Common computer myths you need to stop believing Written by Bryan Clark

You need to defragment your drive frequently

Here’s everything you need to know about defragmenting a modern computer: you don’t need to. Windows computers have a built-in defragmentation utility that automatically runs in the background, on a pre-defined schedule. On OS X, Macs have a file system (OS X HFS+) that automatically defragments files in a process known as HFC – or – Hot File Adaptive Clustering. Additionally, many modern computers are now shipping with Solid-State Drive (SSD or flash storage) that should never be defragmented — it will actually ruin your SSD. Defragging can speed up a regular HDD, it doesn’t do any good for an SSD.

Viruses and spyware are slowing down your computer

Any time a PC user runs into any sort of slowdown, the most common (and incorrect) thing to blame it on is malware (learn about the differences between malware, viruses, spyware etc.). While it’s always a possibility that the computer is infected, modern malware is so profit-driven that it’s in the creator’s best interest to keep it running stealthily in the background. As such, you won’t typically notice any performance decreases due to an infection. Instead, it’s more likely that your computer is slower due to running too many programs simultaneously, unnecessary plugins and add-ons hogging CPU usage, lack of free RAM or disk space, or a hardware problem. Or it could just be that your computer is ageing – these 7 signs will tell you if it’s time to replace it.

More (Cores, RAM, etc.) Are Always Faster

More is better… well, usually. Adding more RAM will allow your computer to work a little more efficiently by reducing its dependence on virtual memory. By doing so, your computer will feel like it’s running quicker. Cores, on the other hand, are a mixed bag. Quality matters, and a high-end quad-core processor will outperform a lower-end octo-core processor almost all the time. Additionally, the word “better” means different things to different users, and while more cores is better in the sense that it runs most programs faster, there are trade-offs in other areas, such as battery life.

Wireless network Once upon a time, not so many years ago, the primary means of connecting a computing device, usually a desktop PC, to a data network was via a wired ethernet cable. Wireless connectivity was seen as an adjunct - something that was useful but not essential. Times have moved on and laptops, tablets and smartphones have become much more commonplace and accepted as personal computing devices. These portable devices add to productivity by permitting our files and data to be available to us as we move around - to meeting rooms, to lecture theatres, to other cities, to our homes.

UNE has now completed the installation of its fourth generation wireless network on the main Armidale campus, all of UNE's remote centres, and to three quarters of the residential colleges.

This new network is capable of transmitting data at up to 800 Mbits or so (depending on how close the user is to the Wireless Access Point). In many cases a UNE network user need never connect to the wired network again.

The graph below illustrates the growing use being made of the new wireless network over the past 12 months as the installation progressed around the campus.

InPlace - placement software

ITD has recently successfully implemented the new software package, InPlace, used to coordinate the professional placement of students. This project was initiated by the School of Education (SoE) where 3,500 placements were migrated from their manual system to this new, automated system with huge benefits in terms of time and cost.

This project was so successful at SoE, other departments such as Sports Science, Pharmacy and Computer Science also decided to participate and InPlace has been successfully implemented for them. In future, ITD expects that more schools/departments that have professional placements will consider implementing this placement solution. Any UNE school/department interested can make an initial enquiry through James Harrop in ITD, ext.3031.

From the Director With the UNE draft strategic plan taking

shape, ITD will now begin developing a

new strategic plan to follow. Given the

importance of technology to UNE this will

be a significant process, to ensure the IT

strategy effectively supports the university

and our strategic direction.

We have spent the last five years building

one of the best IT platforms in Australia, so

a key part of our strategy will be

maintaining and improving this, we can’t

let it go backwards, it’s onwards and

upwards but the way this platform will

look in five years time will again be very

different. I expect we won’t have any of

our own data centres, in the world of IT as

a service, why would we? The focus for IT

will be on our applications, our architec-

ture and security.

We would like to get the input of UNE staff

and students on what the IT strategy

should be for UNE, in five years time what

will it look like, what will we do with it,

how will UNE lead the digital education

space? If you have any thoughts please

email me via directorit@une.edu.au and

participate in our upcoming focus groups.

