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Table Of Contents
 
Holidays Closed on Re-open on
Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Establishment Day July 1, 2000
(Saturday) 8:30 a.m.		 July 3, 2000
(Monday) 8:30 a.m.

The HKU Digital Certificate (HKU-Cert) and Applications

The Computer Centre is going to set up the HKU Certification Authority (CA) in September 2000, after the beta testing period which has started since April 2000.  The HKU CA will issue digital certificates (HKU-Cert) and the corresponding private keys to University staff and students.  The HKU-Cert will be used in HKU Electronic Service Delivery (ESD) applications which use digital signatures, and in e-mail programs which support the use of digital signatures and encryption of e-mail messages.

The HKU CA is built on Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) technologies.  Click here for a brief description of the basic mechanism of the PKI technologies.

How to Get a HKU-Cert in September 2000

HKU-Cert Issuance Stations will be set up in the Computer Centre.

A HKU staff or student must apply for the HKU-Cert in person.  He has to sign the HKU-Cert Subscriber Agreement that he, as a HKU-Cert subscriber, will take good care of the private key issued to him.  The private key will be written on the spot on his HKU Staff or Student Smart Card and on a business-card-size CD-R (read-only CD) to be given to him.  Access to the private key on the HKU Smart Card or CD-R will be protected by a password chosen by and known to the subscriber only.

HKU staff and students can use their private keys to sign in the HKU ESD applications.  Signing using the private key stored on a HKU Smart Card is done at specific PCs installed with smart card readers.  This provides the best security.  For convenience, some applications accept signing using private key stored on a CD-R so that the user can sign at any PC with a CD reader, say, at the office, in the computer laboratories, in residential halls or from home.

HKU staff and students can also import their private keys and other people's digital certificates (e.g. HKU-Cert, HK Post e-Cert) to e-mail programs which support digital signature and encryption.

Coming HKU ESD Applications

The use of electronic signatures will speed up the work flow from an end-user filling in a web-based form to the final completion of the process.  This will eliminate the requirement of written signatures and handling of paper forms, and increase the productivity of all the parties involved.

The following  ESD applications relating to Computer Centre's service will be rolled out initially:

We are also working with the administrative offices to develop other ESD applications which could include Staff Long Leave Application, Staff Local Education Allowance, Online Submission of Course Enrollment Changes from Faculty Offices to the Registry, etc.   These applications will be rolled out later.

ESD applications should also be useful for departments to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of their management processes. Departments interested in exploring the use of digital signature technology for departmental applications can contact the undersigned for more information.

User Education and Training

We shall organize presentation sessions on PKI and ESD applications, and training courses on:

More details will be announced via electronic mail to our staff and students when the actual date of roll out is fixed.  If you would like to know more about the HKU CA and HKU-Cert, please contact the undersigned.

M. C. Pong
Tel: 2859 2491
E-mail: pmc@cc.hku.hk

New Arrangement for Providing Graduate E-mail Accounts for Graduating Students

Starting from July 2000, a new arrangement will be in place to provide Graduate E-mail Accounts for all graduating students who have valid computer accounts on the HKUSUA server to facilitate their communications with the University and other alumni after their graduation.

In the past, graduating students had to apply for the Graduate E-mail Account by filling in an electronic application form on the web.  With the new arrangement, the Graduate E-mail Account will be automatically created for a graduate when the status of  his record maintained by the  Registry is changed to "graduated".

An e-mail will be sent to inform our new graduates when their free Graduate E-mail Accounts are created.  The graduate email accounts are maintained on the "graduate.hku.hk" server.  The account name and password will be the same as those on the HKUSUA server.  For example, if a student's HKUSUA account name is 'h9876543' and password is 'testtest', then the account name and password for his new graduate account will also be 'h9876543' and 'testtest' respectively.  The only difference is that the server hosting his email account  will be "graduate.hku.hk" instead of  "hkusua.hku.hk".  In the example just cited, the Graduate E-mail address would be 'h9876543@graduate.hku.hk'.  Graduates can now change their account names at the web page http://www.hku.hk/convocat/alumni_email.htm.

The above arrangement of automatic account creation does not apply to University alumni who have graduated before July 2000.  Previous graduates must apply for the free e-mail account by filling out an electronic form at the webpage  http://www.hku.hk/convocat/alumni_email.htm.

Graduating students are advised of the following:

Please contact the undersigned for further enquiries.
 

Lui Tun Yee
Tel: 2857 8633
Email: lty@cc.hku.hk


From the Help Desk - Beware of Email Viruses

The threat of computer virus has been a concerned issue to computer users for a long time. Recently, this issue has become even more serious and affecting nearly all people using computers. As more people in the world are exchanging  emails and files using their computers through Internet,  computer viruses are proliferating  much more quickly and extensively. We are getting to a stage where if we use any Internet services at all, there is the possibility of contracting a computer virus. Sometimes, you  may be the culprit for sending your friends a computer virus without being aware of it. This article looks at a few of the recent virus attacks, the mode of transmission, the damages they can do to computers, and ways in which you can prevent a virus infection.

What is a computer virus?

Computer viruses are programs that are designed to spread themselves from one file to another or from one computer to another where the mode of transmission always involves humans beings. We send e-mail document attachments, chat with others in the Internet chat rooms, trade programs on diskettes, or copy files to file servers. When an unsuspecting user receives the infected file or disk, they spread the virus to their computer, and so on.

Some viruses are called worms which are more insidious because they rely less (or not at all) upon human behavior in order to spread themselves from one computer to another. The computer worm is a program that is designed to copy itself from one computer to another over a network (e.g. by using e-mail). The worm spreads itself to many computers over a network, and doesn't wait for a human being to help. This means that computer worms spread much more rapidly than computer viruses.

