Lists

Having not been an avid user of email lists, I have had to rely on feedback from friends in relation to the benefits of them. Whilst all were happy with the fact that topics were sent to you rather than having to go looking for it the biggest complaint was the fact that the listing can quite easily become useless if they go off topic, a problem which I am led to believe happens more often than not, leaving the reader with meaning less banter forward directly to their email. Discussion boards however, are controlled by the entity that set it up, it is relatively topic specific with some control set up to ensure the topics are adhered to, rather than ending up with meaningless banter. The downside to discussion boards are they are extremely slow compared to email lists, a posting can sit for days where as lists are real time.

ICQ

I have just installed ICQ onto my computer. It was a quick and easy program to install. I have posted my ICQ number onto the discussion board, so will see how many contact I get. I must say I am not really into all the social networking aspects of the internet, so am keen to complete the group tasks ,who knows I may actually become an avid user.

Module 2 - Email

I'm finally back into the swing of things after my computer disaster, Module 2 was quite an interesting insight into emails. Whilst I use email regularly for work and personally, I was surprised at how little I really knew about the intricacies of it all - here are some of my findings:

A user's email message provides the allows the recipient to collect the following information

- The name of the sender
- The sender's domain
- The time and date the email was sent
- The subject of the email
- Whether any attachments are included
- The context of the message
- Whether other recipients have been copied in on the email.

The CC function allows an email to be distributed to additional recipients who may find the information contained within the context of the message of use.
The BCC function allows the sender of an email to send the message to another recipient without any other potential recipients knowing about it.
The reply all function is best used to ensure that all recipients have receive a return response to an email.

The most common way of sending an attachment to an email to ensure it is able to be read is to send it as a plain text document(ASC11) or in the form of a rich text file(RTF).

I personally have very minimal rules set up on my email account, with only a return receipt rule set up as well as an Anti Spam rule set to Automatically send any spam to its own folder.

As for folder I have my email set for all bar spam email to come directly to my inbox. I then distribute them manually to the following folders I have set up

- Personal( main inbox)
- Business
- Associations I am members of
- University/Studies
- Holiday

Quite an intersting module, I must say.

I'm Back

Hi Guys

Why is it that you start a course which requires computer access only for your computer to die? Murphy's Law I guess. I have been laid low after having to send my computer for repairs, and have only been able to scam minimal time on a friends computer to check emails. Anyway I guess these problems present themselves to not only test our patience but also our resilience. I am now more than 2 weeks behind with plenty of catch up to do. Module 2 here I come!!!

INTERNET TOOLS

This excercise turned out to be a complete eye opener, You dont realise whats happening in the background and the speed of which it happens when you are using the internet.
I used centralops for part a of the task -


TraceRoute to 134.7.179.53 [curtin.edu.au]
Hop
(ms)
(ms)
(ms)

IP Address
Host name
1
11
6
6

72.249.0.65
-
2
10
8
6

206.123.64.22
-
3
7
6
6

216.52.189.9
border4.te4-4.colo4dallas-4.ext1.dal.pnap.net
4
16
6
8

216.52.191.103
core1.tge5-2-bbnet2.ext1.dal.pnap.net
5
8
6
6

144.228.250.113
sl-st20-dal-8-2-1.sprintlink.net
6
8
7
13

144.232.9.192
sl-crs1-fw-0-2-0-1.sprintlink.net
7
42
49
36

144.232.18.144
sl-crs2-ana-0-14-5-0.sprintlink.net
8
46
50
45

144.232.20.101
sl-crs2-sj-0-9-0-0.sprintlink.net
9
55
46
46

144.232.20.7
-
10
50
49
55

144.223.243.26
sl-aarne-46053-0.sprintlink.net
11
219
216
213

202.158.194.173
so-3-3-1.bb1.a.syd.aarnet.net.au
12
211
206
209

202.158.194.198
ge-0-0-0.bb1.b.syd.aarnet.net.au
13
225
219
219

202.158.194.33
so-2-0-0.bb1.a.mel.aarnet.net.au
14
230
232
233

202.158.194.17
so-2-0-0.bb1.a.adl.aarnet.net.au
15
264
255
256

202.158.194.5
so-0-1-0.bb1.a.per.aarnet.net.au
16
262
262
257

202.158.198.178
gigabitethernet0.er1.curtin.cpe.aarnet.net.au
17
259
257
257

202.158.198.186
gw1.er1.curtin.cpe.aarnet.net.au
18
Timed out
Timed out
Timed out


-
19
Timed out
Timed out
Timed out


-
20
Timed out
Timed out
Timed out


-
21
262
258
257

134.7.179.53
-
Trace complete

There were 21 hops completed although 3 of these timed out.
The average speed was 257 milliseconds.
Curtins IP Address is 134.7.179.53

For part b I used a tool called VISUALROUTE from VISUALWARE.COM.
It took 23 hops to trace from their site in the USA to Curtin with a maximum response time of 313milliseconds. The site is a great toll which gives you a breakdown of each hop as well as graphical data to help better understand the process.
This test not only took longer to complete it also used more hops, which suggest the distance between the two sites was the possible cause.

Part c from my own PC was completed extremely quickly - with an average time of 87ms.
This task has shown me there is always more than meets the eye when working with computers and the internet. It is a complex process operating in the background which enables users to experience speedy internet.

FTP Task

According to the read me file "CAPITALIZATION MATTERS"
This was a fairly straightforward task, that really only took a couple of minutes from start to finish to complete. The download process was extremely easy to complete.

Telnet - Task B

After successfully completing task 1, completing task 2 was a walk in the park. I thoroughly enjoyed the performance put on through blinking lights, a was absolutely astounded how much time and effort must have been put into it considering the limited amount of resources available through that platform. I must so I was a little bit sceptical about the whole course prior to this task, but after seeing what can be achieved on limited resources and knowing what is available to computer users today, I am looking forward to the journey ahead.

Jason

Task A - telnet

Hi Guys

For a relative novice, this computer stuff doesn't seem so hard. Just completed my 1st Telnet task, the whole process seemed kind of boring, no fancy web pages to get lost in. Nether the less the whole process was quick and easy to handle, and the good news is I got the information required directly to my in box.

Jason

Advice to any potential blogger

I consider myself fairly computer literate, but this experience of setting up my own blog has really tested my patience. Not so much because of the technicality of it( it was rather easy) but more because of my failure to read the instruction before jumping in and attempting to do it.
Here are my tips for any newcomers, from a novice -
- read the prompts provided by your blog host
- listen to any advice offered from people with experience
- make sure you have your computer settings set correctly
- make it simple to start, you can always adjust your page as you get more comfortable navigating the whole process
And lastly,
- don't take your frustrations out on the nearest person sitting next to you(sorry kids)

All jokes aside if you follow the guide and read the prompts it is rather an easy experience.

Jason