Welcome to the newsgroup!

Our newsgroup is up and ready to go! What's a newsgroup and what does it mean to you? Well, the Online Services department has implemented a peer-to-peer communication system that you can access through your web browser. It's not a new idea on the 'net, but it's a great way to communicate with other Gateway owners. You can now post messages in a Gateway-specific environment where other customers will be able to read and reply to your mail. If you have your news reader configured, the name of the newsgroup is customernews.gateway.com. Otherwise, enter one of the following URLs into your browser to automatically bring it up:

One more thing. If you have any suggestions or something you would like to see for your newsgroup, just

news://customernews.gateway.com/gw.destination news://customernews.gateway.com/gw.desktop-tower news://customernews.gateway.com/gw.desktop-tower.motherboards news://customernews.gateway.com/gw.desktop-tower.multimedia news://customernews.gateway.com/gw.desktop-tower.software-os news://customernews.gateway.com/gw.desktop-tower.storage-devices news://customernews.gateway.com/gw.desktop-tower.telecomm news://customernews.gateway.com/gw.desktop-tower.video news://customernews.gateway.com/gw.portables news://customernews.gateway.com/gw.portables.software-os news://customernews.gateway.com/gw.portables.pcmcia

If you're unsure of how to configure your browser to get there, please view the help file which accompanies your browser. To subscribe to a newsgroup (this means you will see the group the next time you open the server), place a check mark beside the group This might work a little differently depending on your browser. Each time you open the Gateway 2000 news server, this group will appear and the news reader will retrieve any new messages from the server. Reading, creating and replying to existing messages is similar to email. This also depends on which browser you’re using.

Tips on posting:

If you have a question regarding your system, you're going to get the most accurate responses if you choose the correct topic of discussion. For instance, if you have a question regarding your motherboard, it wouldn't pay to ask it in a discussion about CDROMs.

Message Title

If you want people to stop and read your message, make your title as specific as possible to the contents of the message. This will attract the audience for which the message is intended. If you have a question about upgrading the RAM on your computer, don't make the subject line, "Make Money Fast."

Message Text

To improve the chances of getting an accurate and useful reply, it's important to provide as much information as possible. Examples of this would be the following:

• System type (i.e. 486-33, P5-60, etc.) and it's components, if necessary (Hard drive type, processor type, amount and type of RAM, BIOS revision, modem type, CDROM, sound card)
• Operating system (Windows 95, NT, etc.).
• Specific hardware and software related to the question
• Specific details as to the question or problem, such as any error messages or symptoms

Like posting a message, it's important to be as accurate and detailed as possible (that doesn't mean that you have to make a career out of writing it, but rather just be detailed). No reply at all is better than an inaccurate reply. An experienced user will try to verify the original problem and try to come up with a solution. Or, if he or she isn't sure, a disclaimer such as "I'm not sure, so don't sue me if it doesn't work" is added to the message. Along with this, it doesn't hurt to put everything on a third-grade level. Simple, easy-to-comprehend messages work for both new and experienced users.

With all that said, happy posting!