Internet Service Providers (ISPs)
First, some general comments about ISPs, just in case you don't already know these things. To get connected to the internet, you have to use an ISP. If you have internet at home (land-based), you probably have DSL, Satellite, or Cable TV internet - in that case, the company providing your service is your ISP. When you're on the road using WiFi or a Wireless Card, you don't need your own ISP. In that case, all of the following is irrelevant.

If you're still using a phone line, you have to choose an ISP. All of the remainder of this discussion pertains to these telephone ISPs. Click Here to skip to the Free ISP Evaluations.

After you select an ISP, they will give you a local phone number to call to get you hooked up to the world-wide-web. Many also have local phone numbers for major cities in case you're travelling.

First off, if you plan to travel, get a nationwide internet service provider (ISP). I used EarthLink, but I suppose there are others equally as good. What you don't want is a small local ISP that will work fine as long as you're at "home", but has no local phone numbers outside the immediate area. You may save a little money, but they're of no value when you're traveling.

In my view, there are three categories of ISPs. There's the AOL type that charges you monthly to give you a complete interface on your computer, from which you can get to various areas on the internet by clicking buttons or using "AOL Keywords" without knowing exactly where AOL is taking you. There's the EarthLink type that charges you monthly and simply provides you with a browser (like MS Explorer or Netscape) and a phone number to access the internet, then assumes you know how to type in an http:// address to get where you want to go. Finally, there's the free ISP type that emerged around 1999, then slowly disappeared as quickly as they appeared. As of 2005, there are very few truly free, unlimited access ISPs. Those that do exist generally inundate you with advertising popups. Free ISPs provide you with local phone numbers for major cities and don't charge you. Within the free type are several sub-types as described under "Free ISPs Evaluated" below.

First, a little about AOL. In general, I really don't understand why AOL is so popular. Although I've only spent a short time using AOL, it appears that they go to great lengths to make the internet interface look complicated and to hide information from the user as to how to freely get around. They limit you to going only where they think you need to go, making it very tedious to actually go into a browser and control your own "travels". They also wrap your screen with useless frameworks that tend to reduce the useable portion of your display ... in my humble opinion (IMHO).

My recommendation is to spend a little time learning about browsers and the internet, then sign up with one of the EarthLink-type ISPs -- or, if you want to save money, use the free ISPs. The main disadvantages that I've seen thus far is that the freebies usually throw advertising at you and that there are very few left. See details on freebies below. As far as the cost is concerned, ISPs started out in the $20-$30 per month range. As of 2005, most are down to the $10 per month range.
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Free ISPs Evaluated
Thus far, I've only checked out five free ISPS, so I'll give you my opinions on those. As I bump into more, I'll add them here if they're better than these five in any way. I've listed them here with the most attractive first. WARNING: When you "download" the setup for many of these free ISPs to your computer, they change your homepage, so be sure to save your current homepage URL before-hand if you're attached to it.
1) OOPS -- This one went bankrupt July 2000 -- sorry about that!
By far the best I've found yet is one called 1st Free Internet Access. Click the icon on the right to visit their website and sign up. The reason it's the best is that it appears to have reliable software, it shows no advertising, and there's no periodic "reminder" asking you to check out ads if you want to stay connected. Have only used it from Florida, Alabama, and Tennessee, but have had no trouble in those locations. Another nice thing about 1st-Free is that it doesn't download software to your desktop -- instead, it merely adds an entry to your "Dial-Up Networking" folder in "My Computer". The bad news is that you have to go online to get an access phone number in a new location.

2) OOPS -- This one got scooped up by Juno.com -- haven't check out Juno yet -- sorry about that.
WorldSpy is nearly as good as #1 above. The only problem I've had with it is that the software sometimes "locks up" my Windows 98 and I have to reboot the computer to correct the problem. Others who have used it haven't had this problem, so maybe it's unique to my computer. It also appears to have trouble connecting if you've previously been connected to another ISP -- reboot to fix this. Another difference from #1 is that WorldSpy downloads software to your computer (takes about 15 minutes as I recall). The advantage to this is that you can (off-line) tell the software what area code you're in and it will give you the local phone numbers available. Other than that, it's about as good as 1st-Free. Click icon on the right to check it out.

3) With the recent demise of #1 and #2, my first choice once again is NetZero due to their floating ad -- see below. Oops! As of 1/31/01, they're charging for usage over 40 hours per month!
NetZero was my first experience with free ISPs and I was recommending it until I found the two above. I still keep it on my desktop as a back-up in case I find myself in a location where there's a NetZero phone number and none for #1 or #2 above. NetZero downloads software like #2 so you can get access numbers offline. The major difference from these first two is that NetZero puts a small (about 1" by 4") floating advertisement on your screen. You can move it where you want to on the display, but it's always there while you're connected and (in my opinion) gets in the way alot. The window has all kinds of "neat" buttons you can click to go to email, etc., but I've never used them. They remind me a little of the AOL-type "features" that I voiced my opinion on above. MAJOR NETZERO PROBLEM: They insist you click on one of their ads periodically (about every hour) or they disconnect you.

4) AltaVista and BlueLight.com: These two are like NetZero, except that they put their ad across the bottom of your display (about 2" high) and simply compress the rest of your image. This is good in that it doesn't hide any of your display, but bad because it reduces the size of your screen. If you're on a laptop like me, this 2" is critical. I've included their logos on the right in case you'd like to check them out. NOTE: I noticed in passing the website that AltaVista is available in Canada -- don't know if the others are or not. I guess this might be a deciding factor if you're living or traveling in Canada.

Also read a recent CNET article on free ISPs and learned about two called 1stUp.com and SpinWay.com (CNET liked them 1 and 2 in that order and put NetZero further down their preferences -- probably because they've got a larger screen and losing a strip across the top or bottom doesn't bother them).  Checked out 1stUp -- looks pretty much the same as those in #4 above. SpinWay looked the same also, but I couldn't ever get it to work for me. Click their logos to the right to check them out (Spinway is tricky -- couldn't get their logo).
For additional (more uptodate) info on Free ISPs, click the Free Internet Access logo to the left.
Whoa! It's March 2001 and I've decided to stop trying to keep up with the changes in the free ISPs. NetZero's ads are starting to get so intrusive that it's hard to use for "time-critical" activities, such as playing cards on PlaySite .. lol. Feel free to read my thoughts below, but I suggest you go to Free Internet Access for more uptodate info.
Internet-On-The-Road (IOTR)