|
I n f o B u l l e t i n
|
1 April 2003 |
coopsys.net |
CO-OPERATIVE SYSTEMS
|
|
| **** NewsBytes **** NewsBytes **** NewsBytes **** |
| Smartphones get smarter
|
£22 billion may sound like a lot to spend on a phone, this figure being the 3G licence fees parted with by UK telecomms companies, the launch of which was spearheaded by Hutchinson on 3-03-03, just so as we get the message.
Adopting the current trend of labelling such devices with the letter "Z", Sony Ericsson unveiled its Z1010 dual mode UMTS/GSM-GPRS phone. The 2-camera (one for conferencing) phone also boasts a small monochrome display viewable when the clamshell is shut, in addition to the usual colour one.
The Wintel phone is a smartphone concept design resulting from a Microsoft Windows platform based on Intel's Personal Internet Client Architecture (PCA) and will enable companies - of which Wistron is the first take it up - to develop their own voice, media and PDA-type features on top of the base device.
|
| Pocket movie maker
|
|
Panasonic's AV30 digital video camera was announced at the Consumer Electronic Show (CES) and is appearing in shops now (in the US). The US$400 compact-size box houses a 2" colour screen, MP3 player and voice recorder and will record TV, video and stills up to a gigabyte in size. Expect lots of blurred home movies featuring the inside of owners' pockets.
|
| Searchers seek advert markets
|
|
As web visitors tire of banner advertising, targeted ads through search engines are set to become the new vogue, because searches are what we are all tuned into. Google's recent purchase of Pyra Labs and its Weblogger underlines a series of important acquisitions and changes in the market. Source: YellowBrix
|
| EU more of a twinkle than a dot
|
|
The appearance of the Dot EU domain (.eu) has slipped once more and is currently expected to be launched in early 2003. To keep tabs on it, sign up at namescout who also undertake domain registrations. See the full list of country domains.
|
|
| Cellular meets cellulite
|
Following on the popular range of iPAQ Pocket PC devices,
the commPAQt combines smartphone technology with an instant facial care kit for women running to a tight schedule.
Remington's surprise entry into the communications market has wowed male execs with the Teleshave LS3-X800
to maximise the efficiency of 'morning routines'. To achieve simultaneous shaving and maximum talk-time, traditional MicroScreen razor motors have been abandoned in favour of a revolutionary, but silent laser hair removal system.
|
| Death on the seats
|
|
The risk of developing life-threatening blood clots from sitting for long periods is now no longer associated with airline passengers and deck chair lounge lizards, according to a new study reported in the European Respiratory Journal. So-called "E-Thrombosis" can affect long-term computer users too, with potentially lethal consequences. Silicon Valley Business Journal.
|
| Damming Slammer
|
|
The "Slammer" worm, dubbed the worst in a year by security specialists, exploits a long-known vulnerability in Microsoft's SQL Server database application and resulted in crashing servers and a clogged Internet. Find and fix your Slammer vulnerabilities here.
|
| MPs emails censored
|
|
As if to underline the difficulty of straddling the fine line between security and
access, a House of Commons email-blocking system was found to be restricting MPs debates on legitimate issues, like the Sexual Offences Bill, by triggering on key words. Full BBC story.
|
| New McAfee scan engine - 4240
|
|
McAfee's old 4160 scanning engine is being sent to the scrap yard and retires officially at the end of August 2003. Get the new 4240 version here.
|
| Competition winner
|
|
Congratulations go to Mary Roberts at Peter Bedford Housing Association for winning last month's InfoBulletin Lexmark laser competition. The answer to our firewalls question we were looking for was "NAT and SPI", simply deduced by using the search engine at the InfoBulletin archives page.
|
|
| **** end of NewsBytes **** |
^ Back to contents ^
|
| |
1. Logging changes on your network
Your computer network gets through more life-changing events in a week than the average teenager does in a whole school year. How keep track of them all? (The network, not the teenager)
| |
|
More help at hand. All the back issues just a click away
|
Understanding your network can require a little dedication.
