With the dawn of 2008, the buzz of summer is well and truly here!

It's time to focus on the festivities of the season and in particular the upcoming concerts, public holidays and the many other events that seem to make the prospect of another year at work just that little bit easier to face.

If you're struggling to "get back into it" after a substantial Christmas break, make sure you check out this month's feature which dives into the world of podcasting - the latest way to tune in to tune out during those public transport commutes to and from work.

In competitions we see the comeback of the awesome Lenny Kravitz and his impressive eighth album with another CD pack giveaway. The movie review sticks true to its indy film run by taking a look at Juno, the small budget film that has smashed the American box office.

And finally, check out the site scan for some sunny weekend festivities.

A summer loving

Shannon McCaughey
iiNews Editor
iinewsfeedback@iinet.net.au

please have your say!

The Christmas and holiday period has been understandably quiet for inbox, so to ramp it up again I encourage you to send in any views, news and suggestions you have in relation to the iiNewsletter.

We look forward to hearing from you!

Send your newsletter views, news and suggestions to
iinewsfeedback@iinet.net.au

attention all writers

This week, iiNet officially kicked off its sponsorship of the 2008 Perth International Arts Festival, with the launch of the iiNet/Perth festival landing page and activities.

iiNet is the Premier sponsor of the Perth Writers Festival being held 22nd-25th February. Over 70 sessions will take place as part of the Writer's Festival including lectures, panel discussions, poetry slams and performances as well as iiNet hosting an internet café on site.

To celebrate and promote the Writers Festival we're running the following customer competitions and activities:

• Creative Writing Competition - iiNet invites both customers and the general public to participate in an online creative writing competition with prizes to include tickets to selected Festival events
• Ask the writers - patrons of the Festival will be given the opportunity to submit questions to 5 key Perth Writers Festival authors and have their question posted on the iiNet/Perth Festival landing page

For full details of the competitions and activities head to www.iinet.net.au/perthfestival

iiNet named finalist in the WAITTA Awards for Naked DSL product

Our newest edition to the iiNet product suite, Naked DSL, has been selected as a finalist in the WA Information Technology and Telecommunications Awards (WAITTA).

Submitted under the Innovation category, Naked DSL looks set to steal the show at the 17th annual WAITTA ceremony to be held on 14th March at the Burswood Convention Centre.

The Innovation award recognises the development of a product or service that breaks new ground - something we pride ourselves on at iiNet!

Watch this space for more info as it comes to hand!

have peace of mind with free iiNet Computer Support

Got a problem with your computer? Need help installing new software? iiNet Computer Support can help.

January sees the launch of free Computer Support for all iiNet Business plan customers. Computer Support is a dedicated on-call phone service you can access 24 hours a day, 7 days a week provided by Quick Knowledge, an approved iiNet partner, for a range of problems you may have with your computer or other electrical equipment.

Computer Support covers all on-call phone support for operational matters relating to software troubleshooting and fault resolution, error messages, printers, scanners, multi function centres, digital still cameras, webcams, microphones and speakers.

For more serious problems an onsite visit from a technician is available to fix the problem. If so, a technician can visit you for onsite escalation if the issue cannot be resolved within 10 minutes by phone.

Costs associated with an onsite visit are at the expense of the customer and will be estimated prior to undertaking any work.
To access iiNet Computer Support, call us on our priority Business Sales & Support line - 13 24 49.

your business

This month we take a peek behind the dressing room curtain at online clothing business, Shazza's Clothes Australia. What started out on eBay in 2002 has now grown into a full time business for Sharan Smythe of Scoresby, Victoria.

Employing her husband and two casual staff, Sharan's business sells a range of ladies, men's and children's clothing. As an online business, Sharan and the team often find themselves replying to customer queries at all hours of the night.

"It's very important for us to have 100% up time on the internet. We host all our own pictures and we are constantly uploading and have never had a hiccup with our internet service."

Sharan's iiNet broadband service is not just her internet connection but a link to customers and her business's virtual shopfront.
To find out more or pick up a bargain or two visit www.shazzasclothes.com

If you'd like to have your business featured in next month's newsletter email the business team with some information about your business.

For more business news, visit the business section of the iiNet website.

broadband for baby boomers

This year we're introducing a series of workshops called 'Broadband for Baby Boomers'. Held at our Adelaide Terrace office in Perth and delivered by iiNet staff, these workshops introduce participants to just some of what the internet has to offer. The workshop is split into two modules:

• Module 1 - if you're brand new to the internet this workshop is for you. Topics include general information about the internet, finding information, online shopping, local entertainment, online radio, and video sites such as YouTube.
• Module 2 - a continuation of Module 1, this workshop is for people wanting to find out more about what the internet can offer. Topics include online banking, travel and booking holidays, communities and networking, online music stores such as iTunes®, and internet security.

