[Greennet-l] GreenNet Newsletter: Autumn 2001

Mon Oct 1 17:03:35 BST 2001

GN Action For Peace 
Following the devastating events of September 11th, we have created a
web space that points towards resources we know of: petitions,
Indymedia's events listing etc. that can help you get involved in
calling for peace not war. There is space for people to add/upload
their own statements, thoughts and ideas, quickly and easily. Please
feel free to add to this and help us to keep people informed of the
positive efforts that are happening throughout the UK (and worldwide)
and redress the popular media's coverage of events. 

GN Internet Rights (IR) News Monitor. 
Also, in response to September 11th events, as part of our Internet
Rights work (alongside the APC), we have created an online resource
to monitor the impact of events on regulation and legislation -
particularly the amendments we're seeing to the Terrorism act,
encryption law, interception and surveillance powers - impacts to
fundamental human rights. Again, please add to this. 

GN Services
Web Services 
Developed by NGOs for NGOs, the APC have developed ‘Action Apps’.
ActionApps can provide a low cost solution that increases the
functionality of not-for-profit websites and facilitates the creation
of portal sites, improving the visibility of civil society
information. GreenNet can customise Action Apps for your site. Action
Apps are: 
Fast & Easy - simple, forms-based interfaces for online publishing
and information management - items online in minutes by just filling
in a form. 
Flexible - an automatic and seamless way to share information between
non-profit Websites with similar focuses. Automate all kinds of
content news, events, action alerts, member lists, and more; 
Collaborative - Unique Content Pooling features help NGOs work
together, share ideas and build interactive communities to save time
and build an audience. 
*** FIND OUT MORE: Free workshops for GN members: Oct 8th - 12th.***
GreenNet is organising a week of evening workshops demonstrating
‘Action Apps’. at our offices, Angel, Islington. Workshops are free
of charge, starting at 18.30 - 20.00. Call Joanne 0845 0554011 to
book your place. 
Consultancy services. 
If you are involved in IT projects with your own consultants, please
check if GreenNet could be of assistance too. We can offer a whole
range of bespoke services as well as our usual range of products. In
the past users considered leaving, only to find that we could supply
exactly what they wanted at a cheaper price that our competitors. 

GN Support News

Which Modem? 56K is the maximum modem speed on the market. For those
who are not already using a 56k modem, you can upgrade for as little
as £20. Other speeds are simply too slow. When you are choosing a 56k
modem, make sure it complies to the V.90 standard. There is a new
V.92 standard which is not yet widely supported but will work with
GreenNet and other ISP's. It is always a good idea to buy a reputable

brand like US Robotics or diamond which have good web, email and
phone support. 

Which Operating System?
Microsoft has discontinued support for Windows 3.1 and will
discontinue support for windows 95 in the near future. What does this
mean for end users and what is the best operating system? Anyone that
used windows 3.1 should really upgrade. By today's standards it is
very antiquated. Software isn't produced for 3.1 anylonger and
support materials are getting harder to find. Windows 95 is still
perfectly adequate. It has all of the functionality that you need and
can run even the newest software, although very new programs might
run a little slowly. You might have problems obtaining drivers for
Windows 95 in the future. It has few built-in multimedia
enhancements. Windows 98 and especially Windows 98 second edition, we
think are the best operating systems for home users. They are
universally supported by hardware and software vendors alike and it
will take some time before they are superceded as the operating
system of choice. Windows ME (Millennium Edition), in our opinion,
was a completely unnecessary addtion to the Windows suite. However,
if you have it on a new PC, it's fine. We do not recommend Windows
2000 for home or small office use. Although it is a very stable
system, in our experience, users find the new style interface awkward
and it is definitely less easy to configure and may have driver
issues or software incompatibility problems. Windows XP is the next
version due out in October and reports suggest it has an entirely
different look and feel to it as well as a very complicated
registration procedure! 

Which Antivirus software? 
GreenNet has found some free antivirus software that you may find
useful. AVG antivirus is available from http://www.grisoft.com and is
free for domestic use. The software comes with a free update service
to protect you from new viruses as they come out. We cannot reinforce
enough the importance of installing virus software, keeping it up to
date. Please note that any support issues relating to installing and
using this product should be directed to the manufacturer and not to
GreenNet. 

GN Training Update
Web Design - Intensive 2 day courses by the end of which you will
understand how to design and promote your site 
*Using HTML Next training: 13th and 14th October 
*Using Dreamweaver Next training: 27th and 28th October 
***new*** Advanced web training modules: Following on from what you
have expressed interest in, we are offering short advanced web
modules including: 
What are Cascading Style Sheets (CSS)? (using CSS can save you time
and give you more control over how your pages look) 1 day course 
What is JavaScript? (a language that helps create interactive
web-pages.) 
What are frames? (present information in a more flexible way.) 
Each of these modules are 3 hours.
Other trainings at GreenNets:
Pretty Good Privacy (PGP). Learn how to encrypt to secure on-line
privacy. Trainings are the second Tuesday of every month, from 18.30
- - 21.00. 
Email and Internet. This course runs on the first Tuesday of every
month at 18.30.

Click here for further details of all trainings, course outlines,
costs and how to book. 

Events 
Thanks to Energy 21 for allowing us to exhibit at the Energy 21 Fair
in Gloucestershire and also to team at the 'Creative and Connected''
conference at the University of Teeside, Middlesborough. Karen held a
workshop there, showing local community groups how to use action apps
to share content and easily update their sites.
If you would like GreenNet to attend an event you are organising,
please contact Joanne 
You can also post details of your events at the GreenNet calendar

GN anniversary 
GreenNet is celebrating its 15th anniversary on the 2nd of November
this year. We are putting together a chronology of our past 15 years.
If you would like to add thoughts, comments about your time as a
GreenNet member, please email joanne at gn.apc.org.

GN Project News 
GET IT Centre update: The women's training project continues to gain
momentum. Trainees range from young mums to retired women in their
seventies.The training is proving to be very popular - courses for
September were fully booked, and we have a waiting list for October.
Next steps: we aim to introduce interactive feedback facilities for
ex-trainees, to build a real training community.

Changes at the GreenNet office 
Welcome to Sabine who is volunteering at GreenNet for 2 months from
Hannover, Germany. 

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