[plug] [OT] For all the SysAdmins on the list

[Paul Baumgarten]

Apologies for the slightly off topic nature of the post and to anyone who
already knows of this little trick.

Thought maybe some people on the list might be interested in a little titbit
I picked up from Telstra yesterday.  For those SysAdmins on the list who
feel as if they are married to their jobs, now there is a way to be even
more so.  Telstra has a service where a modem can dial a number and using a
chat script, send an SMS Message to a mobile phone (don't know if it works
on non-Telstra mobiles).

The modem number for anyone interested is 0418 707 767 and the info web page
is
http://www.telstra.com.au/mobilenet/services/busaccess.htm

I plan on setting up a server with a spare modem to use this to notify me on
my mobile if any of the other servers fail, or if the logs detect something
weird happening (like a security breach etc).  Great... now even when I'm
away from the office, the computers can tell me something is wrong before I
get angry humans telling something is wrong.  Hmmm... which is the lesser of
the two evils?

Paul Baumgarten (email: paul at kcc.wa.edu.au)
Information Systems Manager
Kingsway Christian College
157 Kingsway, Landsdale, WA, 6065
Ph: +61 8 9409 7078
Fx: +61 8 9409 6179