Ideas On A Good ISP

[bigkid59]

Well, I went into a semi-retired mode at the beginning of the year. With more time available I started surfing the internet more. After about 3 weeks of this my ISP sent me a message that I am using my "unlimited internet access" too much! It seems that their definition of unlimited is quite different than what is in the dictionary. Bottom line is that they want to more than triple my cost.

I have been checking around and will probably go with Earthlink if I stay with a dial up provider. Bell South says that they will have DSL in my area within a couple of months and they will provide a free dial up connection for up to 6 months until DSL is available if I will sign up now. I have had Hughes DSS television for about 2 and a half years now and have been happy with it so I am also considering a Direcpc system.

If anyone has any remarks about super good or super bad ISP service I would appreciate your input to help me decide. I have until the end of this month to leave my current provider before the cost increases.

Thanks!!!

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92 D250 Auto Trans-Currently stock except for TCI special torque convertor. Now adding 16cm turbo housing, complete 4" exhaust, tachometer, pyrometer, and transmission temperature gauge. Injectors in the near future.
Also have 1984 Volvo D260 with inline 6 diesel made by Volkswagen.

 

[joesoot]

DO NOT USE AOL! email me if you have questions about this.

 

[Ramboy00]

Might not hurt to try one of the free ones. I know Netzero is free and I believe Juno is. I currently have aol. It will run out soon and I will never use them again. You may be able to do a search and find more free ones. Just a thought.
Phil

 

[illflem]

I use Earthlink,they have been very good,never a busy signal on a local phone call, and I live in the boonies. They also provide DSL, if available in your area,and satellite. Don't even attempt to use AOL,it's hard to get them out of your computer and even harder to get them to give up your credit card number. I tried three different free ISPs and wasn't happy with them.

 

[Jumbo Jet]

Been using Juno for over a year - the fee based Juno. Paid $ 8. 95. They just raised to $ 12. 95.

Service has been good. They just have limited access numbers.

They don't bother with much advertisement. Only two when you restart program.

 

[dmurdock]

Don't fall for the dial up now until dsl comes scam... a friend of mine at work was told he would have dsl in 4 mos, so he joined up... (it's been 1 1/2 years and still no DSL!!)

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'01 Eth 3500 4x4, Amsoil air filter, AutoMeter boost & egt on pillar mount. See My Truck and also be sure to read What tools & methods to use for an easy 1st oil change!!!
"Be happy you don't get all the government you pay for. " -W. C. Fields

 

[joesoot]

Customers I hear from speak highly of Roadrunner... a bit spendy but very fast cable connection... the downfalls being price and the fact that you might want to install a firewall to protect those naked ports.

 

[Justbeamn]

Tried 'em all on their 1 month free trial. Aol-worm program infects everything and you cannot remove without formating drive. Some others not as bad but earthlink was the best all around. Good numbers,dsl, and no billing problems. My . 02

 

[Boldt's Wagon]

AT&T. One program is $4. 95 a month unlimited. Another, 7/7 is $7. 00 a month unlimited with 7cents a minute long distance 24/7 both on a single bill. Both plans have an additional banner ad. I have been using AT&T for 2 years and plan to switch to the 7/7 plan.

 

[illflem]

Boldt,you sure about those AT&T prices?I checked about a month ago,the $4. 95 plan that they advertise on TV was for only for 40 hours per month. Their prices for unlimited access were the same as Earthlink,but they only had a long distance number for me.

 

[Koa Man]

I have Road Runner which I like very much. cost is $39. 95 per month, but when you consider the speed, no extra phone line, instant connection (always on)and no ISP needed, it was actually cheaper for me to get RR. My 2nd phone line was $24. 95 per month and my ISP was $14. 95 per month. Well, actually RR is 5 cents more a month, but with 700-850Kps vs the 38-42Kps on the phone line, no comparison.

 

[sdalton]

DO NOT USE JUNO. I made the mistake of useing it once, and didnt like it. Ierased it and found that it, like AOL, webbed its way into my system. I had to reinstall a lot of things. I now use three different FREE ISPs . Blue Light(good), Freelane(good), and Netzero(ok). each of these has a 20-40 hr time limit per month. So i am covered. The best place I found for info on free ISPs is : http://www.hereontheweb.com/freeinternet.htm I hear the American Express service is a very good one. The hardest thing about these is finding the ones that have local access numbers. Good luck, and let me know how they work.