Following how it evolves over time could test your patience.
Documenting those changes seems like more effort than it's worth!
Sounds like a familiar summary?
Problem: documentation takes up time
Writing a network log doesn't have to send you into paroxysms of techno-babble, but it does require you to draw a balance between the effort you put into the notes and the answers you get out.
The purpose of this particular log is that it's human-orientated one and should be written in plain speak that others can understand, assuming you are not the only audience. While there are plenty of automatic digital loggers already ticking away on your systems - the event viewer on Windows NT/2000/XP being one of the most familiar - the idea here is to generate a list of human-initiated or human-discovered events, preferably with solutions attached.
There are several easy solutions you can implement here, with the less sophisticated listed first :
Network logs
typical sample entries
|
|
This is the network log file. Entries appear in reverse order.
13-Feb-03
1- Opened up PRESS group permissions to allow full access for Press and Conferences notice boards and public folders.
2- Changed database backup local schedule changed (see 2-Oct-2002). 3-stage process:
19:40 SQL server copies to local database.bak
20:00 moves database.bak file server VOLUME 1
21:00 erases old copy on VOL4
VOL4 copy is being erased before tape backup has occurred, usually at around 1am next morning. Changed Scheduled tasks on SQL database server so that scheduler runs C:\EraseLocal.bat at 18:00 and local backup is kept until just before new one needs to be created. Also made task daily to be consistent with SQL server tasks, otherwise backup appears 'absent' at weekends.
27-Jan-03
1- FYI: Find out the cause of Linux bru tape errors by typing :
"tail /var/log/bruexeclog"
This file keeps all the tape warnings and errors. The "1 warning, 1 error" is generated by bru not being able to backup its own log, (still open), so it reports as truncated. Not very intelligent backup software! Second or third warnings are typically another system file being open, eg, timer (cron) is occasionally reported as being in process.
20-Jan-03
1- Compacted last year's mailserver logs into SYS:system\mercury\old_logs\*.zip
2- Replaced hard drive on PC-02 which failed overnight. Fortunately user didn't store anything valuable on it!
7-Jan-03
1- New login HomerS.
.... etc
|
|
- The simplest: a text file
Construct a text file with basic text editor. Notepad, or better still Wordpad with its large file size handling and search capabilities is a good starter if only because its bundled on any Windows PC.
Keep the log in reverse order so that the Latest (most relevant) records appear first (see panel right).
The basic search facilities (often a shortcut like Ctrl+F) in most editors like WordPad are often sufficient to find related topics. If you wrote the log entries, you're highly likely to know which keywords to search on.
Accessibility: Publish the text file as read-only in a public directory for your colleagues and/or users to browse, but not alter. However, access by more than one person may cause sharing violations.
- The publisher's approach: a hyperlinked document
Pick up any old free HTML publisher like Netscape Composer or Coffee Cup to take the text file format above and insert hyperlinks to make it faster to find solutions later on.
Accessibility: Files marked .htm or .html will normally launch into a web browser by default so colleagues will find it easy read the log without being tempted to change it. Many people can view the log at once, even across sites or the Internet.
A further sophistication would be to develop a hyperlinked table of contents, but this will up the maintenance overhead considerably.
- The messaging approach: Emails
Email provides a ready-made structure for defining a log. The composition window defines who it's from, what it's about, the date and the detail. Chances are you can fire off an email to a central account (say netlog@yourorg.org.uk) from anywhere in the building or site. What's more other techies can participate, making this model suitable for larger organisations. The netlog (or whatever) account could have filtering rules to route particular topics into dedicated folders - public folders, even - so they can be viewed straight away. The big drawback, of course, is that you are relying on a functioning email messaging system and therefore an underlying network to work.
- The data mining approach: Database
Again like email, a database provides a structure or form for you to write the logs into. Indeed, you can specify as many fields to fill in as you wish, but beware ... having too many boxes to complete turns "benefit" into "burden" and it will soon be abandoned. Stick to the email format of 4 fields (who, what, when and how).
