SCLS Technology News

2023 Spring Ordering Moratorium

Due to the upcoming SCLS headquarters move in May, we will be issuing an order moratorium starting Friday, March 31st, and going through Monday, July 3rd. This will mainly affect PC orders, but could also apply to other peripherals too. In most cases, if you need to order a peripheral during this window contact Craig and he’ll work out some arrangement to have items shipped directly to your library rather than coming to SCLS headquarters first and being sent out through delivery.

Please contact Craig if you have any questions.

 

Photo by Erda Estremera on Unsplash

 

Windows 11 on Staff PCs

SCLS is ready to start deploying Windows 11.  We will begin by deploying Windows 11 on new staff PCs and eligible staff PCs that come in for repair.  Microsoft has set October 14, 2025 as the end-of-life date for Windows 10, so we will eventually deploy Windows 11 to existing staff PCs as well.  This can be done over the network when the library is closed.

Windows 11 Start Menu

We will also begin developing a Windows 11 configuration for public computers in February and start deploying it as soon as possible.

Windows 11 is very similar to Windows 10 under the hood, but end users will notice differences in the taskbar, start menu, folders, Windows Explorer, Notepad and Media player.  If you would like to read about some of the new features included in Windows 11, check out these links!

• PCMag (Windows 11: Biggest Changes and New Features)
• Computerworld (Windows 11 Cheat Sheet)
• PCWorld (Windows 11’s first big update arrives: 6 new features to try)
• Windows Central (Windows 11 review: The start of a new era)

End of Year Ordering

The deadline for receiving an invoice from SCLS for Technology purchases is rapidly approaching. Last year we started seeing some delays with our orders and this year the delays have gotten longer on most items. PCs seem to be arriving the fastest, but I’m starting to see about a two-week delay on them. Please plan accordingly. If you’d like a PC or laptop and have an invoice in your hand by the end of the year please place your order no later than Friday, Nov 4th, sooner would be better. If you are allowed to purchase in 2022 and receive an invoice at the end of January 2023 then you have until Friday, December 2nd 2022 to place your order, again, sooner would be better. If you want anything else, like a docking station, printer, some monitors, or access point, please contact me directly to work out an arrangement, these items are taking anywhere from 4 – 12 months to arrive, and since we are not invoiced until an item ships, we can’t invoice you, that’s why we’ll need to work out an alternative solution for you.

 

Photo by Markus Winkler on Unsplash

 

Workstation Status Reports

For many years now we have provided the Workstation Status Reports to libraries as a reference for the status of their PCs.  If you have viewed them recently you might notice they look a little different now.  This is because we purchased new help desk and inventory software called SolarWinds.  The staff here have been testing it out and configuring it to roll out later this year.  We have already fully migrated over to the inventory side of it.  The new software has already been great to work with and keep track of devices.

The main change between the old reports and the new one is the color coding is gone.  The same information is still there, just presented a little differently. The "Warranty status" column will note either 'expired' or 'not expired'.  PCs that say 'expired' should be planned to replaced soon. As a recap most Dell warranties we purchase with new PCs is 3 years.  The SCLS guidelines are to replace PCs between 3-5 years.  To see a date when the Dell warranties expire please check the "Warranty End Date" column as that tells you too.

The main Workstation Status Report I run for the libraries is the same for each site.  However, if you need more information or a custom report I can run those as well.  Please send me an email with those requests or if you have any questions about your PCS. 

 

Emily 

[email protected]

 

Advance notice for network printer installs

Just a quick reminder -- if your library is getting a new network printer or copier that will be used by your SCLS-supported PCs, please schedule this in advance with the SCLS Help Desk. With a little notice, we'll be able to make sure we have staff available to make any necessary network configuration changes and to help install the new driver on your supported PCs.

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End of year ordering and Windows 8 reminders

I'd like to remind you not to wait too much longer to place your end of the year order for PCs. If you are required to have an invoice before December 31st please be sure leave enough time to request your quote and finalize your order with me before Friday, November 5th, 2021. If you are able to receive an invoice in late January with a 2021 date, then you have until Friday, December 3rd, 2021 to place an order with me. If you order after those dates I can't guarantee a timely invoice for you. The Order Forms have recently been updated with the current models and prices so you should have a good idea of what your totals will be before you receive the quote.

I would also like to mention that we are experiencing long shipping delays with some items from Dell, especially laptops, docking stations and monitors. As of today Oct. 12th I'm seeing estimated ship dates of mid to late January for those items. Most of our standard PCs are shipping within 2 weeks.

