The Galaxy Newsletter!

Fall  2003

In this Newsletter:  High Speed DSL and Cable Internet , Pop-up Stopper Pro , Child Protection

New!

Welcome to the Galaxy Newsletter!

Greetings from the Staff at Galaxy. It’s been a while since our last newsletter, and we have been busy preparing some exciting new services and account features.

We are particularly pleased to announce our new home broadband offerings which include BOTH High Speed Cable Internet AND High Speed DSL. Galaxy is one of the few providers to offer users a choice of these two great services.

We are also very pleased to inform you that we have new DSL prices. DSL for the home now starts at $39.95 per month and DSL for businesses starts at $69.95 per month. Please visit our website for more details.

In response to your feedback, we are now offering the Pop-up Stopper Pro free of charge to all Galaxy customers (Feature #2). This is a $19.95 value and will allow you to block those annoying pop-up ads.

Also in this Newsletter is some helpful information concerning Child Protection on the Internet; there is a tutorial on using your Galaxy web space to upload digital photos; there are the usual Frequently Asked Questions/Helpful Hints and more.

Again, we would like to thank you for all the positive feedback we have received from you. Click Here to read some of the comments we have received.

We hope you enjoy the Newsletter and thank you for your continued support! - The Staff at Galaxy

Services

Dialup

Home DSL

Cable Internet

Business DSL

Leased Lines

ISDN

Web Hosting

Long Distance

**Virus Alert**
Attention: Do not open any emails from Microsoft!!

Microsoft does not send patches and updates to people via email. These emails will likely have a virus as an attachment (the Dumaru-A or Swen are most common right now). To get patches and updates from Microsoft you must visit their update page: http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com.

For more information on viruses Click Here.

Feature #1 - Galaxy High Speed DSL and Cable Internet   Top

Galaxy High Speed DSL

Galaxy  DSL is your always-on high speed connection that uses your existing phone line. You can enjoy T-1 like speeds up to 25 times faster than your dialup modem.

For only $39.95 per month you get all the following features:

- Unlimited, Always-On High Speed Internet Service
- Make phone calls while you're surfing the net
- Download Speeds of Up to 1.5Mbps
- Have your own website address www.yourdomain.com
- Get email to user@yourdomain.com
- Free domain name hosting
- We support all top level domains - .com, .org, .net, .name, .us, etc.
- 7 Email Boxes
- 25 MB of Web Space
- Dial-Up Account with 20 Free Hours - for when you are away from home
- Pop-Up Blocker Professional
- SPAM Filtering
- Unlimited, Free Technical Support

Click Here for more information on our new High Speed DSL!  [ Order Online Now! ]

Galaxy High Speed Cable Internet

Galaxy Cable Internet powered by Comcast is your always-on high speed connection. You can enjoy T-1 like speeds up to 25 times faster than your dialup modem.

For only $45.95 per month you get all the following features:

- Unlimited, Always-On High Speed Internet Service
- Download Speeds of Up to 1.5Mbps (even higher soon)
- Have your own website address www.yourdomain.com
- Get email to user@yourdomain.com
- Free domain name hosting
- We support all top level domains - .com, .org, .net, .name, .us, etc.
- 7 Email Boxes
- 25 MB of Web Space
- Dial-Up Account with 20 Free Hours - for when you are away from home
- Pop-Up Blocker Professional
- SPAM Filtering
- Unlimited, Free Technical Support
- No telephone line required

$3.00 per month cable modem rental fee may apply. Premium Install ($49.95) may be required in some areas.

Click Here for more information on our new High Speed Cable Internet service! [ Order Online Now! ]

Feature #2 - The Pop-up Stopper Pro.   Top

Feature #3 - Child Protection   Top

The Internet is a wondrous and limitless resource for children, however, keeping your children safe as they use the Internet is a daunting task. You don't want to hover over them and make them angry but you can't leave them completely alone and unprotected, either. You want your children to be able to access fun stuff and educational information on the Internet, but you are right to  worry about inappropriate material and unsavory characters... Click Here to read Feature #3 in its entirety.

Feature #4 - Tutorial: Uploading Digital Photos to your Galaxy Web space.  Top

Digital Photography is getting more and more popular every day. The cameras are getting better and less expensive. You can get a pretty decent 2 or 3 mega pixel camera for about $200 these days. 5 mega pixel cameras are about $500 - $800 or so. For the serious photographer, 11 mega pixel digital/SLR hybrids are available for around $8,000.

One fun thing to do with a Digital Camera is to post pictures of a party, graduation, family reunion, vacation, etc. on the Web so other people who attended can see them. Galaxy gives all of its customers free web space for a web page, to save files in or even post digital pictures... Click Here to read Feature #4 in its entirety.

Feature #5 -  Special Offers/ Value Added Services   Top

Broadband Dialup Accelerator- The Galaxy Broadband Dialup Accelerator is a new technology, which actually increases the speed of Web surfing and e-mail by a factor of 2 to 5 times! It works with your existing phone line and modem, and with Galaxy's standard dial-up service. The cost is only an additional $5 per month. Best of all, if you're already a Galaxy customer, you can try it out for free. You have nothing to lose…. Click Here for more information (Note: Sorry, it doesn’t work with Netscape or with Macintosh) 

Referral Program- Refer a friend or relative to Galaxy and get a free month.

Long Distance- Galaxy subscribers are now eligible for a great 3.9 cents per minute long distance rate. We’ve pooled the buying power of our subscribers and negotiated a great rate. This program has no minimums and is available to both business and residential users. There are also great rates on calling cards and toll free 800/888 service. See http://www.gisld.com for details.

Pre-pay savings-  If you pre-pay for your Galaxy account for six or twelve months, you can lock in the low rate of $11.95 per month (You save $36 per year). Although the price is locked in , you are not locked in. You can still cancel at any time and get back the remainder of your pre-pay.

