HWCN IS CLOSED!
The following information has been sent to all members as an e-mail.
We reproduce it here, to be sure that everyone has access to this
important information:
After many years of service to the greater Hamilton area
the Hamilton Community Net has closed its doors.
OFFICE HOURS: NONE. Call 905-528-4936 and leave a message.
Our servers are shutting down DECEMBER 15TH.
After this date, only the pre-arranged forwarding of e-mail and
web addresses will continue.
For Email Forwarding Click Here
For Dial-Up Users Click Here
For the FAQ
Information for Members with DIALUP SERVICE:
295.ca has generously agreed to offer 18 months FREE UNLIMITED dial-up
internet service to ALL HWCN DIAL-UP members, to offset the cost of any
prepaid access that still remains on your HWCN account. 295.ca will also
service your existing @hwcn.org e-mail address and/or www.hwcn.org/~user
web pages, if any.
To obtain this special offer, please call the special 295.ca SIGN-UP
telephone number: (905) 481-4295 and tell the 295 Customer Service
Representative that you are an HWCN DIALUP member, and wish to receive
the "HWCN promotional offer". Please note you CANNOT SIGN-UP THROUGH
THE 295.ca WEB SITE. You must phone the number above.
THIS OFFER EXPIRES DECEMBER 15TH, 2010
You will need to provide your HWCN User-id (eg. aa999) and your telephone
number, for the 295.ca agent to verify your eligibility for the 18 months
service credit. Please note that the agent will have NO access to any
personal information from your HWCN account. They may see a warning
message if your disk quota is greater than the 295 disk quota.
If you are a member with HWCN TEXT SERVICE:
While this free service offer is open to TEXT members of HWCN, we regret
to announce that TEXT DIALUP SERVICE WILL NOT BE AVAILABLE on 295.ca.
The service provided will be standard PPP (graphical) dialup access using
Windows 'Dial-up Networking' or its equivalent.
Members who prefer the simplicity of the "Pine" text e-mail client can
download a version of Pine for personal computers from:
http://www.washington.edu/pine/getpine/pcpine.html
Please note that neither HWCN nor 295 will provide support for
PC-Pine. The link is provided only as a courtesy. The setup parameters for
'mail servers' will be the same as for Outlook or any other mail client.
Please accept our apologies for any inconvenice that may be caused by our
closing and the effort needed to make the changes outlined above. We
have tried to make the process as simple and straightforward as
possible. If you have any questions, please call the HWCN Office Number
and leave a message
The board and staff of HWCN wish to express their gratitude to our
members for their many years of support. We will miss you, and wish you
well.
**** HWCN Closing and Transfer Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) ****
1. I heard HWCN is shutting down. Is this true?
Yes. After 15 years of providing Internet services and support to the
Hamilton-Wentworth community the organization has decided to wind down
operations. The not-for-profit coporation that is HWCN will be dissolved.
We will formally cease all internet services on December 15th, 2010.
2. Why has HWCN decided to wind down now after 15 years of providing
services?
There are several reasons. The main reason is that HWCN would soon be no
longer financially sustainable and has decided to wind down while it has
the financial means to do so. With more and more members switching to high
speed and bundled services we have been unable to make enough margin to be
able to cover expenses. In addition we no longer are fulfilling our
original mandate of bringing the Internet to those unable to afford it and
to provide training and centralization of community information. There are
less expensive service providers, and search engines and myhamilton.ca
provide better access to community information than we are able to.
3. When will HWCN stop providing access services?
HWCN has ceased its access services, and will shut down its servers on
December 15th, 2010. After this date, only the pre-arranged forwarding of
e-mail and web addresses will continue, provided by 295.ca.
The Waterloo based 295.ca and HWCN have cooperated to ensure that the
service HWCN members have paid for will be available to an equivalent or
better level of service at 295.ca.
4. What will happen to my service, access, e-mail, etc?
HWCN has made arrangements with 295.ca to take on HWCN members and
customers. HWCN and 295.ca have been working together now for several
years and they currently provide dialup and Internet lines for our members.
If you are a current HWCN dial-up member you can call (905) 481-4295 and
ask for the HWCN Promotional offer. You will sign-up for a new 295.ca
account, and upon verification of your membership status with HWCN, 295
will provide you 18 months of free dial-up service regardless of how much
time is remaining on your current service term remaining with HWCN.
If you are a current HWCN high-speed DSL member you can also sign up for
295.ca high-speed service. There is no offer of free service period as the
cost of high speed prevents this from being feasible. If you are paying
month to month for high speed access then you can simply sign up for high
speed with 295.ca at http://dsl.295.ca/DSL/Search/Residential. If you
prepaid for high-speed service then you will sign-up the same way, and
then HWCN will forward the appropriate payment to 295.ca on your behalf,
to extend your new 295 service by the number of months equivalent to the
service period you originally paid for.
PLEASE NOTE that 295.ca requires FIRST MONTH AND LAST MONTH'S
DEPOSIT FOR HIGH SPEED ACCOUNTS upon sign-up. We apologize
for any extra financial burden this may cause, but it is the *simplest*
way to perform the transfer on such short notice. Once you have
signed-up, contact the HWCN Office, we will forward a credit payment on
your behalf to 295.ca.