The database method is excellent for searching back through previous entries or slicing and dicing your data to see which problems crop up most frequently. Again excellent for larger sites. For multi-site organisations you could justify adding a "where" field as well.
Once again, the infrastructure requirements are steeper in that contributors to the log all need the database application, although this could just be MS Access and, unless you publish it frequently, say to HTML, other readers will need Access too.
Benefits
Diligence pays dividends. Keep your log updated and you will be able to :
- Revise complicated but infrequent procedures like installations
- Be able to track back to potential causes of current problems
- Retain records to pass on to colleagues, contractors and support in the event of sick leave or, ahem, your premature demise ... (but let's not dwell on the morbid stuff)
Drawbacks
The compromise in formatting your network log is that the more complexity you build in, the more efficient it becomes in day-to-day lookups, but the more prone it could be to failure, especially where the application packages are more sophisticated, as we have seen above.
Tempting as it might be to place passwords in this central oracle, resist ferociously! Unless you are going to encrypt your log - thus making it less accessible to you and your associates - this constitutes a plain text gold mine for hackers or Trojan viruses that may slip through the network defences.
Double backup
Clearly you will want to store and backup this crucial information on the server and its tapes, but it's a shrewd move to copy the network log to a local workstation or disc just in case the network isn't available the one time you need it.
-IB-
|
Good read? Rate this article
|
| I | | B |
^ Back to contents ^
|
| |
2. Free link checker for your web site
The idea of scanning your web site for faults may conjure up an endless production line type nightmare, but you could hand the task over to robot who will do it eagerly and for nothing, basking in the radiant satisfaction of a job well done.
| |
|
More help at hand. All the back issues just a click away
|
Checking your site for broken and faulty hyperlinks is a tedious operation. Indeed, many webmasters building sites with a high percentage of news links simply don't bother because of the inherently ephemeral nature of the content, but maintaining the general integrity of the site is important. Testing all those navigation and image links is a task best left to automated robots, not fallible easily-bored humans.
Enter Linklint, an Open Source Perl program that checks links on web sites. It produces results in the form of a neat report, itself a web page that highlights the various faults on your site.
http://www.linklint.org
The Free Software Foundation's invaluable utility works on Unix and Windows platforms, carrying out:
both local-file and HTTP site checking
reporting with cross referenced and fully hyperlinked outputs
checking of password protected areas
server-side image maps checks
a report of which URLs have changed since last checked
remote URL checking
Linklint checks remote links to other sites and you can specify how long it should wait before giving up; this obviously depends on connection speed and reliability of the remote sites in question.
Knit yourself a link checker: plain and PERL
"Linklint is a plain old Perl program" says the manual, which means you can always just run it by typing on any command line (run "command" or "cmd" to get a 'DOS' window).
So the command for the version we tested (Linklint-2.3.5) was simply:
perl linklint-2.3.5 [parameters]
So a typical command for your site - let's assume it's www.yourorg.org.uk - would be:
perl linklint-2.3.5 -http -host www.yourorg.org.uk -limit 1000 -doc reports /@
Here's the documentation that lays out the basic commands layout:
www.linklint.org/doc/index.html
Index of Linklint results
Wed, 26 Mar 2003 14:58:34 (local)
Linklint version: 2.3.5
|
| summary.txt: | summary of results
|
| log.txt: | found 21 files
|
| file.htm: | found 21 files
|
| fileX.htm: | found 21 files (cross referenced)
|
| fileF.htm: | found 1 file with forward links
|
| remote.htm: | found 5 other links
|
| remoteX.htm: | found 5 other links (cross referenced)
|
| anchor.htm: | found 1 named anchor
|
| anchorX.htm: | found 1 named anchor (cross referenced)
|
| action.htm: | ----- 1 action skipped
|
| actionX.htm: | ----- 1 action skipped (cross referenced)
|
| skipped.htm: | ----- 10 files skipped
|
| skipX.htm: | ----- 10 files skipped (cross referenced)
|
| warn.htm: | warn 1 warning
|
| warnX.htm: | warn 1 warning (cross referenced)
|
| warnF.htm: | warn 1 file with warnings
|
| error.htm: | ERROR 5 missing files
|
| errorX.htm: | ERROR 5 missing files (cross referenced)
|
| errorF.htm: | ERROR 1 file had broken links
|
| httpfail.htm: | ----- 5 links: failed via http
|
| httpok.htm: | ----- 21 links: ok via http
|
Linklint is a tiny 140KB zip 'floppy-able' file, but unfortunately you also need a working Perl platform first and that's a hefty 8.5MB download ....
