CU*Online Newsletter
April 2002 

CU*ONLINE is the Web Design & Maintenance division of Alonzi Technical Consulting.
All Rights Reserved.

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** 01. Building a Smarter Cell Phone

A cell phone with internet access? What a waste of time. Sure you can get email with a cell phone, but you can't open a file attachment. Web surfing is completely out of the question.

Now all that is about to change. Wireless carriers are promising data transmission rates of up to 144 kilobytes per second, compared to today's average wireless transmission rate of two BYTES per second. Two "super" cell phones with Windows interfaces are scheduled for release this year.

One of the biggest holdups to the release of these phones is not technology, but pricing. Despite the PC interface, it's still a cell phone, and there are coverage problems. Should you be charged if it takes five minutes (and three tries) to successfully dial into your home banking system over a cell phone? Some wireless vendors are already revamping their pricing schemes to charge by the amount of data transmitted.

Don't redesign your website for wireless visitors just yet, though. 

The sales of cell phones dipped for the first time last year. Is the cell phone market reaching its saturation point, as some experts believe? Others speculate that people are putting off new purchases until they see what new technologies are available. Vendors hope the latter is true, and they're desperate to get these new technologies to market. (As a side note, only 62 percent of American households now have cell phones. In Europe, household penetration ranges from 75-80%.)

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** 02. New Uses for GPS

You're out walking and your cell phone rings a warning. You punch up a 3D map, which indicates you're getting close to a high-crime area. You instruct the system to provide a different route to your destination, and it immediately does so.

Sound far-fetched? This is only one of many scenarios that developers are finding to make use of the Global Positioning System, or GPS.

The GPS is a network of 24 satellites that can show your exact position anywhere on Earth. Automakers started using GPS in the mid-90s to provide directions and vehicle location such as OnStar. Wireless phone locators adapted GPS technology in 1999, when the FCC demanded a way to pinpoint the location of cell phone users who dial 911.

Although there are flaws in its reliability, the technology continues to get cheaper, smaller, and more reliable. As GPS devices grow in popularity, the debate over their use is also rising. 

Some call personal location systems a godsend. One GPS device on the market contains a watch, pager, fall sensor, proximity setting, alert button, and an ambient temperature sensor. Priced at $300, it's a bargain for the caregiver of an Alzheimer's patient. Utter the name "Jacob Wetterling," and parents rush to implant GPS chips in their children.

Still, others argue that these devices are too intrusive. If Big Brother can find you at any time, what's to stop him from tracking you right now? Who gets access to this technology, and the ability to track your movements?

Last Wednesday the Federal Food and Drug Administration approved the use of computer ID chip implants. This debate will only grow in the years to come. It's something to consider the next time you take off with a big wad of cash to restock an ATM. Would such a device make you feel safer in case of a robbery, or would you instead wonder who's watching you?

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** 03. Your Painless Web Resource

It's spring, and we all know what that means. Annual meetings, car sales, holiday notices, and lots of dated web announcements.

I'm making an effort these days to maintain a tickler file that automatically reminds me when your web promotions expire. From time to time I'll send you notes just to let you know that I removed an expired promo. That means (in theory) you don't have to worry about reminding me when promos have expired. You DO have to let me know if you decide to extend a successful promotion.

Speaking of successful promotions, please share then with me! I like to hear feedback from website marketing. If something works, others may enjoy hearing about your success. If it doesn't work, we can talk about why it didn't meet your expectations. 

Is anyone jumping into the college promotion game? Many high school seniors are sweating it out these days, standing by the mailbox and waiting for a letter from their first-choice college. It's a good time to reach out to them! There are also loads of Googolplex articles online that you can link to from your web site. (And it may not be a bad time to also mention those student loans you offer.)

What about high school juniors and those who are still undecided about a college? Direct them to the www.collegebound.net Web site. This is for anyone going to college, not just high school students. It has financial aid info and it even offers virtual campus tours. The site does a great job of appealing to its target market -- that would be your kid, NOT you. (If it's any consolation, I'm feeling the whole age thing right there with you...)

