iiNet Managing Director Michael Malone Message from the Managing Director Welcome to the November 2003 edition of iiNews. One of the enduring traits of iiNet members over the years has been your willingness to tell us what you think of the job we do. It is this feedback, which helps us to ensure that improvements to our existing range of products and services are relevant and reflective of things you have asked for! As a medium, the Internet lends itself particularly well to effective and ongoing two-way communication with customers, because it is instantaneous and widely accessible. In short, we are grateful for your feedback because it helps us know when we're on the right track, what we should do more of, and what we could do differently.

Message from the MD News Corner Customer profile Inside the Contact Center Inside the staff room bliinky's game tips Competitions Site scan

Online discussion forums are an excellent way of talking to other current or potential iiNet members and iiNet members of staff. I have learned that asking other members for the benefit of their 'online' experience can also be a quick and effective way of finding the answer to a problem you might be experiencing, or even just to find out if that problem is affecting everyone else as well! Email discussion lists and USENet have been around since the seventies and remain very popular. iiNet has a number of local discussion groups available to members on USENet, including the more popular iinet.games and iinet.general. In recent years, web forums have also become very popular, largely because they are so easily accessible. Whirlpool is one such forum, where iiNet's broadband products are frequently discussed by other users. If you'd like to have your say, or simply read what other people are saying you can join the madness by visiting: http://forums.whirlpool.net.au/forum-threads.cfm?f=72 And for those of you interested in seeing what goes on behind the scenes at iiNet on a day-to-day basis, why not come along to Open Day and have a look for yourself! On Friday November 28 we will be opening our front doors to the public between the hours of 12 - 8pm. For more information visit: http://www.iinet.net.au/news/openday2003.html

Sony Launches PS®2 Network Gaming Sony Computer Entertainment Australia (SCE Aust.) has announced the official launch of PlayStation®2 Network Entertainment, meaning Australians are now able to take their PlayStation®2 online. To play online requires the purchase of the new PlayStation®2 Network Adaptor pack, which contains the PlayStation®2 Ethernet card, an instructional video and the Network Access Disc (NAD). The disc provides all the information needed to get gamers online, including user-friendly connection set-up for seven of the major Australian ISPs (which will include iiNet in the 2nd release of the disk in February 2004). "PlayStation®2 has just entered a revolutionary era, enabling players to gather online and go head-to-head, or combine forces in a true real-time experience," said Michael Ephraim, Vice President of SCE Europe and Managing Director of SCE Aust/NZ. "It also offers the broader audience a compelling reason to consider connecting to broadband in the home. PlayStation®2 is the first mass market device outside of the PC that takes full advantage of broadband capabilities and so represents a real paradigm shift in the home to take broadband into the lounge room." Don't forget to check out the Sony online gaming pages, which you'll find on iiNet's website at: http://sony.iinet.net.au Back to TOP

Beware of the Nachi Virus This month the Customer Service Centre received quite a few calls about the new "Nachi" virus, which infects computers through port 135 and email services. This virus is a nasty piece of work, as once it has infected a computer, the computer itself then looks for other computers to infect, which causes a significant load on iiNet's core infrastructure. We are currently trying to stop the spread of the virus using the following measures: Our systems search for clients infected with Nachi, who once identified are disconnected from the Internet. An email is then sent to the user explaining the reason for the disconnection, and asks them to download the virus removal tool by visiting the Symantec website here Only after they have done this will we reconnect them and they will have to contact support to have the blocks on their ping packets and port 135 removed. We are hoping to limit the spread of the virus quickly so that the impact on customers is minimal! If you have any questions regarding this virus simply email: support@iinet.net.au Back to TOP

iiNet staff granting wishes The iiNet staff team is hard at work attempting to raise the $4000 required to make five-year-old Jessica's Starlight Foundation wish come true. Jessica, Hi-5's biggest fan, has been diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia and she wishes for a holiday with her family on the Gold Coast and the opportunity to visit a special friend who lives nearby. A limited number of iiNet t-shirts have been made available to customers at a cost of $15, with proceeds going towards granting Jessica's wish. To view the t-shirt click: here or for more information regarding availability email: pinai@iinet.net.au bliink gets even better iiNet is proud to announce improvements to the award winning range of bliink flat-rate broadband products, which are now even better thanks to the increased traffic allocations implemented on October 22. The quota allocation for most of the bliink range (including the bliink 512) has been substantially increased, without there being any change to existing prices. "iiNet has aimed to deliver the best value plans possible in the market, on an ongoing basis," said Managing Director Michael Malone. "We've not only been able to maintain attractive price points, but also continue to improve our plans as we achieve the benefits of scale." ADSL is a type of broadband, which is delivered over your normal telephone line. It is available in most parts of Australia and can deliver connection to the Internet at speeds up to thirty times faster than dialup Internet access. The bliink 512k was named the "Best All Round" broadband account in July 2003, by ACP Magazine. Since then, the value of the plan has effectively doubled, along with iiNet's 256k plans and 1.5M high speed plan which also boast significant increases. Also recently released are two new ADSL plans, known as the 512k lite and the 1500 lite. "The lite plans feature a low entry level price, and have been designed especially for people with low to average Internet usage," said Mr Malone. "If you mainly use the Internet to surf the web, email and online gaming, then the lite plans should be perfect for you." More information on iiNet's range of broadband home products and services can be found by visiting: http://www.iinet.net.au/products/home/bliink/ iiNet celebrates 30,000 ADSL accounts Tuesday October 21 saw iiNet celebrate achieving 30,000 active ADSL accounts! Reaching this significant milestone positions us as the number 2 provider of DSL services in Australia. Thank you to all of our broadband subscribers for your loyalty and support!

