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Atlantic.Net Offices Closed for the Holidays
The Atlantic.Net offices will be closed on Friday, December 24 and Monday, December 27 so our staff can be with their families during the holidays. The Call Center will close at midnight December 24 and will reopen at midnight on December 26.
Also, the Call Center will be closed on Saturday, January 1 for the New Year's holiday. The Call Center will reopen at midnight on Sunday, January 2. All Atlantic.Net offices will be closed on Friday, December 31.
Atlantic.Net's Network Operations Center engineers will continue to monitor and maintain your service during this time. The Atlantic.Net team wishes all members a safe and happy holiday season!
Surfin' Safari:
The Holidays are Neigh!
Here's some help for getting ready for the holiday season.
• Get some healthy tips for the holidays.
•
Be charitable this season by donating to Toys for Tots and making a child's
holiday brighter.
•
Have a lot of gift giving to do? Check out these gift ideas all under $10!
• Put a little love in your gifts — make them yourself.
• Staying with the family during the holidays can be stressful. Check out
these tips on how to keep your sanity.
• Find out how Christmas is celebrated in other countries and broaden your
horizons.
• Need a gift for a host/hostess of a Christmas party? Check out these suggestions.
•
Fun things to do when it's cold outside.
•
Interested in a vegetarian Christmas dinner? Check out this menu.
• Top 10 holiday movies you can share with the family.
Written by Sara Roggenbuck
 
Surfer Dude Answers
Your Questions
He's the PC professor, the gigabyte guru, the ruler of ROM. He's
Surfer Dude!
Q: Hi Surfer Dude!
A friend sends me e-mails and all that shows is the subject matter line.
Just above the senders name is the following: (a paperclip icon proceeds the following message) "Outlook Express removed access to the following unsafe attachments in your e-mail, Fwd_Fw_what would you do_eml."
I can only surmise that the subject line message had a virus and my AVG control center picked it up and denied me access to that mail. Am I interpreting this correct or is there something else I am missing? It seems I get this Outlook Express message from this sender only! Thanks, Marge
A: Marge, you're pretty close! The error message stated here says that Outlook Express will not allow you to look at attachments that end with certain file extensions. There is a way to turn this option off, but we always recommend making sure your virus program is running and fully updated beforehand.
Here’s how to shut off that option:
• Open Outlook Express
• Click Tools, then Options
•
Click the Security tab
•
Uncheck the option that states "Do not allow attachments to be saved or opened that could potentially be a virus"
Thanks for your question, Marge, and have a happy holiday season.
Gotta go now. Surf's Up!
Got a Question?
If you're stumped by a technical conundrum,
just Ask
the Surfer Dude, and we'll share the answers in future issues.
Getting the Most from Digital Photography
So, you have a fancy new digital camera, but your pictures look like they have been taken with a "throw-away" camera. What do you do? Here are a few tips to help you get clearer, sharper digital photos:
• If you want better pictures, you may have to buy a better camera. To get pictures with higher resolution, your camera must have more pixels. If you plan on enlarging your pictures, you need to buy a camera that has at least two or three mega pixels (Each mega pixel is one million pixels).
• The proof is in the picture. Since digital cameras don’t require film, your camera basically is your film. Therefore, it is important to find a camera with plenty of exposure options. A camera that can automatically adjust to various lighting conditions is important. You may also want to look at cameras that feature manual settings.
• Just hold still. You’re probably used to hearing this when a picture is being taken of you. But, the same applies for taking a picture. One of the most common causes of unclear digital photos is from camera movement or shaking while the picture is being taken. While there’s not much you can do to completely avoid this if you’re taking a picture by hand, you can invest in a tripod or monopod to aid in your picture taking. While tripods can be pricey, you can purchase a monopod for around $150.
•
Let the sun shine in. Or don’t? Two other elements that can affect the way your pictures come out are shutter speed and aperture. When it comes to shutter speed, we’re back to the same lesson on quality. Some cameras don’t allow you to manually select the shutter speed on your camera — you want one that will. Shutter speed is affected by the amount of light that comes in, which is affected by the aperture (the hole that light comes through) of your lens. If you increase the shutter speed by one it increases the exposure by 100 percent. If you increase the aperture by one it also increases the exposure by 100 percent, making your pictures sharper.
•
If you don’t like what you see, fix it. A great advantage of digital photography is that you can easily retouch the pictures, removing scratches, creases, or red eye. You can also touch up coloring to give your picture more clarity. Photo restoration can actually let you adjust the clarity, contrast, and sharpness of your picture as well.
For more information on how to take better digital photos, consult your camera's manual or think about enrolling in an online photography course.
Written by Alexandra Kummernes
7" Portable DVD Player at Amazon.com
 Initial IDM-1731 Portable DVD Player with 7" LCD Watch movies, listen to MP3 CDs, or review camcorder footage — all from one portable device. Initial Technology's IDM-1731 puts a world of entertainment at your fingertips. The built-in seven-inch wide screen TFT (thin-film-transistor) LCD displays favorite movies in their native aspect ratios, and the player's onboard anti-skip protection — a surprisingly rare feature in portable DVD players — paves the way for media enjoyment during more active uses.
Tech Tip: WiFi at Home
As more households are using several computers, connecting them to the Internet can be a complicated process. Often it involves endless stretches of wires not to mention crawling around in dark, dusty attics to run cable from one end of a house to the other. WiFi, a much simpler option, can be as easy as plugging in a wireless router to your Internet connection and can solve all of those connection problems. In addition to running your Internet through a wireless router, you can also connect your other devices into a wireless network.
Setting up WiFi
Setting up a wireless hotspot in your home, you will need a Wireless Access Point Router. This router contains a port to connect your Internet modem, a router, an Ethernet hub, a firewall, and a wireless access point. Basically, it will allow you to connect to your Internet without the traditional Ethernet wires.
Finding a Router
Routers come in 802.11a, b, and g. "B" is the least expensive; however, it can be slower than the others. 'G' is a bit more costly, but it can be up to five times faster. Go with "G" if you know you'll be doing a lot of file sharing.
Making Your Computer Wireless
Connecting your computer to your new wireless Internet is the simplest part of the process. Newer laptops come with wireless cards already built in. If you have an older computer, you can install a separate card. You can buy a PCI card to install inside the machine or an external adapter which connects using a USB cable. Wireless cards are also available for desktops freeing up wires behind your CPU.
Your Mother Always Said to Share!
Do you keep all your music files on a computer in your living room, but you want to listen to them on your laptop anywhere in your home? WiFi will allow you to share all your computer files with any computer connected to your network. Imagine sitting on your bed listening to the music through your laptop from your desktop. Also, a wireless network allows you to share printers throughout your home.
Keeping Out Unwanted Users
Security can be an issue with wireless networks because anyone with a card can access your network unless it’s a secure connection. To access a secure connection you would need the Wired Equivalent Privacy key. Using a WEP key will prevent other people from eavesdropping on your network.
Written by Sara Roggenbuck.
How VoIP Can Save Your Business $$$!
A major part of any business' overhead is telephone service. As more businesses enter the global economy, long-distance phone bills can skyrocket.
But never fear, technology hasn't left anyone behind. The latest trend in telecommunications is Voice over Internet Protocol, or VoIP. This fairly old technology has been given a new style and format and can save businesses thousands of dollars each month.
Here's how it works: In a traditional phone system, a format known as Time Division Multiplexing transmits a signal over copper or fiber optic wiring. This format requires a dedicated connection from caller to receiver. However, in a VoIP environment, the caller picks up a phone which sends a signal to a converter box to check for available Internet access. If available, the caller hears a dial-tone and proceeds with the call. The call is then sent over the Internet through packet switching and is repackaged at the receiver's end through some computer programming.
The advantages of VoIP for a business can be tremendous. "I have a customer who is saving over $3,000 a month with VoIP over their old long-distance carrier," said Alan Koski, senior sales representative for Atlantic.Net.
Imagine this: A small business comprising of two or three offices in several cities call each other 10 times a day. The average call is 15 minutes at 10 cents a minute. With three offices, that can be as much as $45 a day or more than $1,300 a month. With VoIP, the offices can make unlimited calls to one another for a flat rate.
For more information on how VoIP can work for your business, contact our sales staff at sales@atlantic.net or call 1-800-GO-ATLANTIC.
Written by Ross Schmadebeck
Mail
Atlantic.Net
2815 NW 13th Street, Suite 201
Gainesville, FL 32609
Phone
For sales, service, or support, please call:
• Toll-Free: (877) GO-ATLANTIC
(That's 1-877-462-8526)
• In Gainesville, FL: (352) 375-2912
E-mail
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• Commercial
Billing Inquiries
• Technical Support
• Feedback
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