Cruzio Newsletter - Number 117, June 17, 2008
1. This Month's Special Newsletter Topic
2. Welcome to the *New* Cruzio Website
The Cost: Free
Your Account: Already Set Up
How to Start: Just Log In
3. What You Can Do On the New Site
Get Your Email
Start Your Profile
Join the Blogosphere
Rate Local Faves
Find a Movie, Check Weather and Traffic
Boost Your Business
4. If You Need Help
5. Cruzio.com Is Family-friendly
6. The Fire Last Time
7. Upcoming Classes
8. Buddy Bucks
9. Feed the Hungry, We'll Waive Your Late Fees
10. About This Newsletter
11. How to Reach Cruzio (Dial-in or Tech Support)
1. This Month's Special Newsletter Topic
What is lighter than a molecule, travels at the speed of light,
and has been read over 30 million times?
Answer: the Cruzio Home Page. It's one of the most popular sites in
Santa Cruz County. As we do every few years, we've just redesigned the
site from stem to stern, taking advantage of new technology.
This time, more than ever, the site is written for you -- your convenience,
your contributions, your creativity.
Have a look:
http://www.cruzio.com
2. Welcome to the *New* Cruzio Website
-- The Cost: Free
New, fun features are free with your existing account: you are already
a member with full privileges. Use the site as much or as little as
you like.
-- Your Account: Already Set Up
Because you are a member, your account already exists. It is empty --
and displays no information to the outside world at all -- until
you choose to add text and images.
-- How to Start: Just Log In
No special setup required. All you need to do is enter your existing
Cruzio-hosted email address -- the whole address -- and password in the
upper right hand corner on any page and you'll be able to use all the
new features.
Use an account ending in @cruzio.com, or one of the extra mailboxes like
@baymoon.com or @scshop.com, or even a custom domain name. Just remember to
use the complete address, including the part following the @ sign.
3. What You Can Do On the New Site
-- Get Your Email
It's much easier to access webmail now. Once you've logged in,
just go to the top of any page and click "Get Email." There you go.
-- Start Your Profile
It's super-fun to set up your Profile -- your very own page on cruzio.com
with loads of features and none of the hassles of making a separate site.
Upload pictures, write in your mini-blog. You can return again and again
to make any changes you like. You'll have a nice succinct web address in
the form of www.cruzio.com/yourname.
-- Join the Blogosphere
This is one of the spots to get creative. Start typing from your Profile's
mini-blog tab. Once you save, you'll see your words on display next to
other members' on our sitewide blog page (click "Blogs" in the green
bar to see the latest work by you and your fellow Cruzio members).
-- Rate Local Favorites
Like a local restaurant? Know a well-loved park or playground? Express your
opinion for all to see. Look for your subject in the Guide, click its name
and you can write a snappy review.
-- Find a Movie, Check Weather and Traffic
Raincoat or sunscreen? 101 or 280? Check http://www.cruzio.com every day
for the instant information you need to stay comfortable and sane.
-- Boost Your Business
Go beyond fun and get into the profit aspect of the Internet.
Remember that Cruzio gets about 10,000 unique hits per day. Visitors
are virtually all local folks or tourists planning a visit.
So take advantage of your free entries in our Santa Cruz Guide and put
your business logo on your Profile Page -- visitors will find you when
searching for a specific type of business.
If you've got a website of your own, link to it from your Profile:
Cruzio's popular website will send you traffic and raise your Google and
Yahoo rankings. Check out our free classes for more business tips --
see below.
4. If You Need Help
Learn more at our FREE Classes -- with favorite teacher and site developer
Mike Brogan. He'll be holding two sessions a month for the next few
months: see the schedule in item 7 below. We'll happily answer questions
and go over all the new features so you can dive right in.
The biggest tip to know about the new website is to log in using your
*full* email address (like myname@cruzio.com or myname@mydomain.com --
not just myname). The login area is at the top right hand corner of the
site. Your Cruzio email address will work with its usual password.
If you have questions about the features on the website please check
the Support forums -- just click the "Support" tab in the green bar
at the top of any page. Cruzio Support staff will be monitoring the
forums and most answers can be found there. If you don't find the answer,
please post your question in the forum so others can benefit, too.
