How do I get Microsoft Office on my PC or MAC for free?

Studying at CPIT but don’t have Microsoft Office on your home PC, Mac, laptop, iphone or android?

Then you’re in luck as you can get Microsoft Office 365 Proplus on most of your devices while you are enrolled as a CPIT student.

What is Microsoft Office 365 Proplus?

Office 365 Proplus is the version of Office that comes with many Office 365 plans. It includes Access, Excel, Infopath, Lync, Onenote, Outlook, Powerpoint, Publisher and Word.

How do I get it?

Just login in to your student email. (If logging in to your email for the first time you need your original password. See a librarian for assistance).

Follow these downloadable instructions once you have accessed your student email.

Remember to ask a librarian if you would like assistance.

Notes:

a. You will only be able to access Microsoft Office 365 Proplus while you are a student at CPIT.

b. You can also access these above instructions from the Campus Life page under Support for you and IT Help.

c. Office 365 ProPlus is a full version of Office. The programs have the same features and functionality as other versions of Office.

d.Even though users don’t need to be connected to the Internet all the time to use Office 365 ProPlus, users must connect to the Internet at least once every 30 days. This is so that the status of their Office 365 subscriptions can be checked.

For answers to more commonly asked questions see our FAQs or How do I guide.

150 years since the New Zealand wars

It is exactly a month today when we will begin commemorating the centenary of The Great War .

What fewer New Zealanders may know is it is the 150th anniversary of some of the battles of the New Zealand wars.

“The Waikato War (1863–64) was waged by the government against the Kīngitanga movement, which arose in resistance to land sales in Waikato.” In her blogpost Defending Orākau, Ariana Tikao, Research Librarian at Turnbull Library shares a bit of this battle.

Below is an audio guide of the Orākau battle from Roadside Stories : An audio tour of New Zealand.

Here are a few titles in our Māori collection if you want to read more about the New Zealand wars.

Friday Pep Talk

Hey folks,

While plumbing the depths of the internet last night, I came across this sweet video from the ridiculously photogenic/cute Kid President. The message is relevant to all students and teachers, and especially here in Christchurch. With what you learn here at CPIT, you should be well equipped to move into industry and employment, but since you’ve got some time to think while you study, why not think about changing the world? Kid President has managed to do quite a bit with himself, and he’s ten, so who knows what you can achieve?

Edible Book Competition

Cake and books combine – a wonderful day for librarians!

People's Choice Award winning entry from 2013 Dennis Taylor for The thorn birds by Colleen McCulloch — People’s Choice Award winning entry from 2013
Dennis Taylor for The thorn birds by Colleen McCulloch

Enter our fabulous Edible Book Competition which will be held on Tuesday 1^st April 2014. We had great fun last year putting this event together with Food & Hospitality and hope to see even more entries from everyone this year.

Don’t worry if you’re not a dab hand in the kitchen, it can be just as much about smart thinking! Take a look at some previous entries (to see what I mean) and you’ll notice that you don’t necessarily have to make a ‘cake’ to enter the competition. Entries should be creative interpretations of book titles.

Prizes will be awarded for the best entries in the following categories:

People’s Choice

Best Interpretation of a Book

Funniest Entry

Most Delectable Entry

Take a look at some of last year’s entries CPIT Library International Edible Book Competition

Here are some more ideas to inspire from Books to eat

Want to know some background to this competition? Read on ….

Entries can be viewed from 9am on Tuesday morning in the Atrium in the Rakaia Centre. Winners will be announced at 12.15pm, and then the cakes can be devoured!

This year there will be a new addition of a graffiti cake where you can grab an icing pen and decorate the cake with the name of your favourite book or author. Also don’t forget to cast your vote for your favourite cake in the ‘People’s Choice Award’.

It will be a fun day for all so get thinking, get baking and making and join us on April 1^st for CPIT’s second International Edible Book Competition.

St. Patrick’s Day Shenanigans

Photo: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jessicareeder/7113370835/sizes/m/

It is sometimes said in Ireland, that God created alcohol to stop the Irish taking over the world. Though I’m not sure how much truth there is to that claim, it certainly seems to me that on this one day a year, the world gets to see what it’s missing out on. Here in New Zealand, you have a fair claim to the celebration- many Irish moved out here among the first wave of settlers, and by some accounts there were a few look-a-likes here even before then.

But still, like most of the western world, once a year, everyone here gets to be Irish for a day. People wear any scrap of green they can lay hands to, and the proliferation of “Kiss me I’m Irish” Tshirts, hats and badges, combined with free-flowing beer tends to lead to all kinds of debauchery. So with that in mind, I wondered what the library could do to help out your celebrations.

I have, therefore, prepared the following gems of wisdom to help you through the day.

Do use the word ‘Sláinte’ instead of ‘Cheers.’ It’s pronounced “Slawn-cha,” more or less.
Do not begin a conversation with “Fiddle-dee-dee, potatoes!”
Do wear a bit of green. You can skip this if you’re actually Irish.
Do not get all drunk and lose the run of yourself. It’s dangerous for you and your friends won’t thank you for having to take you home early.
Do adjust your social media privacy for any pictures you’re tagged in. Prospective employers will look at your profile, and you don’t want them to see pictures of you painted green and doing a kegstand.
Do have some patience with your bar staff, who will be flat out. They’re human too, and are busting their humps to keep you happy. The best way to improve your service is to tip like an Irishman.
Do not forget that you’re celebrating all things Irish, not being drunk. Show a little kindness to someone in need while you’re out, and make your night a little more memorable.
Do take a look at the TX section in the library, near the entrance. If you want to mix up some cocktails like a sir, or cook yourself a feast for Tuesday morning, that’s the place to get good at it.
Do comment on how wonderful Brian O’Driscoll and the Irish rugby team are. Particularly lavish or inventive praise might earn you a friend for life.
Do not contact the police if the Irish tell you that they’re “Having the craic.” Having the craic is not a crime. Having the craic is all but mandatory on St. Patrick’s Day. If you’re not sure what having the craic is, then I submit this video of some goats having the craic, proving that you don’t have to be drunk to have fun.

Follow these simple guidelines, and you’ll be enjoying fine form, in fine spirits. Stay safe and look after your friends, and enjoy the feeling of being Irish, even if just for a day.

The power of infographics

Here’s an infographic from Internationalbusinessguide.org about how we consume the internet.

My surprising facts from this include

eventhough smartphones are only 18% of the handset market, they consume 92% of global data and
there are more mobile internet devices than humans now!

Source: InternationalBusinessGuide.org

Safari e-books on Infographics

You might also be interested in viewing two of our Safari e-books on the power of infographics.

Just use your CPIT login and password to access these if you are off campus.

Safety videos galore!

Did you know you can access over 70 videos on a range of safety topics for free if you are using a CPIT computer on Madras St or Sullivan Ave campuses? N.B. These videos are not accessible off campus.

Here’s how

Montie SafetyCare videos can be accessed on any CPIT desktop computer on both the Sullivan Ave or Madras Street campuses.

To access these

a. click the Windows icon in the bottom left of the screen

b. Type safety in the search box

c. Select SafetyCare Montie

The main menu for videos will appear.

Once you have selected your video, click on the play icon to view.

If you know the title of the video you are looking for (maybe you found it when searching our Primo Library Search) then use the first category in the menu and View all alphabetically.

So whether you want to know how to safely operate that new chainsaw you just bought …

… or you want to know about safety regarding static electricity …

… remember how to find this resource. You can also find these instructions in the Construction Subject Guide on the video tab.

Ask a librarian for assistance if you have a problem accessing these on a CPIT desktop computer.