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Online Services vs. ISPs
Oh how many times I have heard "you use AOL, AOL sucks!"? Enough, plenty, too much, but these comments come from those who only use the computer at home. I admit AOL has a lot of drawbacks and annoyances (unlike the old days of AOL way back in 1995), but the fact is AOL is international, they are the largest, they own Compuserve, Netscape and ICQ, and they have the most access numbers of any online service provider, so that no matter where you travel, you have a local access number to dial into, at no additional charge, and even if there is no local number, and you are worried about the outrages prices that hotels charge for semi-local calls, you can use the AOL Toll Free (to the hotel) but surcharged access number will charge you $6/hour. I often prefer this option, as hotel phone calls can often cost $10+ per hour and this way, I know what I am being charged. Additionally, if you are only going to be on for a half hour, $3 is a minimal expense while traveling.ISP (Internet Service Providers)
Cable modem access rules, no dispute there, but you cannot take it with you. Also, most smaller ISPs only have regional access numbers… so if you travel outside the state, in most cases, it is a toll long distance charge for the number you would usually dial for free. So again, inquire about access numbers while traveling, you will find that you will need either a toll free number that your ISP provides (usually at an hourly cost) and/or an online service that has local numbers no matter where you travel. For the most complete list of ISPs, go to www.thelist.com.Internet Service Providers (In Order of Preference)
America Online www.aol.com
Currently $21/month unlimited usage, $6/hour additional for use of the toll free #, $6/hour standard for Europe and some parts of Persia like Turkey.
Currently $69/month unlimited, $400 for the PCMCIA card/antenna for the digital cellular service. PCMCIA Card also available without a service plan from www.sierrawireless.com
Why is this different from AOL? Well, for one, it gives you 20 hours per month usage for only $10. If you have cable/dsl or other ISP service at home, but need to travel from time to time and won't use more than the 20 hours per month, this is useful if you want to save an extra $10/month.
Free. Yes, totally free internet service, the only drawback (if you even want to call it that) is a banner ad on your desktop while connected to this free service. Another drawback may be having to re-setup the service for a new toll free and/or local number while travelling. The access speed may be a bit slower, but if its not important to you and/or you are just accessing email, why not?For Those Who Check Email Only
Juno is another service that has always been free. You will see a banner ad when you sign on, but that is the only catch. The service uses either a local number or a toll free number, but it is not always reliable. How it works is, it connects you to an access number, downloads your email, sends any email you wrote offline, and then disconnects you. If you want to read/reply to the emails you downloaded, you have to re-connect and go thru the process again.
If you have an internet connection such as a public library, school, university/college and/or some of these cyber cafes (I have even seen them free if you purchase a soda at one particular Burger King by Wall Street), then all you have to do is go to the website and check/send your email. We have found Yahoo to be more reliable to connect to over Hotmail.
This is one of the top 10 most visited websites. Microsoft bought HotMail for $350 million dollars in paper stocks. Since then, it has slowed down a bit, sometimes connecting to get email, even if your connection is good, fails. If you have an internet connection such as a public library, school, university/college and/or some of these cyber cafes (I have even seen them free if you purchase a soda at one particular Burger King by Wall Street), then all you have to do is go to the website and check/send your email.
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