ISG Blog

How many times are you out of the office and want to call someone so you grab your mobile phone then find you don't have their number? Well help is at hand (literally)! Simply open the web browser on your phone and enter the URL sarmy.net.nz/mydetails (then save it as a favourite to make it faster next time). Enter your logon name (Firstname Lastname or shortname AA00) followed by your Lotus Notes password.

Then you will see this screen:

Click on the Search People button, then enter the name or location that you want and before you know it you'll have the number you can call them on!

With MyDetails you get sent an email every 90 days that lets you confirm your details. If you don't respond to it then you get a reminder email every week for a 6 weeks before your account is automatically disabled. 

However at any time you can go and confirm your details and reset the 90 day counter. To achieve this follow these 3 quick steps:

1. Go to the Intranet (www.sarmy.net.nz) and click on MyDetails / ISG Job Track link (on the quick links on the right hand side)
2. Login using your Lotus Notes username (Firstname Lastname or rg00) and usual Lotus Notes password 
3. Click the MyDetails tab (top left) to view and check your information before clicking the Confirm button at the bottom of the screen

If you need any further assistance then log a job online (it is in the same place as MyDetails). Click on the JobTrack link in the top left corner. You will see a list of any jobs you have open and can click on the Log New Job  link to send us a request. 

This is the last post in our Google search tips series. Hopefully you've learnt something helpful through the posts. Today we have a little fun. All we're doing today is letting you know some searches that give you surprising results!

1. do a barrel roll
2. askew
3. zerg rush

Have fun and remember we're all here to care for people, transform lives, and reform society.

In the continuing Google Search Tip Series we're looking at something that we're all a little obsessed with, the weather! It dominates Kiwi conversation (and cycle commuting) and Google can help you with that. All you need to do is enter a city followed by the word forecast and you'll see what to expect. This is a feature of Google that seems to work really well and it tells you something for most of the smaller NZ towns we tried (apparently it is going to be raining all week in Taumaranui this week unlike Kaikohe where they can expect warm sunshine).

Enter: forecast Wellington to see what to expect.

Oh and don't panic, yes you can use Google Now and speak your request.

Have you seen the new online version of Job Track? We're trying to make it easier for us to get help you so have put some effort into capturing what is happening and when you're going to be available. To access it simply head to the Intranet / My Details / Job Track and you will get a list of any request you have that is still open. 

To create a new request, click on the log new job link:

If your problem is really urgent (forgotten password) then feel free to call us (04 802 6262) otherwise it is really helpful for us when work is logged online. This makes it easier for us to schedule tasks and ensure the best person is being assigned. 

Sometimes the problem with searching is Google just doesn't understand you. Maybe you want to find out some apple based trivia for a message so you Google apple. Then you realise that you're being bombarded with information about iPhones, iPads, OS/X, and iOS when what you really wanted to know about was fruit!

No problem simply search as follows: Apple -iPhone

All you need to do is append an - to exclude those instances from your search. The - is a minus and the word can be anything you want. 

The unfortunate reality of searching for apple is you need to add a whole lot of exclusions (-) to get away from the behemoth that is Apple Computer Corporation!

Following on with all of the recent Google search tips today we want to introduce you to the concept of searching for a file type. This is particularly helpful when you know exactly what you're looking for (say a PDF file). It is also helpful in a scenario where you looking for a published report.

To search for a PDF file simply enter the following: NZ Child Poverty filetype:PDF

This will return results where there is a PDF attachment (they are all quite interesting)!

Did you know that with MyDetails you are able to search for any person or place within the organisation? It is really simple and works anywhere you have a computer with internet access (even your mobile phone). Just follow these easy steps:

1. Open your web browser and go to www.sarmy.net.nz
2. Click on the MyDetails/ISG Job Track link
3. Log on
4. Click / enter your search
5. Find who you're looking for!

A great feature of MyDetails is that you can search for a location (for those times where you can't remember the name of the person in Foxton you want to talk to)! Another great feature is that it recognises when you're accessing it from a mobile phone and formats everything perfectly for the smaller screen.

So whenever you need that name, phone number, or address just get into MyDetails and remember Matthew 7:7

Ever need to know what the time is in LA, or Paris, maybe Moscow? Google is ready to answer that question for you! This is the easiest because it is a natural language enquiry! Just go to Google and enter what is the time in Chicago to get the answer.

