MyResNet

MyResNet is a control panel to manage your ResNet connection. With MyResNet you can transfer your connection if you move rooms or get a new computer, check your usage, print receipts, connect a wireless console, and buy top-ups for your connection, such as an upgrade to ResNet Max or additional transfer allowance.

Go to http://my.resnet.bristol.ac.uk to try it out!

AskIT - community IT support

AskIT! is a new way to get help with ResNet, wireless, and your own IT equipment. AskIT is particularly suitable for less urgent or more specialist problems. If your ResNet connection doesn't work please give us a ring, but if you can't get email on your mobile try AskIT. AskIT is a community support site, so you can contribute your own expertise and help other people who own the same equipment as you.

To try AskIT go to askit.bris.ac.uk

MyMobileBristol - campus info on your mobile phone

MyMobileBristol is a mobile webapp for the University. It includes info useful on the move, such as maps of the campus, locations of wireless hotspots, and live bus departure info for the whole city. It is designed for recent smartphones such as the iPhone and Android devices.

To try MyMobileBristol go to m.bristol.ac.uk on your mobile.

While we already compare favourably with commercial broadband providers (on price, speed and bandwidth quotas) there's always room for improvement - so we're rethinking how much bandwidth we give you on ResNet.

Making your usage quota easier to understand

Currently you have two bandwidth quotas, one for off-peak and one for on-peak times of day.  Going over either quota lands you in a slow network for the rest of the week - at all times of day. This is confusing, and terribly inconvenient if you want to skype your friends back home during peak hours...

So, we're getting rid of peak-time!

We've combined the on and off peak quotas to give you a single quota of 48GB per week (For ResNet Standard) or 81GB per week (For ResNet Max) - no more worrying what time it is!

We've been trialling this change since 23rd May and it's been going pretty well so far.  The My ResNet control panel, and the Bandwidth Gadgets don't fully know about the change yet, so your on-peak usage is being reported as zero.  If the trial continues to work out ok, we'll have to see about fixing that!

If 81GB per week isn't enough for you, you can still buy extra chunks of quota through My ResNet.

Making your connection even faster!

Not content with making things easier, we're making them faster too!

Starting Monday 13th, we're going to increase the speed of ResNet wired connections to 50Mbps symmetric - That's 50Mbps download speed, and 50Mbps upload speed.  Once we've made that change, ResNet connections will be faster than BT Infinity Broadband (which gives you 40Mbps download speed, and 10Mbps upload)

Why is this awesome?  (Apart from it being obvious that faster is better!)

Well it means you can take full advantage of cloud based storage/backup solutions such as iCloud, Windows Live SkyDrive or Ubuntu One. It makes uploading photos or video to facebook/vimeo/flickr/youtube super quick, but most importantly - whatever cool new internet functionality is coming round the corner, we want your ResNet connection to be ready to handle it.

At this stage, we're not making any changes to the speed of the wireless network.  We can make it a bit faster than it is at the moment, but we can't make it quite as fast as the wired network.  So to take full advantage of the speed boost you'll need to use your wired connection.

"With great power comes great responsibility" - Spiderman

Once your connection is faster than a very fast thing going downhill on rollerskates - it does mean that it's easier to use up all your bandwidth quota.  We've done some sums and we think a bittorrent client serving up something popular (like an Ubuntu Linux DVD image) left unchecked could rip through the ResNet Max weekly limit in under 4 hours - on upload traffic alone!

If you've got any filesharing software on your computer, you might want to limit how much it can upload to the internet.  Most programs allow you to specify a maximum upload speed - we suggest setting this as low as you can get away with!

Not-that-small-really smallprint: All the features mentioned above are being trialled, we reserve the right to end the trial at any time if things start to melt.  We'll make a decision about what next years network speeds look like based on the results of the trial, so the above features may or may not be available for the 2011-2012 academic year.

Oh, and they apply to ResNet only.  The VisitorNet service got an 8 fold increase about a month ago but that's as far as we can push that for the moment.

Questions?

If you've got any questions or comments about the trials mentioned above, hit the comments below!

This is the fourth ResNet newsletter of the year sent to ResNet subscribers.

Jobs With ResNet from September 2010
Each year a large number of students join the team to help run ResNet and the Student Laptop Clinic. We are now recruiting for technical positions for the 2011/12 academic year.

A job with ResNet offers competitive pay (£11.51 per hour) and excellent experience while working with and helping other Bristol students. It can be hard work but is very enjoyable, a chance to develop your skills, and great experience for future employers.

Jobs start in September and continue during term time for the rest of the 2011/12 year.

