Prodigy ... NOT
Written: Dec 26 '00 (Updated Dec 26 '00)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Abundance of Local Access Numbers, Price, Liberal Credit Given for Downtime
Cons: "Dialing for Errors", Tech "Support", Disconnects,
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| bobstein's Full Review: Prodigy |
I have been a user of Prodigy for nearly ten years. During that time I have relocated several times and am now in my fourth home since I began using Prodigy. My purpose in mentioning this will become clearer as my review continues. I suppose it would also be fair to mention that I am a stockholder as well as a subscriber (no, I don't get any breaks on the price as a stockholder; and yes, I am losing my shirt on the stock price).
The original version, later dubbed "Prodigy Classic" was a fine piece of software. It was reliable, utilized little resources and had some fairly useful and interesting features to it ... including access to the rest of the web.
For some reason, unknown to me, Prodigy felt obligated to change the entire platform to a new system dubbed "Prodigy Internet" (as if Prodigy Classic didn't give you access to the internet). This new platform utilizes a fair amount of resources to run ... and increases with each version that they release. The features are now limited primarily to hyperlinks to paid advertisers web sites.
Connectability ... without it, you have nothing.
Prodigy's connectability is marginal. Fairly frequently I receive a busy signal, fail to connect, or am immediately disconnected at sign on. One additional "feature" that Prodigy Internet has is what I call their "dialing for errors" feature. This is where you make several repeated attempts in a row to connect and each time receive a different error code explaining the problem. Some of my favorite error codes are:
629: Link disconnected. (More on this later)
631: The port was disconnected by the user. (If I disconnected it, why is it an error? ... and why am I still trying to connect?)
645: Internal authentication error. (If it's an internal problem, fix it!)
650: Dial-up Networking server is not responding. (On a coffee-break?)
678: There is no answer. (Obviously went on break with 650!)
691: Access denied because username or password is invalid. (Same username and password I've been using for ten years!)
I'm not certain that it is entirely fair to blame Prodigy for all these problems all of the time. Of course, with any dial up connection the quality of the lines in your home and neighborhood significantly impacts the performance of any modem dial up connection. Since I have had these problems in several different homes in different states, I am willing to blame Prodigy for the majority of the problems though. After all, ALL my phone lines couldn't be outdated, could they? And Prodigy does have an abundance of local access numbers that I can keep trying to connect with.
Tech Support (i.e., who can we blame the problem on department).
Prodigy Tech Support is quite liberal with the time they will spend with you on the telephone trying to figure out why you are having problems with Prodigy. If you ever need to call Tech Support, NEVER give them the list of error codes that Prodigy "dialing for errors" has provided you. Tech Support has a nice little list of who to blame the problem on depending on which code you give them. Before I figured this out, Tech Support had me calling my telephone company, Microsoft, my modem manufacturer, some gypsy in the Louisiana bayou, the Whitehouse, and God. Without those codes, Tech Support is forced to listen to you and try to figure out the problem all on their own without help from the "who-can-I-blame" algorithm. They are good about issuing credit when you experience problems as others have mentioned. Do not wait, however, for them to offer it ... tell them that is what you expect and chances are you will get it.
Disconnects
I suppose in an effort to decrease the number of users on their servers at any one time, Prodigy has a unique disconnect feature. Any time that you pause to read a web site, or run grab a snack, pee, or smoke Prodigy does you the favor of sensing that you meant to disconnect first and automatically does it for you (note error code 629). How thoughtful!
As a legal nurse consultant, I spend a fair amount of time completing research on the internet. My living depends upon me having internet access. Prodigy does not act up all the time ... no, it waits until I am in a time crunch or other critical moment before it tortures me. Prodigy is anything but a prodigy. Perhaps they should rename the company "Frustration" instead!
Why do I still subscribe and why am I still a stockholder, you ask? Well, I just haven't found anything better for the price just yet is the answer. I don't believe that DSL is the solution. I don't believe that cable modems are the solution. Frankly, I holding out for advances and price decreases in wireless satellite connections. As for the stock ... I can't lose much more from the price I paid for it and I just can't bear to take the loss and sell. Hey, maybe it'll come back someday!
Robert W. Stein, III, RN, MSHA, CHE
bobstein@legalnurseconsultingservices.com
http://legalnurseconsultingservices.com
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
bobstein
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Member: Robert Stein
Location: St. Cloud, Florida
Reviews written: 17
Trusted by: 10 members
About Me:
Bob is president of LeNurse, Inc. located in Saint Cloud, Florida
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