Edition 90, 01-09-2009
1. A private mailbox for every member of the family
2. The civil servant at the helm
3. Mactip: Give a different look to every desktop
4. TNO organises symposium on IPv6
5. XS4ALL sponsors video art at the Zuidas
6. Helpdesk tip
7. New wireless modem
8. The Big Robot Show
9. Clicked
10. Your opinion
The summer holidays are over. That’s a great time to give every member of your family their own mailbox. In the Service Centre you can easily set up personal mailboxes with their own passwords. You can have five mailboxes. What’s more, each mailbox can have 10 e-mail addresses.
Study assignments, work messages, private messages... Read your e-mail wherever you are through a secure connection using Secure Webmail (webmail.xs4all.nl). This is all included with your account. And naturally the whole family will benefit.
Service Centre: https://service.xs4all.nl
Secure Webmail: https://webmail.xs4all.nl
By Bob Overbeeke
XS4ALL sometimes gives politicians a hard time on matters relating to the internet. For example, your internet service provider waged a battle against the retention of data on the surfing and e-mail activity of people in the Netherlands. XS4ALL was also critical of the privacy dangers of the electronic patient record. We used to hear very little from the government about the internet. But that tide appears to be turning. Thousands of civil servants are now immersing themselves in the internet. On the Ambtenaar 2.0 (‘Civil Servant 2.0’) website, they are jointly coming up with ways to improve government. How services can be made more convenient, the dialogue with the citizen more interactive and information more personalised. Thanks to the internet. These civil servants don’t mince their words: things can and must be done differently, and internet technologies can play their part.
The civil servants are developing new websites for the public and contributing to the Ambtenaar 2.0 book. The title could just as well have been ‘Employee 2.0’, because the book is actually of interest to everyone. And it’s free to download. It explains what Web 2.0 is and how it is changing society and government. It also shows how employees can make use of Web 2.0 tools. If you’re not a great reader of books, take a look at Us Now, a film in English about how large groups of people are working together on the internet and the future role of the government.
Ambtenaar 2.0: http://www.ambtenaar20.nl
Ambtenaar 2.0 book: http://boekambtenaar20.wetpaint.com/?t=anon
The Us Now film: http://vimeo.com/4489849
By Herwin Lans
What are you supposed to do with 16 desktops? No idea, but that has been possible since Mac OS X 10.5 thanks to Spaces. The drawback is that every desktop has the same background. You can change that with the free SpaceSuit program. Drag a picture to the SpaceSuit dock icon and the picture will become your desktop background. The different backgrounds will only work when the SpaceSuit program is running. Tip: add SpaceSuit to the programs that launch automatically when you log in. You can do that by going to System Preferences / Accounts / Login Items. You will then see the different desktop backgrounds after every restart.
SpaceSuit: http://www.docklandsoft.com/spacesuit/
On 10 September 2009, TNO is organising a symposium for businesses (SMEs) on the subject of IPv6. Marco Hogewoning, XS4ALL’s network manager, will be one of the speakers.
IPv6 is the new series of IP addresses and the successor to the current IPv4 series. On 5 May we became the first Dutch internet service provider to supply an IPv6 connection. As an XS4ALL customer, you too can start using IPv6 right away.
All computers and other devices on the internet need an IP address. The current IPv4 series has 3.7 billion different IP addresses. It is estimated that these will all be in use by the end of 2011. After that it will not be possible to add any more computers. The new IPv6 series will make sure there are sufficient IP numbers available far into the future. Businesses and organisations with their own web server need to make provision for the new IP series, for example to make sure that a website with an old IP address remains accessible through IPv6.
For more information and to register for the TNO Symposium: http://www.tno.nl
Apply for IPv6 from XS4ALL: http://www.xs4all.nl/en/allediensten/experimenteel/IPv6.php
Over the weekend of 4 and 5 September, the Zuidas in Amsterdam will be turned temporarily into an open-air museum, thanks to the first edition of the Zuidas Urban Screen event. This festival promises a lively and varied programme of video art. Many international artists will be exhibiting their video art in the Netherlands for the first time, and home-grown talent will have the opportunity to show their work to a wide public. Everything will be displayed on a giant ‘Urban Screen’ at the Zuidas. Entry to the festival is free.
Read more: http://www.festival.caszuidas.nl/
Make sure you have your customer number to hand when you call us. You will find it on your bill or on your online bill in the Service Centre.
More tips: http://www.xs4all.nl/helpdesk/tips.php
Renew your ADSL contract for a year and receive the FRITZ!Box on loan free of charge.
Read more: http://www.xs4all.nl/en/allediensten/toegang/adsl/modemactie.php
A lively evening all about robots! With debates and demonstrations.
4 September, NEMO, Amsterdam.
Read more: http://rathenau.nl/showpage.asp?steID=1&item=3932
Datumprikker: online event planner: http://www.datumprikker.nl
Stumble Upon: discover new websites: http://www.stumbleupon.com/
Remember The Milk: online task management: http://www.rememberthemilk.com/
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