I've been a member of NetZero since its very early days. I was lured by the promise of free internet access and was very pleased with the product in general. I could live with the banners and NetZero's software. However, since then, NetZero has "improved" their service, much to my chagrin.

First off, the banner is much larger now. There are all sorts of optional items on it that can be turned off, but still, the banner takes up quite a bit of screen real estate. This is pretty livable, though, since not much browsing requires the full screen. A much bigger problem is the ads displayed when dialing in. If the ad runs over the time required to connect to NetZero's servers, then you have to wait. I must applaud NetZero's ingenuity in finding so many places to position an ad. Even when quitting the software, an ad window is displayed, making sure you want to leave.

Stability can also be a concern: my computer often freezes when running the dial up program, and my internet connection might suddenly go dead. I have not experienced these issues since switching from NetZero.

A warning to the gamers in the audience: NetZero has issues with full-screen programs. It now often either shows through the game or disconnects because you "tried to hide the program offscreen."

My last beef with NetZero is that the software only runs under Windows. This finally pushed me over the edge--I needed an ISP that could run in Linux. If you have similar needs, don't bother with NetZero. UPDATE: I am happy to report that NetZero plans to release a Linux version of its software.

There are a couple advantages of NetZero, however. First, I almost never received a busy signal. I'm sure this is more a function of locale, rather than NetZero's great service, but they do have a lot of numbers available. Second, NetZero's software can be a nice way to introduce newbies to the internet. For example, my mother knows very little about how everything works or where to go, and NetZero helps introduce her to the wide world web. It has links to various web services or shops and has a nice little "browse" button that lets her put in keywords and addresses, much like the location bar in browsers. If you are an inexperienced web surfer, then you will likely benefit from this.

Overall, NetZero does fulfill its aim of providing free internet service and is convenient for aiding internet newbies. NetZero's absolute control over the connection and newbie-friendly software actually reminds me of AOL. If you are more experienced, however, you can and should do better than NetZero's fickle service.



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