August iiNews

letter from the editor

Welcome to the August edition of iiNews.

This month we launched our new suite of broadband plans which feature some sweet new bundle deals. The rationale behind the new plans is "broadband for every user" with a whole new set of plans grouped into "first timer", "frequent user" and "fanatic" categories making it far easier to make up your mind.

We've also stepped up our unbundled broadband plans on our next generation ADSL2+ network by doubling the base speed from 1500k to 3000k. We think the new plans play to the strengths of our own network - offering faster speeds and more downloads. Check out the new plans in the broadband section.

Keep your doors ajar this September for The Heart Foundation's annual door knock appeal. With more than 50,000 Australians dying from cardiovascular disease every year, the foundation needs public support to continue it's vital research and health programs. This year's appeal will involve over 100,000 volunteers and kicks off from September 2.

Full details on how you can participate in the door knock appeal are available at http://www.heartfoundation.com.au/

In this month's edition of iiNews we look at the emerging Video on Demand and IPTV technology in our "next big thing" section, preview the new film Thank You for Smoking and find out how local radio station Sonshine FM uses iiNet VOIP.

Hope you enjoy.

Mark Welker
iiNews Editor

 

general news

new products suite launched !
You may have noticed all the shiny new banners that have appeared on our site in the last week? If you haven't got around to clicking on them, you might have skipped over the massive overhaul we've done on our broadband plans.

The major changes are:

• New VOIP bundle option: We've added a new bundle option to the broadband mix with "broadband plus VOIP". Don't want to switch phone providers? Well you no longer need to. If you're on our ADSL2+ network and you select a broadband plus VOIP bundle, you'll enjoy the fastest speeds in your area for just $9.95 extra per month (plus of course you get the great VOIP rates with that too).
• Faster unbundled speeds on broadband2+: if you are connected to our ADSL2+ network (find out here ) we're doubling the unbundled speed to "up to 3000kbps". How cool iis that!
• More downloads: we've increased the download quotas of many of our plans to allow you to take advantage of your broadband connection.
• The right plan for you: one of the top questions we receive from our customers is "which plan should I choose?" So to help you out when choosing a plan, we've divided them up into three straight forward categories: First Timer, Frequent User, Fanatic.
• New off peak time slot: to give you more time to enjoy the great off peak downloads you get when you bundle, the new plans have a fresh off peak timing of 2am-12pm.

Need a refresher on what broadband2+ actually is? Any plan that is connected to our next generation ADSL2+ network is classified as "broadband2+". Any plan off our network, we call "broadband1".

We've also made some improvements to other sections of our website with more information on iiNet VOIP and how it works and a more streamlined broadband journey.

Those thinking of upgrading to broadband, you can check out the plans here and sign up. If you already have broadband with us and would like to hop over to one of the new plans, you can upgrade today online via toolbox by selecting " change ADSL plan ".

If you have questions regarding upgrading to the new plans, visit the broadband frequently asked questions section for more info.

support & services

customer service update
July saw more than 200 000 calls being offered to the iiNet Virtual Contact Centre, with 130 000 calls were channelled through our support queue alone. Which is not really that interesting...however, in late July you may have noticed that we changed the menu options on our phone system when seeking technical support. When a customer selects the support option on our phone system, callers are asked to select from four options:

1. for Broadband
2. for Dial Up support
3. for Phone Support
4. for Hosting

The extra menu items have allowed us to introduce "Skills Based Routing" or SBR so that when a customer selects an option, the call is routed to the staff member best trained to handle the enquiry.

SBR cuts down unnecessary delays in call processing and ensures the customer query is handled by the staff member with the right training to assist. It also gives the contact centre a breakdown of the specific types of enquiries the centres receive, which ensures we can identify reasons as to why our customers call.

This project is one of a number of initiatives under way through our Virtual Contact Centre Project. We are continually working with our supplier Genesys in providing added benefits to the system which are due for rollout over the next few months.

tech tip - call forwarding
Have you ever wanted to go out shopping but don't want to miss an important call coming to your home phone service? Why not try using Call Forward?

Call Forward with an iiNet home phone service is quick and easy to turn on and off, and it only costs standard call charges to forward each call. There are several different types of Call Forwarding services, but probably the most useful in the short term is Call Forward Immediate.

To turn Call Forward Immediate on, all you need to do is pick up your telephone handset for your phone service and dial: *21<phone number>#<hang up>

This will forward all calls to your nominated phone number. The number can be a mobile, a paging service or another phone number (as long as it's not an International number or the 000 service).