What you need
You need to have Perl installed on your system (version 5.004 or
greater). For convenience, (on Unix) you may want to rename it to
"linklint" and move it to a directory that is on your path.
We used 5.6.1 though, by the time of writing, the current version has notched up to version 5.8.0.
Find Perl downloads near the bottom of this page:
www.perl.com/pub/a/language/info/software.html
Make it happen
If you are not experienced with paths and command lines, call us and we'll help you through it.
Contacts
www.linklint.org
Open Source
-IB-
|
Good read? Rate this article
|
| I | | B |
^ Back to contents ^
|
| |
3. Interpreting Wireless technology
Everyone's on the look out for cheaper office space but the big headache when it comes to arguing chattels and fittings is that you're going to lose your network cabling in the office move. And no cabling means no network. Or does it?
| |
|
More help at hand. All the back issues just a click away
|
Pick up your network and walk
All those miles of UTP wire plumbed into wall outlets and ending up at that monster cabinet in the corner surely can't be shifted can it? It's a major part of your infrastructure and, with the emphasis on the 90s approach of flood-wired office cabling, a significant part of its cost too.
Attempting to move this lot wouldn't make any economic sense.
But there is a way round - or perhaps it would be better to say over the top.
Wireless technology may provide the solution to feeling you 'own more of your own network' and it comes with a heap of other advantages too.
Benefits
 |
| You can hardly have failed to notice the explosion of Intel Centrino ads heralding its mid-March launch. This embedded technology means Intel chips come with wireless built-in, making networking 'transparent'. Expect take-off from mid-2003 to 2004. |
Mobile workers and (authorised) visitors can login to your network straight from their laptops, PDAs and portable devices - the most common application so far. Think of field staff, part-timers, volunteers, contractors, visitors.
Avoid wrestling with network cables and office furniture.
Connect nearby buildings or departments to your internal network without the worry of exposed cabling.
Drawbacks
Reliability: the old-fashioned cables that installed in most workplaces are very simple and reliable. Wireless components are complex by comparison and can also suffer impaired performance from physical blockages like concrete walls, but reliability is improving and careful siting of your wireless repeaters and hubs will help.
Connection speeds to your network can be typically slower than cabled versions and may 'fall back' to a reduced bandwidth depending on the separation distances, but that is improving too.
 |
| The Linksys WMP11 PCI card plugs into any desktop PC with a standard PCI slot. |
What you need to get going
A wireless local area network (LAN) is based on the standard IEEE 802.11 and will have the connection points of its wired cousin replaced by wireless 802.11 components. So hubs and network cards are easily identified by the stubby aerials they sprout and notebook PCs are connected via wireless PC cards plugged into their PCMCIA slots. Further devices turn printers, scanners and cameras into wireless-connected versions of themselves. You can even connect networks to each other.
You may want to start with a small number of workstations, effectively building a hybrid network to begin with. Moreover, if you haven't made the leap to broadband, now would be an excellent opportunity to make a multi-technology leapfrog and buy a box that combines many features in one go (see panel), saving on equipment costs as well.
 |
| This Wireless Access Point combines a 4-port switch with a cable/DSL router and can be configured as a DHCP server and Internet NAT firewall for your existing network.
|
Plug-n-go versions of this gear make it even easier to get up and running by plugging them into USB sockets on the back of desktop PCs.
