I.T. Times
Volume 4. No 3 Information Technology News of the University of California, Davis November 1995

Inside IT

November 1995


I.T. Upgrades Campus Computer Labs

The Media Production Lab in Meyer Hall was renovated this summer and reopened at the beginning of Fall Quarter with a new look and new equipment. Improvements include more functional workstations and new Apple PowerMac 7100 and Digital Pentiums complete with large 17-inch monitors. Many peripherals including flatbed scanners, magneto-optical drives, and a CD-ROM recorder have been added or will be shortly.

The Media Production Lab is located in 1154 Meyer Hall. Hours are Monday - Friday 8 a.m. to midnight; Saturday, noon - 6 p.m., and Sunday, noon to midnight. For further information about the Media Production Lab call 752-5215.

The computer labs in 307 Surge IV and 247 Olson also were upgraded and now have Apple Powerbooks (550c models). The lab in 1131 Meyer was upgraded to Digital Venturis FP575. To reserve labs for classroom use send e-mail to lab-reserve@ucdavis.edu.

Further information on these labs and other computing labs, is available on the World Wide Web at http://lm.ucdavis.edu/


Streamlining Electronic Mail Delivery

Those who check "envelope information" on electronic mail messages, will notice a subtle change this winter. That is, return addresses on all e-mail generated on campus will bear the same mailid format - first initial, middle initial, last name@ucdavis.edu.

Return addresses of those sending mail from a Unix host (e.g. Pine) now are displayed in the loginid format - loginid@host.ucdavis.edu. After the new year, even those sending mail from a Unix host have their return address posted in the mailid format (e.g. jasmith@ucdavis.edu). The return address translation is being added to the campus e-mail system to provide a more efficient delivery system that will be implemented in January 1996. After the new year, mail addressed in either format - loginid or mailid - will be delivered to the same location. Furthermore, mail addressed with either the mail name or login@ucdavis.edu name will be delivered.

If you have questions about the new e-mail delivery system, please contact Dave Zavatson at 752-7758 or dhzavatson@ucdavis.edu. If you do not have a mailid, you can request one by sending e-mail to postmaster@ucdavis.edu.


Using Telephone Skills to Provide Good Service

Marsha Readdick's job is to help the campus get the most out of its telephone system. As one of Communications Resources' three customer service representatives, Readdick handles telephone and voice mail needs for campus departments, helping them with such tasks as planning office moves, configuring multiline telephones, and setting up automated attendants - systems that answer callers' questions automatically or route them to the appropriate staff person.

She has another specialty as well - teaching telephone skills.

"Departments wanted to know if we taught telephone etiquette, so I developed a course that focuses on providing the best service you can on the telephone," says Readdick. "We do role-playing and present a list of dos and don'ts." The course is offered once a year through Staff Development and by special arrangement to individual departments.

To keep up with her many responsibilities , Readdick says she turns to technology. Recently she set up a listserv for Area Telephone Representatives (ATR), which enables Communications Resources to use e-mail to communicate directly with all ATRs across campus. The next step she says, will be to put the ATR manual and forms online, so that departments can make changes in telephone and voice mail service electronically.


E-mail Address Formats

Electronic mail addresses follow two different formats - the mailid format and the loginid format - both of which are illustrated here.

Mailid

This address uses the individual's mail name and domain. It is traditionally written in the format first initial, middle initial, last name and domain. The mailid does not change. If the addressee moves from department to department, the mailid moves, too, unchanged.

Example: jasmith@ucdavis.edu

Loginid

Your loginid is what you type at the login prompt when you login to the campus computing system. As the name implies, this address uses the login name, the name of the system from which the mail is being sent, and the domain.

Example: fzsmith@peseta.ucdavis.edu

ietpubs@ucdavis.edu