If you know an answer, share it in the forums! Many consultants use our
site and they offer excellent advice. It's a good way to see local
computer professionals in action.
If you're having trouble with your email, your control panels or your
password, please call or email Cruzio; we will help you right away.
5. Cruzio.com Is Family-friendly
Just a reminder that Cruzio's website is for the whole family. We'd
love to see the best of your creativity and to share it with kids
as well as adults. We ask that you report to Cruzio any publicly
viewable material that you find offensive or inappropriate. For
more details, please check our Terms of Use:
http://www.cruzio.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=626&Itemid=134
6. The Fire Last Time
Another topic--
Last month we mentioned a site with amazingly detailed NASA satellite
photographs of hurricanes, volcano eruptions, and other phenomena big
enough to be seen from space.
NASA selected the Summit Fire of a few weeks ago as its photo of that
day, May 22nd (a dubious honor):
http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/gallery/?2008143-0522/California.A2008143.2115.1km.jpg
Even from space we can see the terrible odds we deal with when a fire
breaks out of control on a hot, windy day.
As of this writing there's no NASA photograph of the Martin Fire. It seems
the satellite passed overhead at the wrong time.
We are grateful to local firefighters for their bravery and tenacity.
They are heroes.
7. Upcoming Classes
Cruzio has plenty of classes coming up in the next several weeks.
Be sure to check our classes site at
http://classes.cruzio.com
for more details -- sometimes schedules change. All the classes below
are held at Cruzio's downtown Santa Cruz store, 903 Pacific Avenue.
Learn to build your own website in our hands-on classes. The "One Day"
and "One Night" website classes are our most popular offerings, limited
to just eight students per class with two instructors and plenty of
personal attention and advice. You'll build your own real, functioning
website with plenty of expert help. The class is offered multiple times
in the next several weeks:
One Day Website, June 19 9:00AM-12:00PM
One Night Website, July 10 5:00-8:00PM
Once you've got a site, how do you attract viewers? Cruzio will
help you get noticed in Internet searches on Google, Yahoo and
other search engines. We'll even do a custom analysis of your site
and recommend specific steps on how to improve your rank:
Get to the Top of Search Engines, June 24 9:00-11:00AM
What's all the fuss about the new website? Make sure you use all
the features that will enhance your business or self-expression:
Discover the New Cruzio.com, June 26 12:00-1:00PM
Discover the New Cruzio.com, July 8 12:00-1:00PM
Sometimes you need to tell us what you want to learn, so we have
a class where the students provide the topics. Hands-on labs are
great for when you need a little more help with your website, blog,
or email:
Hands-On Lab, June 25 2:30-4:30PM
Hands-On Lab, July 9 2:30AM-4:30PM
Mailing lists, Web traffic reports, spam filters. Learn to use the
tools that make your custom domain run smooth as silk:
Administer Your Domain Like a Pro, July 1 9:00-11:00AM
8. Buddy Bucks
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 credit to your account. If two friends
sign up, $20. Three friends, $30. It just goes on and on.
9. Feed the Hungry, We'll Waive Your Late Fees
The other child's name is Johnny. (See the end of this newsletter).
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
10. 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.
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).
Dialup (in Santa Cruz County): 459-9408
Nationwide Dialup: Look up local number on our Web page:
http://www.cruzio.com/index.php?option=com_smf&Itemid=183
or call Cruzio toll free, 1.800.303.3302
If you've got a problem, but can still surf the Web:
Most questions are answered in Cruzio's Support Forums at
http://www.cruzio.com -- just click "Support"
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, 25 E. Beach Street, Watsonville, CA 95076
Cruzio's hours:
Sales hours (note our earlier opening time in the summer):
Santa Cruz: 9am-6pm, Monday through Friday; 9 am - 2 pm Saturday
Watsonville: 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, Paul, Gershom, Jessi, James,
Juana, Nikkie, Mike, Don, Bruce, Westi, Andrew, Jaime,
another Chris, yet another Chris, Diana, Jake, Shawn,
Zachary, Carlos, Josh and Roslyn;
Jake, Annika, and Carly (the kids)
Riddle:
Jake, age 16, asks:
There are three children in young Johnny's family.
*The oldest is a daughter named April.
*The second is a daughter named May.
What is the third child named?
(for the answer, see item 9 above)
