Email & Calendar
The course of history is littered with examples of newer, faster, better, superior technologies arising and surpassing their contemporaries. Communication services are no different. A few hundred years ago, messages were being delivered by men on the backs of ponies. Soon, this changed to trains, then motorized vehicles, then jet airliners. But today, I do not even have to write out my letter and give the post office the money for a stamp, because I have e-mail.
All students at NC State are provided with a university email account and access to Oracle™ Calendar, an online calendar program.
Something about Cyrus IMAP...
Visit our Email 101 site.
Mailing Lists
In the ECE Department, everyone has their own mailing lists. All Undergraduate Students are automatically subscribed to the ece-ugrad@lists.ncsu.edu mailing list. All information sent via this list is directed to the student's official NCSU email address (ie. userid@ncsu.edu Email addresses outside the university will not be used for this purpose. Subscription to this mailing list is mandatory for students as long as they remain in the ECE department and serves as a means of communicating official departmental information. Although undergraduate students are subscribed to this list, posting to this list is restricted to the ECE Administration only.
Similar to the mailing list used for undergraduate students within the ECE department, graduate students are also automatically subscribed to their own mailing list: ece-grad@lists.ncsu.edu. All of the restrictions mentioned above apply to this list as well.
In addition to the mailing lists provided to students within the department, faculty and staff mailing lists are also available (including lists focused on individual areas of research). For more information on these lists (including how to subscribe), please visit http://www.ece.ncsu.edu/tools/mailclerk.
IEEESB provides an additional (optional) mailing list to students who are interested in joining. See http://students.engr.ncsu.edu/ieee/ for additional information.
If you are associated with the ECE department and wish to create a mailing list, please contact ece-webmaster@ncsu.edu.
Calendar
As of Fall 2006, all students will have access to Oracle Calendar, a valuable time management tool that will allow enhancements in productivity and communication. This program will be accessible to students online, as well as on Windows and *nix workstations (i.e.. Sun Solaris and Linux) in the near future. Online instruction and courses are available, including information for PDA and pocket calendar software. For updates and additional information, please visit http://brickyard.ncsu.edu/ or visit our comprehensive Calendar 101 page.
Instant Messengers
Instant messaging is a text-based form of communication via the internet which allows users to exchange messages in real time as if having a conversation. Instant messanger applications often allow the users to keep a list of contacts who they frequently talk to, and will show whether or not they are available for conversation.
AIM
AIM, which is short for AOL Instant Messenger, is the most widely used instant messaging application. It is available on many computers throughout campus, including Windows, Mac, and Linux machines. If it is not available on the computer you are using, it can be downloaded from AIM.com. If you do not have administrator rights to install AIM, you may visit http://www.aim.com/aimexpress.adp to use AIM Express. This does not install a separate application on your computer, but rather allows you to access AIM via a web browser. However, AIM Express has much more limited features than standard AIM does.
Conference Calls
Station Controlled Conference
Allows an individual user to establish a conference call with up to 9 additional parties. The conference can be set up without going through an attendant or special operator. The user adds on parties as needed to build the conference.
Your telephone number must have the conference feature programmed on the line. Call Customer service at 5-7099 option #3 for instructions on how to set up, add callers, and control the conference call.
Jan 2011 Update: This feature applies only to the old AT&T phone lines on campus which are almost obsolete now.
3110 EB2 Conference Room: You can use the phone in this room to conference in three locations. Call the first, then hit the "3 people" button on the phone. Now dial the next and once they pick up, hit the arrow button under the word "Join". You can connect 3 lines in this manner. If you need more, see the Meet-Me option below.
Operator Assisted Conference Call
On the day and time of the scheduled conference call, the campus operator will call the initiator of the conference call to inform them that the call is commencing. The operator will then proceed to contact and add attendees to the call from a list provided by the initiator.
To schedule a conference call, the initiator must provide 24 hours notice of the day and time that the call will take place and a list of names and phone numbers of the participants. In this type of conference calling, the initiator is paying for all long distance charges and must provide a valid Long Distance Authorization Code for the operator to use when placing the calls.
Contact the campus operator at 515-2011 for more details.
Meet-Me Conference
Up to 30 participants may conference by telephone via this capability. To establish a call, you must obtain a conference telephone number and time from the campus operator. When all participants call the assigned number at the designated time, they will join other callers already on the line. At least one of the participants must be located on campus, and a campus line must be the first to call into the conference number and “control” the conference. The first person that calls the conference number will hear continuous ringing until the next person calls into the conference number. When all parties are present, the call may be “locked” to keep other callers out, by depressing the receiver button (switch hook), “flash/tap”, or “transfer” button. In this type of conference calling, each caller is paying his/her own share of the call, as if dialing into the University to talk with an individual.