Welcome to the DOM IT Services Summer 2009 newsletter.

Each quarter we put together this newsletter to keep the Department of Medicine informed about the latest in IT policy, projects, security and more. We have a lot of fun writing these articles, and we get most of the ideas from you, so please let us know if there's something you'd like to see. You can also see past issues of our newsletters, in case you enjoy this one so much that you want more!

In light of the recently-announced furloughs we are scaling back this newsletter to a more manageable size. Hopefully you still find these articles useful, but now more than ever we would like to hear from you about how we can better focus our efforts. Read on!

We recently made several important changes to the Department of Medicine web site and templates.

• 1000-pixel-wide web sites - more room for more content
• New search link on the DOM banner - like Google, but smarter
• New Highlights section on the home page - more ways to highlight all of the wonderful things DOM people do
• Standard font size changed to 12 pixels - we're all getting older, and our eyesight isn't what it used to be
• Updated home page pictures - benefitting from all of the great photos we have access to
• Updated Mission and Vision statements on the home page - incorporating the first products of the strategic planning process

The Department of Medicine is working with the School of Medicine Information Services Unit (SOM ISU) to encrypt all University-owned laptops and high-risk desktops by June 30, 2010.

Kenton gives us an overview of how this project will work and what it means for you.

Ed gives us some useful information on how to use color, and how not to use it, on your web sites.

Sure he's friendly, multitalented, and devilishly handsome, but what do we really know about Edel Alon? Marlon digs deeper and asks the tough questions.

Do you wish you had an assistant who anticipated your needs and could find information exactly when you needed it? Kristan looks at Xobni, which may be the assistant you've been looking for.

Have an old computer at home that just doesn't perform like it used to? Rather than throwing it away, try installing Linux on it and extend its useful life. Andrew tells us how.

Every once in a while your computer might slow down and the typical reboot doesn't fix the problem. Sometimes this happens after installing new software, software updates, or operating system updates. There are many reasons why your system might slow down. Edel covers some of the basic ways to speed up your computer.