Computing Assistance Support & Education Inc - CASE Notes

LinuxConf 2013

Darrell — Mon, 28 Jan 2013 23:56:09 +0000

This year CASE staff are taking advantage of LinuxConf being held at the Australian National University with three staff members joining in with 700 other delegates from around the world in learning and sharing about all aspects of Information Technology.

CASE President Darrell Burkey, Vice-President Stuart Hogan and Technical Support Manager Ian Urquhart will spend the week learning from the best and networking with the many people here that develop the systems that our sector needs to support our goals.

Of course the highlight of the conference will be on Friday when the inventor of the World Wide Web, Sir Tim Berners-Lee, will be the keynote speaker. The keynote speakers over the last two days have been incredibly motivational and we will be sharing some of their insights in future posts.

Google Updates Privacy Policy

Darrell — Thu, 01 Mar 2012 00:46:35 +0000

Current issues surrounding Google’s changes in privacy policies (which take effect today) are an excellent example of why we need to pay attention to where our data is stored and how it can be used by others: EU and US Consumer Groups to Google: “This plan is a mistake”

News from the Electronic Privacy Information Centre reminds us that not-for-profit organisations need to develop policies regarding how they use online services in their day to day operations. For years we have recommended that organisations read the conditions associated with the use of online services very carefully, especially the conditions associated with free services.

New Domain Name Proposed for Non-Profits

Darrell — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 01:20:35 +0000

Should Australian non-profit organisations support a proposal for a new global Top Level Domain name of .NGO?

That’s the question being asked by the Public Interest Registry, a US based organisation currently managing the .ORG domain name space, who are proposing that a new domain name of .NGO be established for the exclusive use of community sector organisations worldwide.

Australian non-profit organisations are currently being contacted by Fenton Communications, a Melbourne based consultancy firm working for PIR, to sign an online petition in support of this initiative. A flyer being distributed by email urges groups to support the push for a .NGO domain name to assist PIR in proving that there is a need for a domain that gives recognised credibility to not-for-profit organisations.

After discussions with Fenton Communications and the Australian Domain Administration, CASE President Darrell Burkey stated,

“CASE has worked closely with the Australian Domain Administration over the years representing the needs of Australian non-profit organisations. It appears that Public Interest Registry may not be familiar with how well the Australian domain name system operates.

Thanks to the hard work of volunteers who initially managed the domain name system in Australia and the establishment of a Domain Name Administration some years ago, Australian non-profits benefit from a domain name system that is recognized world wide as having the highest of integrity. The result of this work is that when you see a domain name using .org.au or .asn.au you can be confident that you are dealing with a legitimate Australian non-profit organisation.

While we understand and support the need for US based organisations to work towards the same level of domain name integrity that we have in Australia, we do not believe adding new domain names is the best strategy to achieve that goal.

The addition of a new domain name for non-profits will require ‘defensive registration’ which we see as one of the greatest concerns with the use of domain names overall. If .NGO is created most non-profit organisations will have yet another domain name that they will want to license and manage. In this case the domain name will be of little value because it will not identify the non-profit as an Australian non-profit organisation.”

It remains to be seen if there will be any support for a new .NGO domain name for the use of all non-profits globally. We would like to encourage the Public Interest Registry to work with the Australian Domain Administration and involve Australian domain name stakeholders before seeking support of such an initiative.

CASE strongly recommends that member organisations do their research and consider the proposal carefully before indicating their support for the establishment of a new global domain name for non-profit organisations.

Engaging In Democracy with Web 2.0 Initiatives

Darrell — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 01:26:18 +0000

Thanks to Pia Waugh for joining us on her day off at the CASE 2011 AGM.

Pia Waugh started working with Senator Kate Lundy in April 2009 as a technical policy advisor. She is passionate about open government. Prior to this she was a consultant at Waugh Partners in Sydney, Australia. Read more about Pia on her blog “what are we doing today, brain?”.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sRDpkiH4ido

Part II of Pia’s talk is audio only. It can be found on the CASE podcast page.

Invitation to “Engaging in Democracy with Web 2.0″ and CASE Annual General Meeting

Sam — Wed, 05 Oct 2011 08:04:15 +0000

Ever wondered how Australia’s most cyber savy Senator does it? Come learn the secrets and how these initiatives can work for your organisation. This is a unique opportunity to learn from a very special person about the fantastic Web 2.0 initiatives currently being used in our democratic processes.

Everyone is welcome and the presentation will be followed by the 2011 Computing Assistance Support and Education Inc Annual General Meeting.