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** 04. Getting the Best Deal on an ISP

Several CU*ONLINE credit unions are switching ISPs (Internet Service Providers) this year for various reasons. Many of my customers have asked me to recommend a new ISP. One of my former top ISP recommendations filed for bankruptcy earlier this year, so I did some research on the internet for new ISPs to recommend.

My recommendations are generally based on company reputation, magazine or word-of-mouth recommendations, and reasonable pricing. I believe a "reasonable" price for an ISP is $20-$50 per month, depending on how many email accounts you need, whether you use a secure server, and so on.

My search brought me to a Web site named "The Web Host Industry Review" (thewhir.com). It contained some useful articles about web hosting, and linked to stories about some very prominent ISPs. I clicked the site's link to see recommended ISPs, but I didn't know ANY of the names on the resulting list.

My mental alarm clock started ringing at this point. These companies had obviously paid to be listed on this site, yet there were no disclaimers to alert unsuspecting visitors to the fact that this was not an unbiased referral.

Still, I was intrigued. The ISPs on the list were promoting some VERY low prices. "Web hosting as low as $9.95 per month"... $8.95... $5.95. I clicked a link to one web host. The company had an attractive site, and the features of each plans were clearly laid out, along with the incremental pricing. You could get a site with 20 email accounts and a shared secure server for less than $30 per month. Awesome!

Then I noticed another link on the site: "Why an adult web host makes sense for YOUR business too!" Evidently, web hosts who cater to adult sites need more security than most. I returned to TheWhir.com's home page. Only then did I notice the side link to "Adult Content Web Hosts".

I'm a penny-pinching skinflint who likes a bargain. Still, the idea of my newsletter being posted on an Adult Content server creeps me out. If that doesn't deter YOU from a cheaper ISP, consider the other implications. Porn sites do a lot of spam advertising. Reputable ISPs will block access to an entire server if your neighbor is sending out loads of spam and your web host isn't doing anything about it. That will affect your email, your Web site, and ultimately your business.

This can happen with any web host, be it an Adult Content one or not. If you're getting offered a steal of a deal, you need to question its legitimacy. Many ISPs make their money generating spam email. These are not the types of companies to do business with if you have a reputable organization. 

My final recommendation? Pay the extra money, and stick with a reputable ISP.
- Karen

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** 05. Expanding Our Readership

Each month the CU*ONLINE newsletter grows by a few extra subscriptions. (Hello, new subscribers!) These folks tend to be people who stumble across the CU*ONLINE Web site and click the button for a free subscription.

If you're a regular reader and you find some of these monthly tidbits useful, pass the newsletter along to your staff and credit union friends. From my viewpoint, it makes no difference whether I send this newsletter to one person at your credit union or twenty. However, a larger number of readers might shame me into doing more research. It could work to your advantage to pass this newsletter around and gain new subscribers.

I'm also planning to introduce an HTML version of this newsletter next month. It's something to keep in mind if you're thinking of starting an email marketing campaign. If you upgraded to Internet Explorer 6.0, you might have already noticed a bug that causes HTML-formatted emails to get cut off after a certain amount of data is displayed. Let me know in advance if you've seen that problem, and I'll help you get it fixed ASAP!
- Karen

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** 06. AOL Time Warner Reverses AOL Requirement

Our last month's newsletter included an excerpt from an internal memo at AOL Time Warner. The company was requiring all its employees to use AOL for email, despite an internal memo warning that two percent of the emails did not reach their intended recipients.

As a result of the email problems, many staffers have reportedly reverted to pre-Internet habits. Employees are faxing and using Federal Express more than before, rather than gambling with email. They are also using the phone more frequently, and even making contact (gasp) face-to-face.

"If all goes well, we'll never have to use email and we'll have to start talking to each other again," said one employee.

Sorry, Charlie.

AOL Time Warner has since reversed its AOL requirement. The official explanation is that AOL is an email system designed with home users in mind, not a large corporation. The company is now researching its email options and even considering a proposal from Microsoft, their biggest competitor.

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