Cruzio/The Internet Store Newsletter - Number 48, August 13, 2001
1. Save money by changing domain registrars.
2. Don't neglect your domain
3. DSL: Cruzio is very competitive on price (and superior in service)
4. Buddy Bucks
5. Cruzio's new spam filter receives rave reviews
6. .biz and .info domain news
7. Hot Tech awards
8. More awards!
9. Update your Cruzio "Snail Mail" address file
10. About this newsletter
11. How to reach Cruzio (dial-in or tech support)
1. Save money by changing domain registrars
Cruzio customers do not need to pay $35 per year for domain registration
(and receive oodles of spam to boot!) We recommend a registrar called
GKG.net. Yearly fees are only $15.99, and GKG.net is fully accredited. If
you'd like to save some money by switching to GKG.net, please see the
instructions at:
http://www.cruzio.com/support/domains/transfer.html
2. Don't neglect your domain
Many Cruzio customers have registered their domain names over the years
or had us register it for them. License fees must be paid to the registrar
(not Cruzio) every year or so, depending on the customer's chosen term.
Since the payments are so infrequent, it's easy to forget that bills for the
domain name are due. And sometimes people change addresses
in the meantime -- remember, we are talking about years of elapsed
time here -- so that any notices or bills won't reach them.
If you've registered a domain, and later change your e-mail and
postal mailing addresses, the bills for the domain may never reach
you. If you also neglect to inquire or pay licensing fees for the
domain, your registration could become due and lapse without your
noticing.
Cruzio doesn't own the domain name -- you do. But we'd like to help
you keep it current. Please have a look at our Web page, at
http://www.cruzio.com/support/domains/
This Web page explains how to look up your domain registration
information and keep it up to date. It also provides an opportunity
to save money on the yearly registration fees by switching registrars,
if you wish to do so.
So that's Cruzio's advice: remember to brush your teeth, floss, and
do remember to check your domain registration about every six months.
3. DSL: Cruzio is very competitive on price (and superior in service).
Cruzio provides excellent DSL service, which includes
the same reliability, ample e-mail and Web space, and friendly
technical support to which Cruzio customers are accustomed.
Please compare our offerings to any other company offering DSL!
Now we are pleased to announce that with the latest changes, our
prices are extremely competitive and often beat the price of
our large corporate competitors. For example, DSL service from
Pacific Bell Internet (owned by SBC, a Texas-based mega-corporation)
costs $149 for setup/equipment and $49.95 per month. Cruzio can beat
that price for many subscribers: we have no setup fees and have a line
on great equipment deals (USB modems kits are now $85.00! See
http://www.cruzio.com/dsl/equip.html for more info.). If you
wish to share a DSL connection among multiple computers, routers are
available at a very reasonable price and we don't charge a higher monthly
fee.
DSL was an installation nightmare about a year ago. Now, it's usually
a breeze. The price is reasonable -- about $50 per month, all included,
for a high-speed connection that doesn't tie up the phone line while
you are on the Internet (Note: my Mom used to get mad when she called
and my line was busy for hours at a time.)
So if you'd like to have DSL, just go to:
http://www.cruzio.com/dsl
for all the latest info, directions, and prices.
4. Buddy Bucks
We know many folks in Santa Cruz like to recommend local businesses who
provide a good service. We know our customers, (you!) are responsible for
sending many new customers our way. So we'd like to thank you for the nice
things you tell your friends, family and co-workers about Cruzio with our
"Buddy Bucks" program. Any existing customer who refers a new customer to
us from now until December 31st, 2001 will receive a credit for $10 on
their current Cruzio account. Be sure to tell your friends to bring the
coupon in, which can be printed from the web, or pick one up at our
convenient downtown Santa Cruz location, at 903 Pacific Avenue.
Print out the "Buddy Bucks" coupon from:
http://www.cruzio.com/support/specials/buddybucks.html
5. Cruzio's new spam filter a big success
About 600 people are now using Cruzio's new Spam Filter and they are
giving it rave reviews. Instead of greeting you with a dozen unwanted
and sometimes offensive e-mails, filtered mailboxes are refreshingly
relevant.
Filters are easy to set up and use. No mail is thrown away until
you've had ample time to see it -- and until you've been e-mailed
a list of all the junk e-mail that's due for deletion.
If you want to filter your mail, you must activate the service. No mail
is filtered unless you give the go-ahead.
The Spam Filter is available to everyone whose e-mail address ends
with "cruzio.com". It's free. Just go to
http://www.cruzio.com/support
and put your e-mail login and password in the fields on the top of
the page. That will take you to your Cruzio Control Panel where you
can use it right away.
