Training Class Shows How to Make Your Web Site Appear in Google
Do you ever worry why no one visits your Web site? Are there ways to make search engines such as Google take notice of your site? Or do you have a Web presence you don’t want listed by search engines?

A class in the Libraries, Computing & Technology Training Program (LCTTP) addresses these concerns. The class, "Web Visibility: What Every Webmaster Should Know" explains how you can improve how your site appears in search engines – and the mistakes you may be making that inhibit people finding your content.

You’ll also learn how to add your official MSU site to MSU Keywords – guaranteeing placement at the top of the MSU search hit list. A very small amount of effort on your part can have a big impact on how easy it is to find your site.

Past attendees who have applied the techniques in this class report real improvements in how well visitors are attracted to their sites. The class is not highly technical but a basic understanding of HTML is useful.

Seats are available for the next session. For details, please visit train.msu.edu and search for "Web Visibility".

- posted by Richard @ 7:55 PM

 
O'Reilly Computer Books Available Online at MSU
A collection of online books from the publisher O'Reilly & Associates is available online for use by members of the MSU community. ORA specializes in the areas of information technology and computer applications; their books are a popular resource for software developers and computer users worldwide. Topics covered include creative media, desktop productivity, enterprise computing, JAVA, Linux/Unix, software engineering, programming languages, Windows, and Web authoring, design, and development.

You may choose to read a book in its entirety (e.g. Content Syndication with RSS) or you can search for a specific technical term (e.g. "server side includes" or "ASP") and read just the related pages from various books.

ORA calls the online book collection Safari. It is brought to MSU users by the MSU Libraries in conjunction with ProQuest. In order to connect to this valuable resource, you must either be using a computer whose IP address is part of the MSU.edu network, or you must connect using the MSU Proxy Server. You can learn more by visiting http://er.lib.msu.edu/item.cfm?item=007171. Note: there is a limit on the number of simultaneous users, so you may have to wait in line at times.

- posted by Richard @ 7:40 AM

 
MSU Computer Laboratory Has a New Name
In 1956, MSU entered the world of digital computing with the creation of the MSU Computer Laboratory. Within a year the lab had built one of the earliest large-scale digital computers, MISTIC.

In the nearly five decades since, the world of computing has changed dramatically, with the rise of desktop and handheld computers, and the increasing importance of the campus network. Those changes have altered and expanded the Computer Lab’s mission. To better reflect the department’s mission and the services it offers, the unit has been renamed Academic Computing and Network Services (ACNS).

“The name ‘Computer Laboratory’ or ‘Computer Lab’ made sense in past years when we built mainframes and wrote our own operating systems,” said Tom Davis, director. “Over the past 15 to 20 years, our role has steadily evolved, as we took a central role in managing the campus network and providing a variety of computing services.”

The new name was chosen after extensive discussions with staff, customers, and other units in Libraries, Computing and Technology. MSU President Peter McPherson approved the name change in February.

In addition to managing the campus network and the university’s Internet links, ACNS provides general computing help desk services; operates the MSU Computer Store; runs the campus e-mail, network ID and file storage services; repairs computers and designs networks, develops Web sites, databases, and applications programs; provides shared and co-located server hosting; runs a technical training program; operates 50 instructional microcomputer labs; provides campus test-scoring services; handles network security and abuse issues; and, jointly with University Relations, operates MSU’s main Web presence.

A new Web site will soon be launched at www.acns.msu.edu

- posted by Richard @ 10:04 AM