There are other viruses called Trojan Horses.  A Trojan Horse is a program in which malicious or harmful code is contained inside an apparently harmless program or data.  The disguised program is introduced into a computer system where it can then get control and do its damage, such as ruining the file allocation table on your hard disk. Trojan Horses do not replicate.

What damages do computer viruses do?

A computer virus may have many variants (mutants), always getting to be more virulent and deadly.  At the time this article is written, some of the more recent viruses transmitted by email are:

ILOVEYOU - This worm calls the Microsoft Outlook application and creates messages by iterating through all the addresses in the Microsoft Outlook Address Book.  The latest version of this worm does not give itself away by an ''ILOVEYOU'' subject line. Instead, the subject line changes to a random word or phrase every time a computer is infected.  The subject line of an infected e-mail starts with ''FW: ''  and includes the name of a randomly chosen attachment from a previous e-mail on an infected computer. The e-mail will have an attachment with the same name, but ending in ''.vbs.''   Clicking on the attachment will activate the virus. Like the earlier version,  it will send itself to everybody in the user's address book. It will then destroy most of the files on the hard drive, rendering the computer useless until the operating system is re-installed.

CIH - This virus, often referred as the Chernobyl virus, was first discovered in June of 1998 in Taiwan. CIH is a very destructive virus. The first payload overwrites the hard disk with random data starting at the beginning of the disk (sector 0) using an infinite loop. The overwriting of the sectors will not stop until the system has crashed. As a result, your computer will not boot from the hard disk or floppy disk. Also the data that has been overwritten on your hard disk will be very difficult or impossible to recover. You will need to restore the data from backups.  The second payload attacks the Flash BIOS (the basic input/output system). As a result, your computer may not display anything on the screen when you startup the system.

PRETTYPARK - Once the worm program is executed, it tries to email itself automatically every 30 minutes to email addresses registered in your Internet address book.  It also tries to connect to an IRC (Internet Relay Chat) server and join a specific IRC channel. Via IRC, the author or distributor of the worm can obtain system information, including the computer name, product name, product identifier, product key, registered owner, registered organization, system root path, version, version number, ICQ identification numbers, ICQ nicknames, victim's email address, and Dial Up Networking username and passwords. In addition, being connected to IRC opens a security hole in which the client can potentially be used to receive and execute files.

MELISSA - The Melissa is both a virus and a worm. When a user opens an infected document, the virus will attempt to e-mail a copy of this document to up to 50 other people, using Microsoft Outlook. It infects a MS Word 97 and MS Word 2000 document by adding a new macro module named Melissa. Although there is nothing unique in the infection routine of this macro virus, it has a payload that utilizes MS Outlook to send an attachment of the infected document being opened.

HAPPY99.EXE is a worm program. This program has reportedly been received through email spamming and USENET
newsgroup posting. The file is usually named HAPPY99.EXE and appears as an attachment to an email or article.  When executed, the program opens a window entitled "Happy New Year 1999 !!" and shows a fireworks display to disguise its other actions. The program modifies the WSOCK32.DLL file in the Windows directory and the worm action will be triggered when an Internet connect or send activity is detected. This creates a new email or a new article with HAPPY99.EXE inserted into the email or article. It then sends this email or posts this article.

What can I do if I suspect a computer virus?

You can find information on the latest viruses at  http://www.symantec.com/avcenter/index.html
On that page, the latest discovered viruses are listed under the column called 'Top Threats'.
Read the information on how the virus is transmitted, what it does, and what damages to your system it is supposed to do.  Usually, double clicking or opening the virus file will activate the virus.  So, be cautious in opening a suspicious attachment file.  If you suspect a virus, delete it immediately. A virus that has not been activated can be deleted and it should not affect anything in your system.

What can I do if my computer system is infected?

If your operating system is not affected, and you can start up the system, you may just install and run an anti-virus software which can detect and remove the virus or even rescue the damaged files and then you will be back in business.

If your operating system is affected but not the BIOS (basic input/output system), and your system will still respond upon starting up,  then you can use a clean DOS boot disk to boot up the system.  Use a DOS format anti-virus program to scan the hard disk and the anti-virus program will delete the virus or repair the damage. In some cases, the hard disk may have to be re-formatted, and the windows operating system and other applications re-installed.

If both operating system and the BIOS are affected, and the screen is all dark and there is no response when you turn on the system, then you are most unfortunate.  You would have to contact your vendor and see what system components need to be replaced.

What can I do to prevent computer virus infection?

1. You can install an anti-virus software which will be able to detect the virus if it exists in your system. The software will also destroy the virus for you.  Scan everything, including new software diskettes.  Keep your anti-virus program updated to stay ahead of any new viruses.

Currently the Computer Centre has a policy on Norton Anti-Virus Software for staff and faculty (as it is a department license).  If you are an individual, you would have to go to your local computer store to purchase the software.

2. Be leery of unsolicited e-mail attachments.  E-mail itself cannot infect your computer, however if you open an infected executable attachment from e-mail, it can infect your computer. Therefore, you should turn off any features that automatically open e-mail attachments or launch programs you download.  You can also confirm with the sender before opening an attachment.

Use Webmail or Server-sided mail. You can reduce the chance of getting infected with email transmitted viruses if you use webmail or server-sided mail e.g. "pine" because the system does not download new email to your email client.

3. Backup your files regularly on external media.

Create an emergency boot disk for your PC. If your system is infected with a deadly virus such as the CIH, you would have to reformat your hard disk and then re-install all system files and program/data files from backups.  So backup your harddisk and other system files regularly because they are your last resort.