So many 802.11 standards to choose from ...
The fairly widely implemented 802.11b runs at a similar speed to networks (LANs) of 3 years ago, ie 11Mbps, over 30-50 metres, but is susceptible to interference, being in the same 2.4GHz radio band as many phones and microwaves.
802.11a - a newer standard (confused already?) - runs 5 times as fast (54Mbps), but at half the range and at greater expense. Running in a higher, sparsely-populated frequency band obviates the interference problems, but means it's not compatible with 802.11b.
Thus, hopes are pinned on the latest but less costly variant, 802.11g, which combines the best attributes of the speed of "a" and the range of "b", with which it's also compatible. Although we are back down in the crowded 2.4GHz band again, it seems the lower cost and the fit with 802.11b will win favours over interference concerns.
Summary:
If you're looking to pack a lot of people or connections into a small space, then 802.11a is an efficient and reliable option.
If you need to keep costs down and compatibility up, go for 802.11g, but site your stations carefully to avoid interference.
A good overview can be found on this wireless standards table from LinkSys.
Where to stick it
In view of the interference possibilities from everyday equipment, especially 802.11b and -g versions, it's a good idea to put your main Access Point (AP), liek a wirelss hub, high up on a wall and unhindered by obstructions so that all those relative earth-dwelling PCs and laptops can receive a clear signal. One per room ought to give sufficient coverage unless you have a very large open plan office or a lot of potential users, eg a reception area. One of the APs will need to connect into your main server and Internet gateway/router.
Performance
The range over which all these wireless goodies performs varies enormously - you may get well over 30m or less than 10m. You may want play around with these devices for best reception, but experimenters find it's sometimes worth doing a site survey with equipment that measures signal strength in your particular office space. Modern offices, with their thinly-partitioned plaster walls will render a much greater usable range of connectivity than those built with thick stone or brick walls. Wireless Access Points transmit vertically as well as horizontally so you may get away with one for several floors.
Souping it up: sky's the limit
A more 'techy' upgrade is to substitute the aerial for a more powerful version at one of your distribution points.
 |
2.4GHz wireless camera for remote security monitoring
|
- An omni-directional aerial transmits more or less evenly in all directions and is ideal for reaching to all points of a room to pick up roaming laptops fitted with PC Cards.
For a ceiling-mounted aerial you can expect a radius coverage of 100m to 400m in a typical office - depending on how many partitions or obstructions there are - at a throughput of 2Mbps.
- A (uni-)directional aerial concentrates its transmissions in one direction (surprise, surprise). Screwing a pair of these on opposing walls (could be outside walls) and pointing them at each other could, say, connect up two disparate networks in outbuildings, as long as there is an uninterrupted line-of-sight.
With this setup, you could join up networks up to 1 mile (1.6km) apart, again at 2Mbps.
ZyXel ZyAIR Antennas
Security
You will know your neighbour has wireless networking installed just by watching the power levels come through the wall with a piece of monitoring software. That means you could be just a password away from logging in to their machine - scary but true!
Fortunately the wireless standards include an encryption method (up to 128-bits) called Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP).
A good first step to security is to change the Service Set Identifier (SSID) from any defaults that were supplied in the Access Point, like "wireless" or the manufacturer's name. This identifier functions as a "password" to allow devices to join your radio network.
Similarly, it's worth making manual changes to the WEP encryption keys on both the AP and the client machines, even though this means a fair bit of manual typing,s since a 128-bit key will comprise 26 alphanumerics. The fact that the network broadcasts key through the air doesn't help security, but protocol improvements to this weakness are on the way.
Make it happen
Call us for advice or to help you through the decision-making, purchase and setup.
Contacts
More details on wireless standards.
