There's always a catch. But still....
How It All Began
Back before there was a World Wide Web, there were regional services in many major metropolitan areas known as Freenets. Many of these services still exist and typically provide email and dial-up Internet access to those willing to put up with sometimes arcane dial-in procedures.
What happened to Freewwweb?
July 2000 saw the collapse of Freewwweb.com. The company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on July 3, 2000 and their customer base has since been taken over by Juno.com, another free Internet Service Provider. A FAQ page provides details. In short, the FAQ now says "Freewwweb is no longer able to provide free Internet access for you."
Juno also recently bought out WorldSpy, yet another failed free ISP -- suggesting that Juno has ambitions to become the largest free ISP around. Some might say good riddance to WorldSpy, though -- the Java client they used was notorious for causing system crashes. Sadly, Juno is not well-liked by many of its users, who complain about its intrusive banner ads However, there are numerous other options for cash-strapped Internet surfers.
Other Options
There are numerous free Internet access services, but not all are available in Canada.
freedsl.com, for example, is not available in Canada. In supported areas, however, it is a "banner-supported" service, requiring users to look at a narrow banner bar while surfing.
1 Nation Online Inc., (1nol.com), on the other hand, has no banner and provides free dial-up service in at least seven Canadian cities, including Vancouver. Also in Canada, many people use and recommend the free dial-up Internet Services provided by Altavista.com.
NetZero, in July 2000, also began offering Canadians with free Net access. At its launch, some industry watchers worried that the U.S. firm's expansion could threaten commercial ISPs and drain ad revenue from large players. However, Associated Press on July 26, 2000 noted that something quite the opposite is, in fact, happening. Investor skepticism has pushed down its share price by 80%. In short, the free Internet leader's market dominance is threatened by more than 100 other free Internet service providers.
NetZero says it intends to start charging those who use its Internet Access services more than 40 hours per month a fee, beginning in January 2001. InternetNews.com has details.
Mac Options
NetZero is currently evaluating whether to provide a Macintosh software set and has asked Mac users who wish to use the free service to contact them at macd...@netzero.net.
A message from Todd Bangerter on Macintouch.com on Dec. 13, 2000, noted that Mac users have an extremely limited set of options in the 'free ISP' arena. Notes Todd:
The Shakeout
Current Offerings
Bluelight.com acquired key assets of Spinway to continue offering free access. They continue to offer Mac support and represent the only nationwide (Hawaii, Alaska, and Canada excluded) free ISP solution for Mac users currently.
Future Prospects
[Note that most of these services, while not explicitly supporting Macs, are configurable for basic POP and IP services.]
Dynamic DNS Services
There are a number of companies that provide "dynamic DNS redirection" services. These allow you to set up a server (Web or FTP, etc.) of your own and have its IP address recognized via a URL name instead of a number.
http://www.cjb.net
http://www.ods.org
http://www.dynip.com
Free Web Hosting
CNet looked at four free Web hosts in Aug. 2001 and concluded that Lycos' Tripod is the best of the bunch.
Personal Pages "Bugged"
Internet research firm Cyveillance says that so-called "Web bug" technology, also known by such terms as "clear gifs" and "Web beacons," now appears on 18 percent of personal pages, compared with less than 4 percent of pages over all and 16 percent of home pages for major companies. In a similar survey that Cyveillance conducted in 1998, fewer than 0.5 percent of personal Web pages contained Web bugs. The New York Times has details....
For Further Reading
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