TigerBytes I, the University’s online storage system for students, is being phased out in favor of a larger and more powerful reincarnation, TigerBytes II.Both TigerBytes I and TigerBytes II are presently available for use under the Computing Services tab on PAWS. But TigerBytes I will be eliminated March 1, and TigerBytes II will be the only system available to students.TigerBytes II brings large improvements that will make usage more efficient for students, said Sheri Thompson, IT communications and planning officer.”TigerBytes II is a lot more robust in the amount of storage and what you can do with it,” Thompson said. “TigerBytes I is very old technology and is very antiquated.”TigerBytes was introduced to the University in 2002 with storage capabilities of 50 to 100 megabytes, Thompson said. TigerBytes II will offer 1 gigabyte of storage space — the equivalent of 1024 megabytes — according to the University’s GROK Knowledge Base.Thompson said TigerBytes II also comes with other new features, including the ability to use it as a Web hosting client.The reason for all the improvements to the system is simply the advancement of technology since TigerBytes was created.”It’s the same reason that your computer now is more powerful than if you bought one 10 years ago,” Thompson said.TigerBytes II was paid for by a combination of funds from Information Technology Services and the student technology fee, Thompson said.TigerBytes I will not be completely phased out until March 1, but many students are already using TigerBytes II — there are currently more than 8, 800 TigerBytes II accounts.Any files left on TigerBytes I will be gone after March 1, Thompson said. Students have until then to transfer their files to TigerBytes II. The process is similar to the e-mail transition to TigerMail, she said.”If you’re using TigerBytes I now, it takes you to an intermediate page and gives you links and instructions on how to zip up your files and migrate to TigerBytes II,” Thompson said.Natasha Garcia, English sophomore, said she never used TigerBytes because she prefers to use a USB drive. Garcia said the 1 gigabyte storage of TigerBytes II won’t change that because her USB is the same size.Jules Robicheaux, biology sophomore, said he uses TigerBytes because it’s like a “virtual flash drive.”
“I post class lectures [on TigerBytes] to print them in the library” Robicheaux said.Robicheaux said he has seen the TigerBytes II transition page, but didn’t know files on TigerBytes will be deleted on March 1.”I will transfer all of [my files] as soon as possible,” he said.—————Contact Ryan Buxton at [email protected]