4. NEVER use pirated software (one of the most common methods for spreading computer viruses).
 

Mabel Chau
Tel: 2859 8934
Email: chaumabc@hku.hk


Gaining Access to HKU Intranet from External Networks via VPN

We are pleased to announce the availability of the Virtual Private Network (VPN) Service. A Virtual Private Network is a private data network that makes use of  a public shared network such as the Internet.  Now, you can connect to the HKU network even if you are using an external network service.

The VPN connection makes use of the Internet's routing infrastructure to move secure data to and from a private network, maintaining privacy through the use of a tunneling protocol and security procedures. Currently, this service is available for Windows 95 and Windows 98 computers.

VPN is especially useful for HKU staff and students who may be accessing the HKU network using a commercial Internet Service Provider (such as HKNet, Netvigator etc.) and wish to gain access to the Intranet resources that are available to HKU members only (such as the Staff or Student Intranets or the library's electronic resources).  By using HKU's VPN, your network address (i.e. IP address) would appears as a part of the HKU network.  It is as if you are connected to the HKU network from a machine on campus rather than connecting from a commercial ISP network.  After connecting to the  VPN service, you can gain access to the HKU web services and applications which require a HKU IP address.

You need to have an active HKU PPP account in order to connect to the HKU VPN.  You can use the HKU Computer Account Status Enquiry form to enquiry your account status. If you do not currently have a PPP account, you can apply for one by filling the electronic form at

http://intranet.hku.hk:8030/ccform/app/ppp3.fillform


The following links provide instructions for installing the client and instructions for connecting to the
University network :

Note :
  1. Please pay special attention to ensure proper proxy settings in the procedure.
  2. Your HKU PPP budget will not be deducted when using the VPN services.
  3. The VPN will be disconnected automatically after 10 minutes of idle time.


Should you have any questions on using the VPN service, please contact the undersigned.

Katherine Kwok
Tel: 2859 2497
E-mail: katkwok@cc.hku.hk


Service Termination of the 28.8K HKUPPP Modem Pool

Computer Centre's  provision of the 28.8K HKUPPP modem pool will be terminated effective from 1st August, 2000.

The 28.8K modem pool is the oldest modem server in the Computer Centre and can only support a  transmission speed of 28.8Kbps for dial-up connections from home to the HKU network.

In the last two years, the Computer Centre has installed many 56Kbps v.90 standard modems and there are now over 800 56K modem lines in total.  Most of our users have upgraded their modems and are using only the 56K modem lines to access the HKU network.  Since the usage of the 28.8K PPP modem pool is very low, this modem pool and the associated dial-up telephone numbers (28030202, 25480590, 28578650 and 28597992) will be permanently removed from our modem service starting from 1st August, 2000.

Users who are still using 28.8K modems in their PCs should now dial in the 56K lines instead.  Of course, the transmission speed will still be 28.8K kbps as limited by the their modems.  Procedures for configuring Windows 95/98 or Macintosh for the 56K lines can be found at http://www.itservices.hku.hk/services/ppp56k.htm.

Telephone numbers of the 56K modem lines are listed in the table below:
 
HKU Computer Centre Dial-up Services
60-minute lines 30-minute lines
56Kbps PPP Lines
(24-hour service and support modems of all speeds)
Please click here to see how to configure the settings to use the lines.
408 "V.90 or x2" 56Kbps lines for all users 29757000 144 "V.90 or x2" 56Kbps lines for all users  29647000
72 "V.90 or x2" 56Kbps lines for staff only 28595100 96 "V.90 or x2" 56Kbps lines for all users 21057100
48 "V.90 or x2" 56Kbps lines for HKU Graduate Account users 22497100 48 "V.90 or x2" 56Kbps lines for staff only  29642300

Users who may have any special needs to continue using the 28.8K modem pool or have any questions regarding the arrangement described above, please contact the undersigned immediately.

Katherine Kwok
Tel : 28592497
Email : katkwok@cc.hku.hk


Update on the Major Upgrade of HKU Campus Network in Queen Mary Hospital

There has been good progress in the work for upgrading the University Campus Network infrastructure inside  the Queen Mary Hospital complex in the last two months. To keep our users abreast of the development progress, we would like to summarise its latest status in the following tablulation:

To recapitulate, Phase II is the replacement of the old cables by UTP cables capable of supporting 100 Mbps Fast Ethernet to the desktop while Phase III is the installation of network points for supporting roaming-access by students with their notebook computers.  The latest status is as shown in the table below:
 
Building No. of Phase II network points No. of Phase III network points Present status Targeted completion date
Main Block 0 42* In operation                -
Block J 0 6* In operation                -
Block K 0 33* In operation                -
Block L 0 4* In operation                -
Sch. of Nursing Studies 0 25* In operation                -
New Clinical Bldg. 136 6* In operation                -
Professorial Block 123 4*
  • 2/F & 6/F in operation
  • Cabling for 5/F completed, NIC replacement underway
  • Cabling for 3/F, 4/F underway in tandem with the hospital's false-ceiling replacement exercise
    		•
    Depends on the progress of the false-ceiling replacement project, anticipated to be completed in 2000.

    Note :

    * : On advice of the QMH Administration, all Phase III network points are not provided with power sockets because of the current near-capacity loading of the generators.
     
     

    T.Y. Shen
    Tel: 2241 5229
    E-mail: sty@cc.hku.hk


    ARC/INFO 8.0.1 and ERDAS Imagine 8.4 now available on HKUGIS and HKUSUA
     

    ESRI ARC/INFO 8.0.1 and ERDAS Imagine 8.4  are now available on the HKUGIS and HKUSUA servers.
    ARC/INFO is a geographic information system (GIS) for mapping and analyzing events that happen on earth. GIS technology integrates common database operations such as query and statistical analysis with the unique visualization and geographic analysis benefits offered by maps. These GIS abilities make it possible to explain events, predict outcomes and plan strategies.  ARC/INFO is developed by ESRI (Environmental Systems Research Institute, Inc.).

