Bob-NB
12-21-1999, 05:16 PM
Saw an interesting article over at Computer Currents..........
What Price for Free Access?
Do free ISPs ask too much--or give too little?
By Elizabeth Powell Crowe
December 14, 1999
"Free" Internet access is nothing new; it's been offered in the form of community access for years. (Check out "Free Net Finders" online at www.computercurrents.com/nets.) (http://www.computercurrents.com/nets.)) But the latest generation of free Internet services comes from companies that bet you'll accept on screen advertising in exchange for unlimited Web access and e-mail.
Once you accept that this really isn't a free lunch, wouldn't you still like to know what you're eating? Do you have to swallow bland features, rotten tech support, or slippery privacy policies? To find out, I sampled three major U.S.-based sites--Alta Vista, Freei.Net, and NetZero. (Another company, WorldSpy.com, claims to offer Net access with no hassles. We'll look at it in a future issue.)
Selling Your Soul (Sort Of)
Signing up at all three sites is simple, but not for the paranoid. In all cases you must download special software and fill out a questionnaire. Since your answers help each site target ads, only a few of the questions are optional. But all three do pledge to protect your privacy and not to sell your information without your permission. Freei.Net reinforces its statement by not collecting your name or e-mail address. NetZero's membership with TRUSTe, the online privacy consortium, gives its privacy claims some heft.
Once you've signed up, you can surf the Net--accompanied by a toolbar that flashes ads and other services. This floating bar is always at the top of the screen; if you close it, your Internet connection closes as well. You'll also be logged off if you don't click ads often enough.
All the sites offer e-mail via TCP/IP connections over PPP, so you can chat, Telnet, and FTP. Windows 95, 98, or NT users are welcome at all three, but at press time only Freei.Net offered a Mac version (NetZero says a Mac version is in the works). None of them offers newsgroup access or disk space for your Web site. Not one offers xDSL or LAN access--they are all direct dial-up at 56Kbps maximum.
The article continues here: Computer Currents (http://www.currents.net/magazine/national/1723/nets1723.html)
What Price for Free Access?
Do free ISPs ask too much--or give too little?
By Elizabeth Powell Crowe
December 14, 1999
"Free" Internet access is nothing new; it's been offered in the form of community access for years. (Check out "Free Net Finders" online at www.computercurrents.com/nets.) (http://www.computercurrents.com/nets.)) But the latest generation of free Internet services comes from companies that bet you'll accept on screen advertising in exchange for unlimited Web access and e-mail.
Once you accept that this really isn't a free lunch, wouldn't you still like to know what you're eating? Do you have to swallow bland features, rotten tech support, or slippery privacy policies? To find out, I sampled three major U.S.-based sites--Alta Vista, Freei.Net, and NetZero. (Another company, WorldSpy.com, claims to offer Net access with no hassles. We'll look at it in a future issue.)
Selling Your Soul (Sort Of)
Signing up at all three sites is simple, but not for the paranoid. In all cases you must download special software and fill out a questionnaire. Since your answers help each site target ads, only a few of the questions are optional. But all three do pledge to protect your privacy and not to sell your information without your permission. Freei.Net reinforces its statement by not collecting your name or e-mail address. NetZero's membership with TRUSTe, the online privacy consortium, gives its privacy claims some heft.
Once you've signed up, you can surf the Net--accompanied by a toolbar that flashes ads and other services. This floating bar is always at the top of the screen; if you close it, your Internet connection closes as well. You'll also be logged off if you don't click ads often enough.
All the sites offer e-mail via TCP/IP connections over PPP, so you can chat, Telnet, and FTP. Windows 95, 98, or NT users are welcome at all three, but at press time only Freei.Net offered a Mac version (NetZero says a Mac version is in the works). None of them offers newsgroup access or disk space for your Web site. Not one offers xDSL or LAN access--they are all direct dial-up at 56Kbps maximum.
The article continues here: Computer Currents (http://www.currents.net/magazine/national/1723/nets1723.html)