Second E-mail Account Clarification

Within a month or so we hope to be able to give all Melb PC members an e-mail address as a part of the $55 membership. This means that members paying the $140 for the group's Internet service will be able to have a second e-mail account. The actual details of the second e-mail account need some more explaining. I have received a few questions similar to the one below.

My husband is a Melb PC member. Can I have my own e-mail address and send and receive e-mail for 20 minutes a day so long as I don't go browsing on the net? Under those arrangements, if someone sends me an e-mail with a Web address in it so that I can look at family photos, can I get to it from my e-mail address or would I have to do that through John's address?

Your husband will be able to obtain a second e-mail address. If he is logged on to his existing account then he and you will have the 6 hours/day off-peak or 3 hours/day during the peak period and you will not have to dial into the 20-minute line.

When connected to the Internet with your husband's current account you will be able to send and receive e-mails to your new address without having to re-dial.

This can be set up as having a second account on your existing mail reader, say Outlook. By creating a new folder and creating rules you can keep your husband's mail and yours separate. You can also install a separate e-mail reader such as Eudora or Outlook Express to separate the accounts. The advantage of having the second mail reader is that your mail and your husband's will be completely separate. That is, the person opening the mail reader will not automatically see the other's incoming mail.

Detailed instructions on how to achieve this will be posted as links from the MOTD page. We are waiting for Telstra to install the additional 60 lines before we announce the details and Telstra must upgrade their equipment at Dorcas St and their exchange beforehand, so this process may take over a month.

New Admin Team Member

Richard John who has been active on the iHelp (Internet help) team and was mainly responsible for creating the iHelp database has joined the Internet admin team. His initial job will be to set up a Web server on one of the computers that will host the home pages. This is a big task and Richard will be responsible for all development and security aspects.

Home Pages and Backups

Even if you are not interested in setting up your own home page, by using an FTP (File Transfer Protocol) program you can upload data onto the melbpc server as a backup. The security on our systems is quite good but no organisation can claim to be 100% safe, therefore, for additional security I would suggest you encrypt the data. An adequate program for this is WinZip. This will also compress your data to save upload times. Using a longer password containing upper and lower case text plus numbers or symbols will provide a high level of security. With your data being stored on the Web, you can retrieve it from anywhere in the world.

SIGs (Special Interest Groups)

A new Bayside SIG has been formed to cater for members in the local areas. It meets in North Brighton. 

Volunteer Required for the Ivanhoe Area

We are trying to establish a small team to satisfy the demand for a Daylight SIG to meet on the 4th Wednesday of each month at 10.00 am in the Uniting Church Hall in Seddon Street Ivanhoe, close to the railway station. Two members have offered to start this group but need a couple more to spread the load. If you can assist please e-mail me at president@melbpc.org.au or SIG convener Noel Peters at noelp@melbpc.org.au or telephone the office (03) 9699 6222.

Next Monthly Meeting

Wednesday 1st of August Pharmacy College in Parkville

We will see Info Select: The Bottomless Database - a presentation by Barry Michaels and Music Music Music, Chris Stella from Yamaha and the Music SIG. Plus, Random Access (your chance to ask the experts) and much more. Hope to see you there.

Reprinted from the August 2001 issue of PC Update, the magazine of Melbourne PC User Group, Australia

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