December 18, 2006

Dear Sassy: Can you tell me where the USB ports are on the public computers? We have a lot of patrons trying to use their thumb drives but I don’t know where they should plug them in.
~ Searching for the USB

Dear Searching: This is an excellent question! Sassy can’t tell you the number of times I have seen people with their thumb drive in hand (no pun intended) looking a little puzzled trying to find the USB port.

The USB ports on the machines in the computer labs are a little tricky to find. And for that we must thank Dell for their creative placement of the USB port.

There are two USB port locations on the machines. The first is on the front. If you notice most of the machines are missing the gray Dell flap on the front of the machines – under this flap is where you will find 2 USB ports. This flap does have a hinge on the top and can angle up out of the way. The ports are set at an angle and really the best way to insert the thumb drive is to really get down there (yes on the floor) so that you can see what you are doing and insert the thumb drive.

The additional 4 USB ports on the machines are located on the back. You can find these ports close to the mouse and keyboard (green and purple) wires. These USB ports work better for some styles of thumb drives – especially odd sized ones and those on key rings.

Oh – and another tip regarding thumb drives… If a patron is having problems getting the computer to “recognize” their thumb drive – have them insert it into another port (front vs. back.)


Dear Sassy: I have some handouts that I would like to give out at my next class. They are in color but I don’t have a color printer … do we have any way of printing those in color?
~ I’m dreaming of color printouts

Dear Dreaming: This question is perfectly timed with the installation of the networked color printer at the Reference Desk! How did you time that SO well?! If you would like to be able to print to this color printer, just let Sassy know and I can get that set up for you. And just a reminder… as with all printing (especially color) we must be respectful in what we print. The color toner cartridges are VERY expensive, so we must only print in color when absolutely necessary.