The first set of workshops are scheduled for Wednesday 6th February (Module 1) and Wednesday 13th February (Module 2) from 6.30pm - 8.00pm.

If we've caught your interest and you would like to register, just email sponsorships@iinet.net.au with your name, contact phone number, email address and workshop preference (Module 1 only, Module 2 only, or both Module 1 and Module 2).

tech tip - Call Calculator

If you have a phone or VoIP service with us you can check the cost of your calls before you make them - just use our handy call calculator.

The call calculator is nice and easy to use - just enter in your phone number and the number you'd like to call, then how many minutes you think you might spend talking.

Hit "submit", wait a couple of seconds and the calculator will show you how much it will cost with our different services such as Phone 1, VoIP and iiTalk.

This means you will know in advance how much the call will cost depending on how long you spend on the phone. Any calls you make will show up in our online call tracker in toolbox , usually within 24 hours of making the call.

power cycle - saving you a call to support

Early this year iiNet has plans to update many broadband connections nationally in an endeavour to further speed up your internet. Unfortunately, however, with this comes the possibility that you will need to reboot your modem if you lose connection.

If your broadband connection is affected by an outage or scheduled upgrade within the iinetwork, it's recommended that you powercycle your broadband modem in order to reconnect. Powercycling simply means turning off your modem for approximately 90 seconds and then turning it back on in order to reconnect to the internet.

You can update yourself on scheduled upgrades or unplanned outages in your area anytime at www.iinet.net.au/status/. We also provide the ability, via toolbox , for customers to subscribe to our Netstatus mailing list, to receive email updates of planned work and faults affecting your service.

top 5 viruses reported to Sophos in January

1. Pushdo
2. Traxg
3. Netsky
4. Dropper
5. Zafi

List provided by Sophos. Remember, all iiNet plans come with industry leading Sophos email anti-virus and Ironport spam protection that is automatically kept up-to-date with the latest virus threats. However, to fully protect your system, we recommend that you use our email anti-virus in conjunction with a personal anti-virus product such as those listed on this page.

the world wide podcast
Whether I'm on a bus, train or in the car, podcasts have become the most popular way for me to pass the time on any trip. And with the explosion of podcasting in the last couple of years it seems you can find a cast on just about anything.

For anyone not familiar with this form of modern entertainment, Podcasting simply put is the continual streaming of content, whether it be audio or video. Casting over the internet, podcasts allow a user to download a show or episode daily or weekly and listen or view it where and when they want. Similar to a TV show or a radio episode, podcasts allow anyone with an internet connection and a computer to stream their own show. Not just a pastime for the tech-savvy amateur, with almost every professional media organisation harnessing the power of podcasts and releasing their own content.

Shifting away from traditional radio and TV, people growingly prefer to get their entertainment off the Web and why not! Being able to simply download video or audio and take it anywhere to watch anywhere, entertainment 'on-the-go' suits the modern life style.

To make some sense of the anytime potential of different podcasts, lets break podcasts into 2 areas, audio and video.

audio

In the age when almost everyone has an iPod or mp3 player, audio podcasting really has become the new radio. With podcasts out there ranging from teaching spanish to BBC daily world news, audio podcasts turns the listener into the radio producer.

video

With the success of audio podcasts, many media and TV organisations have jumped on the casting train and now produce shows for a podcast audience. This means that being stuck on the train heading home at 6pm doesn't have to mean I miss the 6 o'clock bulletin - I can just access channel 9's daily video podcast and be watching the news at 6pm on my iPod.

so how can I start?

With almost everyone having a website now, podcasts are usually downloaded directly from a site via a streaming link.

However being a proud Mac Lover and with iTunes being available for PCs I find it hard to deal with anything but the itunes podcasts directory. With one click in iTunes you can be surfing through thousands and thousands of podcast for every topic. So with that in mind I thought it might be helpful to go through a step by step podcast download.

Podcast subscription 101

Step One - If you don't have iTunes download it ? You will also have to get a itunes account. You will have to provide credit card details for this but not to worry as you will find out most podcasts are free.

Step Two - Opening up iTunes, simply click on the podcast link under library in the left hand side tool bar.

