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Overview

The Software Snapshot Release Team (formerly the CD Release Team) has begun work on this year's software delivery for incoming students on Macintosh, Windows and Linux platforms. While the past five release efforts have focused on a CD-based distribution system, this year we are attempting to update and refine the process by shifting our emphasis towards a web-based solution.

The History of the CD:
The CD was originally produced to handle the bottleneck of new students who arrive at the start of the fall term needing the core software applications installed on their computers and was especially helpful to those with slow Internet connections. Each year, the CD becomes less necessary as more students have access to faster Internet connections and more of the core software comes pre-installed.

The CD often becomes outdated shortly after the Fall rollout due to new version updates. As the year progresses, the CD becomes more of a support liability as it installs increasingly older versions of our recommended software packages. Emphasizing software download will reduce the number of 'stale' CD's being used for software installation throughout the year. We will update the Software Snapshot page regularly (quarterly or more frequently as resources allow) to keep its contents current. We expect it will provide a useful starting point for new members of the MIT community at any time of year, not just the Fall.

As part of our new strategy, this year the team will create a one stop shopping "getting connected" page for students. A new tab off the current software download page will be added to accommodate this page and include links to the getting connected documents and readmes as well as an essential subset of our full suite of downloadable installers. By having these options available, students (as well as faculty and staff) will be able to get up and running with our core recommended applications more quickly and easily. We will also be providing each "snapshot" of our core packages in an archive format for convenient single-file download. This will also make it easy for local administrators to grab the latest core installers and burn them to a CD for multiple-machine installations.

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Timeline

We expect to release a first version of the Software Snapshot download page on June 1, 2006. We welcome feedback and will be incorporating comments into a revision of the webpage by early August. This fall release will also see CDs available at the N42 Help Desk for those incoming students who desire them. Comments and suggestions for the fall revision of the Software Snapshot page should be submitted to snapshot-release@mit.edu by June 30, 2006.

Announcements

Fall 2006 Software Snapshot Release Effort Underway Announcement
May 23, 2006

Notable Features

The Summer 2006 Software Snapshot page will include the following software: (subject to change)

Windows:
Adobe Reader 7
Gaim 1.5.0
Kerberos for Windows 2.6.5
KLP 1.0.1
SecureCRT 5.1
SecureFX 3.1
TechTime Desktop Client 9.0.4
TSM 5.2.3
VirusScan 8.0i
VPN client 4.6

Macintosh:
Adium 0.89
Adobe Reader 7
Fetch 5.0.2
Kerberos Extras (for 10.2 - 10.4)
TechTime Desktop Client 9.0.4
TSM 5.3.4
Virex 7.2.1
VPN Client 4.9 for 10.4 and later
VPN Client 4.8 for 10.3 and earlier (PowerPC only)

Linux:
(we will differentiate between RHEL 3&4 for relevant packages)
Adobe Reader 7
Kerberos config files
LPRng
OpenAFS
Pine 4.62L
TechTime Desktop Client 9.0.4
TSM 5.2
Up2date
VirusScan 4.2.4
VPN
Zephyr

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System Requirements

The system requirements vary for each piece of software in the Snapshot. We recommend that you follow the latest IS&T hardware recommendations: Recommended PCs and Recommended Macintosh Computers for staff and students.

Testing

Testing will follow a test plan. Please e-mail the release team snapshot-release@mit.edu if you wish to participate.

Known Issues

There are no known issues at this time.

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Documentation

In development for Fall 2006 release.

Release Team

	Atticus Gifford - SWRT
	Product Release Coordinator / Installer Writer
	Christine Verick - TH
	Tech Help Liaison
	Jonathan Reed - RCC
	Red Hat Linux Release Team Liaison
	Lee Ridgway - TPC
	Documentation Writer
	Tommy Smith - SWRT
	Duplication Supervisor
	William Cattey - SWRT
	Linux Platform Coordinator
	Alex Kozlov - SWRT
	Windows Platform Coordinator
	Al Willis - SWRT
	Macintosh Platform Coordinator

If you would like to contact the team, please send email to snapshot-release@mit.edu.

Support

If you have a question or need assistance, please contact the Computing Help Desk at computing-help@mit.edu or x3-1101 or visit their web site for more support resources.