Down and out (death to dial-up)

So, the recent bankruptcy of @Home has shut me off, and the service will most likely be unavailable for at least a few weeks. For some stupid reason I dug out my old 56K modem and plugged it in and now I remember why I loathe dialup. It's not so much the slow speed as the shitty services available. Since I am paying almost $50 a month for a high-speed line, I didn't expect to need to keep a dial-up service as backup (although seeing as this is an AT&T service, that would be a dumb thing not to do).

First option is pay AOL $2.50 AN HOUR for their worthless service, which I did for two hours yesterday.

Since I'm broke and can't afford that anymore (let alone the fact that navigation using AOL is 10x slower than usual), I downloaded NetZero again (something I hoped I'd never have to do) and fired up my old NetZero account.

I think that next time they try to stick a virus on their users, they ought to make it way less obvious. No online service should obscure your entire desktop, including cutting off the user's access to the taskbar and start button, with a browser that doesn't even let you type in WWW addresses, navigate, or do anything besides follow news links on the NetZero homepage. Yes that's right, control-escape or the "windows" key on the keyboard cannot override NetZero's browser. And good luck finding anything non-NetZero-controlled in that browser. Want to search or visit a favorite site? "Too bad", says NetZero. I have to spend 2 years every time I log on Control-Alt-Deleting their ridiculous popups and browser scripts before I can start to regain some control of my computer. The way they have it, you have to sign off the internet if you want to press your start button in the event that you need to access any programs, files, etc. from your computer. Uh-huh, sure. And throwing pop-ups all over the screen, randomly asking me if I want to terminate my connection (with the "yes" button as the default choice [HAHA THAT IS VERY FUNNY, NETZERO!]), terminating it anyways after a few hours, and having unmovable "always-on-top" advertisements all over my web browser and desktop is also part of the NetZero treatment. AND GUESS WHAT BANNER IS FLICKERING UNCONTROLLABLY AT THE BOTTOM OF MY SCREEN RIGHT NOW? "YOU WON!!!", in flashing neon pink, green, yellow and purple.

OH AND LET'S NOT FORGET THE MINUTELY POP-UP! Pop-ups were always a problem with the old NetZero, but a few months later, it's gotten worse. THERE IS ONE EVERY FUCKING MINUTE OR LESS, in fact one just cut me off when I was typing that sentence. EVERY MINUTE OR LESS!! I'd love to download a pop-up killer or try a whole new free dial-up service except that a 0.7k/s transfer rate won't download anything worthwhile before this year is over.

The last time I used NetZero, the damn thing even went so far as to install programs that I had to uninstall using the "Add/Remove Programs" feature in the Control Panel, so this will be my last call to NetZero.

Now that I remember, I had wondered what this NZTV window that popped up when I was dialing them was, but after connecting for the third time, I found out it was just that: a NetZero Television. They downloaded an entire 30-second video advertisement OVER A MODEM, BEHIND MY BACK. No wonder websurfing goes so slow; I'm getting entire videos forced down my modem connection! To top it all off, take a wild guess what that video was advertising: NetZero.

Rather than play into my sudden terrorist urges, I'm just gonna go offline for a few weeks until AT&T either fixes their service or tells me the migration will take longer than expected, at which point I'll get a DSL hookup.

Oddly enough, I just might actually get some work done around here now that I'm forced offline...

Condolences, man. Here's hoping that @Home gets back up quickly for you. (Mine came back up last night after two days of downtime.) Good luck and God speed.

[edit]See what you get for trusting those free ISPs?[/edit]

That's nice. And all this is related to DOOM how....?

who cares whether it's doom related or not, as long as it makes sense and he has a real purpose posting, unlike other idiots spam in forums unreasonably and pointlessly

That's nice. And all this is related to DOOM how....?

who cares whether it's doom related or not, as long as it makes sense and he has a real purpose posting, unlike other idiots spam in forums unreasonably and pointlessly

Edited by Crendowing.....

...before I saw your post, BTW.
Oh, and what PURPOSE did that post have, other than letting everyone know how much of whiny bitch Lüt is?

You should see how the German Telekom fuckes up the potential of DSL. That is why I stick to my 56k modem, even if it is slow.
They say "we connect you to dsl, no problem at all" and then it takes 4 months until you are connected. And then, you have a connection for, lets say 2 days, then 5 days you are offline and so on.

hmm I don't know about the rest of you, but I don't have a problem with my dial up. Sure it isn't the fastest, but I'm not paying 50 a month for it (that's right I'm cheap... actually poor is more like it). I usually get 5.7k/s downloads, and I only get disconnected cause of my modem, doesn't happen often though.

hmm I don't know about the rest of you, but I don't have a problem with my dial up. Sure it isn't the fastest, but I'm not paying 50 a month for it (that's right I'm cheap... actually poor is more like it). I usually get 5.7k/s downloads, and I only get disconnected cause of my modem, doesn't happen often though.