    ERDAS IMAGINE is a geographic Imaging software that makes mapping and geographic analysis easy for the user.  It is supported by the ERDAS, Inc., a mapping software company specializing in geographic imaging solutions.
     
    GISs are used in the following areas:
    To use the GIS system, first login the appropriate server (HKUGIS or HKUSUA).

    To run Imagine 8.4, type the command: /usr/local/bin/imagine8.4

    To run Arcinfo 8.0.1, type the command: /usr/local/bin/arc801

    Meanwhile, you can continue to run any previous versions of the software as usual.

    GIS software available on HKUSUA and HKUGIS are summarised in the table below:
     
    hkusua.hku.hk
    hkugis.hku.hk
    Imagine 8.3

    Imagine 8.4

    Arcinfo 7.2.1

    Arcinfo 8.0.1

    Arcview 3.0

    Arcview 3.1
    Imagine 8.3

    Imagine 8.4

    Arcinfo 7.1.2

    Arcinfo 7.2.1

    Arcinfo 8.0.1

    Arcview 3.0

    Arcview 3.1

    Kenneth Yip
    Tel: 2859 7973
    E-mail: kenty@cc.hku.hk


    Phasing Out the HKURSC and HKUSGA Systems

    We would like to inform our users that we plan to phase out the HKURSC (IBM RS6000 running AIX 3.2.5) and HKUSGA (SGI Power Challenger L running Irix 6.4) systems by September 30, 2000.

    The HKURSC and HKUSGA systems have been operating and serving the academic users of HKU for more than 7 years.  Due to rapid changes in computer technology, the processing power of these systems are substantially lower than the newer generation of machines and their maintenance cost is also significantly higher. The Computer Centre is now in the process of  tendering for the acquisition of a new computer to replace these systems.  Current application packages available on the HKURSC and HKUSGA systems include S-plus, Maple V, SPSS and Lisrel.  These software and their licenses will either be transferred to the new machine when it is installed or to other existing academic servers (HKUSUA or HKUSUB).   The Computer Centre will announce the transfer of these software licenses at a later date as soon as the delivery schedule of the new system is finalised in the early part of July.

    If users have any enquiries or concerns regarding the phasing out of these systems, please contact the undersigned or Mr. CM Mak (tel: 2859 2491, email: cmmak@hkucc.hku.hk ) for assistance.
     

    KC Chang
    Tel: 2859 7972
    E-mail: kcchang@hkusua.hku.hk

    IMSL Available in the SUN E10000 Server

    The Computer Centre is pleased to announce that IMSL (International Mathematical & Statistical Libraries) has been installed in the Sun Enterprise 10000 server.  IMSL is a library of Fortran-callable routines for solving a variety of mathematical and statistical problems.

    IMSL is available on the HKUSUB system which has been upgraded from the Sun Enterprise E6000 server to one partition of the Sun Enterprise E10000 server earlier this year.  The new HKUSUB system has four 400MHz UltraSPARC processors and 1GB of memory and runs much faster than the old system.

    The version of IMSL library  installed on the new HKUSUB is Fortran 90 MP Mathematics and Statistics Libraries. In addition to all existing functions of previous versions of IMSL Mathematics and Statistics libraries, this new version includes also Fortran 90 subroutines and multi-threaded subroutines for high-precision numerical analysis and parallel computing. Detailed information on new features can be found in the webpage
    http://www.vni.com/products/imsl/index.html#Fortran 90 MP.

    Up-to-date information about IMSL and the procedure for compiling the IMSL library is also available in http://www.itservices.hku.hk/ccsystem/software/imsl/index.html.

    Programs written with IMSL often take long computation time.  In order to spread the load on the system and for better management of computing resources, jobs which take more than 1 hour of CPU time are required to be submitted through the NQS job queue system in HKUSUB. For more information on the NQS job queue system, please refer to the web page Batch Queue Management on HKUSUB .

    For further information about the IMSL library and for any problems encountered in using the library, please contact the undersigned.

    Woo Chat Ming
    Tel: 2857 8632
    E-mail: cmwoo@hkusua.hku.hk


    Reduction in Charge for PC Equipment Maintenance

    The Computer Centre continues to provide in-house, cost-effective, convenient and fast-responding hardware maintenance service for the departments and PC users of the University.  To enhance the timeliness of this service, starting from the beginning of this year, our Maintenance Team pledge to arrive on the spot in offices within the Main Campus in 30 minutes upon receiving the service request under normal conditions.  This service enhancement has proven to reduce the hassles and inconvenience imposed on the user as a result of the PC problem and the down time of the computer equipment is minimized.

    Besides this service enhancement, we are pleased to announce a reduction in the maintenance charge for PC equipment and peripherals with effect from 1 July, 2000. Similar to previous years, the price reduction is brought about by the continuous reduction in the price of PC hardware and equipment and we are passing this benefit to our users.

    This year, the maintenance charges for all PC models have been reduced, with the most significant drop in the Pentium models. We believe that the new pricing is very attractive and will benefit all PC users in the University as a whole.

