The &quot;Ask a Durham Student&quot; Thread :)

NDGAARONDI

Thanks. I'm debating whether to take my laptop though so I'm hoping it would be roughly the same rules on library computers. I'm traveling by coach and don't want to take everything including the kitchen sink. Have some books for my course already but will be leaving a few behind. I have checked the library's site for textbook availability over books not on the reading list but will be very helpful, e.g. 1,000-page books. :rolleyes:

Not taking your laptop up would be a really bad idea. You can do quite a bit more with your own computer than the uni ones, and of course your laptop is always available.

Reply 1082

Trix465

4

Does anyone know which of the following apps wouldn't work on the durham network:

mIRC
HLSW
cuteFTP
hamatchi

also with the notorious steam at what point does the network block access? When trying to login into steam at the beginning or when connecting to a server?

Cheers, looking forward to starting in October :smile:

Reply 1083

Trix465

Does anyone know which of the following apps wouldn't work on the durham network:

mIRC
HLSW
cuteFTP
hamatchi

also with the notorious steam at what point does the network block access? When trying to login into steam at the beginning or when connecting to a server?

Cheers, looking forward to starting in October :smile:

Try them and see is the best bet. Steam I have no idea, but again I bet there is a way around it. ITS are quite weak at enforcing their policies compared to other unis.

Reply 1084

NDGAARONDI

Hopping Mad Kangaroo

Not taking your laptop up would be a really bad idea. You can do quite a bit more with your own computer than the uni ones, and of course your laptop is always available.

Luggage restrictions on megabus you see. Plus I will only use a computer for essays, checking email and the occasional website. The main library has good opening hours and as long as I can do my work on there I'm fine. Will need to get a USB flash drive though. I hate floppy disks.

Reply 1085

arkbar

12

mIRC works, steam doesn't. It would block it when trying to log into steam at the beginning I'd imagine.

Reply 1086

NDGAARONDI

Luggage restrictions on megabus you see. Plus I will only use a computer for essays, checking email and the occasional website. The main library has good opening hours and as long as I can do my work on there I'm fine. Will need to get a USB flash drive though. I hate floppy disks.

Getting ahold of a computer in the main library is often difficult, and you are not going to write the best of essays in that sort of environment. Trust me, you will want your lappie. Cant you shove it in a big rucksack and take it on board with you or something?

Reply 1087

J4KE

10

Will I need an ents card, or is it a waste of money? And is it necessary to buy a new gown or will there be a reasonable chance of getting a second and one?

Thanks

Reply 1088

Piggsil

J4KE

Will I need an ents card, or is it a waste of money? And is it necessary to buy a new gown or will there be a reasonable chance of getting a second and one?

Thanks

Is this for castle?

If so, I ticked second hand gown, but by the time I arrived there were no second hand ones left so I had to pay for a new one.
In 1st year I hda an ents card and went to all the ents, I'd say it was worth it but you have to go to all the ents to make it worth it!

Reply 1089

Prudy

Rob_UK

Hey, I recently received confirmation of my place at Josephine Butler college, and I was wondering if there's anywhere to swim in durham, and what the prices are likely to be? Thanks.

The swimming baths are down near Hilde Bede and it's about £2.00 for a swim

Reply 1090

Piggsil

Prudy

The swimming baths are down near Hilde Bede and it's about £2.00 for a swim

I thought they were closed now?

Reply 1091

J4KE

10

Becca

Is this for castle?

If so, I ticked second hand gown, but by the time I arrived there were no second hand ones left so I had to pay for a new one.
In 1st year I hda an ents card and went to all the ents, I'd say it was worth it but you have to go to all the ents to make it worth it!

Thanks, yeah it's for Castle. There is no 2nd hand gown box, only a new gown box to tick. It does say there will be a limited number of 2nd hand ones though... is it easy enough to buy one if there are none left?

Also is it easy enough to get an ents card if i decide I want one when I get there? I'd rather not fork out £30 without knowing if I want it...

