Sheet Feeder Broken

Alas, the sheet feeder on our scanner is broken. kaput. dead. gone. 6 feet under. This is an ex-sheet feeder. (or maybe it's just pining for the fjords.) When you try to use it, either it doesn't feed the paper, or it actually chews the paper up. We've tried everything but have finally given up. The manufacturer's website (I still can't believe this) actually recommends hitting the scanner to fix this problem. And we did hit it. Several times, in fact, before we even knew we were supposed to. :) Anyhoo...

The flatbed part of the scanner still works fine. We're working on replacing the sheet feeder functionality with a dedicated sheet-fed scanner, which will hopefully be much faster than the one we've had all along.

Update: Thanks to Pat Heller for the following information:

Wharton Reprographics will do scanning for you

Basement of Steinberg Dietrich
3620 Locust Walk
Suite 400
215-898-1251

$7.00 per ¼ hr. labor fee

iMovie tip

All you guys with your own Mac laptops and desktops: remember that iMovie comes free on every Mac, so you can capture your footage here in the lab and then transfer it to your own computer. That way you can work on it whenever you want, without having to worry about walking all the way to the library, or whether the lab is full when you need to edit your movie.

If you have a laptop, just bring it in and we can help you capture video footage directly to your computer, or we can transfer it to your computer with our portable hard drive. For those of you with desktop machines, you'll need a hard drive of your own to take your footage back to your dorm room.

Lab Closings Page

We've added a new webpage that lists all scheduled lab closings, such as when we offer open workshops to the general Penn public, or we close when a class needs to use the lab. We're hoping this helps people avoid coming to the lab only to be disappointed when they find it's closed for a class. Since we add workshops in an ongoing way during the semester, the page is somewhat dynamic and may not always be totally completely 100% up-to-date, but I promise we'll do our best. You can find the page here:

http://wic.library.upenn.edu/lab/closings.html

and linked from the sidebar on the right side of the blog you're reading.

Storm Worm virus alert

Given the popular nature of downloading free music and movies, we just wanted to pass along the following security alert from the University's Information Security Officer regarding the Storm Worm virus:

Today the Storm worm switched to new bait that might prove irresistible for some segments of campus.

The worm arrives in your email inbox as spam, warning that the RIAA is tracking you if you download free movies or music. You are pointed to a link to download Tor, a popular anonymous internet routing implementation. But if you follow the instructions, you infect your machine with the Storm worm. Your machine is then drafted into a network of hacked machines used to crash popular websites and carry out identity theft attacks. Other versions of the scam send the Storm worm as an email attachment rather than send you to the web.

Other Storm worm bait that has hooked victims include: -Bogus email warning that your face is all over YouTube. If you click on the purported YouTube link, you're asked to first install a video codec (which, in truth, is the Storm worm).

-Bogus email informing you that an account has been created for a free music/movie service. The email includes an account name and a password and instructs you to log on, but first you need to install a (bogus) media player. Same result: Storm worm infection.

-Bogus email forged to look like it's from Amazon (or EBay, or PayPal, or many large banks) warning you that you have unpaid fees (or that your purchase is (in)complete, or that your information is out of date). If you click on the bogus link and follow the instructions: Storm worm.

-Bogus email announcing that you have an electronic greeting card. Same result as above.

-Bogus email with news announcing "Chinese (or Russian) missile (or satellite) shot down by Russian (or Chinese) satellite (or missile)"

-Bogus email announcing "Saddam Hussein (or Fidel Castro) is alive (or dead)."

All the usual advice applies:

Be wary of unsolicited email asking you to click on links or to install software. If you think it might be legitimate, type the URL into your browser rather than click on the link. Or check it out by calling the organization using a phone number from a service like switchboard.com.

Electronic greeting cards are highly suspect these days. If you don't recognize the sender, hit "delete". (If it's a secret admirer, don't worry, they'll eventually find you.)

Be wary of email with links to outlandish news stories. If you get email claiming that Jimmy Hoffa's body was uncovered by a road crew on I-95 below the Commodore Berry, don't click on the link. Instead, point your browser at your favorite news site.

Shortened Hours This Week

Welcome back! The lab will have shortened hours this week while we hire new lab consultants and gear up for the semester. This week only, our hours will be

Tuesday-Friday, September 4-7: 10am - 6pm
Saturday, Sunday, September 8,9: Noon - 6pm

We hope to be back to our regular hours starting next week! Stay Tuned!

Workshop this Wednesday

The Digital Media Lab will be closed Wednesday, August 15, 12pm to 2 pm for an iMovie workshop.

Lab closings this week

The lab will be closed Monday, August 6, 11am - 1pm and Tuesday, August 7, 10:30am-12:30pm for classes.

Gmail: A Behind the Scenes Video

All you creative lab users might be interested in a collaborative video project that the friendly folks at Google's GMail are working on. Basically, just film your own (10-seconds or less) clip and submit it.



Details are here:

http://mail.google.com/mail/help/gmail_video.html

It's a short and simple enough project that anybody should be able to come up with something. All it takes is the most basic iMovie skills (which we can help you with!) and a little imagination (you're on your own for that one.)

