Is Qwest's ISP Deal Really Worth the Hassle?

Mur! asks: "Long distance carriers have been getting into the ISP business for a while. But recently Qwest has started a deal that, for $24.95/month, you not only get unlimited internet access (with no time limits or anything that seems to indicate you can't stay connected 24/7) but 250 minutes of domestic long distance to boot. But is it worth the hassle?" Sounds good right? But there's a catch. Hit the link for more.

"My husband and I were paying $21.95/mo for our dialup access. We were also paying more than the difference - $3 - in long distance each month while definately using less than 250 minutes. So we thought, "Hey, this sounds like a good deal. Let's go for it." So we did. After attempting to sign up and being told there was some sort of problem with our phone company and that we'd have to call the 1-800 number to set up our account, the wierdness started. We never called the 1-800 number, but a week or so later, we got a call from MCI (our old long distance carrier) asking if we wanted to switch back - or why we switched in the first place. The poor telemarketer basically hung up when my huband told them we were getting a *far* better deal - they couldn't compete. So we figured, 'Hey, the changeover must have happened. Cool, I wonder when our Inernet Account will be active.' However, we didn't get any sort of confirmation from Qwest for another week or more, and only then after they had sent us 2 copies of a CD containing netscape (which I, naturally, thought was extraneous since I already had Netscape installed on all of our linux boxes). My husband finally sat down this past weekend with one of these CDs, and read through the info packet - the requirements of Win95/98 are apparently set stone. You have to install *their* version of Netscape in order to even *register* for their Internet service. You cannot get your account open unless you use their software that is either imbedded in, or integrally tied to, the copy of Netscape they send you. Which only runs on Win95/98 (according to them - not even NT!).

We tried everything we could to get it working under Linux - no go. My husband called Qwest, and they said the only way to activate your account is via *their* software. Which is Microsoft-centric. Which is not something I'm sure I want to deal with. Yes, we have dual-boot systems, but Win95 doesn't seem to work well on my husband's machine, the only one other than the server, which is linux-only, with a modem. We have yet to move a modem to our third machine (mine) and trying to boot to windows to do it that way. Though I'm beginning to wonder if it's worth the effort. What if they've got some funky setup where we can't get all the information we need to be able to set it up in Linux? Then we're pretty much hosed. Are all 'large-scale' ISPs this way? I know Mindspring - while not actively *supporting* Linux - does have many linux-using customers who don't have WinX around to initialize their account. I know there are Linux users using AT&T and AOL. Can you get those accounts without having to go through a WinX middle-OS? Has anyone else had any experiences with Qwest, or know of any work-around to get your account set up? We're already rather close to cancelling the whole deal - but the price just seems too good to be true for what you get. I suppose it is - considering you have to sell your soul to Microsoft just to sign up. "

Is it just me or do some of you find the practice of requiring a specific Operating System to access the Internet? If Qwest is really making this a hard and fast requirement, then they should point this fact out to potential customers especially since the deal forces you to change your Long Distance carrier as well. I wonder how many other unsuspecting folks have been caught by this.

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[Anonymous Coward]

As a former Qwest support rep, I can tell you this: Win95/98 is NOT required to have an account, does it help? It does for some. What exactly do I mean... well...

Basically it works like this, the CD that is sent out by sales includes a product code that keeps your billing in order as well as creates your login. This can also be done by calling the support line, NOT sales. We had the ability to create the account while the customer was on the phone AND give them the mail, DNS and dialer settings. The hitch is that the required connection type is PAP, not PPP. The Linux users that I spoke with could not get a PAP login to work, which is the way Dial Up Networking in Win95/98 will connect. So this Qwest deal is fine, the trick is knowing when to call tech support.

And a further extension of the "OS Discrimination" is that roughly 85-90% of users are using Windows (3.x, 95, 98, 2000) or Mac OS. These systems are also the ones taught in school (K-12 and beginning college courses). The problem with getting an ISP to fully support Linux all lies in the training. Most ISPs can provide general settings, but not troubleshoot specific problems. One would see much the same if they were using OS/2 or BeOS. The added cost to train individuals in these systems is far greater than the benefits, because there is more to a PPP connection than a dialer, the rep needs to understand the underlying OS in order to make "tweaks" that will allow support for some modem strings, and general error code checks.

I know that this is going to draw flames, but what should a Windows user expect these days?