News & Events > ICT Bulletin Archive

London ICT e-bulletin - November 2010

By Lasa Information Systems Team

A summary of technology news, funding, resources, tips, tools and opinion for small to medium sized third sector organisations in London.

News

Charities will use technology for partnership working

Lasa reports that around two-thirds of charities plan to use technology to collaborate more nationally and internationally, according to new research.
 
Lasa Technology Conference report available

The report of the Lasa European Not-For-Profit technology conference, held at London's Garden Museum on 28 and 29 September, is now available. The conference, which explored the pros and cons that the Cloud presented the third sector, examined the influence this technology could have on contact management, document storage, collaboration, distributed working, media and networking. 
 
AgeUK seeks internet champions

Could you be Age UK's Internet Champion of the Year 2011? Age UK is conducting a UK-wide search to find an inspirational person to champion the benefits of the internet. If you're aged over 55 and the internet has changed your life, they'd love to hear from you.

Computanews 158 out now

The latest issue of Lasa's Computanews technology magazine is now available. In this issue:

• Debunking the Cloud - Morgan Killick takes issue with some commonly-held opinions and claims for using cloud computing - Computanews referees...
• Fog lifts @cloud conference - we report back on the Lasa European Not-For-Proft Technology Conference held on September
• Tips 158 - A selection of the best cloud-based services as suggested by Conference delegates
• Technology handbook launch - after a long wait our Technology Handbook is now here
• New regular columnists - we welcome Adam Clamp, Paula Graham and Paul Ticher who write on green technology, free and open source software and data protection
• Relaunching a website - rightsnet gets a makeover and introduces new areas of social welfare law
• Windows 7 licensing - the UKRiders get to grips with the licensing and hardware issues involved in upgrading to Microsoft's latest operating system
• The Social Network - Computanews goes to the movies

Events, training & learning

London ICT Events

For London technology events please see our new ICT Knowledgebase Events Calendar. This month's events include the Civil Society IT conference, NCVO's Increasing Impact Through Technology, Fossbox's Friday drop-in, Social Media Advanced from Sounddelivery, Spicework's Boot Camp and more.
 
Media Trust training

The Media Trust are running a number of digital media training events in the London area over the next few months.
 
Idealware online seminars

Idealware continues their series of seminars in November and December with Choosing A Low Cost Constituent Database, Making The Most of Scoial Networking Sites and Online Survey Tools and Techniques. All seminars are one and a half hours long and run between 1 - 2.30 pm EST (which is 6 - 7.30pm here, we think).
 
ICT Champions Events Calendar

The ICT Champions website now has a useful list of countrywide ICT events

Funding and awards

Twitter vital for fundraisers

Third Sector reports that all fundraisers should be able to use digital media rather than leave it to a separate digital communications team, delegates were told at the Institute of Fundraising Scotland conference in Glasgow.

Pennies Foundation microdonation scheme

Civil Society reports that Pennies Foundation has launched an electronic charity donation scheme to collect small donations from consumers who pay for goods by card. Shoppers will be able to donate between one penny and 99 pence securely in store with one press of a button and online with one click.

Resources and accessibility

Engaging Constituents Using Mobile Technology

Regardless of your organization’s demographics, chances are good that a majority of your constituents use mobile phones. How can you reach out to them? Idealware walks through the possibilities: texting, two-way communication, giving, pledging, websites, apps, and more.
 
Catch22 'Young people and the digital divide'

Catch 22's report presents the findings of research on young people's experiences of using the internet. It highlights the effects that the Government's drive to increase online services has on young people who have limited or no access to the internet. Download the report (PDF 490Kb)  
 
A guide to using Freedom of Information in campaigning

This new guide from NCVO illustrates how the Freedom of Information Act has been used as a powerful and versatile campaigning tool from the local to the national level. Its findings show how campaigners are at the forefront of developing our 'right to know', making government more transparent.

Environmental website benchmark report issued

Groundwire (formally One/NW), a US environmental organisation, have issued a very interesting report which analyses the websites of 43 environmental not-for-profits. For example, the study found that a typical website visitor looks at about three pages per visit, and the typical visit lasts between two and three minutes. The report is free to download once you've parted with your name and email address.

Data Sharing Code of Practice consultation

Out-Law.com reports that organisations that share personal data with other bodies must make sure their processes guarantee the fairness, accuracy and security of that information Rules can be relaxed for one-off incidents, the Information Commission has said.
 
