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Tech
Terms: Do You Know What They Mean?
By
Annie Yu
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Within
the CityU community, we often come across some common
computer terms in our daily work; sometimes we just
don't have a clue what they mean or how important
they are in the community. This is very much reflected
in the type of calls placed through the CSC Help Desk.
Quite often novice users simply are not familiar with
the technical jargons or the names of computer tools
or systems that are available to them on the campus
network. In view of this, starting this issue, we
shall provide definitions for those terms that have
been raised from time to time during consultation
with the CSC Help Desk.
| Application
password |
This
password is for access to ALL centrally provided
services, for example,
- e-Portal
- Email
- WebCT
- Express
Terminal
- Sports
Facilities Booking & Information System
- Student
Dial-up Budget Enquiry
- CSC
Student Computer Literacy enrolment
- SDS
Counselling Services Booking
- SDS
Venue & Equipment Booking
- Reading
protected Web pages for staff/student
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| Network
Connection password |
This
password is for access to ALL network services,
for example,
- Staff
LAN
- Student
LAN
- Wireless
LAN
- Virtual
Private Network (VPN)
- Dial-up
(CityLink Plus)
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| DNA |
DNA
stands for Departmental Network Administrator.
In March 2002, each department office was required
to designate a staff member to be the Network
Administrator (NA), who acts as the departmental
representative to serve as a single point of
contact on matters related to campus network
and networked computers, and, more importantly,
to take charge of the related responsibilities,
including:
- Taking
care of network and computing resource matters,
such as
- addition
and deletion of network points,
- registration
and deregistration of network connection(network
IP address) of machines,
- acquisition
and installation of computers and software,
- opening
computer accounts for new or visiting
staff,
- looking
after network upgrade, changes and interruption;
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In charge of daily network administrative
matters, e.g. management of departmental accounts
for broadcast e-mail, posting of network messages,
handling e-mail related problems, internal
and external complaints/enquires etc.;
- Handling
of network security matters, software licence
matters etc.;
- Acting
as a coordinator during emergency situations,
e.g. virus attack, hacking etc.
A
list of DNAs has been put up on the CSC home
page (http://www.cityu.edu.hk/csc)
under "Help & Support" and IT@CityU
home page (http://www.cityu.edu.hk/itatcityu)
under "People & Organization"
for your reference.
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| Electronic
ID |
It
is created for you to communicate electronically
on campus and at home. To access all the services
under the CityU e-Portal including email, you
need the Electronic ID.
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| e-Portal |
Since
its launch in August 2002, the CityU e-Portal
has become the gateway for the University's
computing facilities and services and it is
now the major communication channel between
students and staff and the University. The aim
is to make the portal both essential and interesting
for students such that they will use it for
information about their education, programme
and courses, educational and social activities
inside and outside the classroom, and career
planning. For staff, this is where they can
get University's internal announcement and access
to personal information and other online services.
The
e-Portal provides users with personalized Web
interface to the University's communications
and rich electronic resources, benefits include:
- single
sign-on to various software platforms used
in the University,
- delivery
of role-based targeted messaging, and
- one-touch
e-mail link for connection to personal e-mail
box in CityU.
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| MAC
Address |
If
you're asked for the MAC or Ethernet address
of your PC, the answer is a set of numbers that
look something like 00 00 39 72 2C D8. The MAC
address is actually the unique serial number
of Ethernet card, required for connecting your
PC to the network. To find out network information
of your PC and learn more, please visit http://www.cityu.edu.hk/csc/deptweb/facilities/ctnet/wlan/machelp.htm
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| Work
Desk |
Every
time you boot up your office PC, you will see
the Work Desk icon
on the desktop. The idea is to provide instant
access to your desired computer software and
services at your fingertips.

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| MCS
(Mobile Computer Service) |
As
its name implies, it is a loan service that
offers PC notebooks and wireless network cards
for use by all staff and students on the main
campus. For details about the loan period, rules
and regulations etc., check out the MCS Web
site at http://www.cityu.edu.hk/csc/deptweb/services/mcs.htm
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| WebMail |
If
you're neither at home nor in the office and
you wish to read your email, what should you
do? The answer is to find a computer with internet
access and even though it does not have Eudora,
you can still read and send email using CityU
WebMail. Every staff and student at CityU can
access WebMail. Simply bring up the CityU Email
Services page (http://email.cityu.edu.hk),
and click on the WebMail button to log on. The
logon page also contains links to HELP information
about the CityU WebMail.
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| Address
Book |
The
electronic address book is where you store frequently
used email addresses. It can be accessed through
Eudora, WebMail and Outlook Express. Furthermore,
you can use it to build mailing lists for sending
email to a group of recipients. The information
on "Using
Address and Mailing List" in Eudora
5 is for your reference.
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