February iiNews
editor's note
Missing the weekend paper often drives my partner to distraction.
Not because I've missed out on my dose of current affairs, political upheavals, disasters, showbiz interviews and essential sports reports (I go online for all these things). Where I live, the weekend paper really only serves one purpose: the TV guide.
Without a guide, the nights drift by in a channel flicking blur as I become the unpopular broadcast hunter of my small TV tribe.
Just recently I discovered www.yourtv.com.au. It's true I should have figured this out a long time ago. While my friends have over taken me on the EPG (Electronic Program Guide) path, I've been wasting my time with old fashioned "hard copy".
What I like about yourtv.com.au is that you can mash together multiple guides (including Foxtel) and select favourite programs to create your own personal guide which can be emailed to your inbox everyday...A little over doing it perhaps, but keeping things online keeps the paper trail nice and short.
Another technology that I've only just caught up with is webcams. Since their introduction in the early 90s, webcams have been the little web technology that could; infinitely usable yet suffering from performance anxiety when it came to the crunch.
Now with high-speed broadband steadily becoming the norm, webcams are back in the spotlight and shining with support from the Youtube community and programs like Windows Instant Messenger.
But before you head out in search of your DIY "superstar" kit, you might want to check out this month's buyer's guide for a rundown on what you should be looking for.
Also up this month is news on our latest dialup to broadband upgrade offer, Niaal's much anticipated review of WoW: The Burning Crusade, a look at the new Judi Dench flick Notes on a Scandal , and the latest on the iiNet webmail launch.
Enjoy (and don't forget to send me feedback).
Mark Welker
iiNews Editor
inbox
"Greetings - I like your newsletter. Can I import all of my address book into iiNet webmail?"
- Robert W
See this month's tech tip on importing Outlook contacts into the new webmail system Robert.
"I use my iPod Mini solely as a hard drive to play music via my car's Alpine head unit. This is faster to update, saves throwing out old MP3 CD-Rs and stores more than one disk."
- Andrew B, QLD
"Interesting story about MP3 players. It would have been more interesting, if you had of warned people about downloading from i-tunes not being compatible with non-Apple MP3 players (non-Apple). My nine-year-old daughter was given an iTunes card last Christmas. She happily spent hours choosing and downloading her favourite tunes.
We then discovered that there was only one way to put these tunes onto her non-Apple MP3 player. As you probably know, this is to burn a CD and then put the CD back into tunes convert to MP3 files. The links you mentioned were mainly iPod links. Where can people download tunes from APART from iTunes?"
- Gary P, NSW
A valid point Gary, the choice for Australian based services is still pretty slim. Check out ninemsn music, Sanity digital , or mp3.com.au for unsigned and independent artists.
"I subscribe to about 30 podcasts on a wide variety of subjects. Many are voice only, which I listen to when I am working (I am an artist) or driving, such as the ABC's Late Night Live, the Scientific American podcast, Science Friday, The Health Report etc.
I also subscribe to many video podcasts such as about 10 podcasts on using Photoshop, the daily critique of photographs, Channel Nine news, National Geographic, Movie trailers etc. The list is endless, they are all free and downloaded automatically by iTunes and then sync'd with my 80GB video iPod."
- Jeremy H, WA
Send your newsletter views, news and suggestions to iinewsfeedback@iinet.net.au
news
new webmail poised for launch
The new and improved iiNet webmail system is set for a steady rollout over the next month. Thank you to everyone who participated in our public trial a few months back, it was extremely helpful in tweaking the system for optimum performance.
Don't be alarmed if you don't know what I'm talking about. For those who'd like to have a trial run before we flick the switch, go to webmail.iinet.net.au and familiarise yourself. The new webmail is designed to be a much more straight forward experience with many additional features that you'll come to love I'm sure.
exclusive offer for iiNet dialup customers
For a limited time, iiNet dialup customers can get a free VOIP-ready modem and free connection (valued at over $240) when upgrading from dialup to broadband on a 24 month agreement.
The free modem is "ADSL2+ compatible", which actually means "able to go really fast". Being ADSL2+ compatible also means that your modem won't go out of style any time soon.
The free modem is also "VOIP-ready" so if now or in the future you feel like shaving some dollars off your phone bill, you can get on to our broadband phone service: iiNet VOIP for just $9.95 per month.
If you're ready to make the switch and save $248, sign up online today or call us on 13 19 17 .
win a trip to Vietnam
This competition has now closed.