Manufacturers:
Glossary of wireless networking terms
-IB-
Acknowledgements: Malcolm Forbes, Rob Stead, Graham Mulholland
|
Good read? Rate this article
|
| I | | B |
^ Back to contents ^
|
| |
4. Rolling out new PCs
Users want the latest PCs, but keeping them all in step is no longer a matter of just dumping a new machine on their desks.
| |
|
More help at hand. All the back issues just a click away
|
The demand is there on both sides.
- you want uniform workstations throughout your organisation;
- resellers would love to supply you in bulk with orders of identical workstations at a discount.
What's preventing a marriage seemingly made in IT heaven?
Well this simple answer to part 2 is that most not-for-profit organisations simply can't stump up the cash for bulk orders.
Equally, the stumbling block of achieving part 1 is that small outfits buy only one or two workstations at a time. That means a lot of setting up manually or alternatively employing some sort of capture tool that saves a standard PC 'image', containing the entire standard Windows configuration you would like. Fine, but the latter translates to investing a fair bit of time up front; your average office desktop PC probably demands even more applications as standard, aside from an office package and maybe your in-house contacts database.
| "Co-Operative Systems has well-established experience in winning this multi-directional tug o' war between cost-efficiency, PC uniformity and licensing issues" |
As fast as image capture tools like Norton's Ghost software are rendering the job of workstation rollout ever more trivial, tighter measures on licensing, to wit Windows Product Activation (WPA) for Microsoft's XP series systems, make the system administrator's job harder. These licensing measures address quite legitimate concerns about piracy of Microsoft operating systems, but the remedies, through volume licensing programmes may not be within the reach of those organisations buying small numbers of PCs.
That said, and assuming one has all the genuine licence certificates as proof of purchase, it should still be possible bring new machines to the same level as older models by zapping the disc and loading a standard 'Ghost'-style image that you store exactly for this purpose; it's effectively a downgrade, but simple enough - isn't it?
When the tough get going ...
Recent experience says it's getting tougher to roll out PCs in small organisations.
Computer and operating systems manufacturers are whipping away support from under our feet sooner and sooner, truncating the life spans of these complex systems.
It has been commonplace for some time that manufacturers of video (graphics) chips and audio chips - the hardware devices that ultimately drive our display screens and speakers respectively - have little to do with the configuration of their electronic marvels when those are finally embedded in the destination computer that sits on your desk.
You only have to visit the web sites of manufacturers like S3 Graphics or Analog Devices to find weary disclaimers and redirection notices. Roughly paraphrased, they plead with you not to go ringing them or waste time trawling their sites for configuration info or driver downloads, but to return to the PC builder or reseller that put your machine together instead. For instance, you may encounter something like this ...
Drivers accessible here may not support or function perfectly with all features of your hardware. "Galloping Graphics" provides 3D graphics chips to the computer industry's leading add-in card manufacturers and PC OEMs. We do not sell any products directly to end users so we do not have an end-user technical support function. If you are having a problem with any product featuring a "Galloping Graphics" component, please contact either the PC or board manufacturer of your product."
Why won't/can't they help you ?
Because the box builders and assemblers of the PC world also provide, and often customise, the original software drivers, especially where the video and sound devices are embedded on the motherboard rather than plugged in via cards.
Frequently, these large suppliers will post up free driver downloads (for instance, if you have lost the CD drivers disc that comes with the machine), but finding them and matching up the correct version to your 98/NT/2000/XP operating system isn't always as straightforward as you might expect.
Fortunately, Co-Operative Systems has well-established experience in winning this multi-directional tug o' war between cost-efficiency, PC uniformity and licensing issues.
Contact us about rolling out PCs efficiently in your organisation.
Contacts
Find thousands of drivers at:
www.driverguide.com
How often to replace a PC ? May 2002
-IB-
|
Good read? Rate this article
|
| I | | B |
^ Back to contents ^
|
| |
5. Recycling update
Trying to pass on your unwanted computers is a might harder than this time last year. Where to turn ?
| |
|
More help at hand. All the back issues just a click away
|
Most recyclers are only accepting computers driven by at least some sort of Pentium chip; you'll find a 486 harder to shift than grass stains out of cricket flannels.