:woo:

Reply 1092

Piggsil

J4KE

Thanks, yeah it's for Castle. There is no 2nd hand gown box, only a new gown box to tick. It does say there will be a limited number of 2nd hand ones though... is it easy enough to buy one if there are none left?

Also is it easy enough to get an ents card if i decide I want one when I get there? I'd rather not fork out £30 without knowing if I want it...

:woo:

Yes, they should have a big box of gowns waiting for people to buy when you arrive.

And yes, I think so. You can get the cost of the ents card added onto your battels (termly bill) normally so I would advise you to do that. :smile:

Reply 1093

J4KE

10

Becca

Yes, they should have a big box of gowns waiting for people to buy when you arrive.

And yes, I think so. You can get the cost of the ents card added onto your battels (termly bill) normally so I would advise you to do that. :smile:

Thanks

I'll hold off on the gown + ents card for the moment I think :smile:

Reply 1094

Prudy

Becca

I thought they were closed now?

I did nay know! Hmm, don't know anywhere else tbh. Maiden castle?

Reply 1095

Becca

I thought they were closed now?

They are, there is a new one...

http://www.durhamcity.gov.uk/Leisure/Locations/FreemansQuay/

Reply 1096

dave134

1

jobo3

Do Durham block websites when your using their internet connection? (i.e. ones that let you stream tv programmes / films off them)

Currently for nearly every machine within the university, to access a web page you have to go via the ITS proxy servers. Ports 80 and 443 outbound are blocked for all but a handful of servers/specialist machines that ITS have approved.

This is supposedly changing in time for the 2008 intake of freshers, but at the moment, the proxies are required.

There is a list of a few websites that are blocked, these are typically sites that tunnel your connection so the ITS cannot see where you are going and what you are doing.

Napster, LimeLight, DailyMotion, and Facebook are limited during the working day. You can still access them, but at a vastly restricted speed. This is because the amount of traffic from these sites is sufficient to affect the core business of the university.

Any sites that become a problem due to excessive usage will most likely also be restricted, as the university will always prioritise academic traffic over students using facebook.

Applications are another matter...

If the application you are trying to use works with standard http/https (and currently supports being proxied) then it will work fine.
Outbound email on port 25 has to go via the universities servers
Inbound email on IMAP/POP/IMAPS/POPS will work
SSH can be used to connect to other machines, but I've heard that it is severely rate-limited on the student network. If you need to log into a linux/unix machine to make changes, check email with pine etc then it will be fine, but if you were hoping to tunnel your connection via SSH and your parents ADSL line, then you will find it far too limited.

Last time I checked, Newsgroups and IRC were permitted through the firewall.

Your machine will have to be approved by a piece of software called Bradford Campus Manager, which scans your machine, detects the operating system and then verifies that:

a) Your operating system is permitted.
b) It is appropriately secured and patched.

http://www.dur.ac.uk/its/services/ensuite/campusmgr/networkpolicy/

With network games, those that need to connect to a server on the internet will fail, those that can operate perfectly happily just communicating between the players machines will work fine on the internal network.

The university seems to be trying to rebalance things a bit between the desires of the students to be able to do what they want with the internet connection in their room, and the desires of the staff to not have their research disrupted by student use of the network, but I don't think the ideal solution of splitting the student network off is going to happen in the immediate future, rather being a more long term aim.

Reply 1097

sidekick

12

Hopping Mad Kangaroo

You want the trial of this :smile:

http://www.my-video-converter.com/youtube_converter/
Just make sure when ripping the videos you set it each time to rip to the music format you want.

thank you! i will give it a go later :biggrin:

Reply 1098

NDGAARONDI

Hopping Mad Kangaroo

Getting ahold of a computer in the main library is often difficult, and you are not going to write the best of essays in that sort of environment. Trust me, you will want your lappie. Cant you shove it in a big rucksack and take it on board with you or something?

Why are there not enough of them? What's wrong with the environment? I've been able to study at LSE's library and that was quoted as being one of the noisiest libraries in the country. I just don't want to have loud room mates like I have done before. I just want a light travel though. Won't be taking as many clothes as I did last time that is for sure.

Reply 1099