Well done, Millikin IT

As one might guess from reading some of the things I’ve written in this blog, I’m not always entirely positive about Millikin IT (that even despite the fact that I have a friend in the department). I chalk that up to my frustration at wanting to do more with The Dec Online when we were still confined to university servers. Really, the people in Millikin IT are by and far good people.

And now they’ve given MU students a great resource: My Millikin.

There’s plenty to mention about this new page, but here are some highlights:

• A Google Homepage/NetVibes inspired layout with lots of pre-installed modules
• Handy links to campus notices and RSS feeds for dining (if you care to dine on-campus)
• A single-sign-on (SSO) approach to accessing certain MU sites

This last option is especially appealing to me as a commuter. Since I am only on campus for limited times, I have not been able in the past to take advantage of many of the resources available online in the library because they are limited to on-campus access. With the SSO, journals available through the Staley Library page are now accessible from anywhere. As an English major, that pleases me immensely: now I can access JSTOR at my leisure rather than planning my research around spare time on campus (which is not abundant in the least).

So kudos to you, Millikin IT, for making something functional and aesthetic and very useful for our community. I thank you sincerely.