The minimum quantity level is becoming more difficult to fulfil too, so if you have the space, it's worth accumulating around 10 workstations first.
Many factors play a part in the apparent dearth of outlets. Government IT funding for schools now mean they likely to be better equipped than you are; those recyclers supplying overseas destinations with low-end computers find themselves saturated with more equipment than they can process; outfits run by volunteers or as training workshops have found it difficult to maintain a stable operation.
Latest sources
Here are just a few of the recyclers I discovered who are 'still in the business' on my foray this time around.
www.free-computers.org/
"Free Computers for Education" is a registered that collects computers, has them refurbished and passes them on free of charge to schools and educational institutes via local Rotary Clubs. The site shows a list of PC refurbishers by region.
ComputerAid ensures PCs donated are wiped and reformatted to UK Ministry of Defence security standards to protect the interests of donors. Preferring a minimum Pentium spec, an £8-£15 delivery charge is levied within the London area. They provide an online form to help automate some of the initial information exchange.
EverythingEducation offers a a series of forums (called Blackboards) "where schools and businesses can get together for mutual benefit". You make an offer and it goes on to the surplus list for schools to take up.
New Leaf operates from Raynes Park SW20 and collects redundant IT equipment from as far as Victoria for £25, then up to £60 for elsewhere in the London area. New Leaf specialises in recycling monitors and also recycles toner cartridges.
The training organisation North London ITeC has an arm which deals with PC recycling.
An excellent site detailing just about all the sources you need to know for recycling everything in the office by wasteonline. This information sheet describes Office Recycling in London.
One of the best sites to keep an eye on all these sources at a glance is Ivan Wainewright's itforcharities. Ivan appears modest about his excellent IT source site and the updating is evidently a endless task, but the PC recycling page is apparently one of the most popular.
Related articles
"Eco IT" measures, Clean up your own back yard from our 'green' issue of IB
Recycling old computers
-IB-
Paul Craig
|
Good read? Rate this article
|
| I | | B |
^ Back to contents ^
|
| |
6. Look up Windows stop codes
Windows grinds to halt, but remains tight-lipped about why. Prize open it's jaws to discover what happened.
| |
|
More help at hand. All the back issues just a click away
|
Hold up! What's happened ?
The EventId site we reviewed before now only freely shows the top 10 error codes by number and charges US$15 subscription for the full service.
However, our keen-eyed engineers have spotted another free knowledgebase that explains what has happened when you encounter a Windows stop code or stop message.
The AuhMa site illuminates those stop codes for Windows NT/2000/XP operating systems. These 8-digit hexadecimal numbers don't usually reveal much about themselves and, if all's well on your PC, aren't encountered often.
Since the codes are often the result of a hardware change or installation, they also provide a handy checklist to aid troubleshooting.
Even more message tables
Go back up the crumb trail or menu on this site to find even more everyday error messages for most of the Windows operating systems.
Contacts
www.aumha.org/kbestop.htm
-IB-
Acknowledgements: Leanne Weekes
|
Good read? Rate this article
|
| I | | B |
^ Back to contents ^
|
| |
7. Text to cash converter (txt > £££)
Are your mailouts failing to raise funds as fruitfully as before? It may be time to shape those pleading words into a new format.
| |
|
More help at hand. All the back issues just a click away
|
Smells like teen spirit
There's no doubt a fair chunk of your donors, audience, membership or supporters are those who still respond to communications that drop on to their respective doormats.
Don't sit back on your budgetary laurels though, it won't always be the case.
At NCVO's recent ICT conference, online community specialists etribes pointed up surveys showing that the up and coming generation are not only far less tuned into missives distributed on paper, they have almost passed email up as a de facto medium as well.
To them, you're invisible unless you're texting.
Given today's mobile phone premiums, this youthful sector won't exactly be a lucrative one - yet. But the technology is there and the audience is eager.
