NATCO Internet Accelerator

NATCO dial-up users now have the ability to increase the speeds at which they surf the Internet, and check e-mail. Using technologies such as data compression, ad blocking, fast DNS look-ups and persistent TCP connections, NATCO Internet Accelerator gives dial up users a faster Internet connection. If you currently use our dial-up acceleration software, you may notice an improvement since we have upgraded our systems for even better performance.

If you would like to speed up your dial up connection, call NATCO today at 1-800-775-6682 and ask about the NATCO Internet Accelerator.

NATCO Office Closed During Holidays - Tech Support Will Be Available

NATCO's main office will be closed on Christmas day (December 25th) as well as New Year's Day (January 1st). We apologize for the inconvenience, but we will reopen the following days (December 26th & January 2nd).

Our free tech support line (1-888-276-8059) will still be open 24/7 over the holidays to cover any technical difficulties you may encounter.

Special Offer from NATCO - Additional Phone Line

NATCO (Northern Arkansas Telephone Company) is pleased to offer an additional phone line promotion. If you order an additional phone line between now and January 31, 2007, we will waive the installation fee and wire one phone jack for FREE!

If you have dial-up Internet access, this is a great opportunity to add that second phone line for phone calls.

Visit the NATCO monthly special for more information on this deal or call our customer service department at 1-800-775-6682.

Digital Camera Tips

Filled with features and gadgets, digital cameras have become quite complex. Even the common point-and-shoot models include the capabilities to perform multiple tasks. Here are a few hints which may allow you to take full advantage of your camera.

Use a tripod. Even with vibration reduction technology implemented into some cameras today, it still may be difficult to hold a camera steady. Shaking of the hands can produce blurry images. Even small (6"-8"), inexpensive ($15-$20) tripods can be useful for steadying shots. A tripod is also useful for taking "self timer" shots in which the photographer may enable a timer and delay the actual image capture until the photographer can get into the picture.

Get a massive media card. Most digital cameras are capable of using some type of replaceable memory card - Secure Digital, Compact Flash, XD, etc. Purchase a large capacity card for your camera (i.e. 512 MB to 1 GB). If you run out of storage memory for your camera, you will miss that perfect shot you had been waiting for. A large capacity media card will also allow you to take pictures in high resolution mode which can then be edited how you wish from your computer.

Use the macro mode. Sometimes called "close up" mode, macro mode is often depicted as a flower icon on a digital camera. When taking pictures of small items around the house or flowers and things of nature, try using macro mode. This mode will cause the camera to focus on minute details of the item being photographed.

Many of these photographic tips and more can be found at
http://oreillynet.com/pub/a/mac/2002/10/22/digi_photo_tips.html .

NATCO Technologies does not endorse or recommend any software or merchant. The purpose of the articles included in this newsletter is to keep our customers informed.

Win a South Shore Gift

When you visit the South Shore Web site at www.southshore.com, you'll have a chance to win a South Shore souvenir, like a T-shirt, a cap, chiller cups, and other necessities for the great South Shore outdoors. The South Shore Web site is an electronic community for the towns on and near the south shore of Bull Shoals Lake and it's packed with information for you and for our tourist visitors.

Dale Wright is this month's winner of a South Shore tote bag. Congratulations, Dale.

iPod Tricks

The modern equivalent to Sony's Walkman (a portable cassette device) is Apple's digital iPod. The iPod has become quite popular because of its ability to handle a large quantity of songs and its ease of playback. Listed below are a few tips for iPod users.

Transfer Music from Your iPod to Another computer
Even though you can't automatically transfer songs from your iPod to another computer, you can set up your iPod as a removable hard drive to move your music to another computer.

Subscribe and Listen to Podcasts
With iTunes, you can browse and subscribe to podcasts from within the iTunes Music Store. Podcasts are radio shows or other audio programs that are often episodic and are downloadable over the Internet. From news and information to music and commentary, thousands of new podcasts are available everyday, from around the world, on every subject you can imagine. You can find and subscribe to your favorite podcasts in the Podcast Directory on the iTunes Music Store, and automatically download them to your computer. You can listen to a podcast from your computer or transfer it to your iPod and listen while you're on the go.

Sync Your Music to Your Mobile Phone
When you get your iTunes-enabled mobile phone, you'll want to start listening to music right away. If you don't have iTunes installed on your computer, use the CD that came with your phone to install it. Then, you can buy songs from the iTunes Music Store, or import CDs to your iTunes music library. Once you have songs in your iTunes library, connect your phone to your computer, using the cable that came with your phone. If this is your first time connecting your phone, you will go through a Mobile Phone Setup Assistant and can decide whether you want it to be automatically filled with music ("Autofill"), or whether you'd like to manually drag and drop songs or playlists to your phone.

Back Up Purchased Music
If you've only used one computer to buy music, you can use the Purchased playlist in your Source list to find your purchased music. But if you've used a few different computers to buy music, you can create a Smart playlist that will look for your purchased music no matter which computer you used.

These tips and more are available at Apple's iPod site.

Weekly Maintenance on Wednesday

Each Wednesday morning from 12:01 A.M. until 5 A.M., NATCO Technologies performs regular maintenance on Internet equipment. Your Internet service should not be affected. But, if you do experience an interruption in service during this time, please try again a few moments later. We try to minimize any "down time" by doing our maintenance at a regular time each week.

All users agree to terms and guidelines published at www.natcotech.com/guideline.htm.

Feedback: NATCO invites readers' comments about the e-newsletter and suggestions for future articles. Let us know what information in the e-newsletter is most useful or what Internet issues are important to you. Readers may send suggestions for future e-newsletter articles, questions or comments to: custserv@natconet.com.

Want to view previous issues? Visit: e-newsletter archives.

NATCO Technologies does not endorse or recommend any software or program. The purpose of the articles included in this newsletter is to keep our customers informed. We do not provide free technical support for software or programs such as Norton, McAfee, AVG Anti-Virus, Instant Messenger Services, etc. Please see the NATCO Internet brochure for full details on what is and is not covered by our free Internet Technical Support.