Cruzio/The Internet Store Newsletter - Number 28, October 26, 1999
1. More powerful e-mail services
2. Cruzio Brown-Bag Lunches, discussing business and investing online
3. DSL coming / Prices slashed to $10.95 per month!
4. Cruzio Classes for November/December
5. New support features: try it, you'll like it
6. Holiday plug
7. About This Newsletter
8. How to Reach Cruzio (dial-in or tech support)
1. More powerful e-mail services
If you're away from your own computer, and want to read your e-mail, what do
you do? Our dauntless engineer, Jay, has programmed an easy-to-use e-mail
system that you can run from any web browser. So if you are at a friend's
house, a colleague's office, or at an Internet cafe, just type in
http://www.cruzio.com/support
and click on the "Go" button next to e-mail. You'll be prompted for your
e-mail login and password, and then can read your e-mail. Since you don't
connect directly to Cruzio to do this, there are no extra phone charges.
Cruzio provides this service to all our members free of charge. (Thanks Jay!)
This mail program is also handy for removing large messages that are clogging
your account (the 30 MB dancing birthday card from Aunt Fanny that
would take hours to download). Cruzio members can see a list of messages and
their sizes, and can delete the offending messages without downloading them.
A reminder: Web browsers "cache" information; they keep the last several
pages viewed in memory. So please remember to quit the browser if you don't
want the next person using the computer to see your private e-mail.
2. Cruzio Brown-Bag Lunches, discussing business and investing online
Cruzio presents Brown Bag events once a month, where a knowledgeable
speaker is invited to discuss a current topic. Here are the next two
(remember to bring your questions!):
Topic: "Building a Successful Internet Presence for Your Business, Part 2"
Speaker: Cruzio CEO and founder, Chris Neklason. He'll cover interactive
web sites, e-commerce and general tips for utilizing the Internet in your
business. You don't need to have attended the first Brown Bag to understand
this topic.
Date/Time: Thursday, October 28th, 12:30 to 2:00pm
(still plenty of seats available, so please call if you are interested)
Topic: "Investing on the Internet"
Speakers: Local investment advisor Richard Rammer will speak about
researching investments online, and Kristen Tibbitts of Charles Schwab
will discuss online trading.
Date/Time: Thursday, November 11, 12:30 to 2:00pm
The price is $5, more if you'd like us to order you a sandwich.
Please go to http://www.cruzio.com/support/business/brownbags.html
to register (and order sandwiches) for the event. Pre-registration
is required, as seating is limited (we want to keep it comfortable).
3. DSL coming / Prices slashed to $10.95 per month!
DSL is a superfast technology that works over existing phone lines,
providing speeds over 10 times faster than 33.6 modems, over 6 times
faster than 56k lines. That's at minimum. That's awful fast.
Cruzio has been testing the technology in-house, and we like it. We
will be making it available to customers on December 1, 1999. If you'd
like more information on DSL, or you'd like us to check availability for
your address, please check
http://www.cruzio.com/support/dsl.html
(Unfortunately, not every area or every address currently has access
to DSL.)
Note that Cruzio's projected DSL prices have been sharply reduced,
and we're now offering DSL connections at $10.95 per month ($32.85
per quarter). We're happy to be able to offer it at this low price,
and we'll be providing our usual high-quality service. The
$10.95 covers the Cruzio charge, and there is a $39.00 per month
Pacific Bell charge as well. That's a terrific price for speeds that
can approach a T1.
4. Cruzio Classes for November/December
Cruzio's new E-commerce class series went very well. In fact, one
of the instructors was quickly recruited by a local institution of
higher learning -- but that's okay, Cruzio often shares instructors
with Cabrillo, UCSC extension, etc. We're proud to have the very
best, professional instructors here.
Cruzio classes are offered in downtown Santa Cruz, at convenient times
(early evenings, 6:30 to 9:00 pm). We give classes in series of four,
just once a week, so that students have time to absorb the subject but
don't have to spend month after month hashing and re-hashing it. We're
quick and to the point, addressing current Internet issues in a way
that busy people will appreciate.
So whether you're wondering how this Internet thing could possibly
enhance your life, or you're considering adding Web pages and
E-commerce to your business, you'll want to take a look at our
class offerings. For all the details, please see
http://www.cruzio.com/classes/
Coming up for November:
Tuesdays, 6:30-9pm: Using the Internet, a series for Internet
beginners and those seeking tips and tricks for wiser
Internet usage. Taught by Internet pundits Sam and Amy.
Wednesdays, 6:30-9pm: Publishing on the Internet I. Top-notch
instructors John, Kathy, and Mark guide students through
the process of creating Web sites for their family, hobbies
or businesses. Our most popular series.
Thursdays, 6:30-9pm: Publishing on the Internet II. A
continuation of the first "Publishing" series, where
erudite Mark and John present more sophisticated and
effective methods of creating web pages.
Coming up in December:
Tuesdays and Wednesdays, same as November.
Thursdays, 6:30-9pm: E-commerce. The how-to's of creating an
e-commerce site which can make commercial transactions
on the Internet. Issues of security, simple programming
tricks, and an overview of the whole process are covered.
Taught by the personable Kathy, Mark, and John.
5. New support features: try it, you'll like it
If you go to Cruzio's main support page,
http://www.cruzio.com/support/
you may notice some new features at the top of the page. There's a prompt
to check e-mail and a prompt to enter your login and check your account.
The first, e-mail, link goes to Cruzio's Web mailer, discussed in item 1
above. It's another handy way to reach your mailer.
The second, a field to enter your login (and, after that, your password),
goes to your Cruzio Account Manager, a place of wonder and magic which many
of you may not have visited. Your Account Manager is a web page which
displays all kinds of information about your account. It shows how much
web space you are using, how big your mailbox is, and you can see a copy
of your last Cruzio invoice if you wish.
And there are all kinds of features available to you from this page,
some of which depend on the type of account you have. You can
view or change your web page listings, which are visible on
www.cruzio.com. You can enter, delete, or change database listings,
which are also visible from Cruzio's home page. You can set up vacation
e-mail (it replies to anyone who mails you "Sorry, I'm gone..." or any
message you wish to send). You may create a mailing list of folks who
wish to share information. Frankly, our endlessly creative engineer
Jay has run amuck with all the settings and the capabilities you have
access to as a Cruzio customer, and this page is a way of making
it all available to you in one place. Please give it a try.
6. Holiday Plug
Just a reminder that getting Cruzio Internet service for a loved one or
a friend, and maybe helping them set it up, is a really nice holiday
gift.
Another thought for the holidays: remember that Cruzio accounts work very
well with the new Sega "Dreamcast" (tm) game.
7. 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.
By the way, we would love to have a regular, predictable schedule
for this newsletter...but we simply do not send it unless there is real
news enclosed. Thus the haphazard datelines.
8. 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).
56k: 459-9408
33.6 kbps and under: 459-6230
To call Cruzio:
459-6301............Use this number to check Cruzio's system status,
pay your Cruzio bill, find out more about our hours and location,
or to reach someone in customer service and technical support.
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, Julianne, Patton, Kathy, Mark, Martin,
Georgette, Jay, Tapati, Hilary, Jessica, Amy, Temoc, Sam,
Brittany, Will, Alec, Rachael, and Barbara (the grownups);
Jake, Annika and Carly (the kids)
Jake, age 7.5: "Mom, you and Dad were the ones who decided to have
me, right?"
Mom nods yes.
"And you and Dad bought me and Annika all these clothes and
toys and furniture and pillows, right?"
Yes.
Then Mom has to explain that, logical or not, this doesn't mean
that Jake isn't responsible for cleaning up his room.