Step three - Opening up in the podcast page, this is where you will see and keep your collection of podcasts. Here podcasts titles will appear in a similar fashion to your song lists in the itunes music folder. By clicking the drop down menu next to the title of the podcast will allow you to see the individual episodes.

Step Three - With surfing the wide collection of podcasts just one click away, you can enter the wide world of the itunes podcast directory by clicking the Podcast Directory Link at the bottom of the page.

Step Four - Now you will be taken to the podcast section of the itunes store. Here you will see many banners with current popular podcasts however what you should focus on is the category search tool bar on the left hand side. Now you can go to town searching for the podcast of your liking. Keep in mind many of your favorite media shows on TV or radio should have a podcast for you to find.

Step Five - Now once you have found your podcast and clicked on it a window will appear featuring that podcast and its episodes. By clicking the subscribe button in the middle of the page iTunes will then automatically download episodes for you to access from your podcast library.

Now your ready to go! why not plug in your ipod and press sync allowing you to watch or listen anywhere you want.

For further, more detailed instructions have a look at the iTunes tutorial at www.apple.com/itunes/store/podcasts

staff profile

Name: Mark McDonald
Title: Programmer

What does your current role involve?
As a programmer for the Business Improvement team, I develop new applications to make iiNet's internal systems work harder, better, faster and stronger. Recently I've been involved in creating our new internal TV station and creating our intranet web presence and forums.

What did you do before you came to iiNet?
Before coming to iiNet I was a web developer for Coventrys - a large automotive wholesale corporation.

What is the best thing about working at iiNet?
The technical and creative freedom we get when developing new systems means I get to play with new technology a lot but the people here are of the highest calibre you'll find. No matter what problem you run in to, if you stick enough smart people in a room they'll get it sorted, and we have an abundance of them here!

Your favourite website?
Just one?! As a bit of a wanna-be chef I'd say my favourite website is recipezaar.com , as a destroyer of electronic goods I like makezine.com and for news I like slashdot.org.

customer of the month

Name: Jenny James
Location: Morphett Vale, SA
Account type: broadband2+ with Phone & VoIP
Customer Since: 2005

Describe your typical day of living online?
As I study full time at TAFE and work from home part time, my online time is limited to after my son goes to bed or on weekends. I use Safari to wander the pages of the infinity and it opens at RedBubble.com' s community page. After changing into my Georgiegirl cowsuit, I check my bubblemail and catch up with what's new, and then go for a wander around my favourite people's pages. We all have an activity monitor to let us know what our faves have been up to, sort of like a watchdog. But even with this, there are so many incredible and inspiring artists, photographers and writers in our community it's hard to keep up. RedBubble has grown so much since I joined in April this year.

The other places I regularly visit are m9media.com.au/forum/index.php (an Adelaide based online forum for 2D and 3D modellers/animators), iiNet (for the newsletter and other useful things), wikipedia (if I need to find anything out I go here first and google second) and many many more!

The best thing about broadband for you?
The best thing is the speed. When I joined iHug over 7 years ago, I used to have dial up. I would have to wait ages for a page to load, just to see if it was the page I actually wanted in the first place.

With broadband, it opens in seconds. So convenient. In the real world I don't live in the fast lane, but when on the internet it's the best way to go. I can also have many pages opening at the same time and it doesn't slow down.

Another thing I love is not having to dial a phone number just to access the internet and then have it hogging the telephone line. With broadband, not only do I just turn on the modem (I turn it off each night), I also have the home phone accessible at all times.
AND!!! I also have VoIP enabled so that when I chat to my family who live in the country, it only costs me 10 cents for as long as we like. So, the best thing? I couldn't decide... It's all three!!

Your favourite site?
Redbubble.com. There is nowhere else like it. Based in Melbourne, Australia, RedBubble is an online community for artists, photographers and writers or lovers of those things. It is free to join and once you've joined, you can upload your artwork and stories or just wander around the bubbles chatting in the many forums, using bubblemail or leaving comments.

Interested in being our next customer of the month? Send your details to iinewsfeedback@iinet.net.au.

2 minute games review - Earth Assault: Universe At War (PC)
with Niaal Holder

2008 snuck up and smacked me in the back of the head, rifled through my wallet and left me a little underprepared for the January games review - Amongst a grueling tour of festive new year's partifying, my gaming exposure was limited to a handful of dire performances on guitar hero III and not much else. So it was with much relief that I landed a copy of the new RTS, Earth Assault: Universe at War before my shoulders went shrugwise at the month's gamer offering.