For each person you refer that signs up, you'll get an entry into the draw. The more people you refer, the more chances you have to win.
support & services
product spotlight - VOIP
VOIP is a broadband phone service. It has an ugly name but a very attractive set of features. VOIP gives you:
- 15c untimed national calls anytime to anywhere in Australia
- Free calls between iiNet VOIP members
- International calls from 5c per minute; and
- Free extra features like voicemail, call waiting and the ability to check voicemail from your email.
A lot of people take iiNet VOIP in order to get a speed and quota boost on broadband2+ but never actually use the service. It's totally up to you if that's the way you want to go, but if you're currently using a regular home phone service (even our home phone service) then taking a few minutes to set VOIP up is extremely worthwhile.
We've even created a short quiz to help you work out what you need to do. Jump over to voip.iinet.net.au to find out more. For general VOIP info including rates and extra features, head on over to our VOIP section.
tech tip - exporting Outlook contacts to the new iiNet webmail (Windows XP)
If you regularly travel and would still like to have access to contacts in your email program such as Microsoft Outlook, you can actually import them to our new webmail system.
The following instructions are for Microsoft Outlook 2003 (open Outlook, go to Help and then click on "About Microsoft Outlook" to find out which version you have).
- Click on "File" then "Import and Export"
- Select "Export to a file", and click "Next"
- Select "Comma Separated Values (Windows)", and click "Next"
- Select "Contacts" and click "Next"
- Click "Browse" - for ease of finding, save the file as something you'll remember (like "Bob's Contact's", for example) and in an easy to find place (My Documents or to your Desktop)
- Click "Next" then finish
Once Outlook has finished adding your contacts to the CSV file, log into the new webmail system at webmail.iinet.net.au with your username and password.
- Once logged into webmail, click onto "Address Book" then "Import Contact"
- Leave the options as they are and click on the "Browse" button next to where it says "Select file to import"
- Find the CSV file you made earlier with Outlook, and click "Open" then "Import File"
- Now you should be able to match the field names from webmail with the ones in your CSV file from Outlook. If you're not sure, leave them as they are and they should be fairly accurate.
- Scroll to the bottom of the page and click "Import Entries." A message should appear telling you how many contacts were imported, click "Ok" on this message
Now your contacts will be in webmail as well as Outlook, so you don't need to carry an address book with you wherever you travel.
frequently asked questions - broadband quota
Will VOIP effect my quota?
No, VOIP only uses small amounts of data (around 2-3 KB a second) this will not be added to your quota, therefore your quota will be completely unaffected.
What is off-peak time?
For customers on our First Timer, Frequent User, Fanatic, Business Light, Business Medium, Business Heavy and Business Max plans, off-peak time is from 2am to 12 noon (your local time), which as it implies is when the network is typically less congested.
If you are on one of our older plans, you can find details of your peak/off peak timing by logging into toolbox and selecting 'Volume Usage' from your account tools.
What is shaping? What happens when I exceed my quota?
Shaping is the technical term used for slowing the speed of your connection when you reach your total traffic allowance for the period in which it has been allocated. If you exceed your download limit, your connection speed will be "shaped" to a slower speed (64kbps).
Where can I view my quota?
You can view your quota online at any time within the toolbox volume usage tool. This tool allows you to see how much your monthly quota is along with your usage patterns to help you budget your quota allocation.
security watch
top 5 viruses reported to Sophos in January
1. Dorf
2. Netsky
3. Mytob
4. Stratio
5. Zafi
List provided by Sophos. Remember, all iiNet plans come with industry leading Sophos email anti-virus and Ironport spam protection that is automatically kept up-to-date with the latest virus threats. However, to fully protect your system, we recommend that you use our email anti-virus in conjunction with a personal anti-virus product such as those listed on this page.
image spam explained
According to the recently released report by security firm Ironport spam volumes during 2006 grew from approximately 30 billion messages per day to over 50 billion over the last 12 months. The report states that much of the increase is due to the growth image spam, rising from around 3 percent in 2005 to 20 percent in mid 2006.
By using images instead of text, spam slips through many filters that rely on the text within an email for identification. Spammers will often use multiple layers of tiny images loaded on top of each to complicate an email message, making it appear that each spam email is unique and legitimate.
"The signatures that most anti-spam vendors rely on to detect these attacks vary dramatically, based on these small changes to the image. This means that anti-spam vendors may publish a rule that stops one instance, but this rule doesn't stop all the rest of the spam messages in the attack."
There is an almost infinite number of ways that spammers can randomise images. One of the more popular forms of image spam being used at the moment is for pump-and-dump stock spam campaigns (see below) where there is an attempt to boost the value of a company's stock in order for the spammers to make a quick profit.