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Engaging in Democracy with Web 2.0 Initiatives
Guest Speaker – Pia Waugh
3.00pm Wednesday 26 October, 2011

Pia Waugh started work as an Adviser to Senator Kate Lundy in April 2009. Prior to this she was a consultant at Waugh Partners in Sydney, Australia. She has also worked as a Research Coordinator for the Australian Service for Knowledge on Open Source Software (ASK-OSS), the Open Source strategist for a large systems integrator and still works to develop the Australian FOSS industry and improve Government policies towards Free and Open Source Software.

Weston Creek Community Hub
Main Meeting Room (across from ACTCOSS)
6 Gritten Street
Weston Creek ACT, 2611

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CASE Annual General Meeting
4.30pm Wednesday 26 October, 2011

Weston Creek Community Hub
Main Meeting Room (across from ACTCOSS)
6 Gritten Street
Weston Creek ACT, 2611

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Cable Rats

Darrell — Mon, 19 Sep 2011 06:19:12 +0000

At CASE we will do whatever we can to ensure members get the best service possible for the best value. So when it comes to small network cabling jobs we simply do it ourselves to save members the mark up associated with smaller jobs. If a job is too big for our team we will be happy to arrange a friendly cabler and supervise the work on behalf of members.

Darrell the cable rat

CASE staff are certified by the Australian Communications and Media Authority to install your network cabling and provide documentation to ensure your project is compliant with standards.

Ian the cable rat

So next time you hear something rattling around in your roof, it just might be one of our cable rats.

New Mandala Turns 5

Sam — Sun, 03 Jul 2011 02:31:58 +0000

CASE President Darrell Burkey wears multiple hats like most people working at CASE. By day he manages large systems for the Australian National University which are used to support the research work of academics at the College of Asia and Pacific. Anyone who knows Darrell will know about his passion for using technology to support social issues. That passion has been documented in the very respected NewMandala blog in a post here.

Members of CASE are very lucky in the sense that Australian based organisations don’t have to fear speaking out should they feel they need to. While we face many challenges here in the land down under we can only feel a sense of gratitude for this country when reading about the struggles of others. New Mandala is a great example of people using technology so support social groups operating under duress overseas and is a wonderful display of human solidarity. It’s a blog well worth keeping an eye on!

CASE’s official site goes to 1.6

Sam — Sun, 29 May 2011 22:45:22 +0000

You may have heard by now Joomla has reached it’s long awaited version 1.6 release. Since CASE has adpoted Joomla as our web content management system we were all excited to give the new version a go. After some effort we’re pleased to announce that our official site is now running 1.6! The look and feel are similar to what existed in the past but everything running in the background is shiny and new!

So far we’re more than happy with the software and are excited about the possibilities it represents for members. Now as before, Joomla represents a great option for developing a cheap and effective web content management solution that we’re proud to offer here at CASE.

New site for the Chronic Fatigue Society, Canberra

Sam — Sat, 07 May 2011 02:44:57 +0000

Recently, The ACT Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Society approached CASE with a desire to redevelop their website. On a limited budget but with a very clear goal in mind, CASE was able to use our experience with Joomla combined with a new piece of software to complete the project in-house and without a graphic designer. For the cost, both groups are very happy with the result! The ACT MECFS Society provides monthly meetings, support courses and additional resources to those suffering from chronic fatigue and related conditions here in Canberra and has been for many years. So, we’re pleased to note the launch of their refreshed website here http://www.mecfscanberra.org.au and look forward to to working with them in the future!

Linux conf 2011 videos

Sam — Mon, 31 Jan 2011 06:20:38 +0000

Don’t forget that if you weren’t able to attend this year’s Linux conf, you’re still able to access some videos from the event. There are so many gems of wisdom thrown in here that we all need to hear. These are really interesting and friendly people well worth our time in listening to!

Online Keynote Presentations

Vinton Cerf (‘Widely known as one of the “Fathers of the Internet,” Cerf is the co-designer of the TCP/IP protocols and the architecture of the Internet.’)

Geoff Huston(‘A a pre-eminent researcher on IPv4 exhaustion and is undertaking research into Internet infrastructure, IP Technologies and address distribution policies.’)

Eric Allman – Sendmail (‘The original author of Sendmail, co-founder and Chief Scientist of Sendmail, Inc., and co-author of Sendmail, published by O’Reilly and Associates.’)

All Online LinuxConf2011 Presentations can be found on Blip TV as they become available.

As always for further information on the links and quotes above, see the official lca2011 site.