If you've now received that important call and want to turn Call Forward Immediate off so you can receive calls normally, pick up your handset again and dial #21#<hang up>

For those using an iiNet VOIP service it's just as easy. You can change settings like call forwarding, call forwarding busy and voicemail forward to email through toolbox by selecting "configure your VOIP service" then clicking the "show details" button next to "basic products".

Forwarding your voicemail to an email address ensures you never miss a home call while you're at work.

virus alert

top 5 viruses reported to sophos in july

1. W32/Netsky-P
2. W32/Mytob-AS
3. W32/Bagle-Zip
4. W32/Nyxem-D
5. W32/MyDoom-O

List provided by Sophos.

ii people

staff profile

Name: Scott Wooden
Title: Sales Manager

How long have you been with iiNet?
I started with iiNet as Sales Manager when iiNet purchased OzEmail at the start of 2005. At that time I had been part of the OzEmail Group for 6 years in a variety of roles.

What does your current role involve?
Currently I am responsible for improving the new customer buying experience within the iiNet Contact Centres. Finding the right blend of providing exceptional service and working out the right product to offer each individual, is both challenging and rewarding.

What elements do you think make up a satisfying customer enquiry?
Our experience, based on customer feedback and response, is that when a customer calls up asking for broadband, they want to be presented with information that is relevant to them in easily understood terminology. We attempt to do this by focussing on what their needs are and then trying to match our products with those needs using a set of simple questions.

Our plans have been developed and evolved over time with customer needs in mind and you can see from our latest offerings that we have found that many of our customers can generally be grouped into 3 categories: First Timer, Frequent User or Fanatic. If what our customers have told us is true, then we reckon we've got something for everyone!

What's been your most memorable or satisfying experience at iiNet?
Believe it or not, but it's the simplest stuff and usually relates to customer feedback. Without customers we don't exist, so when our customers tell us a great story about exceptional service they got from us, then we know we got it right and that's really all it takes to feel a level of satisfaction.

customer of the month

Name: Ash Wright, Technical Services Manager for 98.5 Sonshine FM
Location: Morley WA
Account type: broadband2+ with phone
Customer Since: October 2003

What do you use the Internet for most?
As a media outlet, information for our newsroom is gathered from links with associate radio stations around Australia using the internet. A lot of the internet traffic is also used for research for on air programming. Having a 24 x 7 operation the reliance on these connections is critical . We also host our email systems and some content delivery and client management systems on our iiNet broadband links.

Streaming is exported to servers located in the USA using the iiNet broadband, and some affiliate stations in Esperance and Katanning are also pulling a high quality AAC audio stream to relay our on air signal to those transmissions sites. 98.5 Sonshine FM also has a VPN network linking other associate stations and this also enables our staff to to work remotely from home. More recently we have started using iiNet VOIP on a 3rd iiNet connection.

How do you use the iiNet VoIP service?
We have been trialling the iiNet VoIP service for around 4 months. The trial involved 3 incoming lines into a Asterisk PABX server. There's a number of software phones and VoIP phones located around the building. The service has been flawless. A couple of teething problems, but the big benefit has been running it on a separate ADSL link dedicated to VoIP. We have direct dial in numbers for some of our staff.

Recently we ran Compassion Day . Listeners were invited to sponsor a child through aid agency Compassion ( www.compassion.com.au ) . We did regular phone link ups with Compassions head office in Newcastle but the day before Compassion Day, we were having a major echo on our analogue PABX for national calls, so the decision was made to put a software phone into the studio to call our listeners and Compassion headquarters. The system worked really well (with basically no testing) and only 3 or 4 calls dropped out over the 50 or so calls made that day (and that was on a very old Celeron workstation ) .

After the installation of the Asterisk PABX, we put our sales department and some administration onto the VoIP system and it works with incredible reliability. The sales department is making over 50 calls a day on VoIP with no real challenges and putting Cisco routers on the end of the VoIP connection has boosted its reliability to the point where we 're ready to roll it out to all staff.

What impact has VoIP had on your business?
Cost was the primary reason for looking at VoIP as a replacement for our PABX. We're still keeping some analogue lines into the building, but reducing the monthly line rental cost was the first consideration ($7,500 per year). Combined with the cheaper call rates for local and national it made a compelling case (70% reduction on existing rates).

