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November 2007

Table of Contents

• E-Ticketing: Pay airfare that isn't sky-high
• Panthers, Tigers, And Leopards, Oh My! A Quick Look at Mac OS X Leopard
• Leopards Roar, But Gibbons Are Gutsy
• Friends Don’t Let Friends Do Illegal Filesharing!

E-Ticketing: Pay airfare that isn't sky-high

If you love to travel, or just need to get home for the weekend, there’s no reason to shell out big bucks for airfare. Let’s face it: most of us book our airline tickets online, but usually through major travel companies, such as www.travelocity.com or www.orbitz.com. However, there are a few other websites that help get better rates, especially for students.

• Yahoo! FareChase (farechase.yahoo.com): This Yahoo! service searches hundreds of websites at once for the best fares. It also lets you subscribe to searches, so that it can email you when fares dip below a certain price threshold.
• Farecast (www.farecast.com): If your dates are flexible, Farecast can help predict dates when airlines cut prices to promote sales. For example, if I need to travel from Oakland to Boston in the next 30 days, Farecast tells me that November 6th will have the cheapest rates.
• Virgin America (www.virginamerica.com): Virgin America Airlines has recently opened super-cheap flights between major metropolitan airports. A flight from San Francisco to Los Angeles (one-way) only costs $39. If you’re flying to a large airport, this airline might be your best bet.
• Student Universe (www.studentuniverse.com): If you’re a student, Student Universe, or STA Travel (www.statravel.com) offer student-only rates for domestic and international flights. They also offer weekly deals to certain destinations, so you could end up snagging a great deal through either of these websites.

Panthers, Tigers, And Leopards, Oh My! A Quick Look at Mac OS X Leopard

The newest Apple operating system is out and you might have heard the buzz (or roar!). The release of Leopard is Apple’s “biggest update to Mac OS X yet” and, admittedly, it does have a whole bunch of sweet new features. Below are just a few of Leopard’s features that might make your academic life a little better:

• Time Machine -- Restore any of your files with a zoom and a click. Delete a document? Make a change to an essay that you now hate? Time Machine is Leopard’s automatic backup system. Connect an external drive, enable Time Machine, and every change you make to every file on your computer is logged. Restore old versions of single documents with ease.
• Spaces -- Multiple desktops for your Mac. If your desktop gets too cluttered with windows, use spaces -- make room for work, school, and play. Got two midterms tomorrow? Put all your study materials for one class on one desktop and use the other desktop for your other class. Space three, of course, can be reserved for iChat and YouTube!
• Quick Look -- It’s like Cover Flow (an iTunes album art browser) for all your files. Save eBooks, documents, essays, and all kinds of stuff to your computer and use Quick Look to quickly zoom through your files. Can’t remember which lecture covered the graph of the relationship between exchange rate and output from your Econ class? You can’t search for that kind of thing with Spotlight, but you can browse for it visually with Quick Look.
• iChat -- iChat’s video features have been substantially updated. Now you can use iChat’s video conferencing to see people and edit documents at the same time. Got a group meeting in Soda but live in Unit 1? You can video chat with your group, edit documents, and give presentations via the new video conferencing features.

If you haven’t done so yet, check out the Leopard Guided Tour made available from Apple at http://www.apple.com/macosx/guidedtour/. Leopard’s student license makes it affordable for you at only $70 (or as low as $40 if you purchase a family pack with four other students); so, head on over to TSW (tsw.berkeley.edu) and pick up your copy today.

Leopards Roar, But Gibbons Are Gutsy

Mac OS X isn’t the only operating system to get an update this month. The popular Linux distribution, Ubuntu, also released a new version last week. Code-named Gutsy Gibbon, this version boasts a myriad of updates and several new features. Also, this version of Ubuntu makes it even easier to migrate to Linux.

Like the versatile gibbon itself, this version of the powerful OS wears a mask of cuteness. The improved migration tool makes it easy for new users to keep their old settings and files while they switch to Ubuntu. Ubuntu has a easy-to-use graphical user interface with intuitive commands. Ubuntu also has a large knowledge base to guide new users.

While stability and other features have been improved, the biggest change is the addition of the Compiz-Fusion technology. Compiz-Fusion adds highly attractive visual effects and 3D transitions. For a demonstration of the effects, visit compiz-fusion.org. Other new features includes a desktop search feature, fast user switching between several different accounts, and better power management for laptop users.

Like in previous versions, Ubuntu is available as a live CD, which allows users to test out the operating system without installing any files, and as always, Ubuntu is available as a free download from their website: ubuntu.com.

Friends Don’t Let Friends Do Illegal Filesharing!

File-sharing applications seem easy and convenient, and they do have plenty of great legal uses. Downloading large files through peer-to-peer networks is quickly becoming a more wide-spread practice among companies: did you know that your World of Warcraft patches are officially distributed over BitTorrent?

However, sharing copyrighted material without permission still accounts for the bulk of peer-to-peer traffic. This activity is illegal and anyone who participates in illegal file-sharing could get caught! As your internet provider, we want to educate you about legal file-sharing options and protect you by raising awareness about the potential consequences of getting caught.

ResComp does not monitor the content of network traffic, but this doesn’t mean that copyright holders such as the RIAA and MPAA aren’t actively looking for illegal activity. In the past, copyright holders have identified illegal file-sharers by connecting to BitTorrent? trackers and logging the IP addresses of the users connected. If they have your IP and evidence of illegal activity, your ISP (in this case, the university) can be subpoenaed and is obligated by law to provide personal details about the user behind the IP address.

Lastly, you’re not safe on DC++ either. There may be individuals on the network acting as “spies” for copyright holders (how sneaky!) who snoop the private DC++ network for the biggest illegal file-sharers.

ResComp wants you to know that we do all we can to protect your privacy, so help us out by using your high-speed connection in a legal way. Check out our Be Smart website at rescomp.berkeley.edu/besmart to learn more about copyright and where to find legal file-sharing resources online.