June iiNews

letter from the editor

Hi and welcome to another edition of iiNews.

It would be terrible of me to not mention that something called the World Cup is on at the moment wouldn't it? Someone said to me the other day that it has something to do with football, but I never knew AFL was global yet...

A great way to keep up with what's happening day-to-day, match-to-match in the World Cup is Microsoft's groovy Soccer Scoreboard. You download it to your desktop and it synchs online to bring you all the latest tournament news and information including live game data, team fixtures and customised progress reports on your favourite teams.

Away from football, it's also been a big month for iiNet. The press have been going crazy dreaming up headlines and putting us in pretty much every paper around the country. But as busy as it all seems on paper, in reality everyone here at iiNet is still very much in a "business as usual" frame of mind.

What is exciting is our new strategic alliance with PowerTel, and there's a bit more information on this in the general news section.

Other than that, this month we look into online games and activities for kids for the monthly theme, we launch our new Phone Advantage home phone service and check in with an iiNet business customer putting their VoiP service to good use.

Enjoy.

Mark Welker
iiNews Editor

 

general news

PowerTel strategic alliance
Late last month iiNet announced a strategic alliance with Australian business telecommunications provider PowerTel. For iiNet, the alliance is big news as it moves to strengthen our high speed network and increase coverage to more and more Australians.

Under the alliance, iiNet and PowerTel will pool network resources, providing both companies with significant coverage in regional centres and all major metropolitan capital cities around the country.

The combined national network with 262 exchanges today, will offer iiNet customers increasingly competitive broadband and telephone products.

The strategic alliance means Australian consumers will have more of an opportunity to get access to real broadband speeds, rather than settling for the old standard of broadband: 256kbps.

Phone Advantage arrives
Late last month we launched our new home phone service, Phone Advantage. Phone Advantage introduces a great range of $1.98 international and national block rates including:

• 2 hours of chat to landlines anywhere, anytime in Australia
• 30 minutes to any landline in our top 20 called countries
• Or for just $2.48 you can chat to any mobile, anytime in Australia for up to 20 minutes

Local call rates are just 17c untimed and all Phone Advantage services include an optional VoIP package for even lower rates on every day calls (like 10c local and national calls). Find out more at http://www.iinet.net.au/products/phone/ and check out our "kick off and win" phone rates competition below.

more xbox360 winners!
The lucky winners for weeks 3, 4 and 5 were:

Week 3: Paul Jones who referred his friend, Jim Byrne
Week 4: Rob Mayer who referred his friend, Jeff Schultz
Week 5: Anthony Fitzpatrick who referred his friend, Michael Grousse

This competition is closed.

support & services

internet security update
A while back I did my infamous Internet security edition of iiNews (which was massively popular of course) and mentioned an emerging form of Internet scamming called "Phishing". This scam uses email spam to direct Internet users to Web sites that are controlled by thieves, but are designed to look like legitimate e-commerce sites. A common form of "phishing" is phoney ebay log-ins asking for a credit card confirmation.

One that I have noticed, and many of our customers have complained about, is a phoney netbank email like the one pictured below:

Now everyone knows that these scams come a dime a dozen these days. However, I thought this one in particular was quite devious and so should be bought to people's attention.

This netbank email contains all the logos and design you'd expect to see within the Commonwealth banking system, it comes from a security@commbank address (at least it appears to) and contains legitimate looking links to terms and conditions and a central website. The only thing really letting it down is the dubious grammar.

If you get this email, or any like it, either hit the delete key or verify the contents with your bank before offering up any details . As stated on the official Commonwealth Bank website:

"The Commonwealth Bank does not send emails requesting you to confirm, update or disclose your confidential banking information."

network update
This month for our network update I thought we'd have a look at what the effect our ADSL2+ DSLAMs are actually having in the community. To do this, our Chief Technology Officer, Greg Bader, has kindly created some neat heat maps showing broadband speeds our customers are experiencing around Australia.

The first one show's our Sydney coverage.

You can read these any way you want to, but essentially the dots that you can see are the telephone exchanges in which we have built our DSLAMs in the Sydney metropolitan area.