Lastly, I want to remind you too that Microsoft is ending support for Windows 8 on January 10th, 2023, about 15 months from now. Check out your Workstation Status Report to see where you are in your rotation cycle, it’s updated at the beginning of every month. If you notice anything that needs to be updated on your status report please contact Emily to notify her.

 

Photo by Brooke Lark - Unplash

Updated shortcuts on public PCs

In the beginning of September, SCLS staff made some minor updates to desktop shortcuts on SCLS-supported public PCs.

• Removed: 2020 Census
• Added: Acrobat Reader DC

The Tech Team received a request from a library in March to investigate adding PDF editing capability to the public stations. Adobe Acrobat (full version, not Reader) is by far the most known product and has many features, but it is also very expensive. Lumin PDF is a web-based subscription that is potentially viable for SCLS libraries, but it does not appear to have any additional features to what is included in the free Adobe Acrobat Reader, which is already installed on SCLS-supported PCs. After a trial of Lumin, the Technology Committee indicated in August that they were in favor of not purchasing Lumin and voted to create an Adobe Acrobat Reader shortcut on the desktop instead.

You can find more information about using Adobe Acrobat Reader to edit PDFs in this TechBits post: "Filling in PDFs with Adobe Acrobat Reader."  

Tips for Recycling Electronics with SCLS

We will be changing how libraries are billed back for sending e-waste to File13 for recycling through Delivery. If your items qualify for free recycling you will not see an invoice from us. If the item does qualify for a charge back, File13 will send that invoice to SCLS rather than individual libraries from now on. Below is a copy of an email Brinnan recently sent out as a reminder, which hits all the high points.

• Not everything can be recycled for free. Please check their website for lists and rates here: https://www.file13usa.com/drop-off-rates.html 
• If there is a charge for the item(s) you are recycling, File 13 will send the invoice to SCA and SCA will bill your library. (Indirect billing is a procedural change requested by File 13 to simplify their invoicing.)
• Due to changes at File 13, we are currently only able to drop things off by appointment. For this reason, we may hold items here until we have a large quantity of materials to deliver. This means that a bill for an item you sent could take several months to arrive.
• ZZZ makes File 13 deliveries. When sending items to ZZZ for this purpose, please use a goldenrod label or a sheet of paper and include these three pieces of information:
  • To: ZZZ
  • For: File 13
  • From: your library code or name
• If you are sending a computer to SCA for repairs, to be wiped, etc., please make sure that you indicate "SCA" on the "To" line of the routing slip. Please also include information regarding what you would like done to the item or items. This might be: "wipe and return" or "repair and return."
• If you are sending an old computer to SCA to be stripped for parts and then later recycled, please use phrases like "retire this computer" or " computer no longer needed."  Please avoid using "recycle" as our staff must then try to determine if you want the item to go to ZZZ for File 13 for recycling or to SCA for some other purpose before going to ZZZ for recycling.

Please let either Brinnan or Craig know if you have any questions reguarding this new change.

The end of Windows 8

Microsoft is ending support for Windows 8 in January, 2023. This means in 22 months Microsoft will discontinue all support and all updates, including security updates.

If you've been keeping up with your PC rotation plan (replacing 1/5 of your PCs each year), you should be prepared and all of your PCs should already be running Windows 10 by then. If you've fallen a bit behind or you're not sure where your library stands, the rest of this post is for you!

What you can do

Check your library's Workstation Status Report and confirm that your library's PCs are up-to-date (in terms of both age and "installed OS"). If they're not, please start planning your replacements now! This notice should give you two budget cycles to complete your replacements. If you find an error with your Status Report, please contact Emily to report any issues or ask her any questions you might have about your report.

SCLS plans for SCLS-supported Windows 8 PCs

SCLS-supported Windows 8 PCs will be disconnected from the SCLS network on January 31st, 2023.

Windows 8 PCs not supported by SCLS

SCLS-as-ISP computers - If your library has Windows 8 computers that have SCLS-as-ISP network connections, you should plan to replace these PCs. The library is responsible for any security issues introduced by computers on SCLS-as-ISP connections.

 

Photo by insung yoon on Unsplash

Windows 10 Feature Update 20H2

We are in the process of updating Windows 10 staff PCs and laptops to the latest feature update, 20H2.  This update will replace the legacy version of Edge with a chromium-based version.  The Start Menu will also attempt to group program tiles based upon common themes.  This article does a good job of explaining the major changes.

The first time you login after the upgrade, you will notice a delay of up to 5 minutes.  Please be patient.  Do not power down the PC when you see the "Preparing Windows" screen.

Most of the computers should be updated by the end of the month.  To check your version of Windows 10, right-click the Start button > Click Run > Enter winver > Click OK.

You do not need to contact SCLS if you are not at version 20H2 yet.  We have access to that information already.  Thanks.