It was great to get the feedback from our

CFO on the effectiveness of Skype for Busi-

ness. If we can all change the usage of our

mobile phones we can save the university

significants amount of money that can go

towards the ITD Christmas party :) or

teaching or research or the student

experience—let’s face it, any of the above is

better than giving it to Telstra!

As I type—the Skype for Business accounts

for UNE students are being provisioned.

We’re the first university in Australia to

provide this collaboration platform to

students, demonstrating our commitment to

being a leading online innovative university.

The next major step is ‘adoption’; there will

be some among us who are comfortable

with the way we do things currently—but

help us become the digital leaders by

embracing this platform, and let us know

what else we can do with it—integrate it

directly into Moodle perhaps?

The annual IT Service quality benchmark

results are in and we have improved

significantly for students after dipping

slightly in 2014 to achieve an overall

satisfaction rating of 88%. We’re hoping this

will see UNE rated number one again in 2015

returning our coveted title that we held in

2011, 2012 & 2013. We will know the

outcome later this month. Our result for

staff has dipped by 1% to 67% satisfaction so

we have more work to do there, but given

the amount of projects ITD have delivered in

the period I think we have performed very

well and the teams should be very proud of

their efforts—I am!

As this is the last newsletter of 2015, all of us

in ITD would like to thank you for your

support and patience at times! We look for-

ward to supporting UNE and unwrapping the

next IT strategy for an exciting journey

ahead ...

Enjoy the newsletter!

Information Technology

This issue:

From the Director P.1 Skype Success! P.1

IT Maintenance Dates 2016 P.1 Web Application Builder P.2

Why Update Software? P.3 Vacation/Out of Office Messages P.3

Computer Myths P.4 And much more - see inside

The Quarterly Newsletter of

Volume 3, 2015

THUMBS UP FOR SYKPE FROM CFO!

It’s always encouraging to get positive feedback on new services that ITD delivers to UNE staff— especially when senior management takes the time to comment. This is what Michelle Clarke, our Chief Fi-nancial Officer, had to say about the new Skype facility:

“ Just want to let you know about my positive experience with Skype. I've been out of the office all week and using Skype for phone calls rather than the usual mobile call way. No issues at all. Actually the calls are really clear. Clearer than normal mobile. “

Thank you, Michelle. Any other feed-back about Skype or any other IT matters from staff members is always welcome. IT Maintenance Dates 2016

From the vault

From the archives - Smith's Weekly newsletter - June 1996 by Gordon Smith

Virtual Online University, Inc.

“One of the subjects of conversation on campus relates to the future modes of external teaching at UNE. There's no doubt that to some the expense, both the time and the financial cost, is more than they can afford. UNE most likely loses a fair number of external students due to this, those that don't re-enrol and those that don't enrol in the first place. What means do we have to try and cut costs for both the student and UNE?

Might I suggest that one clue may be had from the Virtual Online University, Inc. VOU is a non-profit corporation which runs both the "Athena University of Higher Education" and the "Athena Preparatory Academy" for pre-university education. Don't let the names distract you. Keep on reading.

VOU uses the Internet to bring teachers and students together in real-time virtual rooms. The virtual environment is created using software which creates a Multi-user Object Oriented environment, a MOO (and it's not even an agricultural university). Classes and seminars are held on-line, in real-time. (I guess there is an underlying assumption that everybody can type and spell). Web

servers are used to provide access to resource materials. E-mail is used to give one—to-one interaction.

It's best that you visit their Web site to get the full description. They can be found at http://www.athena.edu/ .

This virtual teaching stuff is somewhat foreign to us at UNE though. So why mention it? Well, it seems obvious (to me at least) that something has to change if UNE's going to survive in the brave new competitive world. UNE has a problem in that it's a long way from anywhere. The Internet levels out the playing field, so to speak. The external student, studying virtually, doesn't know or care how many kilometres Armidale is from them, as long as the course content is there.

Given that we already have much of the infrastructure in place (i.e. Internet connection, e-mail, Web servers), all that's needed is the will to investigate this as a realistic option. There's no substitute for hands-on residential courses in many fields and I've no idea how successful it's been at Athena but perhaps a gradual move into virtual, online teaching will be of benefit to UNE in the longer term”.

