The Birth of Computing News
The first issue of Computing News came out in August 1985. Then, NTU was known as NTI (Nanyang Technological Institute). In the words of the first editor of the newsletter, "Although the Computer Centre looks after the publication of this newsletter, the intention is to make this newsletter a common media for disseminating computing information relating not only to the Computer Centre but more importantly to the whole of NTI. This newsletter will be published quarterly."
The publication, with its blue masthead, was printed in-house with the assistance of CED (Centre for Educational Development). Then, the Computer Centre was located in the former EEE block (now known as the Innovation Centre). Way back in 1982, the CC was part of the school of EEE. But three years later it became a separate, independent unit. Computing News was launched when the department became independent in 1985.
It went online in 1987
Then, NTI's total staff and student population was considerably smaller, and budget for publications was likewise smaller. Printed copies of the Computing News stopped after issue 6, in April 1987. The Computer Centre experimented with online publishing in the then VIDEOTEX, which was something like our current InTV text terminal. This did not go down well with some readers who were anxious to know if the publication was discontinued. Alas, it seemed that paper copies still reigned supreme! Hence quarterly printed copies resumed again from issue 7 (there was no break in the issue numbers) in January 1988. Focus also shifted then. It was decided that the printed copies would contain mainly news items, while the VIDEOTEX version would carry the full technical details.
.. and shrank in size
This time, the printed copies went totally black-and-white -- no more coloured mastheads. The logo was also done more simply on a computer. Printing was done totally within the centre on a duplicator. From September 1989 to September 1991, the paper also shrank in size from A4 to B5 in an attempt to cut costs, and possibily at the same time make it more handy to carry around. However, it did not go down well with the readers. Some of them have complained that the B5 sized prints were a tad too tiny to read with comfort.
Things began to look up when a new Deputy Director took over as editor of the publication. Thereafter, for the whole year of 1992, the newsletter was upsized again to A4. This time round, the covers were also printed on green coloured A3 papers (folded in half for the A4-sized newsletter). This was an attempt to inject some colour into a low-cost publication. Thicker 100gm white papers were also used in the inside pages to add bulk to the newsletter and make it less flimsy.
Better times ahead
Later, more funds were also earmarked for the centre's publications. January 1993, marked the first time the newsletter was printed by a commercial printer. The computer logo on the left side of the old masthead was also dispensed with as pictures of machines could look obsolete quickly. (See Images of the Past for a look at all the mastheads ever used.) The new brush-stroked letterings for "NTU Computing News" looked more modern and was thought to be able to withstand the passage of time better. (The font was so well received that another campus publication was similarly inspired by it too!)
The front and back covers were printed in full colour on A4 sized paper. This issue also had a coloured centre-spread. However, difficulty faced with laying out coloured illustrations precisely in the centre-spread (so as to make full use of the prepaid coloured pages) made the trial a one-off thing. One thing remained till the present is the total number of pages for the newsletter. It became more fixed at either 12 or 16 pages.
Changes and other trials
Over the years the editorial team was changed slightly when staff resigned from the university, and new ones were recruited. Generally those with a better command of the English language in the Computer Centre were encouraged to join the team as regular contributors.
Some suggestions that were received and tried out included themes for each issue, departments (regular topics in the newsletters), the removal of the editorial section to make way for more articles, crossword puzzles and quizzes whenever space permits, and "pull-tags" on the front cover.
A special email address (ComputingNews@ntu.edu.sg) for feedback and suggestions was also started in an effort to make the newsletter better suited for the readers.
In 1 September 1998, eCNews was launched primarily to make available electronic archive of current and past issues in the CC website. It also helped to increase the profile of the newsletter among the staff and students of the university.
Renaming of Computer Centre
Thursday 18 February 1999 is a significant date for CC. With one fell swoop of an email, the centre had been renamed to Centre for IT Services (CITS). The change arises as the President of NTU, Dr Cham Tao Soon, felt that the old name did not quite reflect the present role and mission of the centre. The centre has evolved from a mere provider of computing services to include more consultancy roles in the area of IT.
Other than the flurry of activities associated with a name change of such magnitude, the services provided by the centre remains unchanged. The latest news is that the Computing News will retain its name... for now.
A new era, a new name...
Computing News ceased to exist after July 1999. Skipping the October issue, the publication was re-launched with a new name in the first quarter of 2000. After a round of voting within CITS, eventually the name iTzone was chosen by the Director.
With the new name, a new masthead was designed by the printer. The layout of the pages within the newsletter was changed too. There is now a side bar at the left and right hand side of the pages. The colour of the bar will be changed every year. The photos within the coloured bar will be changed every issue. Starting from this issue (Jan-Mar 2000, issue no. 48 - the number continues from previous series) there will also be articles on the front cover.
The issue kicked off with a simple poem on the Y2K crossover vigil by Lim Huey Bing. The email address for readers' feedback was also changed to iTzone@ntu.edu.sg
Going fully digital in 2001
At the end of 2000, management of CITS decided to make the new issues available online only. The newsletter will no longer be printed by an external printer. The team had to come up with suitable layout for viewing on-screen, and yet be able to be printed by the reader with ease.
iTzone is thus created on Adobe PageMaker and exported to Adobe Acrobat format (PDF).
On CMS platform in 2003
Starting from the Jan-Mar 2003 issue, iTzone was published on Microsoft CMS (Content Management Server) 2001 platform. Subscribers had the convenience of receiving the latest issue in their e-mail box. The number and length of articles were also no longer restricted by the number of pages as in the printed version.
From quarterly to monthly
CITS management decided that with the CMS platform, iTzone could be published monthly. In October 2003, iTzone became a monthly e-newsletter. The editorial team memebrs, who were all serving on a part-time basis, had to put in triple efforts. Thank you guys and gals!
Another new era, another new name and new media in 2010
The University's first CIO (Chief Information Officer) who led both CITS and CED (Centre for Educational Development) wanted a joint e-newsletter published by both departments. As CITS already had a well-established e-newsletter iTzone, it was decided that the joint e-newsletter would retain the original iTzone editorial team but include a CED (now known as CELT - Centre for Excellence in Learning and Teaching) staff as member. After some brainstorming, IT Connect was selected by CIO as the name for the joint e-newsletter, replacing iTzone.
IT Connect was launched in January 2010, on MOSS (Microsoft Office Sharepoint Server) 2007 platform. IT Connect also has a presence in Facebook.
Don't forget to check out the Images of the Past: A gallery of past and present mastheads. 