UAW's storyline sees our lovely planet invaded by a race of lumbering, malicious aliens, tramping their grubby feet over our houses and nicking our cows. Naturally, Earth reacts with an insipid counter-assault, causing about as much hassle as a noogie on a bald head.

Stepping in suddenly on our behalf however, is a race of robot sentients who rather conveniently enjoy whopping these aliens for sport. All of this is made even more plausible when a flock of ancient demigods rise from the earth itself to evict both alien and robot gatecrashers alike. Suffice it to say, the single-player storyline is a little on the weak side, a fact compounded by some particularly hammy voice acting.

So let's pick it apart proper styles - UAW is a cookie-cut RTS. Since the days of Dune II, the paper-rock-scissors model of triangular opposing forces has won as a definitive means of offering variety, difficulty and strategic balance. UAW doesn't at all deviate from this model, nor does it present anything otherwise standout from the conventional RTS genre. What UAW does do exceptionally well is present an interface style totally unique to the each faction - their build regime, base placement, troop outlay and general attacking motif is totally dissimilar to the other forces, and a pleasure to learn and adapt to.

Ignoring the solo campaign for a second, the three sides presented in skirmish combat are the Novus, the Hierarchy and the Masari. The Novus are the robotic lads - a fleet of generic, skittish mechs who flit about the battlefield at pace, seemingly everywhere at once. The Hierarchy are the alien folk, shambling mobile fortresses and battle factories, who once up and moving can stomp opponents with bludgeon-like abandon. Lastly, the godlike Masari bring a twist with their 'bipolarity' light-and-dark switch, allowing them to change their entire army and base's focus from 'agile' to 'heavy' and back again at the drop of a hat. Understanding how each side operates end-to-end is intimidating but once grasped, involving.

The diversity of faction treatment is the single biggest drawcard for the title. The Novus for example, are able to 'network' around their build zone via linked powerlines, giving them near-virtual access to any location they've built into. Conversely, the Hierarchy's main offering lies in enormous robot behemoths, with around 8 customised modules to build and adapt as they stride into the action - add cannons to the legs to improve the attacking offering, or equip unit generating nodes to spew foot troops when pressing the advantage. To round things off, each side has a tech research tree that further expands their diversity in accordance with player preference.

However, once I'd soaked up the rich rewards of the faction depth there wasn't much else I really warmed to. The single player mode, for example, is bereft of the tech research options and considerably linear to play out, making it a muted experience for your at-home gamer. Conversely, there's not a great deal to multiplayer skirmish beyond the standard 'build and roll out' method of play, despite having each side's full arsenal at your disposal. It's also no small point to say the computer AI needs some tweaking, through both enemy attack strategy and your own issued troop commands.

Ultimately, UAW scores a big hit on its core interface offering, a treat which bodes well for any subsequent releases under the same title. So if you can stomach the few steps back, the shiny step forward is well worth checking out.

movie review - Juno
With Shannon McCaughey

I love seeing a little indy film take on the American box office and win. Juno, the newest in the line of successful indy films, has managed to win the support of critics everywhere. Now to be honest I was one of those critics. Now, I'm not saying I was dragged to see this film but after realizing it was a film about a 16-year-old pregnant school girl, I was definitely not excited about it. How wrong could I have been! Sticking true to the old saying don't judge a book by its cover, Juno is simply a film to be very excited about!

Staring Ellen Page, a 20-year-old debut Canadian actor, Juno is a casting masterpiece. Playing the role to perfection, or in this case far from perfection, I was captivated by Juno from the opening scene. Full of lovable flaws, a quirky outlook and an unexplainable X factor, the audience is left captivated by this simplistic school girl.

After having a one night stand with her geeky best friend Bleecker, (Micheal Cera from recent hit Superbad) Juno finds out she is pregnant. After a hilariously awkward scene with the abortion clinic on her hamburger phone, Juno decides to go down the adoption path. Following her 9 months of trials and tribulations as she seeks for a family for her unborn child, Juno leaves you mixed with laughter and concern as only she can.

This is far from a pro-life film but is a film that hits home in a quirky way. I would give Juno a 5 out of 5 and suggest as a must see for 2008.

www.yourgigs.com.au

The peak of summer is here and so is the festive time for concerts. With so many big acts coming to share in the festivities of an Australian summer, keep track of them with a handy one stop shop.

www.australiaday.gov.au

On Australia Day we come together as a nation to celebrate what's great about Australia and being Australian. Have a look whats going on around the nation.

www.bigdayout.com

Check out the line up this year, plan your day, buy tickets or download a map. The one stop shop to plan the your day at Australia's biggest annual concert.