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THF MTX Monday, March 13,2006 JL J 1 1 A -X-T I M JL _m. > Page 9 P Kimberly South / THE GAMECOCK The iCARE Center can be found in the Computer Services Center building on the corner of Blossom and Sumter streets. Technicians can install and run programs that will help keep your machine running smoothly and bug-free. Do you iCARE? A USCs new help center will give your computer a check-up Aaron Oailin THE GAMECOCK Have a problem with your computer that is beyond you? Want to learn more about how to maintain and protect your computer? USC’s new iCARE Center (Internet Computer and Resource Center), which opened in September, is the place for you. Don’t let the name fool you — this is no facility to W get your eyes checked out. This center is the place for students who are clueless about computer technology and those tech-sawy ones who want to acquire new knowledge about their computers. The Computer Services Center building, located on the corner of Blossom and Sumter streets, houses the iCARE Center. The center is partly supported by student technology fees. To become a beneficiary of the services of the iCARE technicians, students must first register for a session by B calling the UTS Help Desk ^ at 777-1800, by visiting http://uts.sc.edu/helpdesk, or by dropping by the center itself. However, students who drop by for a session without an appointment are not guaranteed a seat. Students showing up to a registered session should try to be 10 minutes early to provide time for the setup of their computer before the session starts. Sessions last for two and a half hours; students aren’t required to stay the whole According to the iCARE Center homepage, a technician will assist students with the following things during each session: First, a technician will use a virus scan program to search the computer for viruses. Next, the technician will configure your wired or wireless Internet Don’t let the name fool you — this is no facility to get your eyes checked out. This center is the place for students who are clueless about computer technology. session. Monitors, mice and keyboards are provided at the center. Students need to bring only their computer tower or laptop. A legal copy of the student’s operating system must be brought, as well. The help and information iCARE technicians provide includes showing students how to protect their computers and identities from hackers and viruses, how to get their computers connected to ResNet (residential network) and the USC Wireless Network, and how to download updates and perform general maintenance. connection, if needed. He or she will do a system restore and configure your firewall, if needed. The technician will also install updated anti-virus software if none is already present on the computer. Spybot and Adaware SE will be run to locate any annoying spyware. Service pack, RPC patch and CleanAccess will be installed, if needed. Also, from the main computer, a Nessus scan will scan the computer. During each session the technicians stress the importance of secure passwords. “Students need to really understand the importance of strong passwords for their security,” said Kimberly South, public information coordinator for University Technology Services. “Hackers can easily find out your information,” South said. “You don’t want your password to be your brother’s name, your middle name, or something that can be easily connected to you. You want to have something optimally that’s not even in the dictionary, that has a combination of letters, numbers and symbols.” According to the iCARE site, the iCARE technicians do not provide hardware support and will not reformat a student’s computer or perform an operating system restore either. They will not help troubleshoot application software, nor will they install application software. Assistance will also not be provided in troubleshooting or installing peripheral devices. Dial-Up modems are not supported at the center and only Windows 2000, XP and Mac OS X 10 operating systems are supported. The center ICRRE • II Myspace offers meeting place for Web surfers A “ tr Among other uses, site links bands with fans Jeremy Turnage THE GAMECOCK Of the millions of Web sites that exist on the Internet, one site’s sole purpose for existing is to bring millions of Web users together. The so-called “place for friends,” Myspace. com, has become one of the most visited Web sites on the Internet. In fact, according to Alexa Internet, a company that monitors web traffic, Myspace is the fifth most viewed English language Web site on the Internet. Myspace has gone through several identities over the last few years. The site first began as a web design firm. In the late ‘90s, the site became a file sharing and online storage site. Users could register for free and receive a small quota of disk space to share and store files. Due to a lack of revenue and slow service, that version of the site closed down in 2001. Tom Anderson, a University of California at Berkeley and University of California at Los Angeles alumni, created the current version of Myspace, which has exploded in popularity. Getting started on Myspace is a simple process that involves giving the site some personal information to.get registered. Creating the actual profile is the part where users can flex their creative muscles. Users can supply as much or as little information to their profile as possible. Users start out by listing their general interests, such as favorite TV shows, movies and musicians. The profiles can get even more personal, such as information as marital status and body features. One of the major features of the site is the ability to link up with other users, such as real friends, people in the same hometown, or even people that go to the same school. “What I like about Myspace is the fact that I can keep in touch with my friends who are in mcc« 10 cy'diui »<s i iiu uniiiuuv/un Pearl Jam recently premiered a single on Myspace. Many bands use the Web site to stay connected with their fans. Forget videos, gym — work out via podcast i Liz Doup SOUTH FLORIDA SUN-SENTINEL Personal trainer Mike Causadias runs nonstop, working with clients across southern Florida. But Causadias recently learned how to extend his reach. Now, fitness buffs all over the country, and the world, can work out with him. They just download his weekly podcast — an energetic mix of strength building exercises and workout tips — on Wh a tl WantPodcasting. com. Count his fitness-focused podcast among hundreds available to anyone looking for free advice and a little motivation. It’s the latest twist in the growing world of podcasting, which has mushroomed with the soaring sales of MP3 players. Sure, you can get fitness tips from magazines, books and TV. But podcasts are mobile, available any time PODCRST • 10 Snowboarder group raises funds, breast cancer awareness Special to THE GAMECOCK Katherine Gasperini and Lisa Hudson formed Boarding for Breast Cancer when Monica Steward, their friend and fel!,ow snowboarder, was diagnosed with breast cancer. Boarding for Breast Cancer sponsors benefit concerts, appears at national events Caroline DeSanctis THE GAMECOCK Boards, bands, boys and ... boobs? No, it’s not a bachelor party — it’s a non-profit organization known as Boarding for Breast Cancer. Founded on the basis of a dream by snowboarder Monica Steward, Boarding for Breast Cancer, or B4BC, aims to educate whoever will listen about breast cancer, as well as spreading awareness and raising money for research. In the U.S., a woman is diagnosed with breast cancer every two minutes. Steward herself became a statistic after she was diagnosed with breast cancer at the age of 26. Katherine Gasperini and Lisa Hudson, close friends of Steward’s as well as fellow snowboarders, decided to make her dream a feality. Together with various supporters, including pro snowboarders like Tina Basich and Shannon Dunn, these two women built the organization from the ground up, realizing that this project was the perfect way for them to support Steward and fuse their collective passions of snowboarding and music. Steward was never able to see her vision into fruition, however. She died at the) age of 28, three months prior to B4BC’s inaugural event, due to complications from her breast cancer. While Steward’s death was tragic for those who knew her, she remained a strong inspiration for the cause and the meaning behind B4BC. After its first event, Boarding for Breast Cancer quickly inflated into the fundraising juggernaut that it is today, mi • 10 T