Our expectation is we'll save an absolute minimum of over $10,000 per year with the VOIP migration. 98.5 Sonshine FM aims to move to a new facility in the next eighteen months. The VOIP system will save around $8,000 on two studio telephone interfaces alone. VOIP will also deliver greater user flexibility.

VOIP isn't something we have rushed - we wanted to get it right . The reliability of the system needed to be proven, which it has - perfectly. Other benefits allow for call routing, and direct dial extensions for our staff members (ie. Staff members can have their own phone number, rather than going through reception). The call quality is amazing, we are running 64k lines on the PABX server, it's ISDN quality. When using the VoIP on air, callers sounded like they were in the studio, even though they were located at times, on the other side of Australia. With the upcoming Perth Royal Show, 98.5 Sonshine FM will be broadcasting live with a full data network including VoIP.

What are the best aspects of your broadband connection?
The speed and reliability. We have 3 iiNet accounts, with a firewall that can auto-sense if one is having a bad day, and re-route it. 98.5 Sonshine FM hosts some content for some systems we have written on one of the iiNet connections and host the station website ( www.sonshinefm.ws ) on one of the links. They work beautifully.

The news department starts work at 4am, and the Internet is always available - a big plus for me, because 4am phone calls are not a lot of fun.

The network rarely has a chance to have any down time as staff are always using it . The Internet is such a crucial link in the chain and needs to be working all time . iiNet provides us with that link. iiNet support is simply fantastic.  

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

the next big thing

This month we look at "the next big thing" in broadband entertainment. What do I mean exactly? Well at first I didn't know either, so I took my note taker (ie a pen) and had a chat to our Products Innovation Manager, Stephen Harley.

So...tell me...what should I be looking forward to?
The two buzz words flying around at the moment (and causing some confusion) are Internet Protocol TV (IPTV) and Video on Demand (VOD); two terms that are going to revolutionise the digital living room.

What exactly is IPTV?
IPTV ( Internet Protocol television), at its most basic level, IPTV allows you to view TV, video & gaming content at a more customized and interactive user experience level on your TV through your broadband connection.

This is done using what is known as a set-top box that can even replace what many people now use to tune in a digital TV. This type of box can provide not only free to air TV in high definition, but also various other types of content through your broadband modem. The set-top box downloads content that can then be viewed through your regular TV or home theatre.

Many people are already using sites such as www.apple.com.au to view latest release movie trailers. Take this concept and add in TV series, full length blockbuster movies, thousands of additional videos that have been produced over the years, a search feature to choose what you want to view, when you want to view it, and you've got what is know as IPTV.

If that's IPTV then what is Video on Demand?
Video on Demand (VOD) is a technology that has actually been around for some time. You've probably seen it in a hotel room where you use a regular TV to select a movie from the hotel's list and it starts playing instantly. That's a small scale version of VOD where the movie itself is stored on a machine somewhere in the building and sent electronically to the room's TV over a cable.

Consumer VOD operates on a similar idea, except that the videos are stored on your Internet Provider's server and sent your set top box and viewed on your TV over a broadband connection. The "Demand" part comes from the fact that the "most wanted" movies are actually "pushed" to your set top box typically over night or the day before, or when you aren't using your broadband, so that movies are playing from the hard drive of your set top box.

To view a movie you would simply select from a limited list and "click to play" - the charge for the movie would be added to your monthly invoice.

Essentially you can think of IPTV being the overall technology of "video over broadband", and VOD is just one part of this. Because VOD uses background "caching" it would only require a connection speed of around 512kbps, whereas true live streaming IPTV might need anywhere from 3-4Mbps upwards.

What would I need to be ready for IPTV and VOD?
As these services become available through internet providers here in Australia, you will need the following equipment and services:

• IPTV & VOD will require a broadband connection - dependant on speed of service will determine what services are available to you.
• A set top box (or some other device) that can be connected typically by cable or wirelessly to your broadband modem.
• IPTV/VOD service provided by your service provider.

A typical setup would include the following:

1. Set top box - to receive digital free to air and video content over your broadband connection.
2. Set top box built in hard drive - most premium set top boxes will contain hard drives, allowing you to store, pause, fast forward, fast rewind, slow forward, slow rewind, jump to previous/future frame etc and store video that you download to view through your TV or home theatre.
3. Electronic Program Guide (EPG) - allowing you to view and schedule recordings of your favourite programs.

