How many spoonfuls of mud would you have to eat in order to write an informative review of mud soup? Don't get confused, I am not referring to a Cajun dish. I am talking about getting dirt, adding water, and writing a review of the taste of mud.

My guess is, after one spoonful you would be fully prepared to warn readers away from ever trying mud soup. Well, that is how I feel about my experience with the StartFree free ISP service. After just 60 seconds of use, I am fully prepared to warn you away from this free Internet Service Provider. However, because I like detailed reviews, I went ahead and ate the whole bowl of mud soup. For several days I've used this service, hoping that I could find some redeeming quality, but all I have is a list of complaints, a bad taste in my mouth, and mud on my face.

By the way, if this service were "as good as" any of the ISPs I have reviewed so far, I wouldn't have bothered writing another review of yet another so-so ISP. However, this ISP is so bad, so terribly bad, that it REQUIRES a review.

Background

My criteria for a good free ISP is that it (1) have as small an ad banner as possible and (2) not require interaction with the ad banner. Goiwin met those requirements, but alas, their server has been down for two weeks now so I have been on the hunt for something new (while connected using MyFavoritei, which is a decent backup). Epinions recently added StartFree, so I decided to give it a try. Here is a list of the bad and the good (even mud soup can have garnish) of this service.

Why you won't like the StartFree ISP

The download file
The sign-up process at the web site is fairly standard. It doesn't take that long to register and determine if there is a local number in your area. But then you start the download process and realize that this is a VERY BIG bowl of mud soup. Specifically, the installation file is 2.5Mb in size. For comparison purposes, the Myfavoritei free ISP is a 686Kb download and the Goiwin free ISP is only a 340Kb download.

OK, a large download file isn't that bad, if the product is worth it. This product is not worth it.

The Bar
Almost every free ISP requires that you have an ad banner on your screen while you are online. Ideally, the ad banner would take up very little screen space. The StartFree ad banner does the opposite. It is big. No, it is huge. No, it is MAMMOTH.

What makes the ad banner so gigantic? Well, it has the standard banner ad on it, but the banner resides in a framed window with several other buttons. All of the buttons have a border frame and then the whole banner window has a border frame. These border frames unnecessarily increase the height of the banner window. The dumbest aspect of the banner window is that the extra buttons are BELOW the standard-sized ad instead of BESIDE it. On either side of the main ad is nothing but blank, wasted screen space.

I looked all over the banner window for a way to reduce its size, but no such luck. It is not free-floating and can only be docked to the top or bottom of your screen. It spans the entire width of your screen (and almost the entire height as well). It is without question the largest ad banner window I have ever seen.

Unprofessional Appearance
Not only is the ad banner window huge, it looks very unprofessional. The extra buttons have an ugly color combination and an unimpressive mouse-over effect (the text size goes to ALL CAPS when you move your mouse over the buttons). This would be fine, except the buttons re-size to fit the new