Archive for July, 2007

Guaranteed response times and flexible pricing are features of new onsite desktop support contracts. 

The recent tender process for the provision of onsite desktop support was highly successful with three suppliers signing contracts to supply desktop support services to UNE.

Armidale IT, Mac 1 and Allcom Networks will take on the task of setting up, maintaining and troubleshooting computer problems that cannot be resolved over the phone at your desk. The contracts negotiated by ITD cover a range of core services including setting up new machines, installing software and peripherals, troubleshooting and arranging repairs.

Flexible pricing allows users to pay per machine or by the hour.  Individual areas are able to negotiate directly with any of the three suppliers for the supply of ongoing or one-off support services. It will also be possible to call the Service Desk and request “ad-hoc” onsite support. The Service Desk will then negotiate with one of the suppliers in order to organize a service technician to come to your desk.  

Martina Linnemann, Client Support Manager has been overseeing the tender process.  “We are now in the process of talking to representatives of the different areas to discuss the contracts and work out how it might work for different areas within the University.” 

For further information on arrangements for onsite desktop support contact Martina Linnemann mlinnema@une.edu.au

The service desk is now looking after mobile phones for UNE staff.

UNE staff needing a mobile phone can now arrange phone purchasing, account administration, international roaming and cancellations from the service desk.

A new site has been set up http://www.une.edu.au/it-services/staff/phone/mobilephone.php to provide information and application forms relating to staff mobile phones.

At UNE email is becoming an increasingly important communications tool. In fact it’s fast becoming the main way for UNE to communicate with students. So it’s really important that you activate your UNE email account and regularly check your UNE messages.

Your UNE email address is your username@une.edu.au

To use your UNE email account you will need your UNE user name and password. If you haven’t registered for a username and password, visit the student registration page  https://login.une.edu.au/register/  if you’re still having trouble you can contact the IT service desk servicedesk@une.edu.au 

The simplest way to access your UNE email account is to use the web-based email service, Squirrelmail (this is also known as web-mail). All you have to do is go to http://mail.une.edu.au and enter your UNE username and password. You can access your email using squirrelmail from any computer connected to the internet which makes it very convenient.

You can set up an email client like Eudora or Outlook to work with your UNE email account. Instructions for setting this up can be found at http://www.une.edu.au/it-services/students/email/index.php

If you’ve got another email account which you use regularly you can set up your UNE email account to automatically forward all mail to your other email account. All you need to do is go to https://mail.une.edu.au/  Enter your UNE username and password. Once you are logged in to your UNE email account look for the Options tab at the top of the page. Click this and you’ll find a range of options including Auto response: Reply or forward. Follow the prompts to automatically forward all your UNE mail to another email address.   

Is your in-box overflowing with spam? Could be the work of a bot-herder

With my inbox saturated by the latest spam wave I went looking for answers. Why I wondered did I need so much cheap medication or so many enlargements all of a sudden? What I discovered were bots, bot-nets and bot-herders.

A bot is a personal computer that has been infected with malicious software allowing it to be controlled remotely by a bot-herder. Usually the owner of the infected machine is completely unaware that he or she is at the beck and call of a bot-herder. The bot-herder builds up a network of computers called a bot-net with which they rip off personal information or send bulk spam.

But never fear, the FBI is on the case. Operation BOT-Roast was launched in June this year to crack down on the bot-herders. The FBI claim to have uncovered more than a million hijacked PC’s and arrested three bot-herders.  Actually the FBI has some quite sensible tips for protecting your computer (such as turning it off when you’re not using it). They’re available at… http://www.fbi.gov/page2/june07/botnet061307.htm

UNE’s new Data storage system means increased speed and capacity

ITD has just completed a major upgrade of its storage systems providing increased storage for core computing functions. This has included the purchase and installation of two new storage units – one in the ITD building and one in Lamble. In addition to this initial boost in storage capacity the new system can be easily grown to meet UNE’s future needs.

According to Kevin West, system administrator, the new system has a number of advantages “The old system had reached the end of its supported life and more than reached the end of its capacity. The new system will be supported for the next five years and it’s really flexible we can just keep adding hard drives.”

For users the new data storage system will mean quicker access to data and represent a significant increase in storage capacity. Data centre staff are now busy with the big job of moving data off the old storage system and on to the new.

If you’re forever frustrated by a laptop with limited battery life….

Here’s an article with some simple tricks for getting the most out of your battery.

http://www.online-tech-tips.com/computer-tips/how-to-conserve-your-laptops-battery-power/

Disabling unused components and turning down your screen brightness can all help.

Staff get set to test drive UNE’s business intelligence subject areas.

UNE’s Business intelligence project has taken another step forward with staff poised to test drive the first set of custom designed self-service subject areas. The first four subject areas to be developed are enrolment, finance, higher degree research supervision and events.

Multiple subject areas allow staff to access and combine information from a range of UNE systems. This allows information to be compared, analysed and presented in a range of formats. The data marts are updated daily ensuring that the latest information is presented.

Project leader Rob Hale (pictured) is hoping that this first testing phase will iron out any bugs and help make the system even more compatible with UNE operations. “We want to know that the system is user friendly and useful. We also want it to be totally self-service so the more feedback we get at this stage the better”.