If you are a current HWCN Information Provider getting free hosted Web
site services from us then 295.ca will offer you a residential service web
hosting service for free. Just call 295.ca and reference the HWCN
Promotional offer and ask for a USERNAME that is the same as the last part
of your hwcn.org web address. Provide your information for help in setting
up your account. You will need to use FTP to download your old website and
then upload it to your new 295.ca webspace. Once this is done, PLEASE
CONTACT the HWCN office, so that we may properly 'forward' your hwcn.org
'link' URL to your new webspace address!
5. What if I don't want to use 295.ca for my service but another ISP?
Can I get a refund on my prepaid service with HWCN?
No. HWCN has made arrangements with 295.ca to provide services and
continuance of user@hwcn.org email address. If you choose to decline
signing up with 295.ca, as is your right, then HWCN does not offer any
refund for services paid for and not yet used. In your signup or renewal
agreement there is a clause indicating the HWCN does not provide a refund
if you choose to go elsewhere for service.
6. Will my email address still work? Can I still receive and send email
with my old email address?
Yes. Your email address @hwcn.org will still work for delivery, but you
will need to setup e-mail FORWARDING to deliver your mail to your new
user@295.ca accout in order to read it. While you can also still send
email as user@hwcn.org, you will need to use the 295.ca mail server to do
so. We strongly encourage you to transition to your 295.ca email address.
If your e-mail is already forwarded to another address, such as a hotmail
account, this forwarding will only be continued if you sign-up for the
295 account.
7. I used HWCN web email service. Will this still be available via 295.ca.
It will be different. 295.ca provides its own web based email interface.
The functionality will be similar, but you will need to use your new
295.ca user account to login. Your old hwcn user-id will NOT work.
Please note that the webmail addressbook and any saved mail will NOT
be copied onto the new server. Please download/save these files to your
home computer before December 15th!
8. If I have problems with transitioning from HWCN.org to 295.ca who do I
call for support?
HWCN will maintain the usual weekday support for the month of August, to
help answer questions related to your HWCN services and provide
information of how to transition to 295.ca. For any issues related to your
service once you transition to 295.ca then you can call the 295.ca
helpdesk for support. That support is available 7 days per week and 24
hours per day for your support needs.
9. I have multiple email addresses and I have personal web pages enabled.
Will I have the same services from 295.ca
Yes. If you have multiple email addresses then 295.ca will be able to
provide you with the same multiple email addresses. Please inform them
of this requirement when you sign-up.
If you have personal web pages on HWCN, please ask 295 Customer Service to
setup Personal Webspace on your new 295 account. Please note PERSONAL
WEBSPACE IS NOT AUTOMATICALLY ASSIGNED. You must request it. You will then
need to DOWNLOAD your files from HWCN using an FTP CLIENT program, and
then UPLOAD those files to your new 295.ca webspace. Once this is done,
you can go to the "My Account" page on the HWCN website and setup a WEB
PAGE FORWARD that will automatically send visitors using your old web
address to your new one.
10. Will I need to change my DIALUP modem to be able to connect. Will
there be more busy signals?
HWCN has been partnered with 295.ca for several years now and as part of
that partnership you are already using 295.ca dialup lines and Internet
connection. By switching to 295.ca nothing changes in your connection
equiment or experience. You will need to change your dial up number
to the 295.ca dial up number and login name and password to your new
295.ca login id and password. You can get help from the 295.ca support
services for this change to your dialup settings.
11. I'm a high-speed member of HWCN. Can I use my current modem to connect
to 295.ca?
Yes. When you sign-up with 295.ca you will be given a special username and
password that applies to your DSL modem. You will then need to 'login' to
the control panel of your modem, using your computer's web browser.
Detailed instructions for the models of modem sold by HWCN may be found
here:
http://www.hwcn.org/295highspeedsetup/
Please note that many intrnet companies 'lock' their modems. HWCN does
not. You *may* be told you 'have' to buy/rent a 295.ca modem. You don't.
You just need to explain to the CSR that your modem is unlocked and that
you have already verified with 295.ca head office that you can use it.
Just get your username and password from the CSR.
12. I use HWCN to host my internet domain, and/or register domain
name(s) and/or provide Name Server (DNS resolution) services for my
domains. What is being done to ensure my service will be available during
and after this transition?
HWCN has made arrangements with the Hamilton offices of networxhosting.com
to accept sign-ups for domain hosting and registration with an appropriate
credit applied to your Networx account for any unused months still
remaining in your annual renewal peiod with HWCN. A special online
sign-up form will be available, and Netowrx will verify the amount of
credit that applies. Please note there maye be a modest service fee
related to the transfer of domain names, but this fee will add an
additional year to your domain name registration, so no value will be
lost.
13. I chose HWCN because I wanted to support a local organization and/or
have Customer Service and Help Line here in Ontario. What about 295.ca?
Is it local?
295.ca is a Canadian company, located in Cambridge, with operations
extending across Canada. They are very community-minded and have been
generously supporting our dialup services for the past several years, for
which HWCN is extremely greatful. Their front-line Customer Service and
Help Line are operated by courteous and knowledgable staff based in the
Caribbean, available 24 hours day, 7 days a week. Senior Technical Support
staff are based in Cambridge.
14. I have been making my payments at the HWCN office. How will I make my
payments now?
While 295.ca has operational faciltiies in many cities, they do not have a
'front office' where you can make payments in person. We suggest that you
speak to 295.ca Customer Service and inquire with them about available
options for payment.
*********** THANK YOU AGAIN, FOR ALL YOUR SUPPORT ****************
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