Whilst waiting for IPTV/VOD some people may want to take the next step in technology by purchasing a media centre that supports broadband connectivity. This will allow you to store all your music and photos on the one machine as well. See the January edition of iiNews for more information on media centres.

How is this different to typical pay TV services?
In terms of how this will look for a customer, there isn't that much difference. Pay TV is a good base example of some of the services available. However, IPTV/VOD adds a new dimension to the service. It allows you to view movies when you want and not have to wait for the next screening time of the movie. You can search for a movie you want to view, select it, and then watch it anytime you want.

IPTV and VOD offers more choice (imagine a whole video library at your fingertips) and more ability to customise when you watch the programs you select.

It's the content you want, when you want it!

So what limits my choice of movies or programs?
VOD and IPTV is provided by movie studios to content partners through what's known as DRM licences. DRM stands for Digital Rights Management and essentially this means an agreement licence that allows a provider (like iiNet) to provide movie content from a particular studio (like Paramount or Fox Studios) to you. The selection of movies available to you will depend on the DRM licenses that your ISP holds.

Because of the high price of securing individual DRM licenses, many ISPs will end up using "content aggregators", that is, companies like Reeltime and Anytime that secure DRM licenses and pass through movie content to ISP's like ourselves. That way we can give our customers more choice of content at a lower cost and a wider selection to choose from.

Ok so now I want it, how long do I have to wait?
We can't yet provide a confirmed date, but you can be sure that as soon as we know, our customers will be the first to hear about it. We pride ourselves on providing innovative technologies and taking advantage of the high speed broadband services we offer, so IPTV/VOD is something we are very excited about.

In the meantime, see our competitions section for details on how you can win a Media Player from D-Link that can stream video, music and images from your home PC to your TV or home theatre.

Don't forget that if you want to comment about anything in this month's edition, you can do so via iinewsfeedback@iinet.net.au

competitions

media player giveaway
To whet your appetite while we all wait for Video on Demand to arrive, our wholesale provider Lan1 have kindly passed through to us 2 D-Link DSM-320 media players worth $450 each to give away to iiNews readers.

The DSM-320 unites your PC network with your home entertainment centre. Plug the player into your TV and you can start streaming audio, video and pictures from your home PC direct to your TV. The DSM-320 supports 802.11g wireless standards with transfer speeds up to 54Mbps, giving you maximum throughput for your digital media.

To be in the running to win one of these digital marvels, simply take a picture (under 1 MB) of the tangled mess of home theatre cords you have behind your home theatre system and send it to competitions with "D-Link Competition" in the subject line, and provide your username, full name, and address by 5pm WST, September 10, 2006.

The bigger the tangle, the better chance you have of winning. Winners will be announced in next month's iiNews.

lady in the water tickets giveaway
Acclaimed creep director M Night Shyamalan (Sixth Sense) returns this September with a watery tale of mythical creatures and storybook adventure in his new movie Lady in the Water.

When caretaker of a suburban apartment complex, Cleveland Heep (Paul Giamatti of Sideways fame), is saved from drowning by a mysterious woman (who incidentally turns out to be a mythical being called a "narf") he becomes obsessed with discovering the mystery behind her fate. The narf is stuck on earth, and Cleveland soon realises that he must face his own demons and that of another world to return her to her rightful place.

Lady in the Water is a casual side step from the usual Shyamalan fare as the emphasis here is more towards entertaining ( read: creeping out ) the kids rather than freaking out us adults.

To celebrate the release of the film on September 7, Roadshow Films have kindly provided us with 50 in-season double passes to the film to give away to our readers.

To be in the running for this prize, please email competitions with "Lady in the Water Competition" in the subject line, and provide your username, full name, and address by 5pm WST, September 1, 2006, along with the answer to this question: Name the three new broadband plan categories? ( hint: you'll find the answer in the general news section)

Winners with the correct answer will be drawn at random and prizes sent by mail.

ii games

2 minute review - Prey (Xbox 360)
With Niaal Holder

It'd take a fair bit of sass to prise Oblivion out of my 360 for anything these days, Mark telling me to review "something, anything, please just give me some content this month..." notwithstanding. But of my own accord, I decided to have a shufty at Prey , the latest First Person Shooter (FPS) for PC and 360.

Prey is essentially a conceptual bridging title from samey old FPS to the beauteous antics we can expect from the gaming gods in the coming months. And while it has the minerals to stand tall and proud, it's just slightly stuck in a limbo somewhere between 'meh dull' and 'holy fishpaste where is my mind'.