The closing date for applications is 10am, Monday 13th June. For more details or to apply please see: http://www.bristol.ac.uk/is/computing/advice/homeusers/resnet/about/behindscene/vacancies11.html

Leaving halls? Get broadband in private accommodation

If you're moving into private accommodation next year you'll want to sort out an Internet connection. Unfortunately you can't get ResNet, but we have a guide to help you choose a broadband provider: http://www.bristol.ac.uk/is/computing/advice/homeusers/broadband/

This is the third ResNet newsletter of the year, also sent by email to ResNet subscribers.

Using a router to connect more than one device to ResNet

If you want to use more than one device with your ResNet connection, and you're in a hall covered by ResNet Wireless, it's probably easiest to use that.  For more information about ResNet Wireless, see the ResNet Wireless pages.

If your hall doesn't have ResNet Wireless, then you'll need to get a "broadband router" if you want to do this.  There are hundreds of models available, not all of them are suitable for use on ResNet. It can be really quite confusing trying to pick one out!

If you're buying it from a shop such as PC World, ask for a router which is suitable for use on Virginmedia Cable Broadband.  If you're buying online, look for phrases such as "cable broadband router" or "ethernet router".  Avoid devices which say "ADSL" or which don't mention the word "router" at all - as they're unlikely to work.

If you've got a router which works on ResNet, or know someone who has - it'd be great if you could mention the model number on this AskIT thread: http://askit.bris.ac.uk/uob/topics/connecting_more_than_one_device_to_resnet_which_routers_work_on_resnet

New email and calendar service: come and see the options

Following feedback from staff and students, the University is planning to replace the current email and calendar systems (Mulberry, Squirrelmail and Oracle Calendar) with a new, integrated email and calendar service.

Information Services are holding an open meeting at 2pm on Wednesday 9th February in the Tyndall Lecture Theatre, Physics Building (on Tyndall Avenue) Representatives from Microsoft and Google will be there demonstrating "Google Apps for Education" and "Microsoft Live@Edu."

Everyone is welcome, there is no need to book in advance. For more information, please see http://www.bristol.ac.uk/new-email

Free antivirus software!

Has your antivirus software run out? It's essential to have anti-virus to protect your computer, but normally when you buy antivirus software it expires and stops updating after 12 months.

Luckily there is no need to pay for antivirus software. Microsoft Security Essentials is a good anti-virus package, and even better it's free! Download a copy from http://www.microsoft.com/Security_Essentials/

ResNet bandwidth widgets revisited

Most students don't need to worry about how much they upload and download on ResNet, as the weekly usage allowances in ResNet Standard & Max cover most people easily. We do have some very heavy users - if that sounds like you try the ResNet bandwidth widgets.

When we first mentioned them back in October, there were one or two problems with the Windows version.  If you tried it back then but couldn't get it to work - have another go!

We've got official widgets for the Windows sidebar, OS X dashboard, and the web. We've also got a public API and some great widgets contributed by students, including apps for Android phones and iOS devices (iPhone/iPad/iPod touch)

Go to toys.resnet.bris.ac.uk to try them out.

Student Laptop Clinic

Computer running very slow, got a virus, or won't start up? Take your laptop to the Student Laptop Clinic! We can't fix all problems but will help as much as we can. Clinics are free of charge and first come first served.

For the latest times and locations of the laptop clinic see http://www.bristol.ac.uk/laptopclinic

MyResNet

MyResNet is a control panel to manage your ResNet connection. With MyResNet you can transfer your connection if you move rooms or get a new computer, check your usage, print receipts and buy top-ups for your connection, such as ResNet Wireless or extra bandwidth allowance.

Go to http://www.resnet.bristol.ac.uk/myresnet to try it out!

Student IT Training Courses

Training courses in IT skills are available to book at http://www.bris.ac.uk/studentskills/

Courses cover a variety of subjects including Microsoft Office packages, web design and image manipulation. New titles this year include:

• Word 2007: Using foreign languages
• Excel 2007 level 3: Making the most of Excel.

There are also links to self-study resources for IT and information about other development opportunities in areas such as Careers skills and Information Literacy.

This is the first ResNet newsletter of the year, also sent by email to ResNet subscribers.

MyMobileBristol - campus info on your mobile phone

MyMobileBristol is a new mobile webapp for the University. It includes info useful on the move, such as maps of the campus, locations of wireless hotspots, and live bus departure info for the whole city. It is designed for recent smartphones such as the iPhone and Android devices.

To try MyMobileBristol go to m.bristol.ac.uk on your mobile.

AskIT - community IT support

Also new for this year - AskIT! is a new way to get help with ResNet, wireless, and your own IT equipment. AskIT is particularly suitable for less urgent or more specialist problems. If your ResNet connection doesn't work please give us a ring, but if you can't get email on your mobile try AskIT. AskIT is a community support site, so you can contribute your own expertise and help other people who own the same equipment as you.

