Cruzio Newsletter - Number 101, February 6, 2007
1. Brown Bag Workshop This Thursday: "Wireless for Home or Office"
2. Where's the Weather?
3. "One Day Blog" Class Thursday, February 15th
4. Cerf: "One in Four Computers Is A Bot"
5. Beginning Computer & Internet Classes
6. E-cycling Old Electronics
7. Even the Superbowl Was Hacked
8. Cruzio-sponsored Soccer Team Has Undefeated Season
9. Shameless Plug: Vote for Cruzio in the Metro Goldies
10. Wednesday Watsonville Workshops: Free
11. Free Valentine's Day Rentals in Watsonville
12. Moving?
13. We Appreciate Referrals
14. Feed the Hungry, Get Late Fees Waived
15. About This Newsletter
16. How to Reach Cruzio (Dialup or Tech Support)
1. Brown Bag Workshop This Thursday: "Wireless for Home or Office"
Presented twice: Thurs Feb 8th & Thurs Feb 22nd, 12-1:30 PM, $10
903 Pacific Avenue, Downtown Santa Cruz
Cut the cord!
Wireless Internet frees you from running cable and drilling
holes in walls. You can go anywhere in your house or yard
with a laptop, getting Internet wherever you sit. Or, move a
desk easily from one room to another -- no need to install
new wall jacks.
Upgrading your home or office to wireless costs next to nothing:
the basic functionality is free with your Cruzio DSL service. At this
Wireless brown bag, we will show you the equipment you need and how
to set it up.
This is a popular workshop, so we are holding it twice this
month. The cost is $10, and lunch is available for an additional
$7. Please sign up today at http://events.cruzio.com or call
459-6301 ext. 231.
If you prefer to have Cruzio configure the wireless connection for
you, you'll find many choices. Our experts can set up your wireless
router free of charge when it's purchased at Cruzio, $25 if
it's a router you already own. We will custom-configure the rest
of your equipment (computer, network card) in our Santa Cruz
store at our hourly rate of $49/hour -- usually it takes about one
hour. Call us at 459-6301 to make an appointment. For more details:
http://www.cruzio.com/services/tech_services
More wireless information, advice and resources are on Cruzio's
Web site:
http://www.cruzio.com/services/wireless/
2. Where's the Weather?
Perhaps you noticed the change to Cruzio's home page a few
weeks ago: weather is now front and center.
http://www.cruzio.com
We've expanded and enhanced our weather coverage, with extra
pictures and Web cams. Hope you find it helpful. Many of us at
Cruzio rely on it every day -- to quote James, a Boulder Creek
dweller: "I just check the picture on the home page and I know
what to expect when I get to Santa Cruz."
You can see a full weather report for any part of the country by
typing it in Cruzio's search box. If you're planning a trip,
check the forecast!
A full array of weather information, indicators, charts,
and maps, some of which used to be on the home page, has been
centralized on a weather page:
http://www.cruzio.com/local_info/local_conditions.html
Right now, we are looking forward to a little rain.
3. "One Day Blog" Class Thursday, February 15th
Part of Cruzio's "Hands-On" Class Series
9 to 11 AM, $99
903 Pacific Avenue, Downtown Santa Cruz
The best way to learn a new technology is to actually use it,
with a friendly teacher present to instruct and help if
you get lost. Cruzio's "Hands On" classes include two instructors
for a maximum of eight students, one student to a computer.
The concept of our "One Day Blog" class is simple: when you arrive,
you don't have a blog and may even have only a fuzzy notion of what a
blog is about. When you leave, you are guaranteed to have created
a functional blog and you'll understand how blogs are built and
maintained.
This admittedly unpoetic sounding word (blog) can be the start
of a very creative endeavor indeed.
Traditionally (if you can call anything with a ten-year history
"traditional") blogs are online journals. People share their
thoughts and experiences with an audience, small or large, on the
Internet. Blogs can be political, or literary, or simply homespun
ruminations on the times in which we live. Some bloggers have
become famous and influential.
