The Best 56K Access by a National Provider
Written: Apr 10 '00 (Updated Apr 21 '00)
|
Product Rating:
|
|
|
Pros: Always easy to logon, great modem download speeds, and solid web hosting packages.
Cons: They don't provide the atmosphere that AOL provides its users.
|
|
|
| lid's Full Review: Mindspring |
As a professional web site designer, I've had to deal with many ISPs (Internet Service Providers) regarding two issues: web hosting and dial-up internet access. Included in the list of ISPs I've worked with are America Online, Prodigy, CompuServe, Shadownet and Mindspring. Of these ISPs, I recommend Mindspring for anyone who relies on their ISP for business purposes.
First of all, with Mindspring, you never have busy signals. I know this is something you hear frequently, but when an ISP has too many users logged on at a given time, it is unable to handle additional users, and suddenly, the lines are busy and you cannot logon. If you are relying on your ISP for business reasons, then you don't ever want to worry about busy lines.
Further, once you logon, I've found that Mindspring's download speeds are consistently faster than any nationwide ISPs. During peak hours, Mindspring's download speeds stay as fast as 3-6 kb per second, while competitors such as AOL will frequently slow up significantly to 1-2 kb per second, if that fast.
As far as I am concerned with web hosting packages, Mindspring has very solid packages for professional and non-business web hosting. Its prices are quite reasonable, with plans starting at $20 per month for small and personal sites. Several levels of more intricate hosting packages offering large varieties of disk space, bandwidth, e-mail accounts, etc. are available for its customers as well.
Mindspring's customer service is also top notch. Waiting times are not very long when you call, and they are quite effective at solving problems. In addition, their sales service is very good at helping you determine what type of dial-up and web hosting package will be best for your situation.
If it is important for your ISP to provide fast speeds and available lines consistently, as well as effective web hosting packages, you are best off choosing Mindspring. If you are a casual Internet user, and atmosphere is an important quality, I'd recommend that you go with AOL instead.
Recommended:
Yes
|
|
|
|
Epinions.com ID:
lid
|
|
Member: Daniel Kreeger
Location: Washington, DC
Reviews written: 64
Trusted by: 12 members
|
|
|
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2008 Shopping.com, Inc.