Information Technology News Archive

1996 - 2017

NACS Hosts Ericsson User Group Board Meeting

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The newly elected board of the Ericsson User Group (EUG) held its first meeting at UCI’s University Club on Friday, December 3. The EUG is a national organization of Ericsson MD110 telephone system and wireless users which includes UCI, UCSC, and UCSD, and several CSU campuses.

NACS staff member Bruce Cotsonas was recently elected to a two-year term as Vice President/President Elect of the Ericsson User Group. In that position, Bruce is able to maintain close ties with Ericsson and serve as an advocate for UCI to be sure UCI telephone customers’ needs are addressed in Ericsson’s evolving product and service strategy.

Among the more interesting elements in Ericsson’s strategy is a migration from PBX to IP technology. John Whelan, Manager of Product Marketing, reported on Ericsson’s “PBX Migration Plan to IP” at the board meeting.

Y2K Bug is a No-Show at NACS

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Thanks to preparations and planning, NACS is pleased to report that no Y2K-related problems occurred on the campus network, in the campus telephone system, or on NACS computing systems on January 1. Only minor Y2K problems had been anticipated, but we were concerned about possible threats to network and computer security by those attempting to exploit holiday absences and Y2K confusion.

NACS had staff standing by during the holiday to deal with potential Y2K problems or security attacks. Our goal was to be sure the UCI community could depend on NACS services upon their return to campus.

During the break, about a half-dozen different attempts to find or exploit weaknesses in UCI systems were detected and handled. In addition, several network and computing problems of a routine nature were fielded, and some key installation projections completed. Many thanks to the NACS computing and communications staff who worked or were on call during the holiday.

Pacific Bell Wireless cell site installed at UCI

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Pacific Bell Wireless, in cooperation with NACS’ Electronic Communications Services group, Campus Asset Management, and Facilities Management, has installed a digital cellular telephone cell site on the roof of Engineering Tower at UCI. The installation was completed during December. The new site affects users of Personal Communication Services (PCS) digital telephone service provided by Pacific Bell Wireless. With the new cell site, Pacific Bell PCS service is significantly improved on campus and in the surrounding service area. If you would like to sign up for Pacific Bell Wireless, you may contact Shelly Toole of NACS-ECS at x4311. We are also in touch with other cellular service vendors about possible additional cell sites on campus.

Long Distance Rate Reduction

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Because long distance telephone costs continue to drop, NACS has implemented another rate reduction to campus telephone system users. Interstate and international long distance rates were reduced by another fifteen percent effective December 1, 1999.

An initial fifteen percent reduction went into effect on March 1, 1999 and an additional ten percent became effective July 1, 1999. Interstate and international long distance telephone call rates have been reduced by a total of forty percent as of December 1, 1999.

In addition, all monthly recurring charges for Ethernet services have been discontinued effective October 1, 1999 as part of the Network Service rate reduction plan.

Departmental bookkeepers were notified of the most recent price change in the December NACS-ECS telephone billing statement.

Campuswide Calendaring

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Currently, campus departments use various solutions for keeping track of employee calendars, as well as scheduling group meetings and activities. However, these calendaring islands do not communicate with each other; any time a meeting involves personnel from multiple departments, it must be scheduled via voice- and e-mail.

As part of its Enterprise Services project, NACS is launching a campus calendaring service using CorporateTime from Corporate Software & Technologies. Our goal is to serve the campus’s needs in electronic calendaring and scheduling, and facilitate the growth of this service throughout UC Irvine.

This new service will allow users to track personal appointments, schedule meetings with one another, include a conference room if appropriate, track tasks and events, and check their calendars while away from their desks or traveling. Client software supports Macintosh, Windows and UNIX (Motif) computing environments, and optional software is available for synchronizing one’s calendar with a personal digital assistant (e.g. Palm Pilot).

Several schools and departments are participating in the initial rollout of this service. Interested users should contact theirComputing Support Coordinator for participation details. Departments who would like additional information on this service are invited to contact us at nacs@uci.edu.