Prentice Bulletin Number 73, December 1997

User Manual: Prentice Bulletin Number 73, December 1997

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MARKETERS TARGET
NET SURFERS.
PAGE TWO
UNIVERSITY OF
QUEENSLAND NOW HAS
ONE OF THE MOST
POWERFUL COMPUTERS
IN AUSTRALIA.
PAGE THREE
TAKE CONTROL OF
YOUR LECTURES WITH
NEW STATE OF THE ART
AUDIO VISUAL
EQUIPMENT.
PAGE FOUR
For enquiries and mailing
list
amendments contact:
Client Services
Room 207, ground floor
Prentice
Bu
ilding
Telephone (07)
33654400
Facsimile (07) 3365 4477
Email info@prentice.uq.edu.au
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Funding boosts
new technology
The University
of
Queensland has allocated
funds to support new technology being
trialled by the Prentice Centre.
VideoWeb, believed to be
an
Australian
first, is web-driven, video-on-demand
technology that delivers broadcast quality
video to the lecture theatre.
Developed by Prentice Centre and Sun
Microsystems, with assistance from Bay
Networks, VideoWeb means the sky is the
limit in teaching techniques.
The power
of
Video Web was recently
demonstrated when four University
of
Queensland lecturers demonstrated the
technology to teaching staff.
VideoWeb allows web pages, real time
video and audio to be displayed on huge
lecture theatre screens.
Staff are able to create media-rich web
pages in their office
or
from home and call
up web page links and video links during
lectures.
Presentations can contain text, graphics,
images and high quality broadcast video
and audio segments.
Prentice Centre joint director Graham Rees
said the University funded the development
because flexible delivery
of
teaching was
the way
of
the future.
"The lecturer will not need much training
to use the system,"
Mr
Rees said.
"They can create their own text or video on
a web page
or
give it to us and we will
prepare it."
Equine Medicine Associate Professor Chris
Pollitt used a live cross
to
Gatton campus
to demonstrate the endoscopic examination
of
a horse's throat and trachea.
Prentice Centre Joint Director Graham Rees.
"Instead
of
silent pictures and attendant
description, (VideoWeb) can bring my
students not only the dynamics
of
clinical
science but the sounds as well from a site
anywhere in the world to any number
of
students,"
Dr
Pollitt said.
"With this high quality broadcast, we can
now pause the video, talk about it, rewind,
connect to a remote location and bring up
the web -all in the lecture theatre."
To page 3
2
The Prentice BuJietin
Marketers target net surfers
Internet users should be aware their use
of
a web site could be recorded and used for
marketing purposes.
But Australian Computer Emergency
Response Team (AUSCERT) Technical
Director Danny Smith said net users should
not become too concerned.
"There is a difference between what is
possible and what is probable," he said.
He said while privacy issues were
important, an alarmist attitude did not help:
"It comes down to a realistic use
of
the
information.
"
Mr
Smith said some organisations' web
sites may use tools which monitor usage
patterns once someone visited their site.
"Access logs, cookies and some browser
features are all possible sources
of
information about users' behaviour,"
he said.
"It's possible to scan a web server's access
logs for an
IP
address to see
if
it
has visited
a particular page on that web site."
Mr
Smith said this could tell the marketer
something about the user's current
information preferences.
"Cookies contain data sent by the web
server which may be retrieved at a later
date," he said.
'This
could be used, for example, to collate
information on how many times you logged
in, how long ago and what you did the last
time you were there."
He said marketers could use this
information to target campaigns and to
personalise promotions.
Many browsers now provide users with a
choice. Different levels
of
security can be
chosen, including the ability to disable
cookies, Java, JavaScript and ActiveX.
GIVE
YOUR
WORK
THE
RIGHT
TOUCH
Researchers and students can now preserve and present their documents at
an
affordable price.
Prentice Centre offers small-scale document preparation services for jobs requiring a
professional touch, but not the cost of professional printing.
Prentice Centre's Operations Group printing and copying service now has a CD
ROM
burner, colour laser printer and copier to add to its support services. Document heat-
binding from 1-150 pages, text and image scanning,
MCa
exam marking, are among the
services already available.
You
can also use Prentice's Computer Lab to create your documentation,
on
a wide
range of popular software packages.
Gatton
staff
and
students
can
contact
Client Services
on
(07) 5460 1044
for
the
cost
of
a local call
or
email
tooper@brolga.uq
.edu.au.
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http:
//www.prentice.uq.edu.au
Having
trouble
connecting
to
the
net?
Why not attend one
of
Prentice
Centre's
dial-in modem access
clinics?
Internet Service clients can now
book
in advance
for
a
consultation
at
our
Internet
Access Clinics.
During a 45-minute session, our staff will
answer your questions and show you how
to get connected,
By the time you leave, your system will be
configured to access the internet and you
will be ready to start surfing.
So,
if
you have an account with us and you
can't
get connected -or,
if
you just
don't
know where to begin -call client service.
Appointments are available from 9am to
4pm weekdays,
Phone
ext
54400.
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FUNDING BOOSTS
TECHNOLOGY
(from page
1)
Journalism Assoc Prof Bruce Grundy said
he was seen on screen in the lecture
theatre while he operated a television
editing suite from the other side
of
the
campus.
"The opportunities for us in Journalism
are potentially enormous," he said.
Biochemistry's Assoc Prof Susan
Hamilton, who used animated graphics to
show cell formation, said VideoWeb made
it "simple" to put together video clips, still
images and access the web.
