IB: InfoBulletin

1. Co-Operative Systems gains full Microsoft solution provider status
2. Where to recycle your old computers
3. ZipLip - secure email for free
4. More on ADSL: read the FAQs first
5. Consumers distrust on-line shopping
6. Cache configuration for Internet Explorer
7. Changing Outlook's annoying drop-down menus
8. Academic pricing for Microsoft products
9. Multi-headed model appears at CS: does it work ?
10. Feedback forms: got your gift voucher ?

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E&OE

1. Co-Operative Systems gains full Microsoft solution provider status

We are proud to announce that we have met Microsoft's accreditation requirements and are now a fully-fledged solution partner. This gives us deeper access to Microsoft's services and knowledge bases, enhancing our ability to serve our clients.

2. Where to recycle your old computers

What it does
This article gives you some advice on what to do with your old computer equipment. There are many organisations now that recycle and refurbish your unwanted equipment and pass them on to needy charities or other countries.

Benefits
Some companies will collect, wipe and refurbish your old computers and even provide you with indemnity from their eventual owners. Recycling is environmentally sounder than any other solution. You get peace of mind from not having unused equipment hanging around.

Cost
Yes, there is a cost!
At best, you should be thinking in terms of minimising your recycling costs rather than selling machines, unless your computers are PentiumII specification or better.
Even hiring a skip and press-ganging your staff into filling it will incur two sets of costs. Your unwanted hardware also takes up space which may be preventing you from carrying out other projects, eg renting out that spare room.
However, even if you can get a company to come and collect the gear from your site, you should still remember to :

• write off the equipment from your list of insured assets;
• tell your IT support providers that you have written it off so that you're not paying maintenance on it;
• remove permanently from the PC hard discs (eg, by formatting) any information you consider sensitive or software licensed only to your organisation.

How to make it happen
Identify your unwanted equipment, round it up and contact one of the organisations below. It may help your discussions to have some idea of the type and specification of your computers.

Contacts

Waste Watch is the national organisation that educates, informs and raises awareness on waste reduction, reuse and recycling. They provide a good directory as well as lots of useful advice on the 3Rs.
Tel: 0870 243 0136
Web: www.wastewatch.org.uk/3rs/
Select: Directory of products and services | [Choose Area] | Computers

Bytes Twice c/o Save Waste and Prosper, Leeds.
Tel: 0113 243 8777
Email: swap@geo2.poptel.org.uk
Provide information and advice to both computer reuse projects and companies wishing to donate computers.

Free Computers for Education, Surrey
Tel: 0800 052 6179
Email: grahame.leon-smith@free-computers.org
Web: www.free-computers.org
386 or better working equipment only. Normally collect without charge anywhere in the UK. Redistributes to schools and other educational establishments.

Recycle-IT! c/o SKF (U.K.) Ltd., Luton
Tel: 01582 492436
Email: recycle_it@cix.co.uk
Contact: George Ruddock/Alan Ross
Pass computers on to charities, voluntary groups and educational organisations.

Cybercycle, London
Tel 020 7 582 8800
Email: 100450.1564@compuserve.com
Web: www.globalideasbank.org/crespec/CS-63.HTML
Runs a project that collects out-of-date computer equipment partly staffed by volunteers who work alongside trained engineers. They refurbish computers and sell them at cost to charities who might not otherwise be able to afford computer systems.

The Extended Life Computer Scheme
Mike Healey or Atual Nadeem
ELC, Halifax, West Yorkshire
Tel: 01422 323355
Web: www.urbanmines.org.uk/page6.html
A zero cost option for businesses disposing of their computers, whilst generating a cheap, safe and legal computing resource for the community. ELC collect redundant computers free of charge; clean the hard disk of all data; provide indemnity from obligation and liability to future users; test upgrade and refurbish the system; load new, licensed, legal software and deliver to the new user with support and a guarantee. The refurbishment is carried out by young, unemployed people on the New Deal Environmental Task Force Option.

Orion Controls
Web: www.orion-controls.demon.co.uk/computer.htm
Accepts old PCs and peripherals on behalf of schools then either breaks them into useful components for repairs or if the PC is above a minimum standard, recycles the PC, re-formatting and cleaning off all the original information.

Computers For Charity
Web: www.computersforcharity.org.uk/
A non-profitmaking organisation recycling computers for community groups since 1993. Collects redundant computer equipment (low-end Pentium systems and upwards) free of charge and recycles it for use by charities, voluntary organisations and schools in the UK.

For a list of more recycled computers for charities ...
www.fundraising.co.uk/other_fr/donated_pcs.html

3. ZipLip - secure email for free

What it does
ZipLip enables you to send secure email to ordinary users. All you need is Web browser access (Netscape, Internet Explorer, Opera, etc) to the Internet.