Around 5-6 k/s, that is what I also get from my modem. People with a working dsl will laugh about it, but I get a connection (mostly) at all. Better than having a non- or sluggish working dsl. People in Germany always had to be patient ... :/


Yuhuu, that was post 666 for me :)

Damn.

Sucks that you had to be reverted to Netzero...

I use MSN Broadband by Qwest. WOrks wonders.

Well, sorry to hear that, Lüt. My ISP hasn't ever disconnected me while I was online and they don't charge much an hour-just .30 cents or so, I think.

no tonic, qwest is run by the devil

BLUEFROG has no banners, no popups, no software to instal and its only $25 every 6 months. You have to take a few surveys and shit but other than that its damn good.

no tonic, qwest is run by the devil

Well, we all like different things.

But seriously, their Newsgroup capabilities are shit on a stick.

I RULE AMONG ALL POSTCOUNTS MWHAHAHHAAHAHAHHAHH

Around 5-6 k/s, that is what I also get from my modem. People with a working dsl will laugh about it, but I get a connection (mostly) at all. Better than having a non- or sluggish working dsl. People in Germany always had to be patient ... :/

My DSL has only been down 2 times or so in 6 months. Despite this 2 times I'm never having problems getting online. Oh, and I didn't wait 4 months for DSL, but 7 (instead of the promised 2 weeks... ;(

600k/s download speeds (that I've clocked at) at $29/mo

cable internet 0wnz me

/me does happy dance of joy

seriously though, hope you get back up and running and soon Lüt

does anyone have lüt's home address? Would someone send him a trial disk of somesort[obviously because he can't download it]? and what kind of a pic is a little red x in a white box anyways...sheesh- some people :P

Oh, and what PURPOSE did that post have, other than letting everyone know how much of whiny bitch Lüt is?

Perhaps if you'd read people's posts instead of doing a word-search for "Doom" you would get something out of them. Maybe it was a warning to other people about NetZero? Maybe it was a note to admins to patrol for idiocy in my absence? Maybe it was a hint that Millennium (<--- DOOM RELATED! DOOM RELATED!) will get some good progress done while I'm offline? Sheesh.

This is only the third or fourth thread related to the @home shutdown, why don't you go complain in the other ones too?

On second thought, don't, I don't want to be bothered deleting it.

And then, you have a connection for, lets say 2 days, then 5 days you are offline and so on.

ROFL, sounds like my friend's place. I was over there and using his DSL, it's been on about 20 minutes of the 2 hours I was showing him some sites and forums. He says they're lucky to have it functional a few hours a week. It goes up and down at least 10 times a day. They're thinking about going back to AOL too. Unfortunately that company provides the only acceptable DSL offer I've found thus far in my area.

I RULE AMONG ALL POSTCOUNTS MWHAHAHHAAHAHAHHAHH

Yeah I see you've made a whopping 13 since I started this thread a few days ago.

does anyone have lüt's home address?

deadnail should, I was trying to get him to drive up here and give me a PS2-to-serial converter one night a few weeks ago. Lazy bitch was too busy getting stoned to bother though.

faggoty rant faggoty rant... deadnail should, I was trying to get him to drive up here and give me a PS2-to-serial converter one night a few weeks ago. Lazy bitch was too busy getting stoned to bother though.

1. You never gave me your address. 2. You never tried to get me to drive DOWN THERE you map illiterate fuck. 3. I never said I would GIVE it to you. 4. I was already stoned. 5. DON'T HARASS ME MOTHERFUCKER I HAVE RIGHTS!

I share a T1 with 4500 other losers at my college. The tech department, in their infinite wisdom, decided to buy three more T1 lines (for a grand total of four), and then NOT USE THE NEW THREE FOR LOAD BALANCING. Dirty fucks.

So this means that, in house, I can download at upwards of a meg and a half a second, but out here on the real 'Net, I get anywhere from 4 to 14 k a second, and that's between 2:30 am and 5:30 am on a Tuesday. Any other day I might as well jam my mouse up my nose and try to surf my subconscious.

In other words, Lüt, I feel a very small version of your pain.

But it serves you right for touching NetZero in the first place.

DC

LMAO. I hated using NetZero, I even made a .bmp file of its logo that I remade to make fun of it, because it was frustrating me so much. I'll send it to you zipped.

Free ISPs are the way to go here in Portugal, since paying for a dial-up connection will get you one that's as good as a free one. We just have to pay the phone calls, which is acceptable in the end of the month, provided you don't go around connected for five hours in a row before 9 pm.