The red splotches surrounding each exchange in this map indicates customers getting in excess of 16,000kps. As the colours move through orange, yellow, green and finally blue, you can see how the speed also decreases. Blue represents 2,000kbps or less - there's not much blue to be found on this map.

What comes before all these red splotches? Below is an exchange in WA before we install our DSLAMs. As you can see, it's a sea of low speed, blue customers.

Here is the same area, but after the DSLAM is installed:

The effect is obvious. Exact speeds these customers experience do differ depending on the phone line quality in the area, the distance from the telephone exchange and the hardware (modem) in use. But results like these are pretty hard to argue with. With broadband2+ everything you do on the net becomes faster, much faster.

For heat maps of other areas covered by our ADSL2+ network, see our Myth of Fibre report online. Or to find out if your area has a DSLAM visit http://www.iinet.net.au/dslams/updates/

tech tip
Have you even seen this error code come up when you're trying to check your email with Outlook Express:

"0x800CCC0E - the connection to the server has failed"

This can mean a few things. Firstly, your ADSL or dial-up connection could be down. The quickest way to test this is to open up your browser, such as Internet Explorer, and see if web pages are working. If they are, then your connection is fine.

Another reason why you would see this error is when you have software on your computer which is blocking your email, such as a firewall or antivirus program. To test this, you can run a test called "Telnet".

If you have Windows for your Operating System, you can do the following:

1. Click on the Start button
2. Click on "run"
3. Next to open, type " command "
4. When the black command window opens up, type the following: telnet mail.iinet.net.au 110 (include the spaces). If you have an OzEmail or ihug address, you can still use the iiNet mail server (mail.iinet.net.au) to test with telnet.
5. Then press the "Enter" key.

If you get: " +OK Hello there" at the top of the screen, you have successfully connected to our server and you should be able to send/receive mail.

If you get: Connection timed out or something similar, the most likely cause is your firewall or antivirus software. If you disable this and try the telnet test again, you should find that you get the " +OK Hello there " message.

Depending on what software you use will depend on how you will need to disable it - it's best to go to the firewall developer's website to find out how to do this.

Please be warned - with your anti-virus software or firewall disabled, you don't have the same level of protection from viruses and other net nasties, so only do this to temporarily to test whether the software is the problem. Afterwards you should contact the developer of the software to help with changing the settings to allow you to check your email and stay protected.

customer feedback
Susan from TAS sent in these words of encouragement after dealing with one of our support team, Shane:

"I would like to pass on thanks to Shane who I spoke to on Saturday 10th June at about 5pm. His understanding of my problem and simple explanation to fix it was invaluable. It is unfortunate I did not have that level of understanding from the gentleman who I spoke to on the support line the week before, but fortunately Shane was able to correct this yesterday. Regards Susan."

And this from Paul in QLD:

"I'd like to express my thanks to your team for their excellent work in processing a change of lessee on our account. Though I was warned to expect a possible 2-3 day ADSL outage as part of the changeover, the outage was only 6-7 hours. Nice work! Since a part of my work involves online/on-call support, I really appreciate the short outage window."

virus alert

top 5 viruses reported to sophos in may

1. W32/Netsky-P
2. W32/Zafi-B
3. W32/Nyxem-D
4. W32/Mytob-AS
5. W32/Mytob-P

List provided by Sophos.

ii people

staff profile

Name: Scott Waters
Title: Marketing Manager

How long have you been with iiNet and what does your current role involve?
I joined iiNet in August last year. I'm a member of the marketing team with my main focus being customer satisfaction. Using market research and feedback direct from customers, I spend a lot of time looking at what we do well and what we could do better and then working on improvements to overall customer satisfaction.

To this end, many customers may have received an email from me in the last few months. That's because I'm also responsible for communications to customers. We try to keep our customers informed of new or improved plans available to them, or how to get the best out of their current plans. So if you're on one of our older plans and we think there's a better value plan available, we'll tell you about it.

