What do you expect?
Written: Nov 16 '00
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Product Rating:
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Pros: good speed, smallish banner, ease of use
Cons: forced interactions with banner, connection speeds can be slow
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| tconley's Full Review: Lycos.com (by 1stUp) |
Lycos is one of many companies that use the 1stup engine to offer free Internet access to people, like myself, that don't want to fork over $20/month for basically nothing -- it's like paying to park at a mall, you don't get anything for that specific service because the benefit is in the mall itself, and there really isn't any tangible benefit for what you pay for, so why pay it?
It's important to note that you should choose your 1stup company carefully. I went with Lycos simply because they were a generic search engine/knowledge company that if I had to look at ads for, I'd be able to live and not go insane.
The install file downloaded and worked without any flaws, and the only issue I had during installation was with the initial connect. Like any other ISP, you have to set a user ID, password and the like to sign up for service. When I did this, the computer crashed and I didn't know if I had finished my sign-up or not. When I re-started the Lycos program, I found I had to re-register again, since the information was lost from my initial attempt.
The most important thing to note with these services, and can make or brake your experience with Lycos, is whether or not you opt out or in to the free junk they would like to send you. During sign-up, you have the opportunity to get free info sent to you regularly. DON'T DO IT UNLESS YOU HAVE TO! No one likes spam, and the more of this junk you sign up for, the more pop-up windows and useless e-mail you deserve.
Once I signed up, I found the "always on top" toolbar for Lycos fit nicely at the top of my screen (800x600 resolution) and covered buttons I never used anyway. My area has 5+ phone numbers, and I can usually connect within 2 attempts, something not possible when I used AOL, and that, of course, is not a free ISP. So, essentially, I now have free net access at speeds of roughly 35-45KBps and I only have to look at a banner on my screen to get it.
The only other drawback is that occasionally (it doesn't appear to show a pattern) the ad bar will check to see if you are online and "force" you to click on a button. This can be annoying, but a small price to pay for free access. I think the quality of service with this ISP, once past a possibly quirky sign-up process, is as good as AOL or AT&T Worldnet, both of which I wouldn't pay $.05 for anymore.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
tconley
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Reviews written: 1
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