Submit Your E-story and Win!

We've wiped the slate clean. We're starting over collecting e-stories for the new year. If NATCO technology has made your life easier in any way, let us know about it through an e-story. If we choose your story and publish it in an e-newsletter, you will receive two months of dial-up Internet service free! If you win, and you are using our other services (DSL, Wild Blue, or ISDN), we will credit your account by almost 40 dollars ($19.95 X 2 = $39.90).

So, what are you waiting for? Go to http://www.natcotech.com/estories.php, and let us know how NATCO service has made a difference in your life.

Court Case of Microsoft vs. Arkansas Almost Complete

Microsoft has settled a legal anti-trust case brought against it by the state of Arkansas. In the settlement, Microsoft has agreed to provide $37.8 million dollars in vouchers. According to a Techworld article, "Judge Alice Gray of Pulaski County Circuit Court in Little Rock will consider whether to approve the settlement in March."

According to the state of Arkansas, Microsoft overcharged for Windows, Word, Excel, and other software. The article goes on to state:

Those eligible for settlement money are consumers or volume license customers based in Arkansas and bought the company's software either from Microsoft or another retailer between January 1998 and December 2004.

South Shore Calendar of Events

It's a new year, and the South Shore events calendar will be filling up with events around the South Shore area soon! If you have scheduled an event let us know, and we can add it to the calendar of events.

It's a great way to raise awareness, and a convenient place to keep up with things happening in the South Shore area.

New Free Mapping Software from Yahoo

Search engine giant Google has offered its mapping service, http://maps.google.com, for some time now. The software can display areas in great detail allowing users to zoom in on large cities to show roads, buildings, and other landmarks. The downside to Google's map software is the lack of detail in certain areas of the country, like north central Arkansas.

The good news is that Yahoo, another well known search engine, is developing its own map software. While still in beta (another term for "testing stage"), Yahoo's map software is readily accessible at http://maps.yahoo.com/beta. Much like Google's maps, users can enter a location (state, city, or street address) and view a map of the local roads or click the "satellite" button at the top right of the map to view an aerial photograph of the area.

Yahoo's map service appears to show greater detail of our area. To see for yourself, compare Google's version of Flippin to Yahoo's images for Flippin.

While Yahoo appears to have an advantage for viewing our area, it is important to keep in mind that Google may update its source images at any time. Also, remember that Yahoo's software is still in it's testing stage, so you may encounter more errors and slower response times than Google's software.

DSL Service - Limited Time Offer

Are you tired of waiting for e-mail attachments to download? Still tying up the phone when you are online? If you are still using dial-up, now is the perfect time to upgrade to NATCO's DSL. For a limited time, we will offer a free DSL modem and free activation with an 18 month contract. We offer three packages to meet your DSL needs:

*$29.95 per month; 3 e-mail accounts; 5 MB of Web space; 256 Kb download
*$49.95 per month; 5 e-mail accounts; 5 MB of Web space; 768 Kb download
*$79.95 per month; 10 e-mail accounts; 5 MB of Web space; 1.5 Mb download

If you would like to take advantage of this special offer, or you would like one of our friendly staff members to answer your questions, call us at 1-800-775-6682.

Missing E-mails?

While e-mail is important in many people's recreational lives, it can be even more important in their commercial activities. Missing an e-mail from a friend may cause you to request the friend to resend the e-mail. Missing an e-mail from a client can cost multiple opportunities for business sales. One of the common ways that legitimate e-mails can "get lost" is by being improperly marked as spam.

Some e-mail clients, such as Microsoft's Outlook 2003, include a spam filtering service. E-mails which meet certain criteria may be automatically moved from your "Inbox" folder to a "Junk E-mail" folder. This feature is enabled by default, but you should get a confirmation message each time an e-mail is placed into this folder. To adjust Outlook's level of sensitivity to spam, click "Tools," "Options," and then "Junk E-mail" from within Outlook. From this menu, you may disable filtering, automatically delete suspected junk e-mail, or adjust the level of filtering. If you use this feature of Outlook, be sure to check the "Junk E-mail" folder periodically to check for legitimate e-mails accidentally classified as spam.

