Information Technology News Archive

1996 - 2017

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Voice and Data Services

LOOKING UP E-MAIL ADDRESSES

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One of the most frequent requests made of UCI’s e-mail postmaster is to lookup an e-mail address. UCI’s electronic phone book can be accessed from Eudora and also from the Web via “Ph-WWW”: http://www.uci.edu/cgi-bin/phwww

This tool allows you to search for a person by name, phone number, department, or a combination of these and other fields. More information on the capabilities of this search can be found by clicking on “More Information about PHWWW” on the Web page.

So next time you need an e-mail address, “let your fingers do the walking.”

REVIEWING YOUR PHONE BILL

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In a time when we are all seeking ways to cut costs, one place to look may be on your telecommunications expenses. Each month, NACS Electronic Communication Services (ECS) provides your department with a telephone bill that details the ECS equipment and services you are paying for monthly. We suggest that departments review the billing statement for accuracy. If any questionable charges are found, just call our billing staff at extension 4311 for clarification. In the review process it is not uncommon to come across a line or service that you may no longer need or use and yet you continue to pay for it. In this case, you may submit an NACS-ECS Request Form to have the service discontinued. You may be surprised at the savings!

Update on Modem Pool Timeouts

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Early reports indicate the new two hour timeout on UCI’s 824-9000 modem pool has made a noticeable improvement in the availability of free modems during evening hours. Preliminary telephone company data indicates modem-users are encountering approximately 40% fewer busy signals since the timeouts were put in place. NACS will continue to monitor the situation during the 3 month timeout trial period.

Please note that it is not possible to provide a warning when the two hour timeout is reached while dialed up to UCInet using PPP or SLIP. You must keep track of how long you have been connected on your own. Note also that after your two hours is up, you may attempt to dial-up and access the modem pool for additional two hour sessions.

Home Access / Modem Plans

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Currently, there are no plans to purchase additional modems or replace existing UCI modems with faster ones. NACS and others have examined these options, but no funding has been identified for modem improvements, and there are other considerations including a rapidly changing home-access market.

In 1995, NACS implemented a number of changes to deal with the frequent busy signals users were encountering on the campus modem pool at that time. These changes were largely successful and got the campus through the 1995/1996 school year. However, each year brings additional network activity, and the congestion has once again been an issue during 1996/1997.

NACS believes that increased use of commercial Internet Service Providers (ISPs) is the best way to meet UCI’s current and future remote access needs. However, NACS will explore the availability of resources to support centrally-funded modem service for UCI faculty, staff and students, whether through on-campus modem pools or ISPs.

NACS will pursue more favorable arrangements with ISPs that the “buying power” of the combined UCI community might allow. NACS will continue to work on resolving network access restriction issues from ISPs. UCI-restricted USENET Newsgroups are now available from ISPs, and a gateway is in the works for restricted Web areas.

NACS looks to commercial providers for the largest piece of the home access solution as ISPs can more effectively provide remote access than can NACS, and with greater functionality. They already offer local phone numbers that provide network access from a variety of local and national locations. Cable TV companies are now offering high-speed access from several southern California locations.

More information about the current remote access situation and plans can be found in the web – seehttp://www.nacs.uci.edu/communication/home-access.html. Additionally, a new LISTSERV mailing list “HOME-ACCESS@UCI.EDU” has been created for future modem, ISP and home access announcements. To add yourself to this list, send a message to LISTSERV@UCI.EDU with “subscribe home-access YOURNAME” in the message body.

824-9000 Modem Sessions To Be Limited to 2 Hours

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As a temporary measure to relieve congestion, the maximum amount of time allowed for any one session on UCI’s 824-9000 modem pool is being reduced to 2 hours. Shorter dial-up sessions will give more people a chance at this scarce free resource. NACS is studying several long-term remote access solutions including more favorable arrangements with commercial Internet Service Providers.