We're happy to announce that Chebucto Community Net is beginning to phase in graphical access to the Internet, with our point-to-point protocol (PPP) service, Chebucto Plus.

         Chebucto Plus will mean fuller access to the Internet through a Chebucto account. Chebucto Plus members won't need a second service provider to get graphics, video or sound on the World Wide Web. As well as being able to use a graphical browser like Netscape, you'll be able to transfer files more easily too....whether it's to email a recipe from the Web to a friend, or to download an article to your computer.

         You can get details on Chebucto Plus, including system requirements, at http://www.chebucto.ns.ca/PPP (note upper case).

         The Chebucto Plus option will become a part of a sustaining membership package in the Chebucto Community Net. Sustaining memberships are $100/year.

         As a supporter of the Chebucto Community Net, you know this marks a major addition to our service options. Our volunteer workforce wants to phase Chebucto Plus in smoothly while maintaining our basic service. This means PPP accounts will be available to a limited number of people at first, with more coming onstream as our resources allow.

         We'll have frequent updates on how the project is going at the URL listed above, and in the CCN Beacon. Stay tuned.

         Hard working Chebucto volunteers and generous CCN users have helped raise about $3500 in the final weekend of the CCN phone Canvass. The Canvass, which called the first 1000 users signed up with CCN, is a test model for a campaign which would call up the entire user base to help solicit much-needed funds needed to keep Chebucto running.

         "It's been important touching base with our users and letting them know we're still here", said Canvass organizer Richard Rudnicki. The funds raised will help replace aging modems, many of which have never been turned off in four years of operation, and to help upgrade the modem pool in preparation for PPP graphical access to Chebucto as well as other urgent system needs.

         A half dozen volunteers manned the phones for the final day of the Canvass including one person who was gathering experience for his forthcoming job application to a professional telephone soliciting company.

         For the first time you can soon give the gift of a Chebucto Community Net account with an included Introductory User's Guide. On sale this week, the CCN Gift Certificates sell for $25 and also give the new user a year's voting membership in the Chebucto Community Net Society.

         Give the gift that lasts: email, access to the World Wide Web and over 16,000 Usenet newsgroups and the friendly volunteer support that is unmatched by any other locally available provider. Contact the CCN Office at (902) 494-2449.

         Come visit the real Nova Scotia Internet Provider. Our server is in Halifax, not Toronto. ;-)

         The old CCN domain names ccn·cs·dal·ca and cfn·cs·dal·ca are being officially retired at the request of our upstream service provider, the Network Operations Centre at Dalhousie University. All links and bookmarks to pages and addresses on CCN using these names will soon no longer work. Changing these links and addresses to chebucto.ns.ca now will ensure trouble-free continuing access to them.

         Over the next couple of weeks all references to these outdated addresses will be purged from CCN files and documents including User Profiles.

         We're a volunteer-run net which means we need people to volunteer to keep it going. Got a skill that is not being used to its best advantage out in the real world? Just want to help pitch in? Check here for more information on what you can do to help.