You may not recognize the labs from last term as we have been very busy replacing the HP machines with all new iMac and Mac Pro workstations: What’s New:

• One very important change is that we now delete all user profiles upon logout. This means if you leave a document on your desktop and log out it will not be there the next time you log in. So make sure you have all of your data on an external drive. If you need to save something to your specific system, there is a 1TB “Student Work” drive that you can use, but this volume can be erased without notice if a problem should arise and will be reformatted at the end of each term, so please backup your work. One result of deleting profiles will be that it will take a little bit longer for the log in procedure to take place, so please be patient when logging in. This will help maintain the system drives throughout the term.
• Many of you will need to migrate your work from a PC formatted drive to one that can be read by a Mac. You can format a drive to be seen by both systems. The standard FAT(32) format can be used by both platforms but has limitations regarding file count and file size so exFAT is the best option to format a drive to if you need to use it across platforms. These new Macs have Thunderbolt connections so feel free to pick up a Thunderbolt drive to take advantage of the high speed throughput.
• All lab systems will soon have breakout cables on them so you can access USB, Thunderbolt, and headphone outputs without having to mess around with the back of the systems.
• To access AWExpress on the new Macs, make sure you are in finder and press cmd+K or from the menu, navigate to Go->Connect to server. A window will open where you type in “cifs://awexpress.westphal.drexel.edu” (there should also be a bookmark for it). After it connects, it will ask for you for your credentials. When your username and password has been successfully entered, you can access the cinetv_students volume.
• Another change this year will be that you must sign out one of the four iLoks to use Pro Tools in the intermediate or advanced editing labs (017, 032). Pro Tools is loaded on all machines now so you don’t have to wait for one of four systems that have the iLok strapped to it.

Some Reminders:

• Network storage (awexpress) is provided as a conveyance and although it is running on redundant hardware it is still susceptible to outages; so make sure to backup your data
• The network storage devices are available for your use but be warned that they can be cleaned up at the end of each quarter. Also they fill up often so if you can delete any of your old data during the term we would appreciate it.
• Remember that the Westphal Print Center is here to serve you, see http://printcenter.westphal.drexel.edu for more information; get stuff printed at a very, very lost cost
• This website is our primary mode of communication with students; i.e. please make sure to read it and check it often for updates.
• Finally, if you run into any problems, please make sure to let us know!