When logging onto the internet, do you enjoy encountering frequent busy signals, server problems, slow connections, and an email flooded by spam mail? If so, then MSN is for you. If not, then I would avoid MSN like the plague!

I began my internet experience as a Dellnet customer. At the beginning of 2001, Dellnet merged with MSN. As an enticing way to get former Dellnet users to continue with the new "Dellnet by MSN" service, we were offered 6 months free service. The trial period, I didn't think, was too bad and I opted to stay with the service. My opinion of the service has changed in the space of a year and I'll be searching for an ISP soon which causes less of a dramatic raise in my blood pressure every time I attempt to log onto the internet.

Overall, MSN is a rather pricey ISP. My current monthly rate of subscription for unlimited access is $21.95 per month. (that was a $3 increase from my Dellnet ISP, which offered 150 free hours) From the experiences of friends and family, I've become aware of ISPs which are much cheaper and just as good, if not better than MSN.

MSN is a fairly easy ISP to use. To connect, you just basically choose a password and your connection number(s) and you're in at the click of a butterfly; MSN's famous symbol. The service does have some nice features. There's a rather crowded home page, which is the home base of the ISP (I liked the old look better than the recent changed look) On the home page, there's an email function, a place to put your favorite websites, a link to both MSN Chat and MSN Messenger to connect with your online buddies, a link to MSN Money, a link to MSN Shopping and a link to Music to listen to your favorite tunes while you surf the net. There's also a music player on the left hand lower corner of the homepage, similar to Windows Media Player, where you can listen to either online radio tunes or place a CD of your own in and listen to that while you surf. You can also customize the homepage to your personal location and receive weather and other customized information for your hometown. There's also links to MSN Communities, Stocks, and MSN Calendar. So, there are plenty of nifty little features on MSN. I cannot personally say I utilize them all frequently or have use for many of them.

To actually connect to MSN is the greatest challenge. It is not the most reliable ISP when it comes to connection. I experience some sort of problem 7 out of 10 times on average. Either it takes a long time to get connected, the servers are down, or I'm frequently disconnected for some unknown reason, which is inconvenient if you're in the middle of something and have to stop and reconnect to the internet, as I've just had to do while I was writing this review. There are times also where MSN can get me online, but cannot sign me into the ISP properly. If that happens, even to try to use another browser, such as Internet Explorer which I also have on my system, is futile. The pages won't be accessible if MSN doesn't sign you into the system first.

As I mentioned earlier, MSN has its own built in mail system which is about as good as Outlook Express, but doesn't offer as many options as Outlook does. There are no stationery backgrounds, not as many fonts to choose from (there are only 7 to choose from on MSN) and not as many colors to choose from if you like to jazz up your emails. With MSN's email, you can chose a font color, font size, the background color of your message, type in bold, italics, and underscore. You can also add photos and attachments from files, cut, copy, and paste, and also have the use of a spell checker for your emails. What bothers me about the email function most is that there is a barrage of junk mails, either in my inbox or in my bulk mail folder. I logged on recently to find over 20 spammy messages in my email! There is no function to ban or block such emails and it becomes annoying to have to delete a flood of goofy messages asking me to come visit the latest X rated site or whatever! In the time it took me to write this review, I received 6 such messages to my email. (There is a little box which pops up to tell you that you have mail.) That is just plain ridiculous.

If you don't mind paying a bit more for your ISP service and you don't mind putting up with the things I've mentioned, then by all means, give MSN a try. If you value your sanity and want to get the best ISP for your dollar that you can find, then I'd strongly suggest pulling the plug on MSN and allowing the little, colorful MSN butterfly to fly away and off your computer!

Recommended: No

Amount Paid (US$): 21.95