UL ITD - yay or nay?

Rozie

Personally I think they do a bang up job, if frequent down time, proxy server troubles and general lax service is your cup of tea.

Right now, something's up with the proxy server so I can't log on to MSN(or Web messenger) and it's pissing me off no end.
They do so many stupid things it's unbelievable. The mess with Mac addresses earlier the year in student villiages, student email, and how incredibly slow the Vax labs computers are.

I mean, if you don't have money to upgrade, DON'T fill the CPU time to the brim with useless **** running in the background. They're about 3 times as slow as when I first got here.

I know it's great cheap internet access and all, but for a college, it does kind of suck.

rmacm

Never really had any problems with ITD. I'd agree alright that the machines in the VAX and the older ones in the library are pretty slow especially with all the stuff that fires up when you log on to them....although that Sharepoint stuff is pretty cool. Why don't you just use the machines in CSIS well aside from when its not open that is. Anyway I'm kind've tired now and don't really want to rant on anymore....later.

Cheers
Rory

Rozie

I do things from my own computer as much as possible, and I use the colorprinter in venus labs reasonably often. If there was one in the CSIS that would make my life a little easier.

cornbb

Being a postgrad in CSIS with Mac G5s, a free printer and a healthy contempt for student email means I've never had nuthin to do with ITD this year yet. Praise ye gods

Rozie

Damn this is annoying. I'm meant to do my study this week but it's so slow it just gets too frustrating to use the internet to look anything up. I find it hard to study anywhere but at home but I guess I'll have to try the CSIS.

kodute

Rozie wrote:

something's up with the proxy server so I can't log on to MSN

Have you tried entering the proxy information into MSN messenger? Works for me from anywhere in college.

Rozie wrote:

The mess with Mac addresses earlier the year in student villiages

The "mess" with the mac addresses was to accommodate students who wanted more freedom with their internet connections i.e. to play online games and such.

Rozie wrote:

and how incredibly slow the Vax labs computers are.
I mean, if you don't have money to upgrade, DON'T fill the CPU time to the brim with useless **** running in the background.

They're about 3 times as slow as when I first got here.

The software you are referring to, and the updates involved, are installed as requested by students and lecturers. ITD would not install random pieces of software for the hell of it.

And the CPU time is actually filled by Micro$oft and their useless services running on most windows machines.

Rozie wrote:

I know it's great cheap internet access and all, but for a college, it does kind of suck.

What is the internet service like in other colleges? Have you tried it out? The UL ITD is the first college IT department in the country to be awarded the ISO Quality Management and those awards aren't handed out like Christian pamphlets.

Oh and the email system did kinda suck but it was opened up at the request of the class reps council so that they may send emails easily to their respective years. This hole was abused by students sending spam. The system in operation in NUIG is similar but tightly controlled and only admins and lecturers have the ability to send to groups.

Mr. CooL ICE

Well said!

keevita

kodute wrote:

What is the internet service like in other colleges? Have you tried it out? The UL ITD is the first college IT department in the country to be awarded the ISO Quality Management and those awards aren't handed out like Christian pamphlets.

.

my dad was involved in that i think, remember him talking about it. so we're the first in the country. *slaps UL ITD on the back. (metaphorically)*

Peteee

keevita wrote:

my dad was involved in that i think, remember him talking about it. so we're the first in the country. *slaps UL ITD on the back. (metaphorically)*

Favouritism!!

And Rozie, I'm fairly sure you have to enter the proxy information for the MSN to work. If you have MSN 7.5 or later it has a nice little set up thingy that tests your connection and says can you connect, and if not why not.

Apart from that I find ITD to do a grand job, Although I rarely use thier internet. And a spam filter might be nice too!

kodute

Keevita, your dad works in ITD? he isn't my boss by any chance?? :eek:

Peteee

kodute wrote:

Keevita, your dad works in ITD? he isn't my boss by any chance?? :eek:

That would be a bit weird!

But I think she meant that her dad worked for the people who handed out the award, the ISO blah blah people who hand out quality awards to colleges with good internet! :v:

kodute

Ah thats even better! i avoided my office for two days while her dad was around judging us! :v:

Rozie

Well, as far as I remember, in first year, the ITD were excellent. It's only the end of second year(relative to me of course) and this year that they've mightily sucked.

And you can play online games now..? What kind of ones? City of Heroes?
I could alwyas get Maple Story, Rose Online, Worms Armageddon to work; just download Sockscap.

Anyway, the internet seems to be working now so I can finally study properly.

rhurja

Rozie wrote:

Well, as far as I remember, in first year, the ITD were excellent. It's only the end of second year(relative to me of course) and this year that they've mightily sucked.

Explain.

keevita

kodute wrote:

Ah thats even better! i avoided my office for two days while her dad was around judging us! :v:

no my dad works in ITD. he was the one organising making things better for the award dude. as u can guess i didnt pay much attention to what was going on at the time, just remember a few dinner table conversations. so maybe he is ur boss.

Peteee

Peteee wrote:

That would be a bit weird!

But I think she meant that her dad worked for the people who handed out the award, the ISO blah blah people who hand out quality awards to colleges with good internet! :v:

Ignore this post then!!! :v:

Rozie

rhurja wrote:

Explain.

When my friend was in Kilmurry in first year he said that it was way more reliable and fast than the connection I had in second year.

Plus the computers in the labs were way faster becuase they didn't have all that software loaded on them.