    The new annual maintenance charge for the common Pentium PC is summarized below:

    Pentium P5 60-233 Mhz (with or without MMX), Pentium Pro 200 / Pentium II 233-450 Mhz     $450

    w/512KB or below Cache Memory,
    64MB or below Memory Board,
    10GB or below Hard Disk
    + VGA Display Card + 1 Controller + 1 Floppy Disk Drive + 1 CD Drive + 1 Sound Card

    Pentium III 450 / 500 / 533 / 600 Mhz                               &nbs p;                                          & nbsp;                     $550

    w/512KB or below Cache Memory,
    64MB or below Memory Board,
    10GB or below Hard Disk
    + SVGA Display Card + 1 Controller + 1 Floppy Disk Drive + 1 CD Drive + 1 Sound Card

    Pentium III 633 / 700 / 733 Mhz                                &nbs p;                                          & nbsp;                             $650

    w/512KB or below Cache Memory,
    64MB or below Memory Board,
    10GB or below Hard Disk
    + SVGA Display Card + 1 Controller + 1 Floppy Disk Drive + 1 CD Drive + 1 Sound Card

    Comprehensive pricing information on the computer equipment supported by our in-house maintenance team including microcomputers, printers and Macintosh equipment can be viewed under http://www.itservices.hku.hk/services/pricelis.htm.

    Besides our in-house maintenance service, the Computer Centre also coordinates maintenance service for departments of the University on HP and Apple Macintosh equipment and accessories provided by external service vendors at an attractive bulk price rate.

    If you are interested in joining our maintenance services, please fill in the application form on "Request for Maintenance Service" at http://www.itservices.hku.hkoffice/forms/cem-2.htm and return it to the General Office of the Computer Centre. For further information, please contact the undersigned or Miss Heti Cheng at 2859 2491.

    Idy Tang
    Tel: 2859 2491
    E-mail: kytang@cc.hku.hk


    Annual Renewal of Site Licensing Arrangement for SPSS / SAS / Corel / Norton Products

    The Computer Centre continues to coordinate various software site-licensing programs for the departments of the University in order to take advantage of the bulk volume purchase discount and to offer cost-effective and easy-to-manage licensing programs for the benefit of  the departments.

    These site licensing programs include SPSS, SAS, Corel and Norton products.

    SPSS

    The license renewal for the SPSS statistical package for Windows covers the period from 1 June 2000 to 31 May 2001. Below are some highlights of this year's arrangement:

    1. A new update, SPSS for Windows version 10.0 has been released and is now available for installation. The Computer Centre is now arranging to install the latest version of SPSS for the departments who have requested to upgrade their SPSS for Windows licenses.

    2. The annual license fee for the majority of the SPSS products, in particular the non-core products, has been reduced as compared to last year's prices.

    3. Besides the core SPSS products including Base, Statistics, Professional Statistics, Tables, Trends, Categories, CHAID, QI Analyst and AMOS, other non-core SPSS software modules, such as allCLEAR, AnswerTree, Data Entry - Builder, Data Entry - Station, Diamond, LogXact, NewView, Remark Office OMR, SamplePower, StatXact, TextSmart and Trial Run are also available for subscription. You may refer to SPSS's webpage at http://www.spss.com for more detailed product information.

    All SPSS licenses are subject to annual renewal and departments are required to pay an annual renewal fee in order to continue using the software. For detailed license fees for SPSS for Windows, Macintosh & PowerMac, please refer to our web page at http://www.itservices.hku.hk/services/tender.htm.

    SAS

    The commencement date of the annual license period for SAS for Windows for the coming year is 1 July 2000.  All SAS licenses are subject to annual renewal and departments are required to pay an annual renewal fee to continue using the software upon expiry of the last license period.

    The SAS modules available include BASE,GRAPH, ETS, FSP, AF, IML, STAT, INSIGHT, ASSIST, LAB and ACCPC and the latest available version is 8.0.

    For detailed license fees for SAS for Windows, please refer to our web page at http://www.itservices.hku.hk/services/tender.htm.

    Corel

    Under the arrangement of the Joint Universities Computer Centre (JUCC), the Computer Centre coordinates the Corel site licensing arrangement for the departments of the University.  Hightlights of the arrangement are summarised as follows :

    For detailed pricing information on the Corel licenses and products, please refer to our web page at http://www.itservices.hku.hk/services/tender.htm.

    Norton Anti-Virus and Norton Ghost

    Since the Computer Centre launched the site-licensing program on Norton Anti-Virus last year, the program has proven to be well-received by the departments and will be extended for another year.  Indeed, we are pleased to inform our users that the price is even lower than last year's.

    In addition to last year's option to provide an anti-virus solution for the desktop operating systems (i.e. Windows 95/98/2000/NT, Macintosh and OS2), the solution has been extended to include support for server platforms, including Netware and NT Servers, as well.  The new initial license fee and the renewal fee for 2000-2001 are show below:
     
     

    New Initial License Fee Per Copy (HK$) License Renewal Fee Per Copy (HK$)
    Desktop & Server w/1 yr upgrade insurance $35 $10

    Besides the anti-virus solution, the Computer Centre has also negotiated with Symantec Hong Kong Limited to include another product, the Norton Ghost, under this year's site-licensing program.  The license fee for this product is as follows :
     
     
    License Fee Per Copy (HK$)
    Norton Ghost w/1 yr upgrade insurance $60

    Both these products are offering a 1-year upgrade insurance, starting from 1 July 2000, to allow users to use the latest and most up-to-date versions of these two products during the licensed period.  A copy of the media on the upgrade insurance will be provided free-of-charge to participating departments whenever available.

    You may refer to the summary information for details of the site-licensing program for Norton Anti-Virus and Norton Ghost.

    Departments who wish to acquire the SPSS, SAS or Corel software products can select the option " Tender Prices" under the "On-Line Enquiries" icon in Computer Centre's web site at http://www.itservices.hku.hk and make your selection on-line by clicking the button "Add to Selection List".  A "CC Order Form" will automatically be generated with all your selected items for purchase.  To purchase the Norton products, please simply complete the CC Order Form with the selected products and return it to us.

    For further enquiries, please feel free to contact the undersigned or Miss Pansy Kwan at 2859 2491.