Benefits
No setup of encryption or encoding software needed. No special skills/learning required by sender or recipient. Recipient doesn't need to be a registered ZipLip user or have any special software or reader. They don't even need an email client - just Web browser access. Good for occasional use of secure email. Sender gets a useful free Webmail account (with holiday alerts, filtering rules and alternative email address notification, so no need to give up your usual one) and a calendar and to-do list.

When would you want to use secure email ?
Any time you use a shared Web browser, eg in a cybercafe, or other shared machines. Default settings for browsers mean that locations visited by previous users are cached locally and so Web emails are often visible by clicking the 'Back' button. Any information you consider 'sensitive'. All unencrypted emails go through several service providers and relays (see full headers). None of these usually guarantee freedom from being intercepted by 'hackers'.

Cost
The ZipLip service is free.

How it works
Essentially, it works as a standalone message store, ie messages always remain on ZipLip's secure server. Firstly, all operations are sent via the secure Web protocol, https (Hyper Text Transfer Protocol Secure). Secondly, ZipLip uses a classic technique of encryption, which is to communicate a 'private key' to the recipient by another means (eg letter, phone, etc). This should be sent separately, in the same way that that you get a plastic card sent independently from its PIN. Failing this, ZipLip helps you to provide your recipient with a 'password hint' of your private key. However, if they don't know the answer to "The name of my first hamster?", they're not going to be able to unravel your missive!

How to make it happen
First register yourself at ziplip.com. This process is like any other where you sign up for a free email account.
Once you're in :

• compose | click "Send SECURE"
• write your email message as usual
• set a password (and a 'password hint' if you haven't been able to communicate with your recipient by other means).
• there is a useful "expiry option" if your message is likely to become obsolete in the near future.
• click Send

Contact
http://www.ziplip.com

4. More on ADSL: read the FAQs first

Update
BT finally started to deliver ADSL services at the end of August, but they have a big backlog to clear which they say will take until at least November, even though their Website still claims 8 days lead time (at time of press). If you registered before 30 June (special promotion which waived the £150 connection fee), you will get priority. If you are considering ADSL as a serious option, do read all the questions that BT have answered at their Openworld Website (see Contacts below) in addition to our InfoBulletin article last month.

Drawbacks

• Don't forget that you have to share the service with others - it's not like a dedicated leased line. The 512Kbits/s download service (256Kbits/s upload) has a user contention ratio of 50:1, while the business version (more expensive) still has a ratio of 20:1.
• You can't carry over your existing domain name. You get email addresses (up to 10) ending @btclick.com for your organisation.
• BT don't list POP3 as a compatible protocol, so presumably use SMTP for both send and receive. If you only use POP3 collect to collect your mail, you would have to switch your local mail client or mail server.
• ADSL is incompatible with BT's own Kilostream, ISDN, and Highway (which would mean replacing any of those) and also alarm systems. The only solution to keep some of these services is to keep/pay for extra analogue lines (which kind of defeats any object of reducing costs).
• You can't use any existing routers - BT supply their own.

Cost
There are some mistakes on the Openworld Website at present. Pricing should be £99.99pm for the multi-computer (networked) service, not £39.99pm for both services.

Conclusion
The multi-computer (business) version would seem only be of value to small businesses or branches just starting up. It 'feels' as though ADSL has been tailored carefully to avoid cutting into the revenue stream from BT's existing services - or technically it's just very difficult. If you are starting a new branch office, ADSL may be ideal as long as you can still lay on other services you may need like alarms. On an existing site, it may be useful to add extra speed (at extra cost), but making it your only Internet access out of the building could be tricky.

Contact
http://www.btopenworld.com then go to "Questions".

5. Consumers distrust on-line shopping

What it does
Research commissioned by the National Consumer Council (NCC) shows that, as consumers, we are still wary of shopping online because of doubts about the security of e-businesses.

Drawbacks
In the survey, 85% of adults in Great Britain considered the High Street to be the safest place to shop and 35% thought that the Internet is the riskiest, with the result that only 3% of the population shop online regularly. Even among those users who have Internet access (26% of GB adults), 54% are concerned about releasing credit card details online and 30% believed that there was a risk from fraudulent suppliers. Having to disclose personal information makes 30% of users avoid doing so. Yet this information is one of the basic sources of online revenue for marketing companies which could result in better sales information services for consumers.

How to play safe
Simply saying "No" is one option - possibly the only one for those without a card or who are cautious about releasing their details. However, there are some simple precautions you can take to make buying online safer.

