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Free (Ad-Supported) DSL ISP Debuts
The first catch - and one that I read with horror - is that in order to get a free DSL modem (they aren't cheap) a subscriber must refer at least 10 other subscribers to Broadband Digital Group. Sure, they're going to come up with some sort of sanctimonious anti-spam policy, but I will bet this policy causes as much spam as a horror called AllAdvantage.com, which claims to have a strong anti-spam policy, but at the same time offers big incentives to members who refer "friends" to its service. (The hypocrisy behind these "wink,wink, we're not spamming, just asking people to tell friends about us" policies is truly vomit-inducing, but it is illegal to do what I'd like to do to the people who came up with this horror, so they're safe from me. For the moment.)
I'm tired of all the All-Advantage "friends" I suddenly have who I've never met before. I get spam from them every day. Now I'm sure I - along with many others - will suddenly have many Broadband Digital Group "friends" trying to rope us into this new scheme. I spotted nothing on the company's Web site about simply buying a DSL modem. I'm sure this is an oversight that will be rectified shortly. It would be horrible to think that this company would only open its service to spammers, no matter what kind of market-speak they use to cover up the fact that their referral program is nothing but an inducement to spam.
But even if Broadband Digital Group can figure out a way to justify its spam-creating marketing plan or drops it in favor of something nicer, you will still be forced to use software from Broadband Digital Group's business partner Winfire to access the service. This software requires "Windows 95, 98 (or higher), or Windows NT." No Mac, no Linux, no *nix. Without this software you won't see the ads, and Broadband Digital Group won't be able to gather info on what sites you visit, so you must have their chosen software to connect to their service.
You can see the company's point; their service is ad-supported, so if they can't give all kinds of info about you to advertisers, there's no way they can give you - free - a service that currently retails for $40 - $60 per month in most areas. There is no such thing as a free lunch. The ads pay the freight. If you are going to use the service, you must put up with the ads. And you can't even complain about being forced to use Windows as part of the deal. No one is forcing you to sign up for free broadband Internet service. By definition, wherever you will be able to get this service, you will also be able to sign up for DSL service through other providers that will charge you money - but won't require special software or send you an ad barrage.
Will this work? Is this going to be a viable business? It's going to be interesting to watch. There are obvious flaws in the company's business plan, but there are good things about it, too. Please don't take my word for it either way; I urge you to read the C|Net story and check the company's Web site before coming up with an opinion. If nothing else, assuming Broadband Digital Group can grow as rapidly as its owners and investors hope it can, the availability of "free" broadband service will force other high speed Internet access providers - like cable companies - to provide either more reliable service or lower prices (or both!) than they do now if they want to have any subscribers left in a few years.
You hereby agree that if the terms of this Rules Agreement are not specifically enforced, Winfire will be irreparably damaged, and therefore You agree that Winfire shall be entitled, without bond or other security in excess of $1,000, or without proof of damages, to temporary and/or permanent injunctions and/or restraining orders with respect any breach(es) of this Rules Agreement, in addition to any other available remedies available to Winfire at law or in equity. Now I don't Normally check Terms of Service but is this normal?
If it works (I have no experience with it), FreeMWare is, well, free. The webpage says it's still unstable & for developers only.
Christopher A. Bohn
cb
Oooh! What does this button do!?
If you have an older computer you're not using, why not install it with windoze, then install NAT software like Wingate, Winroute, or NAT32? The advertisers can send all their crap to the windoze box that you never look at anyway, and on the other side you have a perfectly good linux box with free DSL...
- A.P.
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"One World, one Web, one Program" - Microsoft promotional ad
"Remember when the U.S. had a drug problem, and then we declared a War On Drugs, and now you can't buy drugs anymore?"
Gotta rant a bit on this one...
;)
I've tried a couple of these "free" ad-supported ISPs (admittedly, they were dial-ups, but the principle is the same) - and while they DO give you access to the 'net, they do so rather poorly in comparison to other ISPs.
Generally, there is little or no support. This alone is a good reason for many to stay away. Especially those who are new to the internet, and need a bit of help to do things you or I would think are pretty simple. So, they generally aren't very good for newbies - that leaves experienced users...who generally go a few steps further when something seems to be wrong.
Send their "support" address a series of traceroutes, showing them that there seems to be a problem with their equipment - and get no response for a few days - then a form letter asking you to make sure your username and password are typed correctly, and that you're dialing the right number (Hello? If I wasn't logging in, how'd I do the traceroute?)
Support aside, you generally have to put up with some sort of "ad panel" on your screen. Invariably these are set to be "always on top" (which generally relates to "always in the way"). When these services first started, the ad panels were relatively small - but they're growing - soon, you'll have 60% ads, 40% other.
You can't even move the panel out of the way, as most use some sort of scripting that doesn't allow you to move ANY part of the panel off-screen. And of course, most of these services think that everyone runs at 800x600 - so you'll get constant warning messages (which you can't turn off) if you run at 1280x1024 and want to put the panel anywhere but the upper right hand corner of the screen.
I'm not even going to go into the spam...although my advice there is to make sure you never remove anything from their mail server - and when they complain, show them the spam. Of course, this may get you nowhere...
Apologies for the bit of a rant here, but these places are generally REALLY low on the quality scale. I can't imagine that going broadband is going to make them any better. In fact, I can see them getting MUCH worse (with that kind of bandwidth, they'll want to force-feed you streaming video...)
Disclaimer: I've worked for a dial-up ISP for 2 years, and have had a cable modem for one. My views are based on my own experiences, and I do try to keep my ISP bias in check most of the time
Section 9 of the terms of service allow them to use the outgoing section of your e-mail to send what is pure essence is spam and in section 14 they have an anti spam policy in contract law cases this kind of hyprocrisy doesn't hold up in court.