In the UK, 70 million SMS (Short Message System) text messages every day. MMS (Multimedia Message System) will diversify and expand this traffic allowing companies to spread their messages in pictorial as well as text forms.
Salient features
Mobile phones :
- are personal
- are 'always-on' (-ish)
- are more commonly the sole phone (eg no land line in multi-occupancy flats)
- allow multiple communication types, ie voice, text (SMS) and increasingly pictures and email (MMS)
- location information
- identification - recipient can reply simply and quickly
- payment mechanism -micro-payment systems limit likely to increase from £5 to £10
|
How fundraising can work ?
Outgoing text messages cost 3-4p, incoming cost to recipient £1.50. By the time VAT and operator fees are deducted, that still leaves 60-85p for your charity.
MMS outgoing cost is typically 40p at present.
Benefits
- Self financing fundraising via txting
- Fast updating of supporters
- Communicating on-site logistics to campaigners at an event
Drawbacks
- OK for one-to-one communication, but group messaging will eventually generate the same tides of spam that email is bogged down in
- May attract additional data protection measures
|
Related articles
Send text without a phone
Micro-payments
-IB-
Acknowledgements: Luke Brynley-Jones, CEO etribes ltd
|
Good read? Rate this article
|
| I | | B |
^ Back to contents ^
|
| |
8. Clicks of the Trade
--- Quick tips for happier clicks! ---
| |
|
More help at hand. All the back issues just a click away
|
"Windows isn't shutting down!"
Being the environmentally-friendly and bill-conscious type, you want switch off your PC and go home and, although the screen says "Windows is shutting down", it's beginning to look like you'll still be standing there long after the "West Wing" has already finished!
What to do now?
At this point, resist the temptation to pull the plug out!
Simply, hold the button down for more than 6 seconds.
The machine will power off.
Go home. Catch up on your serials.
** try it now **
|
-IB-
|
Good read? Rate this article
|
| I | | B |
^ Back to contents ^
Overview of InfoBulletin
InfoBulletin is written and published by Co-Operative Systems and contains Information Technology tips that we come across during everyday research and support activities and which may be useful in improving your IT operations, either internally or on the Internet.
E&OE
Viewing IB
This bulletin is presented as a Web page (in HTML) that can be read in any standard browser and most email clients. It is written in a compact format for fast viewing, short download time and ease of use for mobile computers. However, if you prefer to read it by alternative means, you could copy/paste it into your usual word processor or save it as a text file or even print it to be read later - on recycled paper, of course!
Implementation
InfoBulletin topics can be implemented by Co-Operative Systems if required on a chargeable basis or via Facilities Management (FM) for those with rolling work programmes.
Privacy
Under no circumstances does Co-Operative Systems supply lists of customers to other organisations.
|
Subscriptions
At any time you can change your subscriber address or stop receiving InfoBulletin altogether. Simply reply to the address below giving us your preferences.
If you need to re-direct this bulletin to a particular group or person within your organisation, set a rule in your mail forwarder to trigger on the address: infobulletin@coopsys.net and then fill in the internal address of your recipient(s). Alternatively, redirect this address to an internal public folder, noticeboard or distribution list of users you have set up.
Tell a colleague or associate
Know someone who would like to receive InfoBulletin? Their email to:
infobulletin@coopsys.net will return them an invitation and sampler.
^ Back to contents ^
Contact details
Sales & Enquiries: 020 7793 0395 team@coopsys.net
Support: 020 7793 7877 support@coopsys.net
Fax: 020 7735 6472
Fax us via email
Web: http://www.coopsys.net
|
Archives and Index
Read recent and past issues of InfoBulletins on the Web at http://www.coopsys.net/ibindex.htm or search our archives and subject index.
We hope you found InfoBulletin useful! If you would like to comment on any of the articles or request particular subjects to be covered, mail us here.
CO-OPERATIVE SYSTEMS
Interpreting Information Technology
|
|
|