This one, like many of the Google search tips, works really well with Google Now and voice commands. 

Need something converted? Google will do that for you and save you having to find a site that does it, then enter your conversion request. Currency and units are almost instantly converted for you by entering in into the Google search. 

Examples: 
24C in F returns 75.2 
40 inches in CM returns 101.6
35 miles in km returns 56

Give it a go next time you need to convert something and want an almost instant answer!

Did you know that when you search using Google you can limit it to a single site? For example maybe you want to search for doctrine but only on the Salvation Army NZ website. You can achieve this by entering:

salvationarmy.org.nz:doctrine

This allows you to be very specific in where you go looking for something.

It isn't a common occurrence, but occasionally I can't find my phone. Usually I've put it down in a different room so it isn't lost, but I do have a panicked moment where I think about what I might lose! If you do the same then Android Device Manager is something you're going to want to activate.

While basic compared to some 3rd party applications, this is a Google application that lets you find where you phone is. It also lets you make the phone ring at full volume (no need to use somebody else's phone) and, if it really is lost, erase all data on it. 

For details on how to configure it check out cnet.com

Do you like to know how many text messages you've sent and how much data you've used on your phone? If you have an Android handset then dodol can help. It needs some configuration but can help you keep track of how much you've used.

Watch this video to see how dodol works.

I recently received a copy of an article came from Firefox  that I thought might very useful to the territory users who are requested to put in a new password every 90 days.  You may find it useful too...

Passwords Dos and Don'ts

There’s a saying when it comes to online passwords: they’re like a toothbrush. That’s because you want a good toothbrush (just like a password), you should change it often (just like a password) and you should never share it (just like a password!).

There are some key dos and don’ts that can help:

DON’T

·         use personal information that could be easily guessed or accessed, like your birthday (which happens more often than you might think) — it’s easy for you to remember, but easy for someone shady to find

·         use actual words that you can find in actual language (any language)

·         use the same password for all of your accounts

DO

·         use a different password for each account

·         combine capital letters, numbers and special characters

·         change your password once every three months or so — and immediately if a site notifies you of a security breach

By now you’re probably thinking, “I can’t remember my keys in the morning. How am I supposed to remember all these new passwords all the time?”

Here are a few steps to creating easy-to-remember passwords that are still secure.

1.    Choose a phrase — let’s try “The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog.”

2.    Use the first letter in each word and capitalize the first one: Tqbfjotld

3.    Make it stronger by adding a special character: Tqbfjotld!

4.    Now, associate it with each website you log in to. For example, you could use YT for YouTube, FB for Facebook, your bank’s initials — you get the point. So your password would now look like this:

YTTqbfjotld! (for YouTube)
FBTqbfjotld! (for Facebook)
and so on, and so on…

Choosing secure passwords will go a long way to keeping you safe online.

A new area has been added to the intranet under ISG, and this is the Tip Sheets area, which can be found under Department and Services; ISG Help Desk; ISG Tip Sheets.

The Tip Sheets have been designed with the end user in mind, and they range from how to load Lotus Traveler on your smart phone, and how to get help from ISG, to how to use the intranet.  Some are tip and tricks you can use when operating Lotus Notes or Microsoft Office products.

Don't forget to first log in to the intranet for full access.

We are hopeful that there will be a lot more tip sheets that will be added to this area, and it will be useful to periodically check this area from time to time.  It might even be useful to download these and add then to your induction packs for new staff.

If you have any ideas of what might be helpful, then let Peter Hennessey know.  We may be able to assist and create a new tip sheet which w3ill be made available to all in the territory.

You still won’t get everyone to read your messages, but you can increase the percentage, which is only good for you and your organization.

From 10 WAYS TO MAKE PEOPLE ACTUALLY READ YOUR EMAILS (By Erik Sherman, business and tech writer for Inc, The New York Times Magazine, Fortune, and more.)

Found an article which I thought you would all find helpful.  But rather than take up your valuable time and making you read the whole thing in one go, I will give you two tips a day for the next 5 days on...

10 WAYS TO MAKE PEOPLE ACTUALLY READ YOUR EMAILS

(By Erik Sherman, business and tech writer for Inc, The New York Times Magazine, Fortune, and more.)

Email is an efficient and effective form of communication. It’s also very easy to ignore. That’s because most email is spam, so people are primed to hit the delete button.

So how do you get people to actually read your missives? Try these

Set Importance to High