(The newsletter is jam-packed with info - please at least scan
the headlines so you'll catch anything relevant to you)
Cruzio/The Internet Store Newsletter - Number 19, December 18, 1998
1. Prepare for winter
2. Cruzio has new generator power
3. Bandwidth charges
4. Busy signals
5. Class schedule changes and descriptions
6. Internet Office Event
7. Give food to needy, get Cruzio T-shirt
8. Shameless plug for Cruzio T-shirts, services as Christmas gifts
9. We'll buy your old Internet Starter Kits for the Mac
10. About This Newsletter
11. How to Reach Cruzio (dial-in or tech support)
1. Prepare for winter
Every winter, Santa Cruz experiences power outages. We've already had
our first substantial outage in downtown Santa Cruz. Cruzio is prepared with
backup power (see item below), and you should prepare, too. Power blackouts
or brownouts are often followed by power surges, which can be damaging
to electronic equipment. Some smart ideas for winter:
- Save work to disk frequently.
- Remember to make BACKUPS of critical data.
- When the computer's not in use, turn it off.
- Get a UPS (uninterrupted power supply) to allow you to shut down
your computer properly in an outage, saving data and hardware.
- If a UPS is too much for you, at least use a decent surge protector.
- If there's a blackout when the computer is running, turn off the
power switch and wait until the power is fully on before
switching the computer on again.
2. Cruzio has new generator power
Cruzio recognizes that our customers (you) need your Internet connection
to be up, even during a storm or earthquake. If you have a business on our
web server, you want your non-local customers to continue placing orders
and getting information, even if local power is out.
To this end, we have secured generator power for our equipment in order to
maintain full service during power outages this winter. The generators
are already in place. This is in addition to the large array of batteries
and uninterrupted power supply systems already on site.
3. Bandwidth charges
Some Cruzio customers are outpacing Cruzio. Their web sites are receiving
hundreds of thousands of hits per day, and the page contents are large.
This means that Cruzio's lines to the Greater Internet were becoming
overtaxed. We have added new capacity, but we also will need to begin
charging high-volume users to defray our costs. This will NOT affect 99%
of our web customers. And frankly, if it does affect you, congratulations
on your highly successful web site!
Our rate structure will be as follows (subject to change, as we see how
it goes):
Up to 100 MB per day: no charge for bandwidth
Over 100 MB per day: $30 extra per quarter for each 50 MB
over that initial 100 MB.
Over 300 MB per day: We will contact you.
Again, do not worry about this change. It doesn't affect the vast majority
of people, and if it does affect you Cruzio will contact you. These rates
are still quite low compared to other providers.
4. Busy signals
We know that busy signals have occured on both the high-speed and the
33.6 lines. The high-speed line problem has been fixed. It was due to a
mistake on our part in counting connections, so that it looked as if we
had room to spare when that wasn't the case. We've fixed the monitoring
system and you should not see any more busy signals on those lines.
The 28.8/33.6 lines have a problem that is not, unfortunately, under our
control. We have many lines which are not being used, although our customers
are experiencing busy signals. This is a problem that Pacific Bell has
created and we are working with them to fix it. The situation has been
improving but we still don't have use of 100% of our lines. We will keep
you posted.
Thanks to the customers who alerted us: you should never get busy signals,
so please give us a heads up if it happens.
5. Class schedule changes
In December and January, Cruzio will be offering the popular
"Using the Internet" and "Publishing on the Internet" classes series,
which guide students from the basics of smart Internet usage to being
able to publish your own web site. Classes are offered on weekday evenings
in downtown Santa Cruz. The more challenging "Webmaster" series won't be
offered in these two months -- we are revising it. So, if you are
interested in advanced Web Design classes, please watch this space
for announcements.
To see what's up with classes, go to http://www.cruzio.com/classes
Full descriptions and schedules are displayed there.
7. Internet Office Event
Cruzio/The Internet Store would like to welcome you to a workshop
on the Internet Office: how you can use our services to run and promote
your own business or hobby. The event is free -- better than free, in
fact! You will get snacks and a free Cruzio t-shirt. Our speakers will
describe services that you may not be aware of.
The workshop will be held on Wednesday, January 15th, 1999, from 5-6pm.
Please email feedback@cruzio.com to reserve a spot; attendance is limited.
If you're curious about Internet Office features, check this out:
http://www.cruzio.com/support/web/iosummary.html
8. Give food to needy, get Cruzio T-shirt
Bring in 10 (ten) cans of food or the equivalent and leave them in our
Second Harvest Food Barrel before December 19, and Cruzio will give you
a t-shirt free of charge. After December 19, if you bring in a check for
Second Harvest of $20 or over, you'll get the t-shirt. Cruzio won
Second Harvest's "Bronze Can" award last year due to the generosity of
our customers, staff and owners. Please help us help those in need again
this year.
9. Shameless plug for Cruzio T-shirts, services as Christmas gifts
All this talk of t-shirts reminded us what a good gift a Cruzio
t-shirt would be for those geeks in the family. We are expecting a
shipment of shirts (the black ones with stars and comets) next
Tuesday in addition to the Cruzio Kitty shirts already on hand.
And what about an account or web space as a gift? It's a way for
people to express themselves -- a gift they use in their individual
way. Plus, we're not swamped with people like K-Mart. Just a thought.
10. We'll buy your old Internet Starter Kits for the Mac
If you've upgraded your computer and no longer need your Internet Starter
Kit for the Mac, Cruzio will pay $10 for a complete set (book and disks)
of The Internet Starter Kit for Macintosh by Adam Engst, Third Edition,
with floppies, in usable condition.
11. 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.
12. 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: see http://www.cruzio.com/support/modems/highspeed.html
33.6 kbps or 28.8 kbps modems: 459-6230
14.4 kbps modems: 459-6200
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, Liz, Temoc,
Sam and Lauren (the grownups); Jake and Annika (the kids)
and Carolyn Rose (the toddler)