Most smartphone users breach employers’ security

Out-Law.com states that a survey hasd found that more than half of mobile device users access their employer's networks every day without permission. More than 80% of users of mobile devices, whose security is not controlled by a company, say they have accessed work information.

Practical tips

Lasa launches Technology Handbook

The 56 page Technology Handbook (PDF - 314Kb) is designed to be a central repository of all information relevant to the configuration and management of the technology services within an organisation - from your ISP’s login details to where licence keys are stored. It is aimed at third sector technology staff who have responsibility for supporting, developing, managing and securing ICT systems.
 
The handbook covers all areas of an organisation’s technology. It is split into eight sections:

1. The organisation – e.g. mission, strategy, budget
2. Compliance – e.g. health and safety, data protection, waste electrical regulations
3. Inventory – hardware, software
4. Configuration – passwords, server, network, internet
5. Contracts – e.g. support, maintenance, internet service provider
6. Policies – e.g. disaster recovery, acceptable use, data protection
7. Procedures – e.g. user induction, backup
8. Appendices – sources of further information

Securing cloud data

Richard Collins at TechSoup looks at what third sector organisations need to know about keeping their offsite data safe. Over on their forum, TechSoup users offer their opinions on whether it is more secure than having it sitting on your own PCs or servers.

Engaging your constituents using mobile technology

Mobile phones are ubiquitous but how do you go about using them to meet your mission? Laura Quinn at Idealware phones home.

Customising the Quick Access Tool Bar - Office 2007 / 10

A quick tip from Superhighways to speed things up! If you frequently need to drill down through Tabs of the later versions of Microsoft Office Ribbon menu for a specific command e.g. Margins (under the Page Layout tab) or Crop / Compress images (under the Picture tools / Format tab) then instead, you can right click on the icon in question and select Add to Quick Access Toolbar.  It will then appear next to the default options at the top left hand side of your screen and you can select it using only one click!
 
Embedding external content in your website

Have you seen a Google map or YouTube video embedded on someone's web page and wondered how it got there? A new Superhighways factsheet (PDF, 2.10Mb) shows you how easy it is to do. You'll find a whole host of other content too that can be effectively embedded e.g. Calendars and the Translation toolbar also from Google, presentations using SlideShare, event booking forms using Eventbrite, surveys using SurveyMonkey, audio files from Ipadio, photos and images from Flickr and more...

Tools and applications

Microsoft Office 2011: Should you upgrade?

Macworld asks if Mac users should invest in the latest version of Microsoft Office.

Skype conferencing facility free 28 day trial

With the latest business version of Skype you can trial Skype’s new beta video conferencing tool – group video calling.

Microsoft launches Office 365

Microsoft has unveiled Office 365, a package of hosted services that include Office Web Apps, Exchange Online, SharePoint Online and Lync Online. Scheduled to ship next year, Office 365 is now available in limited beta form in 13 countries and regions worldwide.
 
Dropbox - cloud file storage and more

Are you fed up with emailing file attachments to yourself and others, using USB drives to move files between computers and having to rename files to keep a history of previous versions? Dropbox syncs files instantly and automatically both online and across a range of computers. Features include:

• Cross platform compatibility -  Windows, Mac & Linux + a range of mobile devices
• Web access - synchronised files accessible via the Dropbox website
• File sharing – invite people to share files and collaborate in real time
• Automatic online back up - free 2 GB account (with option to pay for larger accounts if required)
• Undo & delete – a history of changes kept so you can undo and delete where necessary
• Secure solution with encrypted storage and transfer of files

Sharepoint 2010

Thinking of installing or upgrading to the latest version of Microsoft's Sharepoint application? Check out TechSoup's article which gathers together a host of resources and blog posts.
 
Ubuntu releases new version

The new version of the open source operating system Ubuntu, 10.10, was, appropriately, released on 10/10/10.  Scott Gilberston over at The Register gives it the once over. It is available for download now.

Opinion

Making it up as you go along

Deborah Elizabeth Finn makes some spurious assumptions to "back up" her views on technology trends in the nonprofit sector.

No more pencils, no more books

Colin Pizarek and Chris Bernard over at Idealware examine how technology can assist learning beyond the classroom.
 
The office is dead?

Grant Howe, on the NTEN blog, looks at the future of non-profit working from home.

And finally...

A solar powered internet cafe in 2 minutes

Watch Computer Aid International create a solar powered computer suite to got to Kenya from a common or garden shipping container. 
 
The Information Dividend: Why IT makes you ‘happier’

Read the British Computer Society's report on the social contribution of information and information technology to the ‘happiness’ of nations and individuals.