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Evan Kleiman - 2000.11.08
Free Mac ISP articles have a tendency to become outdated quickly. In fact, it seems that no sooner do we publish such an article, than one of the ISPs mentioned quits the business or stops supporting Macs.
Talk about bad timing. About the same time we posted last week's article about Freeinternet.com, they went into bankruptcy and had their assets acquired by NetZero.
Back to the drawing board.
Q. I've tried out free Internet providers like Freei.net, and they don't work with my Mac. Can you offer any other suggestions about free Internet for the Mac?
A. More and more every day, free Internet for the Mac becomes available. At first, there were only a handful of free ISP's out there for the Mac, and none of them were too reliable. But now there are dozens of free Internet providers that, with the exception of a few minor discomforts, bring you all of the features you'd get from a $20 a month plan.
One of the most reliable and respectable ones is AltaVista's FreeAccess. It's only real downside is it's requirements. It requires at least Mac OS 8.1 and a Power PC processor. Unfortunately, you can expect these steep requirements on any free Internet provider out there.
Another search engine that has thrown its hat into the virtual free Internet ring is Excite. In cooperation with 1stup.com, their free Internet access, called Free Lane, is one of the more reliable ones, too. Another plus to this service is that the software to get on the net takes only about three minutes to download on a 56k modem.
One more provider is www.nocharge.com. While not being as reliable, it is much more compatible with other systems. In fact, all you need is a PPP program and a modem to connect, so you don't really need an up-to-date system like Mac OS 8.5. However, the big downside is that they only have local numbers in Washington, Oregon, New York City, and Puerto Rico. Of course, you always get what you pay for.
Now are there other free ISP's? Of course, but not too many of these services are really reliable. AltaVista's and Excite's free Internet services are the most road tested and usable free ISP's, and if you can afford the performance loss, then you can even get away with using one of these as your primary provider. But, until these services are 100% reliable and as good as AOL (okay, well most of these services already are - surprising how many of us pay $21.95 a month to be booted off every 25 minutes. Of course I am one of them, so I shouldn't be talking.), I'll be using these services only as a back up to my current pay-ISP.
As time goes on, more free Internet will become available. Services such as NetZero are planning to release Mac versions of the their software in the near future. You can email NetZero at macdemand@netzero.net to ask them when they will be releasing their free Internet for the Mac. We can only hope it will be soon.
In the end, if you're looking for 100% reliable access all the time, a paying service is definitely for you. But if you're okay with banner ads on the bottom of your screen, then free Internet is for you! But remember, you always get what you pay for.
Evan Kleiman has been writing for Low End Mac since January 1999. He also runs his own site, Evansite. Evan uses an iMac, along with some vintage hardware. You can read more about his computing experience in The Many Macs of Evan Kleiman.Not sure if you should upgrade your old Mac or replace it? Check the Mac Daniel index to see if we've already addressed your problem.
Recent Mac Daniel columns
- Bringing G3 iMacs and other G3 Macs into the Tiger Age, Dan Knight, 12.07. Tips on hard drives, memory, WiFi, and getting Mac OS X 10.4 installed on G3 iMacs and other older G3 Macs.
- Multiple users on the same Mac at work, Dan Knight, 11.15. How to set up a Mac so multiple users can log in and use it - and use the same pool of work files.
- 1 working eMac from 2 broken ones, Dan Knight, 11.14. A pair of matching eMacs, each with a different failure, results in one working eMac and lots of leftovers.
- Problems running Classic mode in Tiger, Dan Knight, 11.08. After upgrading to Tiger, the old Classic installation stopped working. Where to find the pieces to get everything up to date.
- More in the Mac Daniel index.
Links for the Day
- Mac of the Day: iMac Core2, Sep. 2006 - Apple introduced the biggest screen ever in an iMac with a 24" Core2 Duo model at 2.16 GHz.
- List of the Day: Old Mac MP covers 604-based multiprocessor Macs and clones.
- September 6 in LEM history: 99: G4 vs. Pentium III - 00: Setting up a server - 02: Norton Utilities warning - 10 greatest computer annoyances - 06: iMac Core2 Duo - Mac mini Core Duo - The iMac Core2 value equation - 07: Apple seduction - Why I really want an iPod touch - iPod history, 2005 to present - Upgrading a Power Mac G - Apple intros iPod touch, classic, and video nano
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- Best 12" PowerBook G4 Deals, Low End Mac Deals, 09.04. Used 867 MHz Combo, no APX, $490; 1 GHz, $550; SuperDrive, $625; 1.5 GHz w/o APX, $660; w/APX, $675.
- Best Mac mini Deals, Low End Mac Deals, 09.04. Used 1.25 GHz G4 SD, $549; 1.42 Combo, $409; new 1.83 Core2 Combo, $569 after rebate; 2.0 SD, $769 after rebate.
- Best 17" PowerBook G4 Deals, Low End Mac Deals, 09.04. Used 1 GHz, $779; 1.33 GHz, $799; 1.5 GHz, $859; 1.67 GHz, $910.
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- Save Internet Radio, USB and Hard Drives, Hardware Manufacturers vs. Linux, and More, Dan Knight, Low End Mac Mailbag, 09.03. Also Mac won't book after cleaning, newer versions of OS X improve wake from sleep, downgrading to OS 8.6, unreadable pages on Low End Mac, and more.
- Another Free POP3 Provider, Recharging a Dead PRAM Battery, Current Kanga Value, and More, Charles W. Moore, Miscellaneous Ramblings, 09.03. GMX email now available in US, Panasonic UJ-841S drive won't burn discs, restoring a dead PRAM battery in a Pismo, and thoughts on Kanga value today.
- Best eMac Deals, Low End Mac Deals, 09.03. Used 700 MHz Combo, $120; 1.25 GHz SuperDrive, $150; 1.42 GHz, $349.
- Best Mac OS X 10.5 'Leopard' Deals, Low End Mac Deals, 09.03. Mac OS X 10.5, single user, $99; 5 users, $140; 10.5 Server, 10 users, $395; unlimited, $850.
- Best MacBook Air Deals, Low End Mac Deals, 09.03. Refurb 1.6 HD, $1,499; new, $1,690 after rebate; refurb 1.8, $1,699; new, $1,919 a/r; refurb 1.6 SSD, $2,099; new, $2,294 a/r; refurb 1.8, $2,299; new, $2,400 a/r.
- Psystar Strikes Back, Countersues Apple, Frank Fox, Stop the Noiz, 09.03. Psystar is trying to paint Apple as a monopoly and force it to license the Mac OS.
- More links in our archive.
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