What is your background and why did you decide to join iiNet?
I have a marketing background and spent the last five years working for a bank, so joining an ISP/Telco was a big change. I feel a bit technically challenged here at times but I was excited to join such a young and fast-moving organisation like iiNet. I love the fact that iiNet is a challenger in this industry and isn't afraid to be innovative - I wanted to be part of that.

What's been your most memorable or satisfying experience at iiNet?
My most memorable experience was the 2005 Open Day. I was fascinated that there were so many people interested in us and what we do. We certainly didn't get that at the bank!

customer of the month

Name: Jason Byron
Location: Leichhardt NSW
Account type: broadband2+ with phone
Customer Since: July 2005

What do you use the Internet for most?
We operate a business called Sports Recording Services which is Australia's largest sports production company covering the NRL, ARL and ARU. Day to day operations saw us frequently faxing and calling between state offices at 50 cents a pop. In fact, calls to anywhere 50 km out of the city were costing us way too much and we needed a better cost saving solution for these communications.

At first iiNet provided us with our Internet ADSL services at our two Sydney offices and the QLD office. Now we use iiNet for our VOIP services too. Over the past two years the two services have literally saved us thousands.

How do you use the iiNet VoIP service?
We have a PABX system and three major phone lines that we have had for 7 years. We did not change these numbers or services, we still use these to receive calls. We use the iiNet VoIP phones to call out. This way it frees up our incoming lines for phone calls coming in and we use VoIP for calling out. This way we never are engaged and get another phone line and number.

To get everyone in the office using VoIP we bought a Uniden Cordless mobile phone system from Tandy which actually has 4 cordless handsets in the package. We then plugged it into the modem supplying our ADSL iiNet service. Each person now has a cordless handset sitting on their desk. The cordless phones also allow conference and paging.

What impact has VoIP had on your business?
The short calls out of state now cost us 10c per call not 50c, and the calls between our offices cost us zero cents as we're all on iiNet VoIP. Local calls are 10c and no other provider can supply such a low local call rate. VoIP is cheap enough that now we call out of state to find business. Online call tracker also allows our accountant and managers to access and review costing throughout the month.

What are the best aspects of your broadband connection?
Sports Recording Services is an online content courier company. We film all the sports and then put them on dvd, we shrink the DVD into a file 1.2gig then we upload it to our server and customers in every state and territory download their choice of game for review.

For this we need the best possible upload speed to upload such high capacity to our shared server. Then when files are needed from QLD to NSW we just download at the other end.

More impressive were iiNet's download rates. The 1.2 gig file takes 40 minutes max to download with broadband2+. This means that within 4 hours we can transport a game from QLD to Sydney for delivery. Not only does it save us time as an alternative to snail mail but we also have it available to our clients to download where ever they are in the world in under 3 hours after the game is played.

What were your impressions of iiNet before joining and how do they compare now?
iiNet has grown and has kept promises to update infrastructure in local telephone exchanges. More of our locations are now enjoying ADSL2+ speeds. They said they would do it with in the year and they did.

Interested in being one of our customer profiles? Email your details to iinewsfeedback@iinet.net.au.

kidz biz

We're always talking about all the useful stuff out there on the Internet for business, entertainment and lifestyle, but it's rare that we talk much about the world of educational and entertaining content available for kids. Of course, the best way to keep kids entertainment is get them up and active, but when the sun goes down or the rain comes out, kids will often turn to the TV or computer for stimulation. So what's available? Let's find out.

Up To Ten
http://www.uptoten.com
At last count Up To Ten had more than 961 educational games available for kids aged 0 to 10. Though I'm not sure how many of these are pitched at babies, not being able to do much but dribble must play a part. This colourful site features animated storybooks, songs, colouring in games, puzzles, mazes and much more. The site has a great "activity book" look and feel - subscription unlocks more games and no ads.

ABC kids playground
http://www.abc.net.au/children/games
ABC is the building block of any successful childhood - just look at me! Here at the playground, games are divided up into age groups with pretty much everything for anyone aged between 2 and 16. While researching this article I started playing "The Never Ending Quiz" but sadly I was never able to finish it...To play many of these games you'll need to have Flash or Shockwave installed.