Application Express:

Oracle’s web application

builder.

Recently the Information Services group in ITD has using an Oracle tool called Application Express or ApEx for short. The first version of ApEx was released around 2004 with limited functionality. Since then, Oracle has worked on improving it consistently and now it is a fully web-based rapid application development environ-ment. The basic building block is a web page but many different functions are made accessible from the items on the page.

We have released four applications into the UNE community: A membership management program for UNESA, a payroll analysis program for finance officers in schools, an SQL report generator for the Callista Support Team and an Early Entry application to allow high school students to apply for study at UNE.

Development can be very quick as many parts are “built in” and require little effort to spin up basic functionality. It works on most browsers and thus is platform independent. A small group of developers in ITD has delved into ApEx without training, and are sharing their findings with the developer community prior to formal Oracle training later this year.

Application Express works well over Oracle databases (but not limited to them). It is very useful for building small applications with specific functionality, and thus, a welcome addition to our application building toolbox.

Skype for Business for Students One of the final components of the Skype for Business (Lync) rollout at UNE is to enable all enrolled students with Skype for Business. This will give students access to the SfB client and the ability to use instant messaging, to join (and set up) online meetings as well as to use SfB to make calls (free) to other UNE students and staff. UNE is the first university in Australia to provide this collaborative platform to its students. Supporting UNE’s intent to be the best on-line innovative university. Happy Skyping!

New Associate Director in ITD

Christmas is coming! How to set a vacation or

out of office greeting on your voicemail

With Christmas fast approaching, here’s a tip that will be useful if you are taking an extended break over Christmas and want to set up a message on your voicemail to let people know you are away. Your Skype for Business voicemail is linked to your Exchange email account. Voicemail greetings are set via the Exchange web interface at https://exchange.une.edu.au. 1) Go to https://exchange.une.edu.au and log in with your UNE username and password. 2) Click on the cogwheel in the top right corner and select Options. 3) Click on the Phone options along the left hand side.

4) Look for the "Greetings" section and select "Greeting that lets callers know you'll be away for an extended period of time". If you want the system to play a standard / generic message, save your changes at that point. If you would like to record your own message, click on the "Call me to record a greeting ..." option below the selection boxes and enter your extension or email address. You will receive a call from the system - follow the voice prompts to record a message. 5) To change the settings back to your normal greeting, select "Default voice mail greeting" when you return.

What’s with all these annoying soft-ware updates?

They have a tendency to appear at the most inconvenient times, asking you to restart just when you’ve got important things to do, but putting it off could be risky. Computer programs, applications and operating systems are all written by people, and people make mistakes. Security holes & vulnerabilities, coding mistakes, software & hardware incompatibilities and other errors are frequently discovered after a program has been released to the public. In order to fix the program and make it safe for general use, the manufacturer might release a software update or ‘patch’.

Manually installing these updates at our leisure is not really good enough these days. We need to act much faster. In the days of Windows XP and Vista, automatic updates got a bad rap as they might reboot your machine at odd times of day and potentially cause system instability or application crashes. These days things generally seem to behave much better.

There are three main reasons to stay on top of your software updates:

To close security holes before the bad-guys exploit them

To fix coding errors and design mistakes

To enable new features.

We highly recommend enabling automatic updates for your operating system. If you have a work PC connected to the UNE domain, this should happen automatically. For your home machine or personal PC, here’s how:

OSX: System Preferences -> App Store -> Automatically check for updates

Windows 7: Control Panel -> System and Security -> Turn automatic updating on or off

Windows 8+: Settings -> Change PC settings -> Update and recovery -> Choose how updates get installed

Don’t be scared of updates …

be scared of unpatched PCs …

Earlier this year ITD appointed a new Associate Director, Information

Services, Melanie Pittard. Melanie comes to us with a wealth of

experience in IT and learning technologies in Australian universities, most

recently from the University of Canberra. ITD welcomes Melanie, who has

already made many positive contributions to the Directorate in the

relatively short time she since she took over the role.

The senior IT Management team is now 50% female —fantastic! Gordon

and Rob are working on improving their multi-tasking skills...