Tech Corner

IT’s bountiful Marketplace has new address on the Web

BY CARLYN CHATFIELD
Special to the Rice News

Rice’s Technology Marketplace has been a valuable tool for faculty, staff and students researching both institutional and personal technology purchases, and now it has a new home as well as new offerings.

The marketplace, now at <www.rice.edu/market>, is a source for learning about hardware, software, cell phones, printers and other technologies and connects members of the Rice community with vendors from whom they can purchase these items.

Among the features found on the Web site are:

• a new search limited to the marketplace pages
• links to a variety of vendors
• banner codes for computing-related equipment
• purchasing guidelines and recommendations
• a list of computer-repair vendors
• an explanation of Rice’s preferred vendor/supplier program
• an overview of various software and links to purchase software
• an explanation of Rice’s major technology acquisition program, the strategic vendor relations program
• tips for students making technology purchases
• recommendations for wireless hardware and information on registering a wireless device on the Rice campus network.

Two new faces among the vendors are Verizon and Sprint. Members of the Rice community who already have a cell phone with one of these two vendors can call the sales representative listed on the Web page and ask for the Rice discount to be applied to their existing plan.

The list of vendors and suppliers is always growing and new features are continuously being added to the site, which Rick Nelson, manager for IT procurement and vendor relations, points out “is more like a virtual marketplace than an Amazon-type of market.”

Update allows PDA users to access RUF, Owlnet accounts

Rice faculty, students and staff with personal digital assistants or other tools using PocketPC 2003 software can now get mail cluster messages through these portable devices.  Previously, e-mail account holders with RUF or Owlnet accounts experienced difficulty accessing their Rice e-mail with the PocketPC software.  Senior Systems Administrator Dean Lane determined the root cause of these errors in mid-December and revised the mail clusters to include compatibility with the software.

On a related note, a fix was also applied that allows Microsoft Entourage to work with RUF and Owlnet mail accounts.