A.1. How Do I connect to my Towson e-mail on a Mac?
All faculty, staff, and students have Towson University e-mail accounts. Faculty and staff use Microsoft Outlook / Exchange e-mail; students use Google Webmail. Faculty and staff have options on how to access e-mail on a Mac; for details see:
A.2 How do faculty and staff connect to their H:\ and O:\ drives on campus?
The university provides faculty and staff with storage space to save files on a network server: the H:\drive is for personal files; the O:\drive is for sharing department files. You must be logged into either the wired network or the tu-secure wireless network to access your H:\and O:\ drives. For instructions, see the Mac self-help document: Connecting To a File Share From A Mac
A.3. How can faculty or staff work on their personal university web sites?
Personal web sites for university faculty and staff are stored on the “Pages” server (pages.towson.edu). For web pages to be accessed on the web, you need to save (upload) your web files to the Pages server. For instructions on uploading files to the Pages server, see:
A.4. How do I connect to the university wireless network?
The TU Wireless network is supplemental to the university wired network. There are two options to connection to the TU Wireless network: tu-secure (for faculty, staff, and students) and tu-guest. For complete information on campus wireless services and instructions for connecting, see the Web site: TU Wireless.
A.5. What is Virtual Workspace?
Virtual Workspace (VW) is Towson University's web-based service that allows faculty and staff to remotely access e-mail and Windows applications from virtually any computer with an Internet connection and a web browser (on or off campus). Additionally, Microsoft Office and other common applications including SPSS and Contribute are available on VW. For more information, see:
VPN is a secure connection between a computer on the Internet (off-campus) and the campus network. Connecting to the VPN is only necessary for certain services when using a computer off-campus. For information on connecting to the VPN, see: the VPN page.
B. Apple Resources: Help, Information, Training
B.1. Where can I obtain information, help, and training on Macintosh computers?
Apple and the university provide resources, see the Apple Resources web page.
B.2. Is there a Mac Users Group that I can join at Towson University?
Faculty/Staff: Yes, it is crucial that all faculty and staff that use a university-owned Mac, join the Towson University Mac Users Group (MUG). Membership in this group assures that you receive communications and can participate in exchanging ideas and information on Mac computing at the university.
To join MUG, click this link: MUG SharePoint site. If you enter the site successfully, you are a MUG member; if you receive an "Error: denied access window" select the “Request access” link in this window and your membership request will be granted within a couple days.
Students: There is currently no Mac User Groups for students on campus.
B.3. What is the Apple Listserve?
Apple hosts an Apple Listserv that provides Mac users with an electronic forum for sharing information about Apple topics. Messages posted to the listserv are sent to subscribers on e-mail. For instructions on subscribing or un subscribing to the Apple Listserv, click here.
B.4. Do I have Administrator rights on my Mac?
Faculty and staff are setup to be administrators on their university office Macs when they have been configured by OTS staff; for details see:
The current version of Microsoft office is included with the standard university configuration. Microsoft Office is licensed and available for free to all university computers. For details on Office products available, see the MS Office FAQs on the Mac Corner Web site.
C.3. What anti-virus software is available at Towson University?
The standard antivirus software used on university Macs is ClamXav, free to faculty, staff, and students for their personal Macs as well. Antivirus software is recommended; Macs that are not running anti-virus software are vulnerable to attack AND can pass viruses to other computers, when sharing e-mail, files, etc. For download and installation instructions see: Installing ClamXav Antivirus Software instructions at: http://wwwnew.towson.edu/adminfinance/ots/trainingdoc/documents/ClamXavInstalltionInstructions.pdf
C.4. What is Boot Camp?
Boot Camp is software included with Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard that lets you install and run Microsoft Windows on Intel-based Macintosh systems. The use of Boot Camp should only be considered when Windows applications are not available for the Apple platform or provided through university services such as Virtual Workspace (VW). VW provides Microsoft Office applications including: Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, etc. and other popular applications such as SPSS, Mathmatica, and Contribute.
If your department has a compelling instructional, research, or businesses need for installing Windows on a Mac, contact Jack Stark
D.1. How do faculty / staff print to university network printers with Macs?
Printing to network printers at the university requires that you connect to the network printer. Below are instructions for setting up printers on Mac operating systems.
F.1. How can I find System Information about my Mac?
The self-help document below explains how to display Mac System Information such as computer name, serial number, and IP address; for details, see: Finding System Information.
F.2. How can I save files to assure that they can be shared with other users?
Apple and Microsoft Windows computers use different file systems. Most of us commonly share files with one another on e-mail or network shared drives such as H:\ (personal) and O:\ (department) drives. The guidelines below provide tips for saving and naming files to help assure that files can be shared between Mac and Windows computers: Safe Naming Conventions to Save Files
F.3. How do I eliminate the Keychain password pop-up message?
If Keychain is enabled on your Mac you may receive an annoying popup message prompting you for your NetID and password. See the article below for instructions on removing Keychain message:
F.4. If an application freezes up while I am using it, how can I get out of it?
From the Apple menu, choose "Force Quit." Select the frozen application and click Force Quit. Try holding down the Command key (apple key) and press period. If that fails, press the Command+Option+Escape keys. A dialog box should appear allowing you to click on Force Quit. If nothing happens, you will need to restart the computer.
F.5. How do I do a right mouse-click on a Mac?
Hold down both the Control-key and click your Apple mouse. Another option is to purchase a standard 2-button USB mouse (they work on Macs and Windows).
F.6. Are there any Mac computers available on campus?
Yes, there are Macs in labs in Cook Library open to students, faculty, and staff. For information contact the facilities below:
In the colleges, computer labs with Macs are generally reserved for the academic disciplines that they are located in. If you are enrolled in a course that requires a Mac, check with your instructor on the availability of Macs in the department.
The OTS Macintosh Support Team currently hosts these FAQs for Towson University. If you have suggestions, additions, or corrections for the Mac FAQs, contact the Mac Support Team at: macusers@towson.edu