As all iiNet accounts are protected by Ironport's filters, I thought we might look at what that company in particular is doing to deal with the complex problem of image spam.
Ironport's solution covers facets of the nature of the email (including who sent it, where it directs to and the text within) and a new technology called Multidimensional Pattern Recognition. Ironport's sophisticated filtering process looks inside the image itself for suspicious spam patterns eg similar colour distributions, pixel patterns suggesting the image is actually text in disguise, anomalous dots.
This system is designed to track image spammers and steadily close their operations down. The stats are pretty impressive with Ironport now claiming it capture over 98 percent of image spam messages.
feature story: webcam buyers guide
Have webcams gone the way of video phones? Do people want to watch, but would rather partake in a reality TV show or sports broadcast than a best friend's morning face?
Five years ago I would have said yes. Five years ago webcams were a great idea that never quite hit mainstream. Back in 1991, some university students decided to put an online video camera to good use and film a coffee pot for 24 hours. While I have no idea whether this is actually true (I wiki'd it), it is true that for a long time webcams have been the butt of many an Internet joke.
In order to really put a webcam to good use, you had to see the awesomeness of video chat, and so did your best (and hopefully aesthetically pleasing) mate. It's a big jump to move up from a few anonymous keystrokes made in your jim jams, to a full on video conference where the other party gets to pass judgment on your attire.
But things are changing. Now the two big chat giants, Yahoo and Messenger, support webcams, making face to face contact wherever in the world you are - just a click away.
So with all this in mind, you'll want to know where to start if webcam is for you. Let's get into it.
where do I start?
Many of today's most popular laptop manufacturers incorporate a webcam into the laptop design. So if you're on the lookout for a laptop upgrade and video conferencing sounds like your thing, check out the options from brands like Sony, Dell and Apple that have webcams built in.
But if you're not keen on shelling out a couple of grand for something new, perhaps an external webcam is in order.
How much you pay depends on your range of use. So work out what you actually need one for then start looking around.
If you just want a basic camera for video chatting with friends and family occasionally, then you'll land in the $50 to $100 bracket. If you're looking to broadcast the view from outside your window to the world via a webpage or hold regular video conferences, then go between $100 and $250. Anything over that is a pro level and you already know what you want.
some things to consider
Frame rate:
determines how smooth and lifelike the video your webcam takes. Aim for 30 frames per second (FPS), however, note that the speed of your Internet connection will limit how many FPS you can achieve - if your Internet connection can't keep up, then even a 30 FPS camera will stutter.
Resolution: much like a digital still camera, the more megapixels the higher the quality of your pictures. High quality pictures require a large number of megapixels, but for your typical webcam aiming for a maximum of 640 x 480 pixels is a good bet. You only need higher if you want to take good quality photos.
Lens: to keep the cost down, many webcams use a plastic lens instead of glass. The difference won't be much if all you're doing is chatting, but if you're looking to use it in a more professional environment, go for glass.
Motion detection: depending on your use of your webcam, motion detection can be very helpful. If you're planning on using your webcam as a security camera, or just want to capture what's happening in the room next door and not all the bits in between, many new webcams have pretty sophisticated motion detection that turn the camera on when movement is detected. Many also pick up facial movements, which can be quite helpful if you're an animated speaker and tend to drop out of frame.
Upload speed: smooth operation of your webcam is mostly dependant on your Internet connection's upload speed. To get an image of 15 FPS you need an upload speed of about 256kbps. That's the minimum, and at that frame rate your friend might be sorely disappointed by the overall effect.
Software: most webcams will come bundled with all the software you need for basic video chatting. If you want to start broadcasting live to the world, then you'll need to start looking for a webcasting program to get your images to a web page. Check out www.videostreaming.org for tips on this.
Audio: note that most webcams do not include audio - though some do include bundled headphone sets. You'll need to make sure your computer or webcam is fitted with a "mic" sound port if charades isn't your thing.
conclusion
If you get stuck, do what I do and head for Google. There are hundreds of sites out there that review webcams and provide step by step instructions for fine tuning your experience. You can even use your home video camera as your webcam with the right software so search around and get familiar with the possibilities.
Have any buyers tips I missed out? Email them through to our iiNews feedback address.
webcam reviews:
Microsoft Lifecam
Logitech Quickcam Pro
Microsoft Xbox Live Vision
Creative Livecam Voice
Microsoft Quickcam for Notebooks Deluxe
Next month: War of the Browsers
iipeople
staff profile
Name:
Peter Hong
Title:
Associate Programmer
What does your current role involve?