Astromail- Did you know all Galaxy e-mail users can get their mail from any web browser using Galaxy's AstroMail Web-based e-mail service? AstroMail is a free website where Galaxy users can send and receive mail. You can use it as your primary e-mail application or just when you’re traveling, at work, or anywhere you can access the web. Just enter in your username and password and you can receive and send e-mail. To try AstroMail visit http://astromail.gis.net.

SPAM Filter- Galaxy has deployed an internal SPAM filter that employs a high end Sun Enterprise Server to perform over 800 individual checks on each e-mail message that is received by Galaxy. These checks are used to develop a SPAM score, and messages with a high score are considered to be obvious SPAM and are returned to sender with an error message. 

Messages with only a moderate score are probably SPAM, but we deliver these messages with the indicator of [SPAM?] inserted in the subject line. Individual users can setup their mail program (or AstroMail) to automatically move these messages to a SPAM folder. Click Here for simple instructions on how to set up your email program to filter the remaining SPAM. 

Please take the time to customize your e-mail program to take advantage of this new [SPAM?] indicator. We’re confident this will dramatically improve your e-mail enjoyment and productivity.

Feature #6 -  Frequently Asked Questions/ Helpful Hints   Top

If you have a tip or helpful hint that you would like to share with other Galaxy Customers, email newsletter@gis.net. If we use it in one of our newsletters you will receive a free month of service (Dialup access only).

1. Sending attachments with Astromail. I love your Astromail web based email program. I do not know how to send an attachment, however. Can you tell me how to send attachments?

Click Here for the answer to number 1.

2. Clear Forms. When I start typing a keyword into Google or Yahoo to do a search, old search words that I typed in previously show up. Not that I have been searching for anything bad, but how do I clear those old search words out of there?  I use Internet Explorer 6 and have Windows XP.

Click Here for the answer to number 2.

3. Signature Files. Sometimes I get emails from people which have all the person's contact info at the bottom. Do they type that every time or is there a way to automatically have it show up? I use Outlook Express 6 and have Windows 98 SE.

Click Here for the answer to number 3.

4. Keyboard Shortcuts. I was watching a friend of mine working at her computer one day and she seemed to be doing several things with the keyboard to make things happen on the computer screen. We both have Windows XP on our computers. Can you explain what she was doing?

Click Here for the answer to number 4.

5. File Transfer Protocol for large files. Sometimes it seems difficult to send large files, such as Power Point presentations, via email as attachments. Frequently, I need to send files to myself from work so I can get them at home. Is there another way to send large files via the Internet that does not involve email? I have a PC and am running Windows XP.

Click Here for the answer to number 5.

Feature #7 -  Popular Links   Top

This feature gives you a short list of some of the most popular and useful links on the Internet along with a brief description of each link. Each month we will come up with some new and interesting links for you to try. If you would like to submit a favorite site of yours for the next Newsletter send us an email: newsletter@gis.net

Google- Probably the easiest to use Search Engine and sometimes eerily accurate. Google is uncluttered and extremely fast.

Windows to the Universe- Need to know the diameter of Phobos, one of the moons of Mars? (It's 17 miles.) How about the temperature of Pluto? (A very cold minus 380 degrees.) Lots of Web sites claim to have a wealth of educational materials, but few have the depth and quality of information offered by this site. A wonderful guide to space science, Windows to the Universe answers your questions about the solar system, the universe, and the scientists who have discovered these worlds. The NASA-funded site provides a number of different ways to navigate its multimedia-heavy features, depending on whether you have a companion CD-ROM and the latest browser plug-ins. If you're looking to learn about both the history and future of space science, Windows to the Universe will be your guide for an educational journey.

Fed World- It may sound like a wing of a Disney theme park, but FedWorld is actually a thorough database of United States government documents, information and links. FedWorld allows for easy access into information on virtually every branch and department of the U.S. government, and lets you access over 130 government-related bulletin board systems. From here you can link to the U.S. Mint (where the money is made), the Federal Job Listings (where you can find a job and get some of this money), and to the Internal Revenue Service (where the money eventually goes) . . . thus the Circle of Life renews itself.

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame- On Labor Day weekend of 1995, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame opened its doors to the world. Now, while you may never make it to Cleveland, you can share some of the experience through the Hall's Web site. Sound, pictures and memorabilia take you back through the history of rock and roll. Photo and video tours of the Hall are available to take you on a virtual tour. And there's a list of exhibits describing the rest. You can learn (and hear) about each of the inductees (from Ackerman to Zappa) and many of the 500 songs that shaped rock and roll. Express your own opinion about the Hall or rock and roll in any of the many chat forums and, if you do have a chance to visit Cleveland, there are plenty of links to what's happening in that fair city.

Mapquest- Maps, driving directions, road trip planner, yellow pages. A very versatile site for those on the go.

NewYorker.com- The New Yorker has been great for decades, but the website is just coming into its own. Every week you can find all the fact pieces, casuals and short stories available in the current issue. You'll also find online only supplements , such as Q & As with short story writers and companion articles.

RefDesk.com- When you need facts, turn to RefDesk.com. From its plain but crowed home page, you can gain quick access to online dictionaries, encyclopedias, and a myriad or other reference sources. Think of it as Yahoo! crossed with your local librarian. "Free and Family friendly."

  Feature #8 - Feedback.   Top

Have any questions or comments? Email galaxyfeedback@gis.net

Phone: 617-558-0900                                                      Toll Free: 1-888-334-2529

Disclaimer: We have mentioned many web sites, products, and services in this and other newsletters.  Except those offered explicitly by Galaxy Internet Services, we do not endorse or recommend them, we only offer them for investigation by each individual.