Mr. CooL ICE

Rozie wrote:

When my friend was in Kilmurry in first year he said that it was way more reliable and fast than the connection I had in second year.

So you are going by a rough description of what your 'friend' said to go to a public forum online and criticise your colleges IT department? That is possibly the worst 'evidence' that the ITD suck that you could have used. Are you going to admit that everything you've said in this thread is a load of bollox?

Sorry, I don't want this thread locked prematurely (like every thread Rozie has been heavily involved in so far), because all I want from Rozie is a) a proper explanation with a proper argument or b) for him to admit that he is talking sh1te.

Rozie wrote:

Plus the computers in the labs were way faster becuase they didn't have all that software loaded on them.

As said before, the ITD didn't install this software for the laugh, they did it at the request of students and lecturers. In essence, they did what they were told. Care to offer an explanation as to why the ITD were wrong to do this?

IceHawk

To be fair, I haven't been around the college a huge amount this semester, but whenever I have, I've had to use the fishtank or the Venus labs and they are ridiculously slow. One time I had half an hour to spare so I went to the Venus labs to check my email. I had to leave again before Outlook 2003 got running. I understand why the 24 hour labs have the oldest computers, but it must be possible to avoid installing demanding applications on computers that can't handle them.
Anyway, it won't bother me for long; next semester I'll be in brookfield, with my own broadband connection and my own PC.

Rozie

LordChessington wrote:

So you are going by a rough description of what your 'friend' said to go to a public forum online and criticise your colleges IT department? That is possibly the worst 'evidence' that the ITD suck that you could have used. Are you going to admit that everything you've said in this thread is a load of bollox?

Sorry, I don't want this thread locked prematurely (like every thread Rozie has been heavily involved in so far), because all I want from Rozie is a) a proper explanation with a proper argument or b) for him to admit that he is talking sh1te.


As said before, the ITD didn't install this software for the laugh, they did it at the request of students and lecturers. In essence, they did what they were told. Care to offer an explanation as to why the ITD were wrong to do this?

Well, yeah. If the computers couldn't handle them, they shouldn't have been installed.

Nukem

We are supposed to be getting some kick ass computers in AMO in the next month - be a nice change. Computers there are just wrecked from all the use and they are faster than most in the college. Hope someone had a word to IT about a decent package (GFx and maybe Xeon CPU's............oh talk dirty to me:v:)

kaimera

you flilthy engi!

/aweh with yore smut talk! :v:

Rozie

Aaargh it's gone again today. I've never seen it this slow. This is the worst time for it to **** up I use the internet for study and it takes ages to look stuff up like this. I don't know why you all love the ITD so much I'm getting sick of it.

kaimera

I'm impartial tbqh. *shrug*

/me strokes digiwebs metro

rmacm

Rozie wrote:

I don't know why you all love the ITD so much I'm getting sick of it.

Don't think anyone has ever expressed an outright love for ITD

They're doing their job. In fairness to them the software on the machines in the VAX/Venus labs is there at the request of lecturers etc. ITD have to work within a budget just like the rest of the college so they obviously can't afford to keep machines at a decent spec all the time. I think the maintenance of the ITD network is contracted out to a company aswell can't remember their name though (someone in ITD correct me if I'm wrong). Anyway its the weekend and as far as I know ITD are committed to providing a 98-99% service level durning the week which is good enough for me anyway.

Cheers
Rory

Nukem

Was in Brian Sextons office recently getting a program and it like aladdins cave - cables,cds,parts,lappies, and a feck load of servers and pc's all shapes and sizes. Real nice guy too - very easy to talk too.

Have to say the amount of silly programs on logon and on start up are very weird? But suppose they have there reasons. think all the computers in AMO should be led down to the river and just lightly pushed in:v:

Engi?........... f00kin lovin it:v:

Rozie

It's still impossibly slow today. I didn't get any study done yesterday as I do it all from looking at exam papers and searching for answers. It just got too unbelievably frustrating.

This is the worst time for this to happen as plenty of people iwll be up studying for the exams. This is a complete disaster for anyone like me who studies online rather than from the books. I had enough counting against me already.

Peteee

Rozie wrote:

It's still impossibly slow today. I didn't get any study done yesterday as I do it all from looking at exam papers and searching for answers. It just got too unbelievably frustrating.

This is the worst time for this to happen as plenty of people iwll be up studying for the exams. This is a complete disaster for anyone like me who studies online rather than from the books. I had enough counting against me already.

Library?

kaimera

Rozie wrote:

I had enough counting against me already.

it's not like ITD are deliberately deteriorating the quality of the web to get you Rozie.

I'd say the library might not be a great bet myself...specially over exam time Pete.

Rozie

Well they really should have had people on the weekend before the exams...

Peteee

kaimera wrote:

it's not like ITD are deliberately deteriorating the quality of the web to get you Rozie.

I'd say the library might not be a great bet myself...specially over exam time Pete.

Ah maybe not. Too many hot women!

kaimera

yes, thats clearly what I meant..:rolleyes:

kodute

Peteee wrote:

Ah maybe not. Too many hot women!

Its good anytime of the year...but around exam time, i just dont know what it is, they all seem to blossom!:v:

Mr. CooL ICE

Its like someone threw organic fertiliser on them and exposed them to direct sunlight for 12 hours a day over the christmas holidays. And watered them in the evening.