    Idy Tang
    Tel: 2859 2491
    E-mail: kytang@cc.hku.hk


    Staff News

    We welcome the following new members to the Computer Centre:

    Mr Hui Ming Sing joined the Centre on June 9, 2000.  Mr Hui received his Bachelor of Engineering  (Electronic Engineering) degree in 1997 from the Hong Kong University of Science & Technology.  He is working in the PC and Network Team.

    We bid farewell to the following staff, wishing them every success in their future endeavors:

    Mr Leo Wong Wing Kwong who left on June 6, 2000,
    Mr Nick Chi Hoi Yuen who left on June 12, 2000,
    Mr Wellwin Kwok Chung Hoi who left on June 14, 2000, and
    Mr Horace Kwong Wing Shing who left on June 17, 2000.
    Training News

    The Computer Centre is pleased to announce a series of courses given between June and August 2000 to assist staff and students in using the Centre's facilities. The courses will cover the following areas:
     
    • Internet Browsing and Webpage Authoring
    • Chinese Information Handling
    • Spreadsheet
    • Unix System and Application Software
    • PC Network and Services
    • Word Processing 
    • Web Course Tools
    • Parallel Programming
    • Adobe Photoshop
    • Statistical Analysis

    Most courses are open to all staff and students free of charge.  A fee is charged for courses provided by a course vendor. Some courses require pre-requisites.  Click on the course number to see the description of each course.

    Users can apply on-line for these courses through the "CC Course Registration" icon in HKUWIN or click the "Staff Registration" or "Student Registration" links below.

    Click here to suggest new courses you would like.

    Staff Registration   or   Student Registration


    Course Schedule from February to April, 2000

    Courses on Parallel Programming
     
     
    C0513799 High Performance FORTRAN  Jul 12, 13, 14, 2000 
    2:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.    		 Run Run Shaw Building, 
    RR-101
    C1413599 SP2 Parallel Programming with workshop Jul 20, 2000 
    2:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.    		 Run Run Shaw Building, 
    RR-101
    C1513599 SP2 Parallel Programming with workshop Aug 24, 2000
    2:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.    		 Run Run Shaw Building, 
    RR-101

    Staff Registration   or   Student Registration
     

    Courses on Web Browsing and Webpage Editing
     
     
    C0915199 Basic HTML Editing Jul 11, 2000
    9:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.    		 Old Library Building, 
    LBO-135
    C0815899 Advanced HTML Editing : Imagemap, CGI and Frames Aug 8, 2000
    9:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.    		 Old Library Building, 
    LBO-135

    Staff Registration   or   Student Registration

    Courses on Microsoft Office and Other Topics
     
     
    W0181499 Corel Draw 8
    (Staff Only)    		 Jun 29, 30, 2000
    9:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.    		 Old Library Building, 
    LBO-135
    W0580899 Chinese Inputing Method 
    (Student Only)    		 Jul 10, 11, 2000
    9:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.
    Jul 12, 2000
    9:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.    		 Run Run Shaw Building, 
    RR-101
    W0480899 Chinese Inputing Method 
    (Staff Only)    		 Jul 19, 20, 2000
    9:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.
    Jul 21, 2000
    9:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.    		 Old Library Building, 
    LBO-135
    W0480599 Adobe Photoshop 4.0 
    (Student Only)    		 Jul 26, 27, 2000
    9:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.    		 Run Run Shaw Building, 
    RR-101
    W0480699 MS Word 97 
    (Staff Only)    		 Aug 9, 10, 2000
    9:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.
    Aug 11, 2000
    9:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.    		 Run Run Shaw Building, 
    RR-201
    W0580799 MS Excel 97 for Win95
    (Staff Only)    		 Aug 21, 22, 2000
    9:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.
    Aug 23, 2000
    9:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.    		 Run Run Shaw Building, 
    RR-201

    Courses on Computer Centre Orientation

     No registration is needed for the following orientation courses.
     
     
    Course Name Date       Time Venue
    Computer Centre Orientation
    (4 sessions)    		 18/8/2000   9:30-11:00 am 
    21/8/2000   2:30 - 4:00 pm 
    23/8/2000   9:30-11:00 am 
    25/8/2000   2:30-  4:00 pm    		 Lecture Theatre (LE1), Library Extension Building
    PC and Network Services
    Seminar and Workshop
    (3 sessions)    		 22/8/2000     9:30-12:30 pm 
    24/8/2000     2:30-5:30 pm 
    28/8/2000     9:30-12:30 pm    		 Lecture Theatre (LE1), Library Extension Building

    All Workshop will be held in Room 134, Old Library Building
    Connecting to the HKU Network (PPP, ACEnet, Hallnet)
    (3 sessions)    		 25/8/2000  10:00-12:00 pm 
    29/8/2000  3:00-5:00 pm 
    31/8/2000  10:00-12:00 pm     		 Lecture Theatre (LE1), Library Extension Building

    Staff Registration   or   Student Registration
     

     Course Descriptions:

    Computer Centre Orientation Courses

    This is a series of orientation seminars and workshops  to get acquainted with the computing environment at HKU.
    No registration is needed to attend.

    Computer Centre Orientation -  this seminar will introduce all the computer services and facilities available at HKU and how to access them.  This seminar is a must for all new comers to HKU.

    PC and Network Services - this seminar will present concepts of LAN and WAN networks, what PC services are available in the PC laboratories, what network services are available at HKU and how to access the network services from the PC's.