Yahooligans
http://yahooligans.yahoo.com/
Yahooligans is like the kids version of Yahoo with a whole bunch of entertainment options including movies, cool kids sites, games and a bunch of great informational sections like Yahoo Animals. The only downside is that it can be quite heavy on the ads.

Microsoft Encarta
http://encarta.msn.com/artcenter_/browse.html
If you've never used Encarta encyclopaedia you really don't know what you're missing. Featuring more than 4,500 articles on everything from The Battle of Waterloo to the Origin of Species, Encarta is an excellent online resource for school projects and homework junkies. Some of this content is by subscription only, but a load of it is available absolutely free.

Nickelodeon
http://www.nickelodeon.com.au
The Nickelodeon site is so geared for kids that for the first ten minutes I thought it was written in another language. There's loads of fun to be had once you work out what it all means including games based on popular Nickelodeon cartoons like Hey Arnold and Spongebob and a kids-only chatroom.

Video Game Facts
http://www.videogamefacts.com.au
I'll leave this last one for the parents. This useful site takes a gander at what video games are out there at the moment and explains exactly what's in them and who they are suitable for. Also features a range of tips for parents who want to control the content and amount of gaming their kids get up to.

Did you enjoy this article? Have I forgotten your kids pick? Send your comments through to iinewsfeedback@iinet.net.au

feedback from last issue
Greetings. I just read your latest newsletter and thought that our organisation, the Small Business Development Corporation (SBDC), may be of interest to iiNet customers. SBDC is a Western Australian State Government agency focused on the development of the small business sector and offers an enormous range of excellent information and services - most of which are free. Our website is http://www.sbdc.com.au

- Stephen Edwards

Probably the most exciting internet development in recent months, and one that is useful for all businesses, is Google maps at http://www.google.com/maps. Just type "Australia" in the search field and when the map of Oz comes up, use the zoom bar on the left had side to start zooming in to the detail of the maps. To centre your area of interest, double click on the box with the four inward facing arrows.

Then to really blow your mind, click the "Hybrid" button to see satellite or photographic imagery overlaid on the map. This is really stunning detail. Since you're based in Perth, zoom in over the Perth CBD- you'll probably see your car in the car park if it's not underground!

- John Mobbs

competitions

jindabyne tickets giveaway
Stewart Kane (Gabriel Byrne), an Irishman and local from the Australian town of Jindabyne is on a fishing trip with three other men when they discover the dead body of a young woman in the river. Rather than return immediately, they continue fishing and only report their gruesome find days later. Deeply disturbed by her husband's actions, Stewart's wife Claire (Laura Linney) decides to undertake a redemptive journey to lay the dead girl to rest.

" Jindabyne " sees the return of Australian director Ray Lawrence, whose critically acclaimed film " Lantana " won eight AFI Awards including best picture.

To celebrate the release of the new Australian drama, Roadshow Films have kindly provided us with 50 in-season double passes to the film to give away to our readers.

To be in the running for this prize, please email competitions with "Jindabyne Competition" in the subject line, and provide your username, full name, and address by 5pm WST, July 1, 2006, along with the answer to this question: What's one advantage of our new phone service Phone Advantage? ( hint: you'll find the answer in the general news section)

Winners with the correct answer will be drawn at random and prizes sent by mail.

kick off and win competition!
The soccer event of the year is now underway in Germany and to help you get in the sporting spirit we're giving away a $200 Rebel Sport gift voucher every day until the end of the tournament (July 9).

To be in the running, simply give us the best excuse you've ever given for not catching up with a relative in 25 words or less. For entry details visit our kick off and win competition page

ii games

2 minute review - Rise of Legends (PC)
With Niaal Holder

It's been a hard month. Since the 360 landed in my chateau, my PC has been feeling neglect. It sits there in blank indifference as I cradle my new wireless controllers - but I can tell it's upset, inanimately. Not to mention that I've given my old xbox up for adoption, and relegated my PSX to a box o' crup in the spare room like the ginger child you hide away from guests. The 360 has torn my little gaming symbiosis asunder with its sleek evil.