Interesting facts about spam:
- An estimated 30% to 50% of all e-mail is spam.
- Spam or junk mail around the world is estimated to cost users
9.33 billion dollars.
-A 1999 study categorized spam based on 98,948 messages:
30% is pornographic
29.6% is get-rich offers
12.5% is selling methods for spamming
9.9% touts health products, particularly Viagra
13.6% sells other products and services, including
gambling and stock tips.
Of the 98,948 messages, nearly 2,500 were computer viruses.
6. .biz and .info domain news
There's always something brewing with top-level domains -- the
alternatives to ".com" which are used in Web addresses. The current
news is about ".info" and .biz.", both of which are in a pre-release state.
If you have a trademark or rights to a name, you can now attempt
to register that name.biz or that name.info.
In mid-September, if all goes according to schedule, those without
trademark rights can register any name we like, similar to .com,
.net, and .org right now.
That's the short version. For more explanation, including real dates,
URL's to look at, procedures, and all that, please see
http://www.cruzio.com/support/tld/
There is a lot of hype to it, but virtual real estate does have
value. Remember when business.com was sold for a 7.5 million dollars?
(Okay, that was before the bubble burst. Still...) Now new names are
opening up, and more are expected. Cruzio stands at the ready; when
it's open for general registration, we will provide the service. We
update the "TLD" Web page regularly, and we'll post any major updates
to the page and in the newsletter.
7. Hot Tech awards
On July 26th, Cruzio joined the Santa Cruz Technology Alliance,
the Igneous Group, and several other sponsors in hosting the Hot Tech
awards. We had a great time; there's a lot happening in the local high tech
community, despite the tech downturn of late. Many companies are producing
interesting, useful, and (even) successful new products. The theme of the
evening, as set out by emcee Romney Dunbar, was "What in the world do all
you tech companies _do_?" And we got a chance to see what some of the
high tech "solutions" and "optimized architectures" are.
To see all nominees, and more details, please go to
http://hottech.igneous.com/nominees.html
Winners:
Bold Venture: Customatix.com
They make customized shoes, and I must say
the guy who accepted the award wore _very_
cool shoes!
Bricks to Clicks: Richard Donnelly Chocolates
Richard handed out some chocolates to attendees
-- yum!
Village Tech: University of California's UC Gateway Portal
Helps underrepresented students around the states
prepare for and apply to college.
Visioneer: Triton Elics International
Does undersea imaging of the ocean floor.
Congratulations to the winners, and to all the nominees!
8. More awards!
A Cruzio customer and colleague was nominated recently for a
"Webby" award: that's the highest honor for a Web designer, presented
by The International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences. Although
he did not win, we'd like to congratulate him. The nomination by
itself is very impressive! See the page at
http://www.worldprayers.org/
and for all the nominees and categories:
http://www.webbyawards.com
Remember, if you are Cruzio customer and your Web site wins an
award, e-mail us: office@cruzio.com.
9. Update your Cruzio "Snail Mail" address file
Please note that Cruzio's suite number is Suite 101, and remember
to put it on everything you send us.
If you do not include it you may have your mail retruned.
Cruzio's address is officially 903 Pacific Ave. Suite 101
Santa Cruz, CA 95060.
10. About This Newsletter
Cruzio doesn't like to waste bandwidth with extra e-mail, 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 e-mail 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.
11. 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 e-mail to Cruzio, use one of these addresses:
support@cruzio.com ......for technical support
office@cruzio.com .......for billing and ordering information
Cruzio's location:
903 Pacific Avenue, Suite 101, Santa Cruz, CA 95060
Cruzio's hours:
Sales hours: 10am-6pm, Monday through Friday; 10 am - 2 pm Saturday
Technical support: 10-6 pm, Monday through Friday, 10am - 2pm Saturday
System monitoring, including customer-alerted emergencies, 24 hours
per day, 365 days per year (leap years, 366 days)
Thanks very much from Cruzio:
Chris, Peggy, John, Julianne, Patton, Kathy, Mark, Martin,
Georgette, Tapati, Pedro, Brittany, Alec, Rachael, Barbara,
Stephen, Paul, Gershom, Phil, Laura, another Chris, Jessi,
Michelle, Ben, Alice and Edgar (the grownups);
Jake, Annika, and Carly (the kids)
Carly, age 4, saw some flowers on the table that were starting to droop.
"Mommy," she said, "look, the flowers are melting!"