Blogs can also be ways to make organizational announcements, or
even act as the home page of a Web site. The software Cruzio
provides free with Website Plus or Premium accounts is adaptable
to any number of uses.
The cost is just $99. We recommend you have Cruzio's Website Plus
or Premium so that you will be setting up your own permanent blog
right there in class, but it's not required. Please go to
http://events.cruzio.com or call 459-6301 ext 231 to register.
By the way, Cruzio keeps a list of some popular local blogs in the
lower left hand corner of our home page, if you'd like to see some
examples:
http://www.cruzio.com
4. Cerf: "One in Four Computers Is A Bot"
Vin Cerf, guru of the Internet, recently estimated that a
quarter of all computers connected to the Internet are infected
with viruses. That's one hundred fifty million computers. We
want to make sure as few Cruzio member computers as possible
are in that category.
These infected computers are members of botnets which are now
responsible for most of the spam and denial of service attacks
on the Internet. (A "denial of service" attack is when bots send
so much data to a server that it becomes paralyzed -- as if
someone is dialing your phone number over and over when you
are expecting a call).
Most often, computer owners know nothing about the havoc their
machine is causing. The viruses are designed to hide in the
background and piggyback on the owners' high-speed Internet
connections. Spammers barely pay a cent, just sit back and
watch it unfold.
Although we've never managed to fully eliminate viruses and spam,
past efforts have been able to greatly reduce it. Securing
more computers makes all our data and communication channels much
more reliable and safe from theft. All of us contribute to a
healthy Internet.
Cruzio provides you with detailed information on how to clean
and protect your computer on our security pages:
http://www.cruzio.com/support/security/computer_care.html
If you prefer to have Cruzio secure and clean your computer for you,
give us a call at 459-6301. We install our recommended protective
software for just $99 (software included), and if you want us to
scrub your computer as well it's only $149 total. Cruzio members
-- and if you are reading this that probably means you -- get
$20 off those prices.
For more details about Cruzio's Computer Care services, see
http://www.cruzio.com/services/tech_services/
5. Beginning Computer & Internet Classes
Tues and Thurs, Feb 13 & 15, in Spanish, 6-8 PM FREE
See http://events.cruzio.com for more dates
23 E. Beach Street, Plaza Vigil, Downtown Watsonville
Do you know someone who needs to learn computer and Internet
basics? Perhaps that friend or relative who's always complaining
that their computer hates them? Help is here.
Our friendly, patient Watsonville store manager Gershom Toriz
will be teaching his popular two-class beginners' series every
month for the next several months. He'll help folks who are just
starting out -- and those to whom the whole concept has remained
foggy -- about how to use a mouse, create a document, write and
read email, and surf the Internet. The basics.
Every student in the class will get a chance to sit at a computer
and practice as they learn. Gershom teaches one set of classes
in English and one in Spanish. All are free of charge. Let us know
who's coming by calling our Watsonville store: 722-6200.
6. E-cycling Old Electronics
Last month's E-Cycle Day was a great success thanks to the
community-minded advocacy and hard work of Cruzio's Marketing
Manager Westi, dedicated staffer Chris, interns Christi and
Edi, and our new partnership with HOPE Services.
We saw more than 180 cars (some were vans and trucks loaded to the
top) and gathered two 40-foot moving truck loads full of electronic
waste. This turnout far surpassed any previous E-Cycle Day.
The electronics will be saved from the landfill, broken down to
their components and mined for valuable and reusable parts. Much
of this work is done by HOPE Services' developmentally disabled
clients (providing them living wages) and proceeds go to HOPE
Services programs.
Thanks to those who made this possible. We hope to continue this
partnership and offer great events like these to our customers and
the community regularly.
