Are the Best ISPs in Life Free?

Lack of Luxuries

WorldSpy's software, a trim 1.4MB download, is a snap to set up; Freewwweb's default installation, on the other hand, requires a 22MB download, with a full copy of Netscape Communicator that you probably don't need. (You can sidestep that gargantuan download by manually configuring your PC to connect to Freewwweb, but it's a tedious job.) Once I was up and running, the services felt very much alike. At home in Boston, I consistently got connections of at least 50 kbps and never ran into a busy signal. However, on a San Francisco jaunt, I found that neither could muster more than 32 kbps, and WorldSpy's line was occasionally busy.

Neither service is exactly brimming with luxuries. Among the missing items: space for a personal home page and overseas dial-up numbers. (Freewwweb has access points in Canada; WorldSpy is U.S.-only.) WorldSpy also lacks Usenet newsgroups. My current fee-based ISP, by contrast, provides all these features and more--and I use 'em.

Moreover, if you need to phone for tech support, Freewwweb suddenly turns pricey. You must fork over $15 a call, a fact not mentioned on Freewwweb's site. WorldSpy's support is free and toll-free--one reason it's the ISP I'd choose if I went the free route.

Of course, free ISPs may beef up their features over time--in fact, WorldSpy says it plans to add home-page space and newsgroups. Once that happens, I might be tempted to dump my current ISP. But for now, its fee still seems like a reasonable deal. It works out to about 65 cents a day, less than I shell out to get the dead-tree edition of the New York Times delivered to my doorstep. Although come to think of it, I could also read the Times for free on the Web. Am I a wanton spendthrift or what?

FYI

What do cybershoppers seek in an online store? Guaranteed security, discounted prices, and free shipping are the biggest draws, reports a new survey.

Source: Cyber Dialogue