• Look for signs of a 'secure' transaction: Use of the secure HTTPS protocol in the address (URL) part of your browser. Notifications that you are entering a secure portion of the site.
• Buy from established sites: Get a recommendation. Look for a telephone number and postal address as confirmation. Steer clear of sites with dubious security, eg sending your card details via unencrypted email.
• Understand how online transactions work: You should expect to know the product, VAT and delivery costs before you commit your card details and be able to print a record of the transaction before you leave the purchase area of the site. Assume your personal details will be used again; at the very least these may be employed to target you with relevant marketing info, but very few sites as yet allow you to opt out of having them sent to other mailing databases.
• Use credit only: Stick to a credit-limited card, rather than debit or Switch where your losses are irrecoverable.

Contacts
NCC can be found at www.ncc.org.uk and a summary of their "E-commerce and consumer protection" report here.
Their excellent factsheet giving online buying tips is worth keeping handy : www.ncc.org.uk/pubs/e-commerce_factsheet.htm

6. Cache configuration for Internet Explorer

What it does
The cache is a directory or folder where Internet Explorer (IE) stores its temporary files, eg HTML pages, picture files, etc, by default in C:\Windows\Temporary Internet Files\. The idea of this cache is to provide faster retrieval of Internet pages you have visited before. This folder can take up hundreds of megabytes of disc space - if you let it. However, you can control its size and location. If the cache is also held as part of a user's profile, all those megabytes get copied to and from the server whenever the user logs in and out; this can add seconds or even minutes to the process. If you have 20 users in your organisation each with a cache of 100MB, then your server is storing 2000MB-worth (2GB) of temporary files - all of which may speed up their Web browsing by only a few seconds to frequently-visited sites.

Benefits
Save server disc space and improve server performance by removing personal caches from local profiles. This will also avoid having to buy larger discs, tapes and a tape drive in the near future. Users get a faster login.
Save workstation disc space by reducing the size of the cache (and also server space if you really want to keep personal caches).

Drawbacks
Less frequently-visited pages may take a few seconds longer to load. Performance impacts on the local machine are minimal, because when the cache otherwise hits its limit, IE has to reindex its files on disc anyway, unless this is done during Windows 'idle' time; many of the older pages have to be 'refreshed' after a while which means fetching the Internet page again and placing the new version in the cache.

How to change the cache size
In Internet Explorer :

• pull down Tools | Internet Options | General tab
• go to Temporary Internet Files panel | click Settings

How to remove the cache from profiles
To prevent the cache being copied to and from (and stored on) the server on each login and logout :

• Go to Start | Control Panel | Users
• Highlight the user | Click change settings | Untick "Downloaded Web pages"

7. Changing Outlook's annoying drop-down menus

What it does
Do you find Outlook's drop-down menus have a mind of their own?
By default, the longest drop-down menus (like Tools and Edit) are set to display only the most recently-used entries in an attempt to save screen space and make them more 'personal'. After a short delay, the rest of the menus pop down too.
However, many beginners find this continual menu re-adjustment confusing, if only because they don't know their way around the menus! The re-adjustment can be turned off so that all of the drop-down menu options appear all of the time.

Benefits
Make your menu selection faster and more predictable.
Reduce "can't find that menu option" type support calls.
Give users a consistent menu 'look'.
Easier tutorials and teaching of Outlook for groups of learners.

How to make it happen
To turn off the re-adjustment of Outlook drop-down menus, pull down :

• Tools | Customise | Options | untick "Menus show recently used commands first"

8. Academic pricing for Microsoft products

What it does
Academic pricing is now available to charitable organisations that have held a registered charity number for some time. This entitlement includes Churches and other charitable organisations whose status has been established by Act of Parliament or Statute but who may not have a registered charity number.

Contact
http://www.microsoft.com/uk/education/buy_gde/who.htm

9. Multi-headed model appears at CS: does it work ?

What it does
We've been giving some thought to the best operational model to meet client needs. We've noticed that some people prefer to have a single channel or account manager to whom all queries are directed. In contrast to this, we've been increasingly offering a multi-headed model where clients call the person who deals with that area, eg: sales, support calls, FM person, etc.

Contact
If you have any views on this issue we'd like to hear them. Please mail me Phil@coopsys.co.uk

10. Feedback forms: got your gift voucher ?

What it does
You fill in one of feedback forms and we give you a gift voucher to be redeemed at certain well-known high street shops ... er ... or not ... we are beginning to suspect the Post Office do not return all our feedback forms to us.

Contact
If you have sent a feedback form in, but never received your gift voucher. Please email Nyree@coopsys.co.uk with the details and we'll check it out and send on the missing voucher.

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