12 bucks for a quality ISN? Listen up...
Written: Oct 29 '99 (Updated Oct 29 '99)
|
Product Rating:
|
|
|
Pros: $12 a month for MSN? Really.
Cons: tech support probably gets a C grade
|
|
|
| Shoeb's Full Review: MSN |
Ok. So if I had to pay $21.95 for MSN, I probably wouldn't. Honestly. Not that its not worth getting, but competition is just too high in this arena. Mindspring, Earthlink....they are rated so high among reviewers, customers that I wouldnt hesitate plunking down 20 bones for them, or I would have opted to sign up for "FREENETS". You know, NetZero, Free-inet, Alta-Vista....but with all there problems of sign ons, not to mention the ad bars, surveys, etc. I would end up steering away from them.
So what other options...lets see I can prepay for a year or 2 and get a local ISP to get me a great deal for about 8-11 bucks; or I could even splurge and sign up for AtHome cable service at around $40. That would be my first choice, but seriously folks, for those that commute, work the 7-7 job, there is just not enough time to spend on the internet to justify that much. Not now anyway.
After trying out the AOL 'first month free' marketing ploy and cancelling, I headed to PriceCostco, the amazing warehouse of giants to pick up some regular (no I am not Andre the Giant) groceries. While drifting into their PC section I noticed this great deal: MSN internet access, 3 months for $36. WOW. Here was this great ISP (I haven't called tech support, or customer support yet as I haven't needed to - so I can call it great) provider, well known, reputable, with national call in numbers, all kinds of support - online, phone, email, an included email address (MSN mail server), newsgroups, etc, unlimited Hotmail accounts (ok so for newbies this even sounds great), and anything the www.coms can offer in one tidy little package. I couldn't pass that up. YOU SHOULDN'T EITHER. Besides the above reasons, CostCo has an unconditional guarantee on all their products including this one. If I am not satisfied after 3 months, I have the option to cancel. Three months free for those cheating types. Not me of course. If I continue, then my Credit card gets billed the $36 for the next three months.
Installation was quick, although the dial up the first time took a while...updating the files, installation, etc. I thought for an instant that the PC had locked up, but I was wrong. In a few minutes, the ISP was set up account and all. The only trouble I had was configuring my Outlook Express to connect to the right mail, news servers. After playing around, I got these to work seemlessly. I sent an email to tech support but they just guided me to the online stuff, which is a little tough to navigate and seldom does the FAQ style work. But a little trouble is worth the 40% off the regular $21.95 monthly fee.
Connects are quick, and to this date I haven't been given a busy signal. I usually end up connecting at around 38-44K. The default startup page is the Costco MSN page, which you can easily change using internet options of any web browser. Hopefully the trend continues. Oh and if you are not a Costco member, its around $35 a year, give or take a few bucks. Most corporations offer the business account for their employees. Also, the same deal is available through CostCo's site, www.costco.com. Another great part of the deal is that if you are a current MSN subscriber and want to switch to the CostCo $36 for 3 month deal, you can.
If you are looking for a credible, maybe not the best tech support, well known ISP at a bargain, then definitely check out PriceCostco MSN access. Take care and happy surfing.
Recommended:
Yes
|
|
|
|
Epinions.com ID:
Shoeb
|
|
Reviews written: 21
Trusted by: 26 members
|
|
|
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.