iiNet 2003 Annual Open Day We are throwing open our doors to celebrate iiNet's annual Open Day, which is being held on Friday November 28 at our head office in the Durack Centre, 263 Adelaide Terrace, Perth. You will need to go to the sign-in desk on the ground floor which will be attended by iiNet staff. Open Day offers customers and members of the general public, the rare opportunity to take a peek behind the scenes of Australia's fifth largest Internet Service Provider, iiNet. There will be heaps of things to see and do on the day including: staff guided tours of iiNet's Customer Service Centre, our new and recently opened Network Operations Centre, and a range of free all-age seminars on a number of Internet-related topics. The details of the seminars are as follows: 12.30pm: My Internet is Broken (ADSL) Marc Seegers Master Customer Consultant and Jason Backshall Senior Customer Consultant 1.30pm: Broadband versus Dial Up Steve Harley National Product Manager 1.30pm: Online Gaming Kym Yeap - System Developer Nathan Thomas - Senior Customer consultant 2.30pm: iiNet's National Network Roger Yerramsetti Network Manager 2.30pm: Reliable Email Ben Turner Network Services Manager 3.30pm: My Internet is Broken - Dial Up Nathan Gilders Master Customer Consultant assisted by Ian Hooper (Senior Customer Consultant) 3.30pm: Alternatives to ADSL Luke Futter Wholesale and Senior Project Manager, ihug 4.30pm: What's Ahead? Greg Bader Chief Technology Officer 5.30pm: Why am I on hold? Helen Campbell - General Manager Customer Service and Kelly Roberts - Weekday CC Manager 5.30pm: Online Gaming Kym Yeap - System Developer Nathan Thomas - Senior Customer consultant 6.30pm: The iiNet Story - A Panel Discussion Panellists: Greg Bader, Mark Haselden, Jason Backshall, Danika Mullins & Paul McClumpha iiNet's 2003 Open Day will run from 12 noon to 8pm on Friday November 28 , with lots of prizes (including a major door prize) being drawn throughout the day! To find out more about the seminars on offer and the staff presenting or to sign up for a seminar please click here 2003 Broadband Survey on Whirlpool Whirlpool's Australian Broadband Survey 2003 is the first comprehensive survey run by users, for users. It's designed to give the ordinary consumer a voice about how they feel about their broadband provider and the state of broadband in Australia generally. The survey is now closed and we will let you know when the results are available.

This month's gaming tips go out to fans of Neversoft's smash-hit game - Tony Hawk Pro Skater 4. The Zoo: To get into the closed aquarium at the zoo, go up to the roof of the round building and drop onto the elephants head. Watch as the elephant starts running and it will smash through the aquarium. Big Combos: To rack up big combo scores, do an air trick then hit revert when you land, go straight into a manual and then grind or do another air…Keep this going for as long as you can for big multipliers. San Francisco Ride past Pier 18 and do down the docks and stairs. You will come to 2 telescopes. Skate towards the one on the left and stop next to it. Look through the view finder and quickly tap x to help the seals swim away. Elephant Rock If you are having trouble getting enough speed to air over Elephant Rock, just grab the tail of the elephant that's walking around. When you've got enough speed, drop the tail and go for it. College In the College level, when you have to knock over the football players, use a manual instead of trying to grind the rails. You should find this a lot easier. Back to TOP Tip of the Month If you have an error on your computer, please ensure you have a full copy of the Error Report message before contacting iiNet support.

To enter iiNet's October competitions simply email: competitions@iinet.net.au and write the name of the movie you wish to win tickets to see in the subject line, and answer this question: How much money is iiNet Raising for the Starlight Foundation? For competition Terms and Conditions click: http://www.iinet.net.au/competition/comptandc.html If you like scary movies then you won't want to miss this! A reinterpretation of the 1974 movie, Texas Chainsaw Massacre has been labelled as the scariest movie of 2003. It is a story about 5 college friends on a Texas road trip, and the horror that follows them after the female hitchhiker they pick up commits suicide in their van. When they try to find help in a desolate farmhouse they meet Leatherface, a homicidal maniac who, along with his crazy family, tries to murder them all with his chainsaw. Thanks to Village Roadshow and our friends at Buzz Marketing, we are giving 50 lucky people the chance to win a double pass each to see this new fright flick. Thanks to our friends at Cinema Paradiso we are giving away five double passes to The Spanish Apartment (L'auberge Espagnole), a breezy French comedy for anyone who loves travelling. The movie follows the life of Xavier, a young French economics student getting his first taste of Europe, as he moves into an apartment in Barcelona with a group of other European students, and the adventures and budding romances that ensue. Please note: Cinema Paradiso is located in Western Australia. Lost in Translation is the new film from Sophia Coppola and starts on Boxing Day 2003. Thanks to our friends at Luna Cinemas we have five double passes to give away. This is the story of two Americans, a washed-up TV star (Bill Murray) in town for a TV whiskey commercial shoot, and the (very) young wife (Scarlett Johansson) of a photographer. The two meet in Tokyo, Japan and end up spending a weekend hanging out there together on a soul-searching mission. Please note: Luna Palace is in Western Australia. Back to TOP