Group 1 NewsCast Vol.8 Issue 08

On November 14, 2005, the USPS Board of Governors officially approved a rate increase of roughly 5.4 percent, as was recommended by the Postal Rate Commission (PRC) earlier this month. The new rates will take effect on January 8, 2005. Aside from the few minor exceptions necessary for statutory compliance, this increase will be implemented across the board.

Financial viability was the immediate impetus for the rate hikes: the USPS is required by the Civil Service Retirement System reform legislation of 2003 to make an escrow payment by October 1, 2006. The USPS has maintained that the January increase, the first increase to be made since 2002, is necessary in order for them to put the required $3.1 billion in escrow. International rates, which have not been raised since 2001, will be adjusted in a separate decision.

More information on these increases is available on the USPS Web site, http://www.usps.com/.

Group1 Software is changing from a Micro Focus compiler to an ACUCOBOL-GT compiler for use in our Windows, Unix, and Linux software products. Since this change is mainly "behind-the-scenes", customers should not experience any decrease in the functionality of Group 1 products. ACUCOBOL-GT has been developed to interact with Java™ technology, run a .NET™ assembly, and process XML data. This change provides our customers with the following benefits:

Additional run-time licenses - Products will now be shipped with 20 run-time licenses instead of 10.
Group 1-supplied runtime - Products will always use the Group 1-supplied ACUCOBOL-GT Virtual Machine� (runtime), thus avoiding any compiler conflicts encountered with Micro Focus.
New I/O manager - Customers will receive a new I/O manager that provides increased functionality and more flexibility as we migrate to new platforms and new operating systems.
Separation of Dispatcher4 Workflow Server - Customers will no longer be required to install the Dispatcher4 Workflow Server prior to installing their Group1 Software products.

For information on this transition, please refer to document reference number AAA000P1A05a.

Please note that, while each of the webinars below is free, you will still need to choose the "Bill Me" option when registering. Visit the Group 1 University Web site, http://www.g1.com/education, for further course and registration information.

1. Introduction to MailStream Plus for Mailer's Choice Customers - This FREE webinar is for Mailer's Choice customers and can be taken via eLearning. While this course was originally scheduled to end in November, three additional webinars have been added for December.

Mainframe: December 6, 2005, 1:00 - 5:00 p.m. ET

Windows: December 5, 2005, 1:00 - 5:00 p.m. ET

Unix: December 7, 2005, 1:00 - 5:00 p.m. ET

2. Mailer's Choice to MailStream Plus: How to Modify the MailStream Plus Parameters - In this FREE webinar you will see how to modify the MailStream Plus parameters generated by the Mailer's Choice parameter conversion program.

December 1, 2005, 2:00 - 4:00 p.m. ET

December 2, 2005, 2:00 - 4:00 p.m. ET

Prerequisites:

Introduction to MailStream Plus for Mailer's Choice Customers class

A printout of converted parameters to use as a reference during the class

3. StreamWeaver and MailStream Plus - This FREE webinar is for StreamWeaver customers who are migrating from Mailer's Choice to MailStream Plus.

December 12, 2005, 2:00 - 4:00 p.m. ET

Prerequisite:

Introduction to MailStream Plus for Mailer's Choice Customers class

Back issues of Newscast are being archived. Click previous issues to go the NewsCast homepage to review any prior issues.

Below are some links that may be of interest to our customers:

The Group 1 Web site - http://www.g1.com. The Group 1 Software Web site provides customers with valuable information concerning different areas of the company. From this Web site, you can access education information, recent press releases, support, and much more useful information.

The USPS^® Web site - http://www.usps.com. This Web site allows customers to check out the latest information regarding postage rates and fees, news and events in the postal community, and locations of local post offices. The site provides various other links and there is a place where postal service customers can track the status of a package or access other online mailing forms.

The Business Section of the USPS^® Web site - http://www.usps.com/smallbiz

The Canada Post Web site - http://www.canadapost.ca/splash.asp. This is the direct link to the Canada Post Web site. To view a quick and free course in Canadian NDG sorting, follow this link: http://www.canadapost.ca/business/ndg/default-e.asp.

The USPS^® Rapid Information Bulletin Board System - http://ribbs.usps.gov. This is the National Customer Support Center for the United States Postal Service. It provides you mail-service updates, current weather conditions, and other interesting facts pertaining to the Postal Service.

The Postal Rate Commission Web site - http://www.prc.gov. The Postal Rate Commission Web site provides information about the organization, its function and procedures, along with postal rates and fees. It also provides a location where you can voice your opinion to the Consumer Advocate.

The Alliance of Nonprofit Mailers Web site - http://www.nonprofitmailers.org. The Alliance is the primary representative of nonprofit mailers before the Postal Rate Commission, at the United States Postal Service's (USPS^®) Headquarters, and on Capitol Hill.

The Association for Postal Commerce Web site - http://www.postcom.org. Postcom is the Association for Postal Commerce. Its Web site provides you with up-to-date information regarding what is going on in the "postal world." It includes links to other helpful sites, as well as a place to contact your US Senators or Representatives.

We welcome comments and suggestions regarding NewsCast. Please send them to cim@g1.com. Please be sure to include "NEWSCAST" in your subject line. Please look for your next issue to arrive in your email box on or near December 21, 2005.

NewsCast - Volume 8, Issue 8
Date: December 2, 2005
Editor: Erica Fenstermacher (cim@g1.com) Asst. Editor:Becki Dustin
Phone: 1-800-367-6950

CASS, CASS Certified, DPV™, eLOT, FASTforward, NCOA^Link™, LACS^Link, Postal Service, Post Office, POSTNET, RDI™, United States Post Office, USPS^®, United States Postal Service, ZIP Code™, and ZIP + 4 are registered trademarks of United States Postal Service (USPS^®). This list is not exhaustive of the trademarks belonging to the Postal Service.

Group 1 Software is a non-exclusive licensee of USPS^® for NCOA^Link™ processing.

Prices for Group 1's products, options and services are not established, controlled or approved by USPS^® or United States Government. When utilizing RDI™ data to determine parcel-shipping costs, the business decision on which parcel delivery company to use is not made by the USPS^® or United States Government.