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News From CPCUG's Internet Services Director (ISD)


CPCUG Board Severs ISP Relationship With Millkern Communications & Other Developments
by Mark Leymaster

Get in Touch Now | Online Survey Extended Again | Other Developments
[Jan. 7] On January 4, the CPCUG Board voted to cancel its troubled ISP contract based on repeated service failures and dismal communication efforts by the ISP. The board members felt that Millken was providing a disservice both to our membership and to the organization. This termination should be effective February 1, 2006. Absent further failures by Millkern, this should not affect services until that time.

The Board also directed the Internet Service Committee to choose among the 10 or so hosting options developed by Dennis Courtney, all of which will provide

  • A free email account for each CPCUG member in good standing, with
  • Web mail
  • Optional email forwarding from that account, optional auto-responder and spam and virus filters
  • A portal-based web service, like Mambo, from which our website maybe rebuilt,
  • Subdomains, which allow better website responsiveness and organization, and
  • Mailing list service such as Mailman, if Listserv cannot be operated affordably, and

It appears these services will be available – with enterprise reliability, tech support and real backup – for an unlimited number of accounts.

Yet to be resolved is whether we will provide

  • Shell accounts for PINE (custom scripting and executables are not likely).
  • Personal Web space

Not provided by this new arrangement is internet access, such as local dialup or broadband. Many members already have non-Millkern access. None of the planned arrangements prevent customers with prepaid services from continuing with Millkern, if it recovers. Though CPCUG has made a demand on your behalf that prepaid service monies be refunded, it is too soon to know how or whether this will occur.

Key to the rebuilding of our new website is a volunteer to succeed webmaster Larry McGoldrick, who has all our thanks for long service to date. If you’d like to be in on the web side of the new project, let me know at newcpcug@newsguy.com.

Get in Touch Now

It is essential that you advise the CPCUG Office if your snail-mail address is not current, and to report your preferred email address. You can do that by email to karenc@cpcug.net. Members should shortly receive a personal USPS mailing, describing their new email account, how to change its password from the temporary one, and how to reset their email clients to access the new email servers that will be running after this month. Much of that information will also appear here too. The CPCUG User Support Team is also being reorganized to address this changeover: if you’d like to join the team, let me know.

Online Survey Extended Again

The CPCUG Survey on Internet Services had to be extended, as most of the last three weeks the notice of its extension was invisible, since the website was inoperable. If you have not already participated, speak out by visiting

http://FreeOnlineSurveys.com/rendersurvey.asp?id=125022

The survey will continue through January 31, 2006, so ignore the closure date in the January Monitor.

Other Developments

Before the scheduled program at the General Meeting on January 9, 2006 (at Washington Gas in Arlington, VA), there will be a question and answer session about these service failures. Please read the latest postings here before you ask questions next Monday.

Millkern may be offering services for the month of February without charge, if my personal January renewal reflects ISP policy generally.


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Capital PC User Group, Inc.
Mail: 19209 Mt. Airey Road, Brookeville, MD 20833
Phone: (301) 762-9372; fax: (301) 762-9375; E-mail

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Feb. 4, 2006