[This message has been edited by sdalton (edited 02-09-2001). ]

 

[mikel]

My . 02 is to stay away from direcPC. There is a newsgroup alt. satellite. direcpc that you can go to for info on direcPC. I was considering direcPC at one time but after listening to what their users are saying there is no way... They have and enforce a FAP (Fair Access Policy) that sounds like exactly what happened to you with your current provider.

Good luck,
Mike

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'99 QC 2500 SLT Driftwood 2wd SB 24v Auto 3. 55 LSD
ISSPRO pyrometer, Walker 21468, 20,000 miles 12-19-00

-- email address removed --
Howdy Agg's!

 

[Switca]

Check out: http://www.thelist.com http://www.thelist.com/areacode.html

First of all, you should get a dictionary and read the definition of 'unlimited' to your ISP and the better business bureau. That's BS!

Avoid the free ISP's. They're going away and the ones that survive will bombard you with ads. Your traffic will have to compete with their ads. It's what some people call a corroded pipe.

A good ISP does contain the following letters in succession: AOL, MSN, Compuserve or any of the other portals. When they deceide to change their dialer, servers or anything else, your have no choice but to change. It may be a free upgrade, it may not. If it conflicts with other software you run, that's your problem.

Look for an ISP that lets you use ANY PPP dialer (standard with Win 95, 98, NT, 2000).

They should let you use ANY browser not a specific brand.

They should support standard SMTP and POP3 for mail delivery. This way, you can use just about ANY Email package you want.

You should be able to get 56K unlimited access for $20/month or less. DSL and cable, you're on your own.

Ask them about up time and service level agreements. Also ask them about the number of ports per registered users. I think the accepted ratio is 10 users per port... I need to double check that one. A great deal means nothing if they're always down or you cant get a port.

And get their definition of 'unlimited' in writting. Put it in a safe deposit box and pull it out when they try to re-write history.

I've used my regular ISP for the last 7 years. I've changed operating systems 4 times, email packages 5 times or more and browers... how many times has MS changed IE? I never got a note saying I had to upgrade anything. I got one note about being on too long once. I called them and they said it was a mistake and I should have never got such a note.

 

[bigkid59]

Thanks for all the comments!

Juno is the ISP that I am now with. They offered me unlimited access for $9. 95 per month and now they are wanting $29. 95. I have convinced several others to go with Juno but never again.

I was considering Road Runner but a friend who is a telecommunications whiz with XO has been having trouble with them. It was fine until they tried to spread their bandwidth too thin in our area. He told me that their service has deteriorated so much here that it barely exceeds the speed of a dial up connection. He discontinued his RR service a couple of weeks ago.

The AT&T offer sounds good. I will probably go with either it or Bell South or Earthlink.

Again, THANKS!. I will be out of town for a few days starting tomorrow for my brother's funeral in Virginia. When I get back I will check for any more comments and make a decision then.


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92 D250 Auto Trans-Currently stock except for TCI special torque convertor. Now adding 16cm turbo housing, complete 4" exhaust, tachometer, pyrometer, and transmission temperature gauge. Injectors in the near future.
Also have 1984 Volvo D260 with inline 6 diesel made by Volkswagen.

 

[Bryan Brenneman]

I have been using free isp's since 1998. It is an uphill battle, in my opinion. Something is always changing and you need to find a way around the new change. There are some tools to help with Juno and Netzero though. One is the SDNet Super Tool. Another is NetZero HandyTools. There is also a very good site that discusses all of the free isp's and has a discussion board. There is also a lot of news there when things change. Please read the one about Juno using your computer power to do their work! Incase your wonder what size one of the banners are, the Juno banner is below. Be prepared to run at very high resolutiuon rates, well at least that is what I do to make the banner less obtrusive. (1280x1024)
#ad

 

[E7mack96]

I highly recommend DSL connections. I have Zoomtown from Broadwing (Cincinati Bell) It was a piece of cake to install, and gives blazing speed for 29. 95 per month. Never have I been disconnected, or had a problem logging on. They (DSL Providers) will give you the N. I. C. to use and the Cisco 675 moden. You don't need another phone line, and you can talk and surf at the same time. My avg speed is 675K vs. 56K modem. As far as direct PC and the other dish based systems, It takes a long time for your "Ping" to get to the destination. The downloads may be better than 56K ,but the uplink is your standard modem.

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2001 3500 QC 4X4 Cummins H. O. & 6 Speed, Powermax 2 and needing more power!!!!