As Tommy, an American Indian stuck in a dead-end town, life is dull. You're bickering with grandad, your girlfriend doesn't understand you, and lets face it, you're just a big emo and nobody understands your unique pain. Which is all fine, until THE ROOF FLIES OFF AND ALIENS ARE HERE and we're all being yoinked skyward into a spacecraft. Suffice it to say, the game does a far better job of telling this story than I do.

Regardless, it's a quick transition and all becomes surreal in a heartbeat. You've been abducted by aliens bearing a striking resemblance to Halo and Doom nasties and they're armed with big guns. The confusion and brutality of what goes down with the abductees I'll leave for the game to articulate, rest assured it does set a healthy tone for panic and an overarching sense of leaping urgency.

Storyline aside... what makes Prey stand out?

Every new FPS needs something gimmicky if it wants to strut around all funky-like. And in a succulent forecast of things to come from titles such as Half Life ep2 , Prey really delivers: you will skip from foot to foot in sheer delight at the portal, gravity and displacement effects.

Portals are superb fun. They're 2D holes in space that tunnel into different areas, which are often flipped and inverted access points somewhere else in the same room. They look and act exactly as you would expect, though the gravity shift of a portal tilted 90 degrees on it's side as you drunkenly tip out sideways is extremely disorienting and enjoyable. Portals are sometimes disturbingly recursive - at some points, you can see yourself through the portal, looking into a portal at yourself, looking at yourself, ad infinitum. You can also shoot yourself in the bum.

Couple that with the gravity switches - blobs on the walls and ceiling you shoot to adjust the direction of the room's ambient gravity - and you can kiss your sense of direction goodbye. Walk up walls, turn ceilings into floors, and suddenly the map design becomes a crucial component in getting out of trouble.

The final dimension of cool lies in bodily displacement - you can 'spirit walk' outside of yourself to assist with normally unassailable obstacles, a detachment that often acts as a second set of hands to get the job done. So when the walls aren't walls, the ceiling can be the floor and you can be two places at once, expect disorientation, expect to love it hard.

All this adds up to a bit of a romp, something the 360 needs more of in these maiden days. It's worth a look, and a fine teaser for the bright future of FPS to come.

ii flicks

movie review - Thank You for Smoking - Rated M

Thank You for Smoking is a satirical take on the big business of selling tobacco. Nick Naylor (Aaron Eckhart) is a tobacco lobbyist and master of spin. He spends his days spinning good takes on bad tobacco stories and finding new ways to sell smoking to a global public more and more aware of their own mortality.

When he's not "dealing death", Nick meets with fellow members of the M.O.D. squad (Merchants of Death) comprised of Polly Bailey (representing the alcohol business) and Bobby Jay Bliss (firearms) and battles it out with senators, bribes studio execs and generally talks his way out of every nicotine stained situation he's faced with.

It's only when he returns home to his son that the smooth talking, quick thinking persona Nick has crafted begins to slip, and the true collateral damage of his occupation begins to dawn on him (albeit briefly).

It's really a healthy indictment of the industry that fiercely antagonistic films like Thank You for Smoking are still made. The film pokes fun at all recipients and participants of the Tobacco money train - from movie studios and corrupt senators, to the daredevil PR agents that keep the engines running. And while looking around me in the cinema I got the impression that most going to see this film will already be converts, it's great to see that thought provoking comedies still get released among the slush of romantic comedies that get pushed out year after year.

That said, my only criticism of Thank You for Smoking is that it can often be a little too transparent in delivering it's "anti-smoking" message. Don't get me wrong, I'm a convert already, but there are times in the film where the story takes a back seat, the speeches get longer and characters "tell" the audience more than they should. I like to be led along softly, and sometimes here the message hijacks the power of storytelling.

Aaron Ekhart ( Erin Brockovich, The Core ) manages to mix Naylor's super-human confidence with a splash of humanity through his conflicting and at times destructive relationship with his son. The supporting cast is a mixture of cameos everyone from Robert Duvall to Rob Lowe. I think that at times big actors as supporting characters can be a distraction - but here I think it's necessary to give more clout to the film. It's a sad reality, but seeing big names like Katie Holmes attached to such a film only adds to the anti-smoking message - just as a seeing Johnny Depp light up a smoke in Pirates might do the opposite.

Thank You for Smoking will give you something you don't get too much these days: a healthy dose of intelligent laughter - the kind where you suddenly stop midway as you realise that what seems so ludicrous is probably not too far away.