Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Your Qwest Leads To MSN

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the there-is-a-tiny-lawyer-to-the-west dept.

bee writes: "Qwest.net has announced an alliance with MSN that will 'transition' Qwest's dialup and DSL customers to MSN Internet Access. If you're a Macintosh user, you'll be able to continue on Qwest until they figure out what to do with you. Zero mention, of course, is made of Linux or BSD. Here's the FAQ they're pointing their customers to."

8 of 215 comments (clear)

  1. seriously, by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Interesting

    After Gringly's last article, I see no way out of a MS dominated world. Or at least USA. I honestly feel like ditching all my UNIX experience and Java and C skills and going Visual Studio + .NET + C#

    Its so sad, here in DFW I know lots of UNIX/Java/C/C++ guys out of work while VB/access bitches are still employed and making 70-100k. Seriously, not a troll. Its getting depressing. I have even seen manager ads that specify past project management experience on MS based projects.

    Anybody offer any hope?

  2. Re:Not that I really care, but... by Adversive · · Score: 2, Interesting
    I work for a mid-sized ISP that has been affected greatly by recent ISP transitions. Micron.net/HostPro.net recently sold all its dial-up customers to Earthlink and several thousand of them have switched to my ISP. Most of them said they did not want to switch to such a bloated problematic ISP like Earthlink.

    (Honestly, I think many of them decided to switch after waiting on hold for over an hour for technical support -- our average hold time is under three minutes...)

    While many of our customers are still coming from AOL and are not ready for a normal internet connection, it actually seems that computer users are beginning to understand why large ISPs are getting such a bad name. Today, the average dial-up customer is much more likely to switch ISPs because of poor service than in the past.

    Hopefully this trend continues. If I wanted to be an MSN customer I would have signed up with them...

    (Despite my e-mail address, Qwest is no longer my ISP)

    --
    Adversive
    My cat's breath smells like cat food.
  3. Not that I really care, but... by Enigma23 · · Score: 3, Interesting
    There is something I have to ask of those people who use MSN.

    Why do you use it? I'll admit that I use it occasionally, but only in order to keep in contact with friends via MSN messenger (i'm trying to persuade them to get ICQ instead). Given the, shall we say, twtchiness of MSN in the last few weeks, I'll be surprised if the number of people using MSN hasn't plummeted due to the spectacular lack of customer service that they have exhibited in recent, and less recent, times.

    Given the inherent problems that have been flagged up with regards to Microsoft and MSN in the last few weeks, months, years and decades, I personally have very little Faith in their much-touted security features (or should that be bugs?) in MSN.

    --
    Ceci n'est pas une .sig
  4. .NET by tstock · · Score: 2, Interesting

    It only makes sense. MSN will probably play a large part in promoting .NET to the public and Qwest owns alot of dark fiber which can't hurt either.

    Microsoft needs strong platforms from which to be a "leader" in the Internet. browser, media players, .NET and MSN should all compliment each other quite nicely...

  5. Better you than me by mcleodnine · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Too bad, so sad. So I trust that the qwest subscribers will have to click-through the new privacy agreements with MSN. Or will they just be bound to it by the transition gods? Mmmmm. Yummy Passport. Tastes great, but leaves a greasy stain on your soul.

    So will the DoJ wait until after MS owns the entire North American ISP business or just the top 10%?

    --
    one better than mcleodeight
  6. interesting move by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Interesting

    The fine print of the FAQ states that only win98
    and above users can acces msn dsl. I wonder how
    this will affect the relatively large userbase that
    Qwest has? This has to be very upsetting to alot of
    their users in general though.

  7. Just another quote by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Interesting
    Qwest® and MSN are working hard to deliver great narrowband and Qwest DSL(TM) services to all customers.

    When will they stop twisting the jargon!? "Narrowband"? The opposite of broadband is baseband, as in 10Base(band)T. Broadband does not mean "Big fat and fast line to the internet", but rather a single data cable that carries more than one type of a signal. Your CATV line is broadband because it can carry network data AND your usual TV channels. DSL (at least ADSL) is broadband because it can carry your phone (voice and low-frequency sound-based data) signals and your network connection. Ethernet is NOT broadband, even though it's faster than DSL, because it can only carry data signals... unless you happen to be one of those that happens to be using a very unusual kind of ethernet that was hardly implemented... I think it was called 10Broad36, and ran over 75 Ohm Coaxial. (aka, coaxial TV cable.)

  8. They're trying to capture the 'net from both ends by sjhwilkes · · Score: 2, Interesting

    On the one hand they encourage sites to use non-standard tags VB script etc. so pages don't work properly on non-MS platforms. On the other they're buying the access, again forcing people to migrate to MS products if they want service. Mac, and Linux and other users are stuffed...