I am part of the customer service tools (CSTools) team. As part of CSTools team, my current role involves working closely with the customer service team to ensure that all their systems - mainly PTS (Problem Tracking System) - runs smoothly. My role requires me to firstly understand how the customer service staff work and design a solution that will help simplify their work by providing tools that are useful and will support the objectives of the business.
What did you do before you came to iiNet?
I was an honour student at the University of Western Australia majoring in Computer and Mathematical Science. During my study, I worked part-time as a tutor in the same university, and at the same time, worked as a technical support staff member for a Sydney-based company - North Communications.
What is the best thing about working at iiNet?
My favourite part of working with an ISP (especially iiNet) has always been the people. Staff at iiNet are great to work with; many are experts in their given field, and the variety of work required always keeps things interesting.
customer of the month
Name:
Bruce Watt
Location:
Rosebud, VIC
Account type:
Bliink 256 Plus
Customer Since:
2002
Describe your typical day of living online?
My day consists of first checking my emails. Then I will go on the web and use it for my genealogy research on my family which I have been doing for the past 10 years. It's been fantastic as I have found relatives I didn't know I had, and others going back to the 18th century. This research is almost complete and the details I have found from the Internet will enable me to write a book.
I also run a blog which needs frequent updating and helps me to keep up with the thoughts of others. Lastly, I travel a lot and the Internet helps me learn more about the details of the places I plan to visit.
Your favourite site?
One of my favourite sites is Free BMD which is an English site and has births, marriages and death details of British people from 1837. It's been a wonderful asset to my research. My other favourite is the ABC which I use to keep up with current news and events.
What technology/website are you looking forward to most?
I look forward to improved search engines that can better define the subject which you seek. Currently they are too often based on matching of words rather than precise subjects.
Interested in being our next customer of the month? Send your details to iinewsfeedback@iinet.net.au.
competitions
see the illusionist!
The Illusionist stars Edward Norton and Paul Giamatti as two men pitted against each other in a battle of wits: Norton as mysterious stage magician Eisenheim, and Giamatti as Vienna's shrewd Chief Inspector Uhl.
When word of Eisenheim's astounding illusions reaches the powerful and pragmatic Crown Prince Leopold (Rufus Sewell), the ruler attends one of the magician's shows in order to debunk Eisenheim during the performance. But when the Prince's intended Sophie von Teschen falls for the illusionist, the Prince sets Inspector Uhl a task to expose Eisenheim, even while the magician gains a devoted and vocal public following.
With Uhl doggedly searching for the reasons and the man behind the trickery, Eisenheim prepares to execute his greatest illusion yet.
To celebrate the release of the new film The Illusionist on March 1, Roadshow Films have kindly passed on 50 double passes to giveaway to iiNews readers.
To be in the running for this prize, please email competitions with "Illusionist Competition" in the subject line, and provide your username, full name and address by 5pm WST, February 28, 2007, along with the answer to this question: name one reason why you might use iiNet VOIP? ( hint: check the support and services section)
Visit the official The Illusionist website.
entertainment
2 minute games review - World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade
with Niaal Holder
I've got a filthy secret: I used to play WoW a little bit. I had a 60 Troll Rogue; I used to run instances and PvP for hours on end. I used to... grind.
Used to. I don't play anymore. I kicked the habit; I decried my lost hours and retook the sunshine. But here I am, reviewing the WoW expansion, The Burning Crusade. I feel dirty. It's like trying to put tomato sauce back in an ezy-squeeze sachet. It's a luscious tale of love, deceit and intrigue, so pull up a buttock and I'll talk you through it.
WoW itself is the most successful MMORPG on the market, there is simply no finer gaming harmony you could pay a monthly fee for. Two opposing factions, eight races, nine classes and a character development system so quick-to-master and yet so long to progress... you're hooked. It's positive reinforcement conditioning at its devilish best. And ganking is fun (kiss my bur, alliance nubs).
So Burning Crusade had a bit of a job ahead of it - somehow, it needed to pry open the formidably tight-knit gaming ecology of WoW, graft itself on top of the old confluence and make it look like nothing happened. It does this, with some notable roughness, though nothing we didn't really expect.
Overtly, we have new lands and new races. The Outlands are nicely presented, stuffed with huge monsters and all sorts of endgame tomfoolery players are going to yum up.
The new races, the Draenei and Blood Elves, introduce classes to each faction that were previously faction specific, adding balance but reducing much of the difference between the opposing sides. Old-skool Horde now find themselves sorely tempted by the sexy pwnage of the blood elf paladin range. Don't deny it, you love it and want to touch it.