To try AskIT go to askit.bris.ac.uk

ResNet bandwidth widgets

Most students don't need to worry about how much they upload and download on ResNet, as the weekly usage allowances in ResNet Standard & Max cover most people easily. We do have some very heavy users - if that sounds like you try the ResNet bandwidth widgets. We've got widgets for the Windows sidebar, OS X dashboard, and the web. We've also got a public API and some great widgets contributed by students, including one for Android phones.

Go to toys.resnet.bris.ac.uk to try them out.

It's the last week of the summer term and the vacation beckons. Thanks for using ResNet this year! Whether you are staying or leaving, here's some final info from ResNet and an opportunity to shape a new service from the university.

Have your say on a new email service for Bristol students

The university is looking to create a new email for life service for students and alumni. This would be provided under contract with the university by either Google or Microsoft. We'd like to know what you think about this. Please see http://www.bristolresnet.net/2010/06/16/new-email-service/ for more info and to comment.

Leaving halls? Get broadband in private accommodation

If you're moving into private accommodation next year you'll want to sort out an Internet connection. Unfortunately you can't get ResNet, but we have a guide to help you choose a broadband provider - see http://www.bristol.ac.uk/is/computing/advice/homeusers/broadband/

Staying for the summer? Watch the World Cup on ResNet with Freewire TV

With Freewire you can watch 25 channels of live TV including BBC1 and ITV1 on your computer on ResNet. Freewire doesn't count towards your ResNet usage allowance. See
http://www.bristol.ac.uk/is/computing/advice/homeusers/resnet/using/freewire/ to get started.

Regards,

the ResNet team

Dear ResNet user,

This is one in a series of newsletters sent occasionally to ResNet subscribers. Please see the bottom of this message to unsubscribe if you wish. You can also read this newsletter on our blog at www.bristolresnet.net

Jobs With ResNet from September 2010

Each year a large number of students join the team to help run ResNet and the Student Laptop Clinic. We are now recruiting for technical positions for the 2010/11 academic year.

Dear ResNet user,

This is one in a series of newsletters sent occasionally to ResNet subscribers. Please see the bottom of this message to unsubscribe if you wish. You can also read this newsletter on our blog at www.bristolresnet.net

Laptop Clinics still running in new location

Our first newsletter introduced you to the free Student Laptop Clinic. In the first two terms we've helped over 800 people fix problems with their computers. It's very satisfying to have helped so many students.

If you make use of this service we'd like to announce that it's moved from the Hawthorn's Refectory to the Priory Road Complex Cafe, which means we get to eat cake and fix laptops! It's open from 2pm to 5pm weekdays, except bank holidays and Thursdays. For directions and more info see http://www.bristol.ac.uk/laptopclinic

What's the fuss about Facebook and privacy?

At the end of April Facebook made some changes, and some people are very unhappy about it. What's the fuss? Facebook has gradually shifted. It started as a tool to share stuff  within a group. Increasingly Facebook encourages you to share stuff with the world, but many people don't realise this. Facebook classes some of what you put up as public information and makes it available to all - your family, future employers, anyone. This includes your profile picture and what pages you are a fan of.

Now is a great time to check your privacy settings on Facebook, and be aware of what you put up there. For more info and advice on checking your privacy settings see our blog - http://www.bristolresnet.net/2010/05/06/

New ResNet widget to check your usage

Are you a heavy ResNet user? You may know you can monitor your usage in MyResNet. Today we're launching a new ResNet usage gadget for Windows, Mac, iPhone/Android, or any RSS reader. We've also released the source code so if you're a programmer you could even develop your own for other platforms. Go to https://manage.resnet.bristol.ac.uk/toys to try it out.

Access the university on your mobile

Do you have an iPhone, Android device or other mobile phone with Internet access?

The university has developed a pilot Mobile Campus Assistant - go to http://mca.ilrt.bris.ac.uk on your mobile to try it out. It includes useful information when you are on the move, such as events, weather, and how many PCs are free. If your phone has GPS then you can see live bus times linked to the campus map.

Please try this pilot out, and if you can please give your thoughts via the online survey. If you'd like to see this developed further your feedback may help in moving this pilot to a service.

Free antivirus software

Has your antivirus software run out? It's essential to have anti-virus to protect your computer, but normally when you buy antivirus software it expires and stops updating after 12 months.

Luckily there is no need to pay for antivirus software. Microsoft Security Essentials is a good anti-virus package, and even better it's free! Download a copy from http://www.microsoft.com/Security_Essentials/

Regards,

Nick Skelton, ResNet Manager, and the ResNet team.