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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