FreeWWWeb - after a few days of using it

[Rick Rosinski]

I am using this service now.  Since it is limited to 80 hours per month, is
there a way to find out the total time used so far?


On Sun, 16 Apr 2000, you wrote:
> After the posting announcing the FreeWWWeb service,
> geared to Linux users looking for a free ISP, I 
> decided to try it.  So far, it is working out for
> me.  I have tried using that service in the following
> ways:
> 
> -ThinkPad laptop, running Red Hat 6.2, with a Sprint
>   PCS phone
> -same ThinkPad, using a PCMCIA card modem into a phone
>   line at my parents' house
> -Win95 PC with an ISA modem card at my parents' house
> 
> Other than the 39 cents/minute Sprint PCS charges for
> data use on their PCS net, that worked OK (14.4K).
> The PCMCIA modem is a 3Com/USR 56K V.90 type, but 
> could get only 28.8K on the line at my parents'
> house (darn USWest), and same with the Win95 setup.
> It certainly is flexible, since you are not tied to
> a program that has to be installed in order to use
> the freebie service.  After filling out the online
> form for my account, it was working in 3 minutes.
>  
> FreeWWWeb asks the following of you when you use their
> service.....
> 
> You get up to 80 hours per month free, up to 5 hours
> in any one dialup session, and you need to open your
> web browser to http://home.freewwweb.com after you
> have your connection established (thank goodness for
> Lynx to open that up and bypass the graphics - the
> URL redirects to http://freewwweb.snap.com).  They
> want to see at least 10 hours' usage/month in order
> to keep the account active, and I guess you could do
> that easy enough if you have no other options for 
> net access.
>  
> The only minus I have to say about them is that when
> I use my laptop for e-mail (with Sendmail running 
> locally for my SMTP), the service blocks me from 
> accessing port 25 on any system I have tried except
> for smtp.freewwweb.com (their own SMTP server).  A
> nuisance, but understandable in an effort to try to
> throttle spam.  
> 
> The local dialup port is through UUnet (now MCI
> WorldCom), so at least it isn't a fly-by-night
> using modems strung onto a cable-modem in someone's
> garage.  In Arizona, they have access numbers in
> Phoenix, Tucson, Sierra Vista, Prescott, Sedona,
> and Flagstaff - and claim access from over 1200 
> points in the USA and Canada.  Not bad for the 
> traveler types.
> 
> In general, this is not a bad option if you need
> a dialup ISP - at home or travelling.  Since I 
> don't already have my own ISP account from anyone
> else, I will use it for as long as the (free) ride
> lasts.  At least there is a company that is looking
> for a different audience to offer free ISP service
> to - and no bloated proprietary programs to pollute
> your system's hard drive.  
> 
> BTW that URL for FreeWWWeb was:
> http://www.tedyn.com/products/FreeWWW/
> 
> C ya!   Patrick
> 
> 
> 
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-- 
Rick Rosinski
http://rickrosinski.com
rick@rickrosinski.com