The holiday season is in full swing, and the end of the year is quickly approaching. As you’re making last-minute preparations to be away, here are a few items to check if you plan to take your laptop:
- If you’d like to work on a document that’s stored on your personal network drive but you’re not sure if you’ll have Internet access while you’re away, think about putting a copy of the desired file on your laptop before you leave. Doing so will allow you to access the file(s) offline. Just remember to move a copy back to the network when you have Internet connectivity or return to the office. This is only advised for your personal documents and not documents you may be sharing with other team members on a shared network drive.
- Be sure to test your VPN connection to ensure it’s working properly. If it’s not, call the Service Desk at (502) 564-2002.
- Double check that your power cord is in your laptop bag. Depending on the model of your machine, KETS might able to provide a loaner cord if you don’t have one.
- If you’ve been prompted to change your password in the past few days and you’ve been putting it off, be sure you reset it before you leave. If your password expires while you’re out of the office, you’ll have to call the Service Desk to have it reset.
- If you plan to use the Internet at home or on the road and don’t plan to use the VPN, be sure that you know how to disable and enable the proxy in Internet Explorer. If you need assistance with this, please contact the Service Desk.
- As you travel, please do not leave your KDE laptop in an unattended vehicle. Not only can the low temperatures damage the laptop, you also risk having it stolen.
Energy conservation – Remember to turn off your monitor, workstation, personal printer and other electronic devices before you leave the office. Doing so saves energy, money, and often extends the life of these devices as well.
Holiday fact – The first department store to feature a visit with Santa was the J. W. Parkinson’s store in Philadelphia in 1841. Astonishingly, no other department stores copied this event until 1890, when a store in Boston repeated it.
From everyone in Knowledge, Information and Data Services (KIDS), have safe and happy holidays!
To provide feedback or submit a technical topic/question you’d like to see addressed, please send e-mails to matt.jury@education.ky.gov.
Published 12/17/2010