April iiNews
editor's note
I had big plans for last night: making dinner, calling people back, maybe some banana splits and getting ahead on some writing. Instead, I spent most of my night exploring my way through blog-land, stumbling upon surprising little gems.
Blogging has evolved over the years and said 'so long' to its reputation as a mere Dear Diary. Blogs nowadays are less about voyeurism and more about sharing and connecting. Click your way down to take a closer look at this month's Geek Speak - all about blogging.
Whether you've got a thing for street fashion, gadgets, sketch art, designer eye-candy, creative culture, or scanned sandwiches, you're bound to find something to inspire or keep you entertained. And if not, you can always learn how to get one started.
Moving on to the business side of things, we'd like to applaud PM Kevin Rudd and his NBN announcement last week about the government going solo. In a nutshell, they've rejected bids from different groups and will be investing billions into delivering lightning fast internet to homes across Australia. Learn more about what this means.
For those of you who've been following the ISP filtering issue over the past few months, we've now officially bowed out from the trial. Check out our ISP Filtering page to find out why.
Skipping forward into editorial, we're open for business with our iiNet iTunes store; headhunt for business study buddies; and pick the brains of two iiHQ nerds to share more on webhosting. Rounding things up, we rock your socks off with a few chances to expand your music collection and bring you another games review - Godfather 2 for Xbox.
If you'd like to share any of your thoughts about iiNews - questions and suggestions - send through an email to iinewsfeedback@iinet.net.au.
Happy travels through Blog-land!
Swee Au-Yong
iiNews Editor
iiNet news
Say hello! It's our very own iiNet iTunes Store
If you've been cruising around the Freezone this month, you'll have noticed a few renovations to our iTunes music section. Apart from the cosmetic touch-up you'll also find a cool new addition to the Freezone - the launch of our very own iiNet iTunes Store.
With the iiNet iTunes Store now available direct from our website, you'll be able to buy unmetered downloads of the latest TV shows, movies, over 8 million songs plus music videos, audiobooks, Pixar short films and iPod games direct from the iiNet website.
Anything you buy from the iiNet iTunes Store comes quota-free - meaning no matter how much you enjoy, it won't make a dent to your monthly download quota (Podcasts exempt). You can still head directly to the Apple iTunes store, via the Freezone, to make unmetered purchases - otherwise our own iiNet iTunes Store is a convenient mouse click away.
To celebrate the launch, we're giving 50 creative customers the opportunity to win 100 iTunes songs each. Just pick a song title, substitute a word with the word 'broadband' and email us at campaigns@iinet.net.au with your funniest crack. Get your entries in before 5pm (WST) Thursday 30 April 2009, and don't forget to include your username, full name and address in the email, tagged with the subject line 'iiNet iTunes Store Competition'.
Get mobile broadband thanks to 3
As part of our ongoing partnership with 3, we're offering iiNet customers some pretty cheery discounts on 3 mobile broadband. When you're on the move, 3 mobile broadband gives you internet access along with generous data limits.
As an iiNet customer, when you buy pre-paid mobile broadband with 3 you'll get your Internet Key modem for just $99 (saving $30). iiNet customers signing up on a 24-month post-paid contract will score their Internet Key for free! Plans start at just $29 per month (post-paid) or recharge from as little as $15 (pre-paid).
Find out more about getting online with 3 mobile broadband or dig into our Discoveryzone to learn more about 3G technology.
Bundle for tunes
If you haven't already bundled your broadband or dialup with our Phone 1 or VOIP service, now's a pretty good time to do it. We're offering 60 customers 20 iTunes songs each (that's 1200 songs in total) for bundling this month.
Bundling is a smart way to get a bunch of your services all on the one bill. On top of that, you'll get extra quota on your broadband plan; or $10 per month off the cost of your dialup plan. To learn more about the easy wins you can make from combining your services, check out our bundling page.
As for those iTunes, here's how you can go into the draw:
First log into Toolbox and select "Add Phone" or "Add VOIP" from the Account Tools dropdown menu (next to your broadband or dialup service). Click "next" on the page that pops up, and then select which product you'd like to bundle - simple! We'll take care of the rest.
