SCLS staff have been busy preparing for some software updates. You may have noticed that one even snuck out early the week before last! (The Chrome browser went out to libraries' Windows 7 staff PCs on 9/13)
Here's the low-down on a few other software updates that will be rolled out in upcoming weeks:
OverDrive Media Console
OMC had been removed from SCLS patron PCs a few years ago because of licensing restrictions. Since then, OverDrive has revisited their licensing policies and has given us the go-ahead to include it on patron PCs again. The addition of OMC on patron PCs was discussed at the June 12th SCLS Tech Committee meeting and approved at the August 14th meeting.
What libraries should know about OverDrive Media Console on SCLS-supported PCs
- It will not be installed on any Windows XP patron PCs
- It will be added to Windows Vista and Windows 7 patron PCs
- Desktop icons for OverDrive Media Console will be added to internet PCs but not to restricted browsing catalog PCs (and our documentation and screenshots will be updated!)
- OverDrive Media Console is already included on staff PCs
- We ran into a technical issue with the rollout which has not yet been resolved, so we do not yet have a target date for when OMC will be added to patron PCs
Firefox 24
Firefox 24 was released last Tuesday (9/17). SCLS staff are in the process of testing it with the Koha staff interface to make sure there aren't any issues. If testing is successful, we hope to roll it out to libraries' staff PCs the 1st or 2nd week of October. Patron PCs will receive it as part of their automatic updates.
Internet Explorer 10
We will be upgrading Internet Explorer to version 10 on both staff and patron SCLS-supported PCs on the SCLS network. This will most likely occur the 1st or 2nd week of October.
What libraries should know about IE 10 on SCLS-supported PCs
- Windows XP PCs are not compatible with IE 10 and will not receive the upgrade
- IE 10 on other SCLS-supported PCs will look alot like IE 9 (so there's no need to be alarmed!)
The future of upgrades
Because of the frequency of software updates (so many programs, so many updates all the time!), in the future SCLS will be moving away from notifications for every update and exact dates for when the updates will occur. This will give us some additional flexibility to get them out to libraries more quickly. Most of the updates will not be noticeable in your day-to-day use and if there is a major update that impacts workflow, we will make it a point to notify libraries.
In the next month or so, we'll be publishing some web pages that will provide additional details about when software updates will occur for patron and staff PCs, and updated procedures and details for laptop updates. It's going to be an exciting new world where software is updated frequently, automatically, and with a minimum of staff involvement and fuss. So stay tuned for more information...
What questions or concerns does your library have about software updates? Please leave them in the comments of this blog post!
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