7. Even the Superbowl Was Hacked
This is an example of the madness currently out on the Internet,
and why we should all have protective software installed on our
computers:
The official site of the stadium hosting the recent Superbowl
in Miami was hacked and an automatic virus download was installed
on the home page. Visitors to the site -- a popular one in the
run-up to the big game -- whose Windows computers were unprotected
would unknowingly connect to a nameserver in China and download a
small program that allowed the attackers full access to their
computer.
The story is here:
http://blogs.zdnet.com/security/?p=15&tag=nl.e589
8. Cruzio-sponsored Soccer Team Has Undefeated Season
Congratulations to the Cruzio-sponsored under-16 recreational
soccer team, the Stripers, who blew away their competition time
and time again, emerging undefeated for the fall 2006 season.
Good job, Stripers!
9. Shameless Plug: Vote for Cruzio in the Metro Goldies
We don't want to twist any arms, but just remind you that
the Metro Goldies are open for votes right now. You can vote
for your favorite Internet provider by going to their home page,
http://www.metrosantacruz.com and clicking on "Vote Online."
10. Free Valentine's Day Rentals in Watsonville
To encourage communication with loved ones far away and
the writing of tender love notes on our office software,
Cruzio's Watsonville store is offering computer rentals
free of charge all day on February 14th, Valentine's day,
and from 3 to 6 pm Monday to Friday of Valentine's week
(February 12th to 16th).
Just come in to our downtown Watsonville store, in the Plaza Vigil
on Beach Street and tap away.
11. Wednesday Watsonville Workshops: Free
Every Wednesday afternoon from 3 to 6 pm in Watsonville it's
open house for computer questions. Come on in for answers
and advice from our knowledgeable staff.
12. Moving?
If you are moving your home or office, please contact Cruzio.
We're here to help the Internet portion of your move go smoothly.
It's best to let us know several weeks ahead of time, especially
if you have DSL or if you're canceling a phone line. We can often
save you from an interruption in Internet service and prevent
costly fees -- but you've got to let us know. For more information,
please see
http://www.cruzio.com/services/highspeed_access/move_dsl.html
13. We Appreciate Referrals
Recommend us to friends, family, colleagues: if a new customer
gives us your email address, registration number, or full name when
they sign up you'll get $10 worth of "Buddy Bucks" credit to your
account. If two friends sign up, $20. Three friends, $30. It just
goes on and on.
14. Feed the Hungry, Get Late Fees Waived
If you're late on a payment to Cruzio, turn it into a donation
to hungry folks in our community. We will waive your late
fee if you bring 3 cans into our office for our Second Harvest
Food Bank barrel. Learn more about this charity at
http://www.thefoodbank.org
15. 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.
16. How to Reach Cruzio (Dialup 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).
Dialup (in Santa Cruz County): 459-9408
Nationwide Dialup: Look up local number on our Web page:
http://www.cruzio.com/support/dialup_isdn/nationwide_numbers.html
or call Cruzio toll free, 1.800.303.3302
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.
722-6200 .......... Cruzio's number in Watsonville.
To send email to Cruzio, use one of these addresses:
support@cruzio.com ......for technical support
office@cruzio.com .......for billing and ordering information
Cruzio's locations:
Santa Cruz: 903 Pacific Avenue, Suite 101, Santa Cruz, CA 95060
Watsonville: Plaza Vigil, 23 E. Beach Street, Watsonville, CA 95076
Cruzio's hours:
Sales hours: 10am-6pm, Monday through Friday; 10 am - 2 pm Saturday
Technical support: 8am to 6pm, Mon to Fri, 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, Julianne, Mark, Stephen, Paul, Gershom,
Jessi, Michael, James, Juana, Nikkie, Mike, Don, Bruce,
Edgar, Brian, Westi, Andrew, Jaime, another Chris, yet
another Chris, Reema, and Diana;
our awesome interns, Christi, Kristi, and Edi;
Jake, Annika, and Carly (the kids)
Annika, age 12, on a hike: "I like going uphill because there is
always the promise of downhill to come."