Dr Dale Spender also presented at the
demonstration and highlighted some
of
the
copyright issues that would need to be
addressed.
Using the process
of
preparing a
VideoWeb presentation
as
an example,
Dr Spender revealed experiences
of
the
copyright permission process.
SITES
ATTRACT
Weekly access to Prentice
Centre's web pages has increased
14 times
in
the past two years and
almost doubled
in
the past year.
There were 1
,089 accesses
in
the
first week of November 1995, 8,984
in
the same week
in
1996 and
14,144 this year.
The top site is http://www.uq.edu.au/
pcc/services/uqneVmquota with
3,485 accesses.
Journalism web pages recorded
7,864 accesses
in
one week
in
June.
The top site was http://www.uq.edu.
au/jrn/coco.html with 696 accesses.
High
performance
computer gives
university edge
A $2.1 million upgrade
of
The University
of
Queensland's high performance
computer, OZONE, has given the
University Australia's third most powerful
computer.
Housed at Prentice Centre, the 32CPU
Silicon Graphics computer
is
available free
to
University researchers.
Super Computing manager Wilfred
Brimblecombe said OZONE was 60-100
times faster than a high end pentium PC.
He said each CPU in OZONE was at least
three times faster than a high end pentium
CPU.
"Well balanced supporting hardware around
the 32 high performance CPUs and
professional scientific software and
compilers means OZONE can deliver much
more than 100 pentium based PCs could,"
he said.
"This computer allows you
to
calculate
very big problems that need large memory
requirements and large data inputs.
"In the past, researchers would have to go
to
the
US
to get this computing
performance.
"
Mr
Brimblecombe said SGI ORIGIN 2000
systems similar to OZONE were being used
in research centres around the world to
investigate the effects
of
global warming
and ozone depletion.
Jointly owned by various University
entities and operated and managed by
Prentice Centre, Mr Brimblecombe said
OZONE had three major applications -
fluid flow and thermo dynamics, finite
element analysis and chemical modelling.
Super Computing manager Wilfred Brimblecombe
demonstrates the power
of
OZONE.
"OZONE allows researchers to do
expensive chemical experiments in the
computer before they do them in the lab,
which is a huge cost saving," he said.
Other current projects include solar car
aerodynamics (Mechanical Engineering),
and a seismic waves site effects study
(Centre for Earthquake Sites).
Prentice Centre joint director Graham Rees
said students who used HPCs
in
their
studies would be well equipped
to
be
tomorrow's corporate leaders.
"
We
want
to
encourage corporations to use
HPCs and,
as
that demand grows, this
University will be well placed to offer the
corporate sector more services," he said.
Account applications are available through
Prentice Client Services.
Net
address -ozone.hpcu.uq.edu.au
3
The Prentice Bulletin
4
The Prentice
Bulletin
Touch-button technology makes lecturing easier
Prentice Centre has pioneered new lecture theatre· technology with user-
(')
No more fumbling for dials
and
switches.
Christmas
greetings
As this is the final Prentice Bulletin for the
year, we would like to take the opportunity
to wish our clients and their families a
safe and happy Christmas.
We thank you for the chance to work for
you this year, and wish you a prosperous,
successful and enjoyable 1998.
friendly touch controls for lectures
or
conferences.
Audiovisual and Conference Services coordinator Kevin Dalton said the touch-screen
panels gave lecturers and presenters instant control to audio visual aids.
The University
of
Queensland
is
the first organisation to use
the AMX touch screens in a conference environment.
"These new AMX panels allow the speaker
to
control the
presentation
of
slides, videos, 3-D overheads, computers,
cassettes and volume by the touch screen," he said.
Mr
Dalton said the simplicity
of
the technology turned
amateurs into professionals: "For someone who
is
using
AV
equipment only rarely, this is probably
as
user-friendly
as
you
can get."
The panels and associated electronics have been installed
in
nine lecture theatres at The University
of
Queensland,
including Abel Smith, Hawken and at the Gatton campus.
Overhead, data and 35mm projectors, video systems, radio mics,
PA
systems and amplifiers
are among the
AV
equipment available through Prentice Centre.
If
you
want
to
know more about what
AV
equipment exists
in
campus lecture theatres, check
out
the
Prentice Web site http://www.prentice.uq.edu.au/AudioVisuallindex.asp?theatre=yes.
Phone Kevin Dalton on ext 54057
for
details.
UNIVERSITY
TECHNOLOGY
SHOP
CLOSES
By now, most
of
you are aware the
University Technology Shop has closed.
The decision was made by the Vice
Chancellor after consultation with his
senior executives. His decision was a
result
of
the closure. All Technology Shop
contract staff have been offered Voluntary
Separation Agreements. All current
orders and warranties will be honoured.
Technical Services (repairs etc), Client
Jennie Perry Smith & Graham Rees response to a report from the directors of Services and Software Licensing are not
Prentice Centre Directors Prentice Centre.
This closure is not the result
of
poor
performance by Technology Shop staff.
We believe Stephen Atherton and his
team have worked assiduously within a
highly competitive environment and within
a complex University policy framework.
Unfortunately, there will be
job
losses as a
affected by the closure.
We would like to thank all those who sent
their best wishes to those affected, and
appreciate the support of the University
community.
Jennie Perry Smith & Graham Rees
Inquiries Client Service
on
ext 54400.
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