According to Glenn Gilbert, utilities manager and sustainability coordinator, the computer lab in the Union has normally been air-conditioned year-round to compensate for the heat generated by the computers.  Since the Mac-minis have been installed, said Gilbert, "We are now hoping that when the outdoor temperature falls below the mid-forties, we won't have to air condition." Although it is difficult to know for sure exactly how much energy will be saved, two large pumps necessary to distribute chilled water will be turned off, resulting in a conservative estimated saving of at least $3,000 this winter on energy bills, on top...

By Alysha Landis • October 13, 2010 • News

Students, faculty and staff ran into complications Tuesday, when Goshen College’s web server was not working. The server failed around 11:20 a.m. Tuesday after a security breach. Michael Sherer, director of information technology, is in charge of the server and has been working since Tuesday to restore the site. “Some security breaches are relatively undestructive—you patch them up and move on,” Sherer said. “This one actually vandalized the machine.” Sherer said that the degree of destruction “complicates the recovery,” so unlike usual when the server needs work, Sherer and others must rebuild the entire server. Most of www.goshen.edu was back...

By Marlys Weaver • January 20, 2010 • News

Since Mark Zuckerburg and three friends began the thefacebook.com for Harvard University Feb. 1, 2004, this social networking site has grown into an international sensation. Not even 6 six years old, Facebook has grown from an informational host to an eruption of games, contacts, quizzes, groups and more. With over 300 million users, Facebook is no longer just a hub for social college students. Facebook’s popularity, along with both some skeptical users and non-users, give the Web site a complex place in today’s world, even here at Goshen College. Like much of the U.S., Goshen College is also wrapped up...

By Marlys Weaver • November 4, 2009 • Features

The future is now, and Goshen College is embracing the technological innovations that the 21st century has to offer, propelled by its Information Technology Services (ITS) staff. Some of the new developments this year are widely known – the switch to Zimbra and the extended WiFi coverage around campus – but there are a few improvements that have gone almost unnoticed – the e2campus system, the bandwidth upgrade to iLight, and Zimbra’s many special features, to name a few. “In the grand scheme of things, we’re trying to make the campus more friendly for mobile computing,” said Michael Sherer, director...

By Lisa Perkins • September 30, 2009 • News

This article was reported by Andrew Shenk Goshen College’s Mennonite Historical Library has developed what it hopes will be an authoritative, expansive, and constantly evolving source for information about international Anabaptist-Mennonite groups. The library’s “Global Anabaptist Wiki” project, which went live at anabaptistwiki.org in the spring of 2009, uses the same software and approach to editorial control as the phenomenally popular online encyclopedia “Wikipedia.” It allows users worldwide to create and edit pages about their own communities and related historical issues by adding personal stories and reflections. The collaborative aspect also allows a more varied range of viewpoints, according to...

By Admin • September 30, 2009 • Features

As the online revolution continues to shape the world, many schools and companies are adapting their software to efficiently share general information within their organization. Currently, Goshen College relies on programs such as RoundCube e-mail and Oracle Calendar to meet these goals, but these programs are outdated and only provide the most basic information sharing needs. To remedy this problem, the information technology services department will replace RoundCube and Oracle with Zimbra Collaborative Suite for the next academic year. Zimbra will consolidate a wide variety of collaboration tools into a single program. E-mail, digital calendars, document sharing and a basic...

By Daniel Vader • April 15, 2009 • News

In the early 1990’s, he played Super Mario Bros. on his two-button Nintendo Game Boy. In 1996, he bought a Nintendo 64, beating Mario 64, 1080 Snowboarding and a collection of other games. But during his sophomore year of high school, something changed. Neumann realized he wanted to be on the other end of video games. He wanted to make them. Neumann is currently helping to build Sacred Seasons, a multiplayer online role playing game. You start the game by choosing a class, which varies by which season you pick. In each season there are four different classes with different...

By Chris Neumann • April 1, 2009 • Features

An anonymous Facebook profile got people talking last week. The profile was created on Wednesday under the name “Spacemaker Peaceman.” The page is full of odd references to intra-dimensional travel, the tenth-dimensional gulf, his army of “Spacemaker Juniors” and eating from the center of blackholes. Spacemaker Peaceman already has 52 friends (primarily seniors). Many do not know who made the profile, which surprised Meghan Hoover, a senior. “I thought it was silly that everyone said yes without knowing him!” Hoover said. Then again, she friended him, too. Dan Vader, a senior, knows why he friended Spaceman. “His profile is awesome,”...

By Paul Boers • February 11, 2009 • Features