They also offer free dsl and dial-up service. Currently they only have software for windows, but mac and linux software will be available soon. They also do not have a banner, just software that logs your internet usage.
There's been a few free ad-based ISP's started here in Australia, one in particular called (*shock*) free.net.au which uses a program to basically control your DUN in Windows. This window when minimised automatically restores itself when a new advert appears, forcing focus onto itself (ie, it switches you out of fullscreen programs). I suppose that is the intention of it, to show you adverts the entire time while you are connected no-matter what you are doing. However, there is a simple app floating around (written in VB no less!) that allows the window to be forcefully hidden, never to appear again, a stroke of insecurity on behalf of the ISP and another point on the board for the obscurity != security beleivers.
Cow of ThirdEye
anyway, my recommendation to all businesses like this: do advertising, but do it through email.
that way, you don't have to support clunky platform-specific add-ons or customized browsers, and you're opening yourself up to a much wider market. i would probably take advantage of the offer myself if it were handled this way, and i'm sure many other *nix and mac users would as well.
of course, most any geek is going to either not pick up the mail from his or her foo@freewhatever.com account or procmail it out of existance, but not if the means of getting ads is also the only place where service changes and outages are announced. :) better yet, send mails along the lines of "respond to this message within 48 hours, or your account will be automatically suspended."
not that this is a big issue... most people are not geeks, and are not going to be aware that it's even possible to stop the mail. i can say this with certainty after having watched numerous newbies click on dozens of ads without any idea that the ads weren't part of the search they were doing. "how did i end up on miracle whip? i was searching for the weather report!"
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I know someone who has a "Free PC" and the Free internet service that comes with it (granted only a 56K connection).
I must also say that it is working nicely. They have been surfing the net for almost three months and I haven't received a single "help" call from them. They can care less about the advertisements that ring their desktop. They need the 'net to get crucial medical information about spina bifida since their youngest daughter was born with it. The information they have discovered, and the support they found, has made an immeasurable difference in their daughter's life..literally.
If it works...this type of stuff is very good for folks who cannot afford it otherwise. Getting people on the net is a "good thing", even if you have to beg borrow and steal to do so.
I'm still working on a clever footer.
Looks like somebody with a network sniffer, a few free hours, and perl could hack up something that looks to them like a regular user, while the owner of said perl scripts has free dsl access without the advertisement horror.
Now, personally, I avoid free providers like this, their service tends to suck bowling balls through a garden hose, and I'm a firm believer of tanstaafl, but I always wonder...
-John
I can't think of a single person that I know that wouldn't be truly disgusted (and thereby regard me with some disdain) at having been spammed, traceably, by me. No one wants spam in their mailbox, let alone spam originating from an acquaintance.
Inasmuch as it appears that there really is no other way to get the DSL router (at least for the moment), potential users really are being forced to be used as slave labor in the spamming efforts - don't want to pay for the latest email listing CD? No problem, make your "subscribers" spam people to get the service! In addition, when factoring in the percentage of people who actually respond to spam, users are going to have to send out email to many more than the ten or fifteen that are required.
This is not to mention the misnomers that are associated with this, either... DSL is more secure than cable, but only when DSL is not in bridging mode - something that in my area, is only becoming more widespread recently.
"During your times of trial and suffering, when you see only one set of footprints, it was then that I was riding the pogostick."
A good traveller has no fixed plans and is not intent on arriving.
A lot of Internet economics are still pretty muddy. At least people are experimenting.
- Robin
I know the uplink on DSL is slower but this seems perfect for someone who want to put up an NT based server (or router :-) - you don't have to look at the ads if the monitor's been detached
As Neil Postman said, ``Contempt, rather than celebration, is the proper response to advertising and the system that makes it possible.''
And yes, I do practice what I preach. I have no television for this very reason. I will not pay for those programs by sacrificing my mind to trivialized sound-bytes and deceptive adverts.
I tried to check out a few net bookstores, and the only one that I could connect to was Barnes and Noble, which coincidentally was one of their advertisers. When I tried Amazon, or Bookpool, or a couple others, I remember Netscape giving a _very strange_ dialog box saying that the site didn't exist (and it was _not_ a DNS failure, it was something I'd never seen before and haven't seen since).
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I'd give it a month before someone reverse engineers the protocol and puts out some free software for Linux that also allows you to "view" the ads. As if /dev/null wasn't popular enough . . .
You can't even move the panel out of the way, as most use some sort of scripting that doesn't allow you to move ANY part of the panel off-screen.
Starting last year, I took the $20/month I was paying to my local ISP and bought a cheap second (used) monitor for $100, and a second video card for $140.
I fire up Altavista free access (now with 4 local numbers in my area) and run the main monitor at 1280x1024 and the second @ 1024x768. The blipvert stays in the far upper left corner of the second monitor, and goes mostly unnoticed, while I continue to work on the main monitor with a full view.
The way I look at it, I would have spent about $250 this year for dialup access($20x12=240). Moreover, next year, not having an ISP to pay for, I'll have the Xtra video card and monitor payed for.
The conection is faster and more reliable that the last 2 ISPs I've tried in my area, and I've never been happier. Who knows, with all I'm saving, maybe next year I might be able to spring for a bigger 2nd monitor. :)
The question to ask yourself is:
Would last years ISP bill pay for a second video card and monitor?
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This is great news to my ears, as I have been looking for a free ISP client/solution that would work under Linux.
Does anybody know of any other such ISP's out there that either work under linux or at least would work under WINE?
--Steve Castellotti
Your Brain + EEG + LEGO Robots = Brainstorms
A better command line would be:
ipchains -A forward -j MASQ -s 10.0.0.0/8 -d ! 10.0.0.0/8