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AN ON-LINE OLYMPUSNET NEWSLETTER

July, 1997

Welcome to our OlympusNet Summer 1997 Newsletter!
A copy may be found at http://www.olympus.net/olympusnet/olympusfeatures/newsletterJul97.html.
Topics included this issue are:

NEW WWW SERVER
The time has come to share what we've been doing. The big news is that we're adding the first of our 'Super Servers'. This is a large computer with 512Mb RAM and 28Gb of storage and it will become www.olympus.net. Because we have so much disk space, we've cut the price of disk storage in half. What distinguishes this computer from others is that most of its storage is in a 'RAID' array which allows the system to keep running in case of a RAID disk failure. Reliability has been one of our hallmarks and the RAID array makes our system even more reliable. The new server has been up and running for several weeks and we're configuring its new software

OLYMPUS RELIABILITY
On July 28th our main Olympus server passed its 120th day of 'uptime'. That means that Olympus was last off the air during the massive power outage four months ago. Since that power outage we have been disconnected from the net for an hour because of a router error and mail was blocked for half an hour, however Olympus was still on the air. We typically shut the servers down monthly for preventive maintenance but let Olympus run as an experiment

WWW FORMS SOFTWARE
What distinguishes the new OlympusWWW server is not only its size but its software. In cooperation with Otto Smith's 7 Seas Software, OlympusNet is proud to announce one of the more sophisticated WWW 'forms' on the Internet. Forms are filled out by customers who visit Olympus' WWW sites and are sent via e-mail to the site's owner. The forms can require that fields be filled out, validate them, and send a response to both the site owner and the customer. We'll be adding password and spreadsheet features in an upcoming version. We will continue to add sophisticated software for Web commerce.

Do take a look at an example of our new form at http://www.olympus.net/olympusnet/forms/form.html
(If you fill-in the e-mail line, you'll get a copy of what an OlympusNet WWW site owner receives when someone submits a form)

WWW DESIGNERS ALLIANCE
After we've commissioned our new WWW server we'll invite commercial WWW designers around the country (yes even from our competition!) to take advantage of our WWW technology. Commercial WWW Designers will be invited to our tutorials on how to use our advanced forms and database WWW tools. We will be mailing information to WWW designers about the Alliance

DATABASE
With the help of Jeff and Connie Graham's Cascade Consulting, we're adding a very powerful database to OlympusNet. It's capable of traditional client/server transactions as well as WWW access. Its first application will be a joint effort of OlympusNet and the Science, Technology and Manufacturing Association of Clallam County. The project will make it possible for anyone on the 'net to search for companies on the Olympic Peninsula by multiple keywords. The database will make possible the creation of 'dynamic' WWW sites on OlympusNet and will offer solutions to corporate document management.

We plan to offer database services to companies and institutions that don't want to maintain a database computer or its software. The database can be private and not accessible from the WWW or have either restricted or public WWW access.

Our view of databases and the WWW is the opposite of most Internet Service Providers (ISPs). The typical ISP views databases as support tools for the WWW. We look at it other way around, with the WWW as the supporting tool for the database. Our plan is to provide a spectrum of database tools as the world of document and transaction processing unfolds.

SECURE WWW SERVER
We will be adding a Secure WWW Server to Olympus for encrypting credit cards and other private WWW transactions. We plan on running multiple WWW servers, each catering to specific needs. The Secure WWW Server is the first of our special-purpose servers.

EXTRAORDINARY OLYMPIANS
We have added two new sections to the Olympic Peninsula WWW site. The Extraordinary Olympians site honors those members of OlympusNet who have contributed in a significant manner to their community, to the environment, or to humanity. Each quarter we will share the selected person's vision, education, accomplishments, inspiration, and sources of support. Our first Extraordinary Olympian is Dr. Tony Rogstad, Veterinarian. To see the new site, go to the Olympic Peninsula page at http://www.olympus.net/ and click on "Extraordinary Olympians" under "Life on the Peninsula". Please send us your "Dr. Tony" story. We'd like to add it to his part of the "Extraordinary Olympian" site.

FEATURED OLYMPIANS
This is the second new section on our WWW site. The purpose of the Featured Olympians site is to highlight a talented Olympian; one who has created something useful, beautiful or worthwhile. Our first Featured Olympian is Steve O'Keefe, who has produced a book called "Publicity on the Internet". To see this new site, go to the Olympic Peninsula page at http://www.olympus.net/ and click on "Business Directory" under "Life on the Peninsula". Then click on "Featured Olympians" right below the Directory table.