So imagine the look on my 360's face this month when I brought home Rise of Legends for PC. Disgust, contempt, jealous rage. But I won't cave to its pouting, nor will I give in to its flirtatious advances.

So uh...anyway...about the game. Rise of Legends is shiny RTS tomfoolery with some rough edges, some polished bits and a steep learning curve. The lowdown: you're in charge of one of three unique armies, permanently seated in a state of war. You need to build cities that, over time, enable you to pimp out your arsenal for the betterment of your people's health. This is achieved through pursuits in mining, finance, research, and military growth, all of which allow you to build a bigger tank, dragon or demon-type thinger for your WOP-DANG ACTION.

Previous strategy and RTS games have, for solo enthusiasts, stepped you through the easy stuff before the hard stuff; a gradual progression of learning that kits you out for big boys' shiz later on.

Not so with RoL : despite a tutorial accompaniment for your first levels, you are basically presented with a myriad of strange new options simultaneously, without really knowing what they're about. I liken it when I was a young lad, running into the ladies toilets at high school by mistake to be confronted with a world of foreign mystery: where's my urinal? Why is everything so clean and fragrant, and why are there two bins?

Similarly intimidating and yet...intriguing, RoL 's interface and command tree eventually starts to make sense. You'll be dancing between pocket battles and building cities Lego-styles within about two hours of boyish wonderment (or girlish, if that's more your flavour).

I'm no stranger to the genre, having embraced the likes of Dark Reign , Total Annihilation and of course, anything Westwood have ever touched. RoL meets the standard of my veteran experiences, with some lovely touches of life sprinkled here and there. Between pitched battles, you'll plan your next moves on a larger territory map, whilst being given the option to expand your armies, retrofit cities long since conquered and upgrade your hero characters - all of which can significantly tip the balance as you approach the business end of each campaign.

So while there's nothing terribly genre-busting about the title, what it does do is flick your addiction switches - you'll go from WTF to FTW in no time at all. And on this basis, I encourage all exponents of the uber-micro to give this one a shot. At the very least, it'll landfill that cruel gap of time until Tiberium Wars hits our shelves in 2007.

ii flicks

movie review - X-men 3: The Last Stand - Rated M
With Rachel Ladwig

Now I've been a huge fan of the X-Men movies so far, I think Bryan Singer (director) has done a fantastic job of bringing the Marvel™ comics to life on the big screen. So it was with eager anticipation I booked myself tickets (to Hoyts La Premiere, no less) for the third installment of the block buster X-Men franchise.

In X3 a "cure" has been found for mutants, and Magneto (Ian McKellen) fears that this will be forced upon mutants to make them human. Although initially it appears the "cure" is a voluntary choice for mutants, the government soon starts using it for protection.

In a popular move (and hinted upon at the end of X2) Jean Grey returns, with more powers than ever, but seems to be having trouble controlling them making her a threat to humans and mutants alike.

X3 definitely focuses more on the action than character development this time, though that's not to say they've skimped on the number of characters - there's plenty of old comic book favourites joining the battle including Juggernaut (Vinnie Jones) and Beast (Kelsey Grammar dyed blue). And while I love a bit of action, all in all, I left the movie theatre feeling disappointed this time, which was surprising because I have seen the original X-Men and X-Men 2 movies about 20 times each.

It was the lack of plot and story line compared to the prior movies that really bothered me. The first two films were intelligent, emotional (I always cry when Wolverine tries to save Rogue right at the end of X1) and totally believable for the genre. X3 felt disjointed, with too much focus on special effects and action and not enough on story and flow from the first two movies. Perhaps the change of director was what did it.

If you really enjoyed the first two movies (as I did) don't go to X3: The Last Stand feeling like you're going to love this one as much as the first two. By all means, go and see it - but be prepared for a slightly different feel to the movie. Girls beware, there's no soft talking scenes here, boyfriends are sure to enjoy it though. Don't expect to be tear jerked in this one, it's special effects and action all the way.

Perhaps it really is time for a last stand...