    Introduction to Accessing the HKU Network - how to access the HKU network using:
      (1) plug-in to the ACEnet (Access Everywhere Network) using a Notebook computer
      (2) PPP Dial-up services to connect to the network via the phone line from home
      (3) connecting to the network from rooms in Residence Halls

    Courses on Internet Browsing and Webpage Authoring

    Getting Started with Internet Services and WWW

    This is a 3-hour introductory course. Course contents include
        Introduction to Internet
        Using The Netscape Communicator 4 Browser
        Reading Chinese on WWW Browser
        Tour on the HKU Intranet
        Tour on the Global Internet

    Basic HTML Editing

    This 3-hour course workshop on HTML editing using the Netscape Communicator 4 Editor.  In the workshop, students would be doing the following exercises:
        Exercise 1 - Create a document, try colors, fonts, bullets lists etc.
        Exercise 2 - Create targets and hyperlinks
        Exercise 3 - Create a table
        Exercise 4 - Using image files in your document
        Exercise 5 - Uploading your document to the server

    Advanced HTML Editing

    This is a 3-hour course on advanced techniques for HTML editing using the FrontPage Editor.  Contents include:
        Creating frames in a webpage
        Using image maps in a webpage.
        Downloading and imbedding "cgi programs" in a webpage
    Pre-requisite: Basic HTML Editing.
     

    WebCT (Web Course Tool) Training Courses

    Introduction to WebCT

    This 2-hour course will discuss the basic functionalities provided by WebCT from a student's point of view to give participants some feelings on what WebCT can do for their course. e.g. browsing course materials, attempting on-line quizzes, using bulletin boards.

    WebCT Course Designer's Basic Workshop

    This 4-hour course will cover steps for course designers (staff members who actually prepare courses on WebCT) to post lecture materials on WebCT, and to perform customization on course homepages.
    Pre-requisites: Introduction to WebCT, Basic HTML Editing.

    WebCT Course Designer's Advanced Workshop

    This 2-hour course will cover more advanced features for course designers, e.g. preparing on-line quizzes, checking statistical data, managing student records.
    Pre-requisites: WebCT Course Designer's Basic Workshop

    Courses on Parallel Programming

    SP2 Parallel Programming with Workshop

    This is a 3-hour seminar and workshop for people interested in parallel programming using the IBM SP2 Supercomputer. It covers the methodology of writing parallel programs using the message passing interface (MPI). Students should have programming experience in C or Fortran but experience in parallel programming is not needed. Sample programs will be given to users in the hands-on workshop.

    High Performance FORTRAN

    This 3-hour seminar on High Performance FORTRAN provides an easy way to write data parallel programs in MIMD computers such as the IBM SP2. The High Performance FORTRAN is an extension of the FORTRAN 90 in several areas, including:

    Introduction to FORTRAN 90 Programming

    This 9-hour course provides and introduction to the structure and syntax of the FORTRAN 90 language for FORTRAN 77
    programmers. After taking this course, users will be able to write FORTRAN 90 programs using arrays and write reusable and
    readable codes using the data encapsulation feature of FORTRAN 90.

    Courses on Unix System and Application Software

    Introduction to UNIX

    This is a 3-hour introductory course for users with little or no Unix experience. The course will cover the Unix computing environment, the Unix file system, the editor, email, disk quota and mail quota allocations and commonly used Unix commands.

    Seminar on MAPLE V

    This is a 2-hour introduction course on the use of MAPLE V for mathematical computations.  The course covers:
        Maple Objects,
        Syntax of Maple V commands
        Some Common Operations
        Numerical Operations
        Graphics
        I/O
        Programming in Maple V

    Seminar on MATLAB

    MATLAB is an integrated computing environment for numeric computation and visualization. This 2-hour seminar will give an
    introduction on using MATLAB in numerical analysis, matrix computation and graphics etc.

    Seminar on Mathematica

    Mathematica is a general computer software system and language intended for mathematical and other applications. In this 2-hour
    seminar, examples of using Mathematica in numerical calculations, graphics, algebra and calculus, solving equations etc, will be
    shown.

    Seminar on SAS

    The SAS package is an integrated system for data analysis. In this 2-hour seminar, users will learn how to create a SAS
    data set, to retrieve data from the data set and to perform some commonly used statistical procedures. Users are expected to have
    some statistics background.

    Connecting to the HKU Network (PPP, ACEnet and Hall Network)

    This is a 3-hour seminar on the HKU network with an introduction to the network topology, network services, and the software for accessing the HKU network.  The HKU network can be accessed from the following venues:
        PPP - for dialing in from home
        Hallnet - for student residing in residence halls
        ACEnet - for accessing everywhere from any network point
     

    Courses on Microsoft Office and Other Topics

    MS Word 97 for Windows 95 ($360)

    This is a 2 1/2 day course especially designed for users who want to learn how to navigate through and work with documents; manipulate text; change formatting and page layout; and preview and print a document.

    Course Outline :

  • Word 97 processing concepts
  • Using dialog boxes and icons
  • Documents editing
  • Files save/retrieve and Management
  • Files conversion and import/export filters
  • Selecting fonts and using special text and symbols
  • Auto formatting and style options
  • Using thesaurus and hyphenation, spelling and grammar check
  • Creating multiple columns and table
  • Positioning text and graphics with frames
  • Assembling documents with mail merge
  • Working with long documents
  • Printing master documents, envelopes and labels
  • Data linking and embedding

    •  

     
     
     

    PowerPoint 97 ($200)

    This is a 6-hour course on making a professional presentation slide show using PowerPoint97.  Contents include:
        Creating and editing a slide show presentation
        Entering data in a presentation
        Adding clip art and charts to a slide
        Creating speaker notes
        Adding transition effects
        Saving and printing a presentation

    ACCESS 97 for Windows 95 ($360)

    Access is a powerful database software allowing users to create
    database and database applications without any programming work.
    Access 97 is part of the Microsoft Office 97 system which operates in
    the Window 95 or Window 98 environment and is Y2K compliant.
    This is a 2 day course.