So after sixteen rapturous hours of re-customising my WoW interface, I logged in with my new blood elf paladin, 'Clothtoucher'. I spent a deal of time strutting around all nub-like doing level 1 type things and trying out the emotes, and - quelle horreur! - it was fun. New quests to kick off, new guff to laugh at with the flirt emote, exciting new random twirly jumping. Hand in a quest, get a new quest, run out for more WoW type stuff.
And that's exactly where I left him, around level 8, when I realised it's pretty much exactly as it always was. Some slight racial bonuses, a bit of newish character dev... but nothing standout.
Enter my old-skool 60 rogue... 'Splode'. We'd had some good times. Now we were back in business - scooting our way into expansion pack territory in search of... level 61. Just saying it felt weird. 60 was king for so long... all of a sudden, with the expansion, we can be higher than high level, up to 70.
Herein lays the most notable transition from old to new: in WoW, 60 was endgame, and it took a long freaking time to get anything of power in your hands from there. You worked your undead rump off for weeks for slightly better gear, and even then it was never quite enough.
Now, all this has changed. The first few quests in Outlands rewarded me not only with some dosh and XP, but items far blindingly superior to stuff I used to work really hard to get. This was... too easy.
It's a huge cutoff, all of a sudden any day-one 60 or a seasoned 61 can prove more than a match for the endgame elite characters from days gone. It's refreshing for me and my 'can't be bothered' efforts, but someone out there has to feel a little nixed by this.
With the addition of a new profession, flying mounts and the exciting prospect of team arena PvP combat, Burning Crusade has enough value added to bring back flocks of semi-retired WoW devotees. And aside from the jarring equipment leap from 60 onwards, it's tacked onto the old ways quite nicely. I'd thoroughly recommend BC if you know WoW and have a strong will.
While it's still not for me, it's definitely got something for the masses.
Many thanks to the good folk at Blizzard for my shiny copy of BC, and for letting me back online at all.
movie review
-
Notes on a Scandal - Rated MA
When the young and beautiful new art teacher Sheba Hart (Cate Blanchett) arrives for the beginning of term, her green innocence casts a spell over her fellow colleagues and students. School veteran Barbara Covett (Judi Dench) is less than impressed at first, her hard as nails approach to teaching leaves little room for Sheba's warm yet listless personality.
It's only when a classroom altercation draws them together that Covett sees Sheba's promise: not as a gifted teacher, but as a possible companion and cure for Covett's terminal loneliness.
Dealing with her own demons (a demanding family and marital life) Sheba turns to the affections of a 15 year old student. When Covett discovers Sheba's forbidden affair she decides not to expose her companion and instead uses her silence to strengthen their unusual bond.
Covett orders an end to the indiscretion immediately, but the conflicting pressures of Sheba's family life continue to strain Covett's hold over her. Lies pile atop lies, and soon Covett must play the right cards in order to secure the long term company of Sheba.
Notes on a Scandal brings with it a host of Oscar footnotes, including a best actress nomination for Judi Dench and a supporting actress nod for Cate Blanchett. Both are well earned, for the performances in Notes on a Scandal are impressive to say the least.
Blanchett typifies the carefree and often reckless attitude of the middle class Sheba, a woman caught between the inevitability of family life and the excitement and danger of lust.
But it is Dench who steals the show. Covett could so easily have become another Kathy Bates "Misery" clone. But Dench's superb performance consistently evades that stereotype, portraying Covett as a cold and calculating woman driven to selfish delusion by her lonliness. Far from being evil, Covett seems an unfortunate by-product of an alienated world.
Without Dench, Notes on a Scandal might have lost itself to a melodramatic heart. Make no mistake about it, the story itself follows the same conventions of a Hollywood thriller particularly when it comes to wrapping things up at the end.
At just 90 minutes it feels as though there was more on the cutting room floor worth seeing, perhaps some more quieter moments sans Philip Glass's brilliant yet suffocating score.
A highly enjoyable, if not predictable, thriller lifted up by some inspired performances.
site scan - photography
www.dpreview.com
If you're in the market for a digital camera or you want one up on your "photo snob" neighbour, dpreview is
the
source for camera reviews and digital photography know-how.
www.lomography.com
Shoot from the hip is lomography's catch cry. Lomography is a style that breaks all the rules of conventional photography and promotes the use of cheap vintage cameras for a much more raw photographic experience.
www.flickr.com
We've mentioned it before, but every photographer that can't afford their own site, needs a flikr site (and even those that can).