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Going back to 56k : It is the end of the world and we know it and I feel fine

Last Wednesday was my last day of my using my cable modem with an high speed internet service from Comcast. There were a handful of reasons for this. The biggest is that I wanted to reduce the amount a month I was spending on internet access and I didn't think I was getting my money's worth from the time that I was over at my girlfriends place and not able to use my cable modem account.

So on Wednesday I signed up for a regular old phone modem account and I have been adjusting well. The sky has not fallen, I have not gone into shock, I do not have the shakes.

The first ISP that I signed up with was Net-Zero. I have read some decent things about them and they are offering basic 56k modem access for $9.95 a month. I was paying $45.95 a month to Comcast so this looked pretty good.

But then I installed Net-Zero, signed up and things went sour quickly. Net-zero normal market position is offering free dial-up internet access that is sponsored by constant advertising and possible personal data-mining of those signed on with them. I had assumed that their paid service would be ad free. I was astonished and dismayed when I first saw that they saw fit to force me to watch a video advertisement for their 14.95 a month service when I logged on to their network. They also installed an Internet Explorer tool bar that can not be easily removed or disabled without asking me. Then when you signed on it would launch the ISP customer page in IE complete with an annoying Flash overlay ad. There were yet more ads when I tried to log off the network. I was also blown away when I found out that you can't log onto the Net-Zero network using the Windows networking tools and you are forced to use their ad-heavy software tools. There is a floating tool bar when you are logged on and I found out that I could not launch Mozilla Firefox or Mozilla Thunderbird when connected via Net-zero. Mozilla products worked if they were launched beforehand but that is just a pain in the ass. Also Net-Zero would make Internet Explorer the default browser every time you logged on.

It basically comes down to a lack of control and respect to the paying customer made me realize that Net-zero was beyond redemption and I needed to look else where for a low-cost dial-up ISP. When I tried to cancel Net-zero I saw that I could not cancel online and I would have to call their customer service in order to put a stop to them dinging my debit card next month. At least it un-installed ok. Also their Candidate Zero ads are starting to piss me off.

So I was left with my other choice in dial-up ISP, Netscape. The Netscape ISP is a service owned by none other than AOL the ultimate bastards of ISPs and it uses the good name of the late great Netscape brand that AOL was directly responsible for destroying. Or at least partially responsible for running into the ground. They offer alternative brand such as Wal-Mart ISP and Compuserve but the money goes back to AOL. But after installing signing up and using the Netscape ISP I am glad to see that my fears were a bit unfounded.

Netscape ISP is relativity easy to set up and it uses custom software like Net-zero but it is no where near as invasive.

Like Net-zero the Netscape ISP is only 9.95 and there is an easily minimized status bar floater and offers a decent unlimited time connection via a 56k modem. Unlike the Net Zero software it did not become a docked tool bar and there was no IE tool bar installed thank god. It still opens the Netscape ISP page in Internet Explorer or Firefox but it does not have a big annoying flash ad and it does not try to take the default internet browser from Firefox. There is no instant messenger software but you can use projects like GAIM with the Netscape ISP if you are into that sort of thing.

I am still adjusting and if there is anything big that I need to download I can use the Wifi at my local library or cybercafe. Or I can use some one eleses high speed account and use my USB thumb drive to move it over. There were a little changes that I had to make in my surfing habits since going back to analog modems. Most of the changes involve reducing the number of sites that Mozilla Firefox opens at once via bookmarked tabs. I don't see myself doing any online games any time soon but I can't remember doing that seriously. No really big Pr0n files either. Downloading MP3s, music and other digital media can be a bit of a pain but that is what Wifi at a cyber cafe is for.

I know it sounds like the digital equivalent of foraging for berries and living in a cave but it is what I am going to be doing until I can get DSL or WiMax. And you know what I am OK with that.

Jake at August 22, 2004 Nerd

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