The deadline is August 13. If you do submit a clip, be sure to let us know and we'll feature it right here in the most popular blog in the whole lab!

Good Luck Frog

Julia, one of our biggest lab users, brought us back a good-luck frog from her recent trip to Japan. We've put the frog on our bulletin board (and our blog, as you can see), so hopefully the luck will spread to everyone doing work here in the lab.

Lab closed for a class 7/30, 8/1, and 8/2

The lab will be closed this week on Monday, July 30 from 2:30 until 4:30pm, on Wednesday, August 1 from 10 until noon, and on Thursday, August 2 from 2:30 until 4:30 for a class.

Reimaging the Lab

We've started the process of reimaging the workstations in the Digital Media Lab. Basically, this means we wipe everything off the hard drive and replace it with a fresh, updated copy of the software. This means you need to be especially careful right now not to leave your files on the local computer. If you need us to store them for you on our server, be sure to tell the lab consultant on duty so we can make sure they don't get deleted.

One of the most exciting changes that the reimaging process will bring to the lab is that we'll have the Adobe CS3 software. This includes Photoshop, Illustrator, Acrobat, Bridge, Dreamweaver, Flash, Fireworks, and Contribute. We will continue to have the CS2 versions of InDesign and GoLive.

As I write this, only one machine has been updated (4B), but we'll be updating the rest in the coming week or so.

Lab closed for a class

The lab will be closed this week on Wednesday, July 25, from noon to 2pm for a class.

Glossy Paper

I have some good news and some bad news. The BAD news is that we're still out of glossy paper due to a backorder situation with our supplier. The GOOD news is that we should have some more by this Wednesday. Cross your fingers!

We do it just a little bit better

Our lab consultant, Jesse H., just got a new tattoo:


No, you're not seeing things. Yes, that's the old Wawa logo. No, he wasn't drunk when he got it. Yes, if you ask him, he'll show it to you.

Workshops, Week of June 18-22

Just a reminder that the lab will be closed Tuesday, June 19 from 2-3:30 for a workshop on Audacity and Podcasting, and Thurssday, June 21 from 1-3pm for an iMovie workshop.

Workshops, Week of June 11-15

Just a reminder that the lab will be closed Tuesday, June 12 from 2-3:30 for an iMovie workshop and Wednesday, June 13 from 1-3pm for a Photoshop workshop.

Workshops, week of June 4-8

Just a reminder that the lab will be closed Wednesday, June 6 from 2-4pm for an iMovie workshop and Thursday, June 7 from noon-2pm for a Photoshop workshop.

Summer Workshops!

We're offering workshops this summer on how to use iMovie and how to use Photoshop. The workshops are very introductory and assume no prior knowledge of the software. Be sure to sign up for a spot online, or see our other workshops HERE!

Creating and editing movies with iMovie

• May 23, 1 to 3 pm Wednesday
• June 6, 2 to 4 pm Wednesday
• June 21, 3 to 5 pm Thursday
• July 10, 10:30 am to 12:30 pm Tuesday
• July 25, 12 to 2 pm Wednesday
• August 7, 10:30 am to 12:30 pm Tuesday
• August 15, 12 to 2 pm Wednesday

This class will provide an hands-on introduction to using Apple's iMovie software, which is available for Penn students, faculty, and staff in the Vitale Digital Media Lab. You will learn how to capture video from a DVD, VHS tape, or from your own video camera. You will learn to organize or delete video clips, add a new soundtrack, add subtitles, and create special effects. All sessions are identical.

PhotoShop I

• June 7, 12 noon to 2 pm Thursday
• June 13, 1 to 3 pm Wednesday
• July 18, 12 to 2 pm Wednesday
• August 1, 10 am to 12 noon Wednesday
• August 6, 11 am to 1 pm Monday

A basic introduction to this powerful image editing software. Learn how to open image files, use the toolbox and palettes, convert formats and manage multiple layers. All sessions are identical.

Summer Hours!

This Friday marks the end of our regular lab hours. We'll be open this summer, but with more limited hours. Starting May 21, our regular schedule will be:

Monday - Thursday: 10am - 7pm
Friday: 10am - 5pm
Saturday : 11am - 5pm
Sunday : CLOSED

We'll also be closed for Memorial Day, the 4th of July, and Labor Day.

Click on the "lab hours" link in the sidebar of this page to get more information, or call us at 215-746-2661.

Nick's Show

One of everybody's favorite lab consultants, Nick Salvatore, is having an art show opening tonite, displaying some of his recent photography. It's tonite from 6pm-9pm at Photo West Gallery, 3625 Lancaster Street. The show also contains work done by 2 or 3 other people who did work here in the lab. Nick writes:

I'm writing to let you know about an awesome art show opening tonight (Wednesday, May 2nd) that you might enjoy if you've got nothing better to do. It's a group show of photo-things revolving around the body and the nude. And I've got things in it. (A whole bunch of things, if I can get them on the wall in time.) Regardless, there's a wide range of great work on display and there's sure to be something for all interests. I'd love to see you there if you can make it.

http://www.photowestgallery.com/pwg_body.html