Cruzio/The Internet Store Newsletter - Number 22, May 3, 1999
1. Cruzio Rolls Out New Publishing Services
2. Internet Business Fair at Cruzio June 29
3. $50 off on Web Page Design
4. New Cruzio classes
5. More computers for hands-on classes and rentals
6. We won!
7 E-commerce Workshop FREE (for now)
8. Internet Office Event FREE
9. Buddy Bucks: sign up a friend, get $10 off
10. Gold key for secure transactions
11. About This Newsletter
112 How to Reach Cruzio (dial-in or tech support)
1. Cruzio Rolls Out New Publishing Services
We are very proud to introduce 3 new online publishing services
to our members:
Community Calendar - List your events
Community Classifieds - List your items for sale or items you
are looking to buy
Community Directory - List your self, business, service, store,
restaurant, arts or community organization
With our easy to use, password protected web based administration
tools, you can conveniently add, modify and delete records in our
online databases. Our new Community Databases are available for
reading and searching by the general public at the Cruzio homepage.
To publish your information in the Community Databases, simply use
any web browser to connect to your Cruzio Account Information Manager at:
http://www.cruzio.com/support/checkacct.html
From there, choose what type of account you have, supply your login
and password, and you'll be at your personal admin page. Databases are
a new feature on this page.
The new database administration tools are available to Cruzio members
starting May 3, 1999. The new version of the award winning Cruzio homepage
with the database search tools will be made available to the general
public on May 7. We want to give members a chance to place their items
into the database before permitting public access to ensure useful
items for public consumption on May 7.
Every Cruzio member will have posting permissions allowing them to
post up to 2 records in the Calendar, 2 in the Classifieds, and 2
in the Directory.
Folks such as event promoters or venue operators who require more
records should send email to:
dbadmin@cruzio.com
The new homepage is available for members to view _before_ the May 7
unveiling at:
http://www.cruzio.com/index.new.html
After the unveiling, the public search interfaces will be published
at our usual homepage URL:
http://www.cruzio.com
Remember, to keep the general public coming back for more, it is
important to get as many listings as possible into the database
before the May 7 rollout. Let the world know about you, your events,
business, service or organization and stuff for sale today!
2. Internet Business Fair at Cruzio in June
Tuesday, June 29, 1999 5-8pm FREE
Learn about business on the Internet. Low priced workshops will be
offered on E-commerce, Using LAN's (Local Area Networks), Intro. to
the Internet, Bulk E-mail Management, Cruzio's Internet Office
Services and Gold Key accounts, Y2K and the Small Business and Using
Web Editors to Build Your Website. Workshops are on a first-come,
first serve basis. Meet web designers, local computer store reps,
online businesses and local geeks. (And if you are a local geek,
it's a chance to introduce yourself.)
If you have a business which provides customers with e-commerce or related
services, and you'd like to appear at our Business Fair, please let us
know. We still have a few more openings for presentations. E-mail
feedback@cruzio.com with your information.
3. $50 off on Web Page Design
If you would like to have a web page and don't have the time or
inclination to design and create the whole thing yourself*,
think about getting a consultant to create web pages for you.
*(If you do have the time and inclination to create web pages and
are just seeking the know-how, see the "Classes" item below.)
Cruzio has worked with many web designers over the years and, since
customers are constantly asking us, we have settled on a reliable,
talented local firm to recommend. We have worked with Mandala Net
Design since 1995 and we're very impressed with them. Mandala has
agreed to give Cruzio's customers $50 off the first order. Please
go to Mandala's web page to see their work, it's very impressive:
http://www.mandalanetdesign.com
4. New Cruzio classes
We've made some changes to our classes, and if you took
the "Publishing on the Internet" series in the past you may be
especially interested. We've added a whole "Publishing Part Two"
to the original series of 4 classes. The "Publishing Part One" has
been our most popular series and students asked for more.
We've added more CGI, Javascript, more advanced graphics and
animated GIFs, all of which make web pages more interactive
and lively. These classes were developed and are taught by the
dapper duo of Mark and John, two of our highly-rated teachers.
Some of the classes have been adapted from our former "Webmaster"
series. Please have a look at our web page:
http://www.cruzio.com/classes
5. More computers for hands-on classes and rentals
Many customers liked the "hands-on" Internet classes we've been
teaching but wanted more computers. So we doubled the number of
computers in our lab. (Yes, we do pay attention to the "comments"
field on our class evaluation forms). Cruzio's classes in basic
Internet usage (which include some handy tips on email, chat and
other tools) are grouped into the "Using the Internet" series.
This series includes an entire class of practice and questions with
teacher supervision. Again, for class information and schedules:
http://www.cruzio.com/classes
Plus, we've begun offering classes through the Parks and Recreation
department of the City of Santa Cruz. These classes are lively and
full of information for computer novices and children. Cruzio is
offering "Computers for Non-Geeks", "Computers for Kids" and "Taking
Computers Apart and Putting Them Together". For more info, or to enroll,
please contact the Parks and Rec Department at 307 Church Street,
Santa Cruz, (831) 420-5250.
The new computers are also available for rental during the day at our
downtown store.
6. We won!
Gosh. Cruzio won all the "Best of" awards in the Internet categories
in both the Good Times and the Metro readers' polls. For the 4th year
in a row. Shucks, now we're blushing. All we can say is thanks.
7. E-commerce Workshop FREE (for now)
Wednesday, May 25th, 1999
5-6pm
What *is* E-commerce? Come learn about online business and how to use
Cruzio's new Gold Key services. See several samples of good business
websites, find out how to promote your business online, and use your
Internet Office secure server space. E-mail feedback@cruzio.com for
more information.
8. Internet Office Event FREE
Wednesday, May 19th, 1999
5-6pm
Cruzio has devised ways to do business on the Internet that will help
a small- to medium-size office or an individual stretch their capabilities
to do more business more efficiently. Come and see the features we've
customized for our users, and hear how e-commerce fits in to the scheme.
E-mail feedback@cruzio.com for more information.
9. Buddy Bucks: sign up a friend, get $10 off
Now that we've increased our dial-up capacity, Cruzio is welcoming new
customers. Most of our customers hear about us by word of mouth. To
show our appreciation, we are reviving our "Buddy Bucks" program.
If you have a friend who gets a Cruzio account on your recommendation,
you will get $10 off your next Cruzio bill. The credit goes toward
Cruzio service only. Last year, several customers had their accounts
paid up for months by referring friends. We encourage this!
So please come downtown to Cruzio and pick up a "Buddy Bucks" coupon.
Put your email address on it, give it to the friend who's signing up,
and you will receive the credit.
10. Gold key accounts for secure transactions
Cruzio offers space on a secure server for transactions that need
to be private, such as taking credit cards over the Internet. We are
also working on secure features for our Internet Office accounts.
Secure space is available for $45 per quarter ($15 per month)
with a $45 setup fee.
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.
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.
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: 459-9408
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, Temoc, Sam,
Brittany, Will and Lewis (the grownups); Jake and Annika (the kids)
and Carolyn Rose (the toddler, almost 2; fond of kitties and doggies)
By the way, a tidbit for those obsessive readers who have gotten this
far: Cruzio itself is going to be 10 years old in June of this year.