    Contents of this course include:

    1. Introduction to Access 97
        - Basic concepts of Access 97
        - Starting the application
        - To quit Access 97
        - To open a database in Access 97
        - How to read from and write to standard text files

    2. Creating tables
        - Data type
        - Creating tables
        - Saving table
        - Data entry table

    3. Finding data
        - Sorting data
        - Filtering by selecting data
        - Filtering by form

    4. Query
        - Creating a query
        - Creating multi-table query and calculated field

    5. Creating a form
        - Creating a form with form wizard
        - changing design of form
        - preview designed form
        - formatting toolbar

    6. Creating reports
        - creating reports
        - creating mailing labels

    Ms Excel 97 for Windows 95  ($360)

    The course outline of this 2 1/2-day workshop include :

  • Spreadsheet concepts, basic movement
  • data entry techniques & create formulas
  • using special functions formatting
  • cells formatting, data & formulas cell reference
  • workbook save & retrieve
  • using dialog box commands, icons & toolbars
  • creating an embedded chart on worksheets
  • creating graphical objects on worksheets
  • worksheets printing techniques
  • database query and table handling auto filter
  • worksheet and workbook linking
  • useful built-in & functions, PMT, vlookup, (if, sumif)
  • add-in program, auto save
  • graph and picture handling and slide show
  • goal seeking and scenario manager
  • view manager

    •  

     
     
     

    Adobe Photoshop 4.0  ($360)

    This is a 2-day course on using the Adobe Photoshop, a software for photo retouching, image editing and color painting.
    Adobe Photoshop 4.0 has many new and enhanced features in auto-updating of formats, multiple layers control, digital watermarks for copyright, effects filters, and other enhancements for control of quality etc.
    Course outline :
        Photoshop Basic
        Selections, Mask and Channel Operation
        Enhancing Photo
        Montage and Collage
        Using Filters
        Painting
        Combining Photoshop and PostScript
        Special Effects
        3D/4D Adding Depth and Motion

    Adobe Illustrator 8  ($500)

    This is a 2-day course on using the Adobe Illustrator 8, a popular illustration software that can create graphically rich artwork for print or the Web.
    Course Outline :
        1. Basic concepts on computer graphic design
        2. Using various drawing tools
        3. Grid and guides
        4. Text editing, path type and area type and use of different fonts
        5. Rotating and resizing objects
        6. Mask effect, transforming objects from 2D to 3D
        7. Inserting graphic images

    Web Creation Using Dreamweaver 2  ($500)

    This 2 days course is designed for users who want to learn how to use Macromedia Dreamweaver 2, a powerful & professional visual editor for creating and managing web pages. With Dreamweaver, it's easy to create cross-platform, cross-browser pages.  Course outline :
        1. Dreamweaver Work Space
        2. Site Planning & Site Management
        3. Understanding Hyper Link
        4. Using Images & Animations
        5. Using Cascding Sytle Sheet
        6. Creating Forms & Frames
        7. Creating Interactive Homepage
    Pre-requisite: Basic HTML Editing, Advanced HTML Editing
     

    Chinese Inputting Method & Chinese Word 97* ($360)

    This is a 2 1/2-day course especially designed for users who are familiar with the English microcomputer working environment but with little experience on Chinese microcomputer operation. The course will cover :
     

  • Basic principle Changjei Chinese character input method.
  • Basic operation of Microsoft Word 6.0 under the Chinese Windows 3.1 working environment.
  • Techniques and common practices in preparing Chinese document.

    •  

     
     
     

    Visual FoxPro 6.0* ($500)

    This 2-day course provides an introduction to Visual FoxPro, a fast relational database management system in Windows.  It is a 32 bit Xbase database engine, the application can be used in Windows 95/98/NT environments.  It can also support Microsoft SQL Server/Client Server.

    Course Outline:
        1. Starting Visual FoxPro
        2. Organizing with Project Manager
        3. Explore a database
            - Creating: new table, Query, view of local data, One-to-many form
        4. Ordering data using indexes
        5. Collecting tables into a database
        6. Finding information
            - Querying data, Updating data with views, Updating multiple tables
        7. Displaying information
            - Designing reports and labels, Displaying data in forms
        8. Visual FoxPro with other Application - Sharing information with other programs.

    Graphic Design Using CorelDraw 8* ($500)

    This 2-day course is designed for students who want to learn how to use Corel DRAW, the most popular vector-based drawing program that makes it easy to create professional artwork - from simple company logos to intricate technical illustrations.

    Course Outline:
    1. Basic concepts on computer graphic design
    2. Using various drawing tools
    3. Style and color of line
    4. Text editing, Fit text to path, Uses of different fonts
    5. Rotate, skew and resize objects, Group and combine objects
    6. Mask effect, transform 2D objects to 3D using Extrude function
    7. Inserting graphic images

    1. Since workshops on Microsoft Office97 and other programs for Windows are organised in conjunction with a course vendor, the Whiz Company, there is a nominal charge on the course.

    For courses requiring a fee, please send payment to the Computer Centre together with your registration form, or as soon as you have registered on the web, otherwise your registration is considered invalid and will be replaced by another applicant.  Payment can be made in cheque (payable to the University of Hong Kong), or through departmental requisition (for applicants supported by departments).   Successful applicants will be notified by e-mail or telephone at least one week before the commencement of the workshop. Once accepted, the fee is not refundable. However, substitution of participant is possible by written notification to the Centre.

    2. The workshops on Chinese Word 97  will be conducted in Cantonese.

    3. Enrolment for some courses may be for staff only while others are for students only.  Where it is not specified, the courses are open to all staff and students of the University.

    * The maximum number of participants for workshops held in Room 135, Old Library Building is 25; Room 201, Run Run Shaw Building is 22; and Room 101, Run Run Shaw Building is 20.