Volume 4 Issue 7

February, 1999

System Upgrades

January was a ‘quiet’ month for the Cove’s network, which allowed us some time for upgrading systems. A few of these upgrades should improve network performance.

56k Service

The most significant improvement will be noticed in our 56k service. As you know, we held off in offering 56k service until the international standard, V.90, was established. As with any new technology, there were a few shortcomings in the initial software that drives the terminal servers which provide the 56k service.

Some of those shortcomings have probably caused erratic service quality (e.g., unexplained disconnects, slow transfer speeds, etc.) for our 56k users.

Many of those shortcomings have apparently been fixed with a software upgrade for the terminal servers. We upgraded our terminal servers with this new software upgrade just last week. Hopefully, you’ll notice an improvement in this service.

We would appreciate any feedback you have about the 56k service quality, now that this upgrade is in place.

Secure Commerce Server

We recently purchased a software license and certificate which will allow us to provide secure commerce for our virtual website customers wishing to engage in e-commerce.

This new secure commerce server is currently being built and should be completed before the end of this month.

56K Modem Recommendation

We do not usually make recommendations on hardware, but here’s a worthwhile exception.

One of our subscribers discovered that the BestData 56k modem works unusually well with our 56k service. In fact, even the engineers at BestData were amazed at the performance of their modems when calling into our 56k service.

So, if you’re in the market for a 56k modem, we suggest you consider a BestData 56k modem. We’ve been told they are available at Comp USA for around $80.

New Faces

There are two new members of the Cove staff: Steve Wills and Steve Day.

Steve Wills is our new Manager of Website Development. He has an extensive background in HTML and CGI scripting and has developed several world-class websites in his career. Steve is now the primary client liaison for all website development; from initial planning through webpage production to final publishing.

Steve Day is our new customer service technical representative. He has many years’ experience in computer hardware and software setup and operation. He is familiar with both PC and MAC platforms and is fluent with most Internet-related software programs.

Steve fields our help desk calls most mornings during the week and acts as an independent computer consultant through his own company, Tiny Planet, in the afternoons and evenings.

New Subscriber Referral Promotion!

Are you pleased with our service? Do you know someone who is unhappy with their current Internet/On-line service?

Why not do them, and yourself, a favor?

We are now offering a New Subscriber Referral Promotion! Simply recommend our service to someone. If they decide to subscribe to our service, and tell us that you referred them, we will give you a free month of access!

They will appreciate your recommendation and you’ll save a little money!

This month, over a dozen subscribers are getting their access in February for free, by referring new subscribers.

Everybody wins!

SysAdmin's Corner

We enjoyed a relatively uneventful month in January, with no significant outages to report.

Our upstream providers also had no significant outages to report.

Check the Internet Traffic Report at the bottom of the Internet Section of our website.

Internet Training

Until we can establish another classroom on Cape Ann, Cape Ann subscribers are invited to attend the Salem classes at half-price!

Classes will he held at our Salem facility in February on the 9th and 23rd and in March on the 9th and 23rd.

What's New at the Cove is a monthly publication of Cove Communications.

Publisher, Bill Ostaski
Editor, John Trefry

27 Congress Street
Salem, MA 01970
(978) 741-5300
(978) 282-3399
office@cove.com

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