Volume 5 Issue 3

October, 1999

Gate-Wave.net: Search the North Shore!

We are proud to announce that our very own "micro search engine," Gate-Wave.net, will be debuting this month.
You may have tried to visit this site already, as it is the linked to our Main Page on the Northwest point of our compass.
This search engine's database contains several thousand entries of companies doing business on the North Shore. The web site enables visitors to find goods and services throughout our area.
It culminates several years of effort in database development by our staff.
The search engine used on this web site is called SWISH-E (Simple Web Indexing System for Humans - Enhanced), but don't let the name mislead you - it is a very sophisticated C++ based program designed to index both databases and web sites.
Companies having their web sites hosted with us will have free hyperlinks provided within their entries.

Sun Bird Service

If you migrate to sunnier climes during the winter months, we have a service to accommodate you while you're away.
Our "Sun Bird" Service enables subscribers to place their access accounts on "semi-hold" while they are away.
We disable dialup access, but maintain your email account, so you can access your email from another service or forward your email to a temporary email account. The charge is only $5 per month. Please call our office for details.

Phone Line to Subscriber Ratio

Ever wonder how we can guarantee that you will never get a busy signal when dialing our access numbers?
The secret is in our phone line to subscriber ratio.
The industry standard calls for one line for every ten subscribers, which results in a low number of "busies."
Some ISPs are justifiably proud of having one line for every eight subscribers, which results in a very low number of "busies."
I think we stand alone among our peers by having one line for every three subscribers!
We have maintained this ratio for over a year now.

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?
Just recommend our service to them. If they subscribe, we will give you a month of access - no charge!
They will appreciate your advice and you'll save a little money!
Again this month, over a dozen subscribers are getting their access in October for free - by referring new subscribers.

Everybody wins!

Help Desk Notes

It has been a very quiet month for the help desk.
The majority of calls come from subscribers who have either lost their dialup settings or have had their dialup settings somehow modified.
We are investigating ways to "bulletproof" subscriber's dialup settings to simplify the steps necessary to correct these settings.
We should have some strategy in place by next month - stay tuned!

SysAdmin's Corner

All is quiet at The Cove.
There were no significant outages on our network or our upstream providers' networks to report.
If you are interested in seeing the Internet's performance statistics, we recommend the Internet Traffic Report, located at the bottom of the Internet Section of our website.
We are also working on presenting performance statistics on our own network. This feature is planned to begin within a few months.

Internet Training

Classes at our Salem facility will be in October on the 12th and 26th.
This is our last month of classes! Our site has become more of a research center and is no longer appropriate for training.
We will, however, be posting classes being held at other locations on a regular basis.

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

Publisher/Editor, Bill Ostaski

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

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