To be in the running for the iTunes song packs, you'll need to get bundling before Thursday 30 April 2009. We'll be in touch with our lucky 60 winners by email before 8 May 2009. Good luck!
business news
Calling all business customers - we want to hear from you!
It's always great to hear what's working for iiNet customers. This feedback helps us grow our business product range and keep moving in the right direction.
At the moment, we're on the lookout for businesses to help us build case studies. We'd like to hear about how iiNet's products and services are working hard for you, helping your business grow.
If your company makes a good fit to help us build a case study, we'll want to 'show and tell' your business and experience with iiNet. You'll also benefit by picking up some free exposure, with our site attracting 3.5 million hits per month!
If you think you might be interested or have any questions, we'd love to hear from you. Just email us at iinetbusiness@iinet.net.au, with 'Business Case' in the subject line, and we'll be in touch to share more info.
CeBIT Australia - we're off to the fair
With Australia's largest tech-trade-fair taking place next month, we're excited to be part the commotion, showing our wares at the CeBIT Australia business exhibitions.
From 12-14 May, the Sydney Convention and Exhibition Centre will be playing host to this huge event, covering the full spectrum of business technologies.
If you happen to be in the neighbourhood around this time, be sure to drop by our humble iiNet stand. Say hello to us in the VoIP and IP Comms section of the expo, where you can speak to us about tips to save and improve how your business communicates.
support & services
Geek Speak - What is a blog?
Don't know your VoIPs from your DSLs? Feel embarrassed at dinner parties when the conversation turns to Fibre To The Node? Like to know what all those techie terms mean? Well look no further...
Geek Speak is here to help turn technical Internet jargon into plain and simple English. We understand not everyone is a net nerd, so each month iiNews publishes a Geek Speak topic to give you a hand. This time round, we answer the question - What is a blog?
In short - a blog is an online journal. The concept began long before the days of the internet, when sea-faring captains kept daily logs of happenings on board. Fast forward to the 21st century, where your daily grind can be recorded on the web, and you get a web log - or "blog", for short.
Unlike musty old logbooks, blogs can house more than just text and sketches - you can feature photos, videos, links to other blogs, and more.
Blogging has become popular for a variety of reasons - like keeping family and friends up-to-date; posting holiday snaps; and sharing wedding preparations. Companies may post public comments on industry topics while celebrities might blog to connect with their fans.
There are heaps of blog services on the net, making it super-easy to start your own. Some of our favourites are: Blogger.com, Wordpress.com, Tumblr.com, and Blogger on the Go (for mobile blogs). For extra reading on the last two, scroll down to our Site Scan for the month.
If you have any feedback or would like to suggest a new topic just email us at geekspeak@iinet.net.au. You can also join us in the blogosphere - iiNet's Geek Speak blog on PerthNow gets updated every Thursday.
Tech Tip - understanding webhosting with Jess Kaitse and Sandy Lim
For this month's Tech Tip, Jess and Sandy (two of our favourite iiHQ web nerds) talk you through some common webhosting lingo.
As a quick refresher, when you're looking at webhosting, you're basically securing a virtual plot of internet land to build on. Unlike real land, webhosting packages are widely available, affordable and come with a long list of features that make it easy to build and maintain.
Whether you're thinking about building a business site or setting up your own personal space, it's likely that you'll need to consider webhosting and its host of features. Let's dive right in and break down some common features offered by most webhosting providers:
- Web space/Disk space - this is the amount of storage that your hosting service provides and varies in size. Most basic websites might only need about 50MB of space; but the disk space provided can also be used for other features such as email and databases.
- Bandwidth/data transfer - this is the amount of data that can be transferred to and from the site each month. In most cases, if bandwidth is exceeded, users won't be able to access the website until the following month.
- Subdomains - a subdomain is a type domain that is part of a larger domain. For example: http://maps.google.com.au. It indicates that the maps section of Google is a related section of google.com.au.
