Creekside Village Community News

Image:  HighSpeedInternet.com First let me clarify that I am not promoting or recommending any product, service or company, nor am I getting any reward.  This is a post about my experiences after changing my cell phone carrier and installing a 5G wireless internet system.  Please use or disregard the information as you wish. As you know from a previous post, I cancelled my cable TV service and went with internet TV streaming almost two years ago.  The conversion went well for me, and I don't regret the change at all.  Not only did I save money, I got better television in the bargain.  I continued using the existing Comcast internet service via cable.  At the time, it was the only reasonable option, but I eagerly anticipated the promised Access Fiber Internet service from the City of Anacortes.  My Comcast internet service began at $50/month, but after a year it increased to $70/month.  Can I expect another increase this fall?    Image:  T-Mobile After  more than three years  , the

Beginning with February, 2023, board meeting minutes can now be found on the Documents page under "Creekside Archives," the first section on the page.  See red arrow in the image above.  This link has been designated "No Follow" meaning search engines are forbidden from crawling the target page.  The intention is to make Board of Directors activities more open and accessible to all Creekside residents.  

  Who knew?  Well, I didn't.  The old Apple iOS GoSkagit app was terrible, and virtually unreadable.  It's been a year or two since I had looked at it.   Then came mail delivery of the Skagit Valley Herald.  Since I don't pick up my mail every day, that wasn't working for me at all.  I was on the verge of cancelling, but thought I would take one more look at the digital version. I searched "Skagit Valley Herald" in the Apple app store, signed in, and was I ever surprised by what I found.  Instead of small, unreadable print and getting firehosed with ads and auto-playing videos, there was a beautiful digital image of the printed edition.  It was also much nicer than the newsprint version.  I mean, really nice!  It was presented article by article, page by page, just like the newspaper.  This Apple (and I assume Android) app is completely new.   First, if you've not done so already, you'll need to create online accounts for either the Skagit Valley Heral

For iPhone and iPad users, there's a new weather app in town from Apple.  You'll find one in the app store, but I'm not sure it's the same thing.  This new one is downloaded automatically for everyone when you update to iOS 16.2 or iPadOS 16.2.  That's how I recommend acquiring it.  Here's a brief run-through of the features and how they work.  NOTE: Click on the images to see them full size. If you've been a user of the popular Dark Sky weather app  (left image above), you're probably aware that Apple bought it from the developer some time ago.  You also may have noticed the orange message that started appearing at the top (red arrow) indicating it would disappear on January 1, 2023.  This new app replaces it. The new app is even richer in detail than the one it replaces.  For most people, you may find everything you need on the opening screen (middle image above).  But keep scrolling down to explore how much detail is available.  Even that is not al

  Cord Cutter Weekly has found some subscription and other deals for cord cutters.  Here are some examples: Hulu (with ads):  $2.00 per month for one year Peacock Premium (with ads):  $1.00 per month for one year HBO Max (with ads):  $1.00 per month for 3 months Roku Streaming Stick 4K:  $25.00 Chromecast with Google TV HD:  $18.00; 4K:  $29.00 Wireless carrier streaming deals from Verizon, T-Mobile and AT&T Clink on the link above to see the complete listing. Next, PCWorld has published some tips for avoiding a lemon when purchasing a new laptop.  Don't get taken to the PC cleaners. Happy Holidays! dmw

Image via vpnsrus The prospects of affordable, high-speed internet service from the City of Anacortes got me thinking about my options for television.  I grew up in a time when watching TV meant putting an antenna on the roof or using "rabbit ears" to receive the signal.  Eventually, we had six channels available, but nobody where I lived could get channel 7.   In the seventies, cable TV and satellite dishes were becoming common.  They solved the problem of poor signals, and were able to deliver a larger variety of content.  Unfortunately, these advantages could be offset by monopolistic pricing and corporate indifference to customer service.  As a movie fan, I've also noticed that offerings from cable TV have been declining steadily over the past five years or so.  A lot of the best films were ending up at streaming services.  After forty-one years of cable and satellite subscriptions, I found myself dissatisfied with all of it. Now it's possible to receive televisi

  Why is this important for Creekside?   For those of you who subscribe to posts and receive them in your email inbox, this service will stop delivering them in August.   Why is this happening? No explanation has been provided.  It's Google. Is there an alternative? If you don't use the Subscription service, there is nothing you need to do.  Otherwise, the simplest alternative is to set up a feed manually in your email client.  Here are the instructions for both Outlook-365 and the Windows 10 Mail app:   Under your address, look for a folder named RSS Feeds or RSS Subscriptions . Right-click on that folder to open a menu.  Select "Add a new feed." Copy and paste the following link into the text box of the dialog that opens: https://csvanacortes.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default?alt=rss Note:  Do not use the address creeksidenow.org here.  Copy it exactly as it appears. Click Save.   This is a straightforward process, so other email clients (gmail, etc.) should be simi

  Reprinted from Washington State Coronavirus Response (Covid-19) Just got your vaccine? Watch this video to learn what to expect over the next few days:   Every day, more of us across Washington are getting the COVID-19 vaccine. The really good news is that once you’re fully vaccinated, you can start doing some of the activities you had stopped doing because of the pandemic. However, we also need to be mindful that others are still at risk.   Think of it this way:  If you’re fully vaccinated, the vaccine protects you from severe COVID-19 symptoms. To protect others, you still need to wear a mask, stay 6 feet (2 meters) apart, and avoid crowds and indoor spaces without open windows. That’s because we don’t know enough yet about whether the vaccine prevents the spread of COVID-19 from one person to another. What does “fully vaccinated” mean? You are considered fully vaccinated for COVID-19 two weeks after you get your second shot if you had to get two doses (Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna)