by blowing with the compressor for a while.
Sometimes you have to think a bit out of the box to solve problems. It's not always obvious what the problem might be, especially if you haven't thought about it before or have any previous experience. Trying to find a problem from a different angle can really pay off.
Background:
I'm practicing at the IT-department at a high school called Österlengymnasiet in southeastern Scania, Sweden. The job is more of a solving problems one than just fixing computers. The main goal, which is called "one to one" is to make sure all students got a working computer.
Students get's a computer when they start their education and these are expected to last until they graduate. This is of course not the case, stuff breaks. Depending on the model, different components more often breaks and hence faults in the design are shown.
So basically everything were fine with the computers, except they shutdown without any reason. So if nothing was wrong with the computers why did they behave like this?
The solution:
We now knew that we were dealing with a common problem and that there was nothing wrong with the hardware, or at least it didn't seem so. Something made the computers shutdown. What could it be? In what situations do computers shutdown? Well, it could be something with their the power supply but since they all had working battery's and where all connected to working AC adapters this was highly unlikely.
Maybe it was their processors? When it gets overheated it shuts down and hence so does also the computer. But why would it get overheated? All computers had a lot of space around them and hence no problems with the airflow externally. But what about internally? Could it be dust in the processor fan? That would explain the overheating. We borrowed a compressor from another part of the school and blew them all hard in the out and intakes of the fans. I wish would have had some sort of mask on me because three years of collected dust did not do wonders on my lungs. Since clearing the fans seemed like something that was needed I didn't stop at those 10 I was troubleshooting. Instead I kept going until all 50 computers in the room were cleared from dust. Also, I should have used ear protection because that compressor made a lot of noise.
When finished, all 10 passed the tests and I could restore windows 7 images on them and put them on the "ready to be served" shelf.
Dust really can cause problems. Blowing it out can really make a difference. Noise from jammed fans, lowered lifetime of components due to high temperatures and sudden shutdowns can all be avoided by blowing with the compressor for a while.
Sometimes you have to think a bit out of the box to solve problems. It's not always obvious what the problem might be, especially if you haven't thought about it before or have any previous experience. Trying to find a problem from a different angle can really pay off.
Background:
I'm practicing at the IT-department at a high school called Österlengymnasiet in southeastern Scania, Sweden. The job is more of a solving problems one than just fixing computers. The main goal, which is called "one to one" is to make sure all students got a working computer.
Students get's a computer when they start their education and these are expected to last until they graduate. This is of course not the case, stuff breaks. Depending on the model, different components more often breaks and hence faults in the design are shown.
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