- Multi-hosting (multiple domain hosting) - most hosting packages come with the capability to host multiple domains. This is useful to control multiple sites from one control panel.
- FTP accounts - FTP stands for File Transfer Protocol. FTP accounts make uploading files to your web space easy, using a FTP Client which is usually drag and drop. You can also download files from your website for local editing.
- MySQL Databases - MySQL is a popular, easy and free to use database system. MySQL Databases can be used for newsletters, blogs and forums and can be used in conjunction with PHP which is explained a little way down.
- Email accounts - hosting providers usually allow the creation of a certain number of email accounts, although the number can vary depending on your service. Your email address is part of your domain. For example, if your domain is "yourdomain.com.au" your email address will be "email@yourdomain.com.au".
- Email forwarders - this feature allows for any email sent to hosted email accounts be forwarded to any email account.
- Protected directories - this feature allows for a password protected directory, accessible only to those with the login details. Protected directories can easily be set-up from most hosting control panels.
- Custom error pages - when most users come across a standard error page, it's often hard to figure out what's gone amiss. Creating custom error pages makes it easier for site visitors to navigate back to safety.
- Statistics - most hosting package usually include a statistics tool. This tool lets you keep an eye on your sites traffic to learn how your website is being used.
For aspiring web builders looking to get their hands even dirtier, here are some trickier terms to wrap your brain around:
- CGI - stands for Common Gateway Interface and its job is to respond to requests with an output. For example, if a user fills out a form online; submits it; and gets either a confirmation or error message, this is a CGI script responding to a request.
- SSI - stands for Server Side Includes and allows for files such as an .html file, to include the contents of another .html file. This is handy if there is a complex .html which you'd like to make easier to edit. A SSI in an .html file looks like this <!--#include virtual="file.html"--> and can be placed anywhere in the page. SSI's can also be used for more complex programming languages.
- PHP - a scripting language used to create dynamic web pages. It can be used in conjunction with MySQL databases with blogs, forums and newsletters.
- SSH/shell - SSH or shell is a network protocol that allows data to be transferred using a secure channel between the two network devices. You can edit .html pages in your website from the Shell or upload files to your website via the Shell.
Congratulations for making it this far! Webhosting is just one aspect of creating and maintaining your own website. You can learn more about making websites in our Discoveryzone.
competitions
Music giveaway
Into mid-autumn, we've got another swag of music to giveaway thanks to our buddies at Musichead. On the table this month, we're giving away 10 prize packs featuring Bob Evans, Depeche Mode and the Pet Shop Boys.
Pet Shop Boys
Yes
For their tenth album, UK electronic duo Pet Shop Boys have become 'Yes' men. Teaming up with pop producers Xenomania (Girls Aloud, Sugababes, Gabriella Cilmi), the boys have released one of their finest records in years. Fan or otherwise, you should definitely check out the trippy new video for their song Love etc which showcases the awesome Dutch animator Han Hoogerbrugge.
Bob Evans
Goodnight Bull Creek!
Goodnight Bull Creek! is the follow up to Kevin Mitchell's 2006 ARIA winning album Suburban Songbook (that's right, Bob Evans is just a pseudonym). At first glance it'd seem Kev's following a winning formula here; hiring the same Nashville producer and sticking with the same suburban theme (Bull Creek is the Perth suburb he grew up in). Instead, this third album is a departure from that aspect of his life and a look at the wider world.
Depeche Mode
Sounds of the Universe
Recorded in Santa Barbara and New York, this long awaited Depeche Mode record is being pinned as their most "dazzling and diverse album in decades". Alliteration aside, these electro legends are certainly bringing diversity to the table with a lounge style ballad, sci-fi gospel-blues track and a tune that combines electronica with a Bo Diddley beat. The first single you're likely to hear on the radio is called 'wrong'.
To be in the running to win one of these prize packs, email competitions with 'April Musichead Comp' in the subject line. Don't forget to include your username, full name and address, with the answer to this question: Which new store has iiNet launched in its Freezone this month? Entries need to make it in before 5pm (WST) Friday 1 May, 2009. Good Luck!
games reviews
Our gaming cohorts from Games Warehouse have teamed up with us again to bring you our April games review and another $100 voucher to splurge on gaming goodness.
If you can picture yourself winning and spending this voucher, email competitions with 'April Games Warehouse Competition' in the subject line. Don't forget to include your username, full name and address, along with the answer to this question: What are the two words that blog is short for? by 5pm (WST) Friday 1 May, 2009.
Gamer's 2-minute review
The recent blossom of 'sandpit' games feels like a step in the right direction for today's chin-bestroked gamer. The sandpit concept is sound: do what you want, where you like; build something up or burn it all down, free of consequence. If you've had a crack at titles like Garry's Mod, Crackdown's 'Keys to the City' or The Forge in Halo 3, you'll understand why this is fun.
Alongside this carefree genre we're seeing other games labeled 'sandpit' when in reality, they aren't. Games that push non-linearity in a repetitive or enclosed manner, giving you a world to play in but sadly very little to do once you're there.
Godfather II is a card-carrying member of the faux-sandpit club, promising strategy/action value over a broad open landscape yet delivering very little beyond a shallow third-person shooter. It's one of these tricky buggers that plays quite well, seems hilarious and well worth a purchase until - half an hour in - you've done pretty much everything the game is going to throw at you.
Ignoring the mild bastardisations of the Godfather storyline (we could go on all night), let's deal with the game alone: as Dominic, you're a graduate mafia don looking to take on and control a handful of city districts. Trouble is, a large number of very territorial, very Italian folks have settled in first and you'll need to drive them out. To do this, you need to take over their many businesses and operations around town until you completely control the territory.
Initially this is a merry affair - following in the footsteps of the original Godfather game, you'll extort businesses over to your side through violence, property damage and general flexing of muscle. You'll take a troop of friendly neighbourhood thugs with you to render assistance to locked doors, wire fences or general gunplay, an addition most welcome for the comic dialogue they each contribute.
The major shortfall of Godfather II is that while there are a couple of ways to storm a rival business, once you've done one you've done them all. Most businesses have a power box to be cut, a wall to be blown or a back door to kick in. They're patrolled by the same brain-dead guards and the owners are all similarly vulnerable.
For a game that is built on taking over a whole city in this way, the single most important and re-visited element quickly becomes the least engaging. Drive up, storm the building, bully the owner and drive away.
There are positives though, amongst the monotony. With a character development menu, you can skill up your troops to make raids that little bit easier. Some of these skills come in handy (it's nice to have a speedy safecracker or demolitions expert, for example) but others just feel redundant due to the general lack of difficulty in facing the computer AI.
Really though, character development in this sort of game is like glitter on poo. Best leave it to the renters, grinders and achievement chasers - it's all front and no substance.
site scan
Get blogging with Sandy Lim
Blogs are all about sharing, connecting and community. For this month, check out our site picks for a gentle introduction to blogging, microblogging, mobile blogging, and professional blogging.
Tumblr
Get stuck into this blogging thing at Tumblr - a free blog service that features easy setup and easy posting. Sign up with your email address, a password, and your desired 'yourname.tumblr.com' address and you're ready to go.
Twitter
Twitter is another free service, based around answering one question - "What are you doing?" All day, every day, 'tweeters' share what they're up to, and see what their mates are up to - all in 140 characters or less. This short, sweet and frequent pastime is known as 'microblogging'.
Blogger
Blogging from your mobile phone means you can still take part in the world of blogs (known as the 'blogosphere') on a tight schedule. Follow Blogger Mobile's instructions to get started. After that, it's a matter of sending a text, MMS or email from your phone to get it online within seconds.
ProBlogger
For those ready to take blogging a little more seriously, ProBlogger shares some simple, common and very legitimate ways your blog can bring in a bit of income. Check out the rest of the site for tips on how to improve your art of blogging.
Still confused? Learn more from this month's Geek Speak tip.
Or learn about creating websites in our Discoveryzone.
