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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 19, 1999)
pi Backlash LOTUS from page 1 forNU. He said Lotus Notes had more to offer than just e-mail. For example, the product allows individu als to use calendars and do project scheduling. It also provides a foundation for workflow applications, application development and Web hosting, Gray said. Gray, along with the more than 20,000 other Lotus Notes users now at NU, said the program wasn’t as complicated as it sounded. “It’sr very intuitive,” he said. “It’s point and click. As with any software; you’ll always have a few people that don’t get it. But if you can see it, you can do it.” One of the main features of Lotus Notes e-mail includes the ability to change fonts when typing messages. Colored fonts can also be sent to other Lotus Notes users. The e-mail system automatically includes an electronic signature block at the end of the user’s message. A signature block includes information such as the user’s name, address and employer. Lotus Notes also has a feature allowing users to find the entire name of a person they want to e mail. — By typing in the first few letters of a person’s first or last name, the system reacts by pulling up names in the Lotus directory that match the letters. While UNL has only 4,182 Lotus accounts, much of the rest of the university system is already finished with its migration process, according to Gray. The University of Nebraska at Kearney, for example, has 7,951 Lotus accounts and has fin ished with its switch. The_.University of Nebraska Medical Center is nearly finished with,its change to Lotus Notes and has 6,058 accounts. Donna Liss, director of Information Systems at UNL, said UNL was behind other NU campus es because of its larger student population. Eventually, all students at UNL Will have access to Lotus Notes, she said. “Our hope with the students is to target the next incoming class,” Liss said. “From here on, everybody gets a Lotus Notes account.” NU has already spent more than $1 million on Lotus Notes, including its initial training sessions, Gray said. But Liss said that eventually a re-migration would have to occur. A newer Lotus Notes product, known as R5, is already scheduled to take the place of the current Lotus systems. That means everyone at NU who now uses Lotus Notes would have to change again to another product, Liss said. The university’s budget also calls for using money on a product known as CBT, a software training program for Lotus users. Everyone at NU would have access to the CBT program. “Those are the sorts of things that will really put (Lotus) up and above other e-mail systems (at NU).” Liss said. One of the potential downfalls of Lotus is that certain computers on NU campuses cannot upgrade the new technology, Liss said. For example, faculty or staff who have older computers would have to find ways to purchase computers that could upgrade to Lotus. Purchasing computers was not in the universi ty’s budget when the project was approved by the Board of Regents, Liss said. Still, Gray said the university’s decision to switch to Lotus was a cheap one. He estimated that NU spent about $8 million per year in the last several years to keep its 30 e mail systems running. Gray said that the Lotus Notes project was not the only university project that could cause faculty and staff members to have to upgrade their com puters. Kari Ruehle, who coordinates the Lotus Notes [ ■akin t The Switch ) In the University ^Nebraska system, 21,438 Lotus Notes accounts exist. AH e-mail accounts will be switched to lotus Notes by July 2001. All accounts at the University of Nebraska at K#mey and MU'S Central Administration have beei: changed.f I ACCMRtS dMdfflJ) Central Administration: 224 University of Nebraska at Omaha; 2,023 University of Nebraska MedtiitefCinter: 6,05ft|g University of Nebraska-Lincoln: 4,182 (varsity of Nebraska at Keamseu|U^F i <Mt* ***** , Matt Haney/DN project for the Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources on UNL’s East Campus, said she felt the project was headed in the right direction. Throughout the process of switching her department to Lotus Notes, Ruehle said, testing of the software and feedback from faculty and staff members have helped with the transition. “It’s helped us to continue and improve,” she said. “The more we went, the less glitches we had.” Ruehle said she’s heard few negative com ments about Lotus Notes, although she has heard some. One of those complaints is that the program is complicated to use, she said. “I think anytime you have a change with any thing, it’s going to affect the daily routine and the daily business,” she said. “Overall, it’s been posi tive.” Jan Metzger, executive secretary for the vice chancellor for the Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources, said the transition to Lotus Notes has been an easy one for her. “I’ve adjusted to it fine,” she said. “I haven’t had any major problems. It’s a little more work to get calendar items into it, but you just adjust.” viewed positively BACKLASH from page 1 gay community,, and in order to further the gay movement, stronger ties must be developed with religious institutions. “If the religious groups were more supportive, we might be more politically heard,” she said. “Religion has such a powerful impact on people. If they wanted to, they could really help us.” Watson also focused on the need for religious support. “It’s confusing because Christians preach forgiveness, but they seem to hate homosexuality,” she said. “They need to focus on peo ple’s lives and helping them get along with their life. They need to work on mutual understanding and not just being afraid of what they don’t know.” Despite the lack of religious support, Carrasco said, movement toward gay rights hinges on aware ness and education. “Regardless of law and church, it all boils down to education,” she said. “People must go beyond the books and the press and get to know GLBT people. The only way things will get better is if people see us as people and hear what we have to say.” Ticket charges dropped TICKETS from page 1 $100 to let 16 fans into Memorial Stadium. . Butch Hug, director of events at the University of Nebraska Athletic Department, said Baskerville was suspended from his job last week. On Wednesday, he said, Baskerville was still employed with the univer sity. - “He’s still employed until the courts have made all the settle ments, until they’re done,” Hug said. The university will look into the incident and consider what action, if any, to take against Baskerville, said Bruce Currin, assistant vice chan cellor for human resources. “The university’s going to have to take a look at what happened and make a decision,” Currin said. “I’m sure (the Athletic Department) will want to take a look at it.” U.P. worker killed in accident From staff reports A Union Pacific brakeman was killed Wednesday afternoon after a rail car accidentally rolled over him, police said. Richard Heidvogel, 52, died of massive chest injuries suffered in the accident, Lancaster County Attorney Gary Lacey said Heidvogel and other employees were changing cars on a Union Pacific train near the intersection of N.W. 12th and W. Adams streets at 12:42 p.m. when the accident hap pened Lincoln Police Capt. A1 Soukup said. Heidvogel was from Plattsmouth. mjilnm jKOsMnj _~ . FILL fOURSTI •• % ■ .'.^^BlBi Bra I aUta#*1 i ! ■ - -5SS