K56FLEX MODEMS
Our new 56k digital modems were installed in mid-July in Sequim and Port Townsend. Tests reveal that the digital modems are not connecting with customer 33.6kb modems at 33.6kb but rather at lower speeds. Those customers who connect at peak hours (late afternoon and evening) will be more likely to connect to the digital modems.

We will be upgrading our digital modem lines to 'trunk-side terminated' which will improve customer analog modem connections to our digital modems and make K56Flex connections faster. As soon as US West gives us an installation date for the upgrade we'll pass it along. We should have that date August 1st. We recommend waiting to buy a 56k modem until our upgraded digital modem lines are in place and we've tested user modems. For information about modem suppliers, see www.k56flex.com. Please look at our FAQ on K56Flex modems at http://www.olympus.net/olympusnet/olympusonly/connecting/56k.html.

FRAME RELAY
Those OlympusNet users who wish to set up their own WWW servers or connect their offices to the Internet should consider getting a 56k or Fractional T1 Frame Relay connection from OlympusNet.

For those offices or institutions that have many people who need 'Net access, but who don't want to operate a server should consider getting a Frame Relay connection to OlympusNet and let us keep their mail and news on our server. By running a Frame Relay connection between your office and OlympusNet, mail is available 24 hours a day, expensive modems and phone lines are avoided and you have 'Net access.

CUSTOMER SERVICE
Call volume to OlympusNet Technical Support and Customer Service has increased significantly in the last year. Our highest number of calls per month occurred in November of 1996, reaching nearly 1500. We generally average about 1000 calls to our office each month, with slower months 'dropping ' to 750-800.

Most of these calls are answered during regular office hours, in person, by Elizabeth. When she is on the phone with a customer, she is backed up by our answering machine, which is checked constantly to be sure customers calls are returned promptly. The machine works hard weekends and evenings when the technical support staff check between each support call they handle. This way we can be sure that someone is always 'minding the store.'

Please note our Expanded support hours evenings and weekends -- 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.
Regular office hours, with a 'live person' available 8:30 am to 5 pm, Monday through Friday, backed up by an answering machine, so your call is always responded to.

Don't forget that we keep our FAQs up to date. They're at http://www.olympus.net/faqs. You may find outside consultant referrals in the FAQs under 'Technical Support' if you need a visit to your office or home.

ACCOUNTING NEWS

We are installing new billing software designed specifically for Internet Service Providers and will streamline our billing. You will receive e-mail telling about the new billing format shortly before we send the invoices.

JUNK MAIL
We will be installing mail software that will allow us to block well known Internet junk mail sites.

WHY WE CHARGE $25 PER MONTH
People ask us why we charge $25 per month when some providers charge less. The answer is: At $20 per month an Internet Service provider's profit margin is too small to buy RAID array WWW servers with 512Mb RAM, to pay for top quality programming for some of the best 'forms' software on the Internet, or to pay for great technical support or expert consulting for our database. Internet connoisseurs will immediately recognize that the new Message Board (written in Python) that we offer our WWW customers, stands head and shoulders above others, even though the current version is a pre-release. Do take a look at a Message Board that's just been brought up for a Wind's Eye customer at http://www.olympus.net/classof47Discussion

We continue to re-invest our profits in OlympusNet because year after year you have stayed with us, making it possible to offer reliable access, outstanding support, and high-quality services. This is a very demanding business and good quality is expensive.

HORN TOOTING
An example of OlympusNet's approach to technology is our early adoption of an extraordinary programming language called 'Python'. While the majority of Internet sites are leaping on the 'Perl' bandwagon for their software needs, OlympusNet has ceased writing new applications in 'Perl' and has switched to the 'Python'. We made this switch because we can develop applications with much more speed and reliability than we formerly could using 'Perl'. Already, Python is being used in another local company and is being taught to grade- and high-schoolers (thanks to Otto Smith.) For more information on Python, please refer to http://www.python.org and the newsgroup comp.lang.python.

Few but the very high-end Internet sites use RAID arrays partially because of the expense, partially because of its complex management. We strive to offer a reliable system and believe that RAID arrays add significantly to that reliability.

The quality of documentation on OlympusNet is excellent. We urge you to take advantage of that documentation by visiting our Frequently Asked Questions at http://www.olympus.net/faqs. Nancy Thorwardson continuously updates the FAQs

KUDOS
OlympusNet is brought to you by:

AND FINALLY, THANKS TO YOU!
As always, we thank you for your continued and enthusiastic support. It is your support that gives us the confidence to buy expensive equipment, pay for our terrific support and consulting staff, and offer top quality Internet and database access.
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