Cruzio Newsletter - Number 13, January 29, 1998

1. 56k -- Faster connection speed!
	a. Where's Cruzio's informative high-speed web page?
	b. What's X2 56k?
	c. Why 56k may not work for you
	d. How to get on to 56k with Cruzio
	e. Where to get modems
2. About This Newsletter
3. How to Reach Cruzio (dial-in or tech support)


1. 56k -- Faster connection speed!

	a. Where's Cruzio's informative high-speed web page?
	http://www.cruzio.com/support/highspeed.html

	b. What's X2 56k?
   Another entry to your bowl of Internet acronyms: 56k, short for
   56 kilobits per second, refers to the speed of a connection. It's
   faster than 14.4k or 28.8k or 33.6k modems, which most of you have
   right now. X2 refers to the US Robotics version of this fast technology.

   Cruzio is always looking at new technology for our customers. Speed is
   of the essence, and we researched 56k equipment to see if it would be an
   economical and viable technology for our customers.

   We are satisfied that the speed increases are very real and can make a 
   difference for a large number of our users, so we've made the substantial
   investment required to offer it to you. If you download lots of pages from
   the web, play games, or download software, you may see a dramatic and
   meaningful improvement in performance. We're offering X2 56k at the
   same price as our other connections -- $19 per month. If you have a
   Cruzio account already, you can just start accessing 56k speeds by
   following directions below.

   If you have any questions about 56k, please have a look at our page about
   it:
	http://www.cruzio.com/support/highspeed.html

   And another good resource for 56k info is:
	http://www.56k.com


	c. Why 56k may not work for you
There are a lot of reasons why 56k will NOT work for you and you
should review them:
     -  "X2" is not "k56flex". 
	This refers to the type and brand of modem you buy.
	We chose the standard we felt was most reliable and worked with 
	more commercially available modems. Different brands follow
	different, and *incompatible* standards.  If you have a "k56flex"
	modem, you can still dial in to our regular 33.6 pools and get
	33.6 speeds, but not 56k. A unified standard is expected sometime
	this spring and then all the new 56k modems should work with our
	equipment. Older k56flex modems might be upgradeable, but not
	always.

     -  Not all phone lines work with 56k. 
	There are many reasons that a phone line might not be able to sustain
	high speeds like 56k. Check out
		http://www.56k.com/buyer/rule1.shtml
	for a number of things that can prevent good performance.
	There are no guarantees that your line will work. We've had great
	results so far with lines in the West Side and downtown Santa Cruz,
	but even in those areas a line at the house next door may be
	entirely different. Some web pages suggest borrowing a modem from a
	friend and trying it out first. 

     -  Some computers and software are too old for 56k
	If you are using an older PC or Mac, your hardware and software
	may not permit you to see faster speeds, even if you do get a
	faster modem. 


	d. How to get on to 56k with Cruzio
   New customers can simply sign up for the service. If you are
   already a Cruzio customer, please go to
		http://members.cruzio.com/cgi-bin/switch.cgi		
   to get the information you need to access 56k.


	e. Where to get modems
   We will have modems for sale at Cruzio, for both Macs and Windows
   machines. Also, we recommend Guenther's in downtown Santa Cruz
   and Santa Cruz Electronics and Computerware out in Capitola for
   this type of hardware -- they are friendly and knowledgeable,
   and can give you much better service than the big chains.

2. About This Newsletter
   Cruzio doesn't like to waste bandwidth with extra email, but
   we sometimes have events and announcements that users need
   to know about. This seems like the most efficient way to let
   people know what's happening. Hope it's helpful. Please email
   support@cruzio.com with any comments or questions. 


3. How to Reach Cruzio (dial-in or tech support)
   To reach the Cruzio Information Center, for online technical and
   sales information:
	http://www.cruzio.com/support 

   To dial in to Cruzio, set your software to dial one of the numbers
   below (note: we've expanded and joined modem pools, so you may be 
   using another number. If so, don't worry, it still works just fine).

   33.6 kbps or 28.8 kbps modems: 459-6230 

   14.4 kbps modems: 459-6200 

	
   To call Cruzio, use one of these numbers:
	423-1162.................Our main number, to leave a message
	423-7529.................Our status line, check on system problems    
	459-6301.................Our "human line", from 12-6 Monday through
				 Friday. Talk to a human being.

   To send email to Cruzio, use one of these addresses:
	support@cruzio.com.......for technical support
	office@cruzio.com........for billing and ordering information
	webmaster@cruzio.com.....for questions about Cruzio's World Wide
                                 Web service

Thanks very much from Cruzio:
	Chris, Peggy, John, Deana, Judy, Julianne, PK, Gloria,
	Holly, Alex, Kathy, Mark, Martin, Georgette, Jay,
	Tapati, and Hilary (the grownups); Jake and Annika (the kids)
	and Carolyn Rose (the baby)