Many third party software vendors offer spam filtering programs. Each program is configured differently and offers different features, so if you use a third party solution, you should consult the help menu for that program to configure it effectively.

The Inside Scoop on Digital Cameras

The general consensus about digital cameras is that the more "megapixels" a camera is capable of, the better the camera. While it may have been true in the past, C-Net released an article explaining how high-megapixel cameras may decrease image quality.

In an article titled "More megapixels, better photos: Fact or fiction?," the author explains how smaller pixels on censors inside the camera absorb less light and increase the signal-to-noise ratio causing artifacts and other defects in images taken by cameras with a high megapixel rating. Another side-effect of cameras with more megapixels, is the increase in the space needed to store the images. Although there have been many advancements in all digital storage devices from hard drives to memory sticks used with cameras, the larger file sizes require an upgrade to existing storage systems. Users may have to buy new hard drives or memory sticks for ever-increasing megapixel cameras.

While the spokesmen for some camera manufacturers debate the results claimed by some photographers, many are seeking ways to decrease circuitry inside the sensors to produce high-megapixel pictures of even greater quality.

If megapixel quantity isn't such a deciding factor for cameras, what should shoppers look for? The article mentions other features which are emerging in consumer-level cameras such as facial recognition, a high quality lens, and vibration reduction (also known as image stabilization). For more information on this topic, take a look at the article linked above.

What You Need to Know about the New Daylight Savings Time and Your Computer

This year Daylight Saving Time (DST) extends by approximately four weeks. In compliance with this provision in the Energy Policy Act of 2005, DST dates in the United States and Canada will start three weeks earlier (2:00 A.M. on the second Sunday in March) and will end one week later (2:00 A.M. on the first Sunday in November).

Some applications like e-mail clients (Outlook Express, Thunderbird, etc.) rely on correct times and dates set by the operating system. Other applications may rely on their own clocks to keep time.

Windows XP and Vista users may download an update from Microsoft to allow for the change in Daylight Savings Time. Windows 95,98,ME,2000, and NT users may either manually adjust the time or download third party applications that do it for them. To manually adjust the clock, click the "Start" button and navigate to the "Control Panel." Open the "Date and Time" link and adjust the time by typing it in the field beneath the clock.

Applications which do not rely on the operating system's clock, will need to be patched with an update from the software manufacturer's website. Luckily, few consumer-grade applications rely on this method of keeping time.

New Spam Tactic Mimics Legitimate E-Newsletters

According to an entry on a Symantec* blog, spammers are beginning to take real e-newsletters, insert their ads into those newsletters, and send them out in disguise. These official looking e-mails have all the appearances of legitimate newsletters, even faking the e-mail address the newsletter is sent from. Be on the lookout for such advanced spamming techniques.

*Symantec is the company which produces anti-virus software, notably Norton Anti-Virus, and other privacy and protection software suites.

New Trend in Viruses Attached to E-mails

The subject of the e-mail sounds authentic enough. It even peeks your interest because it contains the details of a tragedy that has just occurred and claims to have the details of this breaking news. It turns out to include a link to a website which may install a trojan or virus program on your computer or with an attachment that may be a virus. This is the newest trend in sending viruses.

The BBC reported on one such incident in which terrible storms ravaged Europe killing several people. Before the storms had dissipated, e-mails with the subject "230 dead as storm batters Europe" began popping up in people's inboxes. The virus was designed to take advantage of people trying to find out details of the storms.

Similar e-mails with viruses have been sent out, according to anti-virus company F-secure, with such headlines as "Russian missle shot down Chinese satellite," "Sadam Hussein alive!," and "Fidel Castro dead."

To avoid such troublesome menaces as viruses, trojans, and spyware, never download the attachments of e-mails which you may be unsure about, and keep your anti-virus software updated.

Win a South Shore Gift

When you visit the South Shore website 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 website 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.

Penny Christy is this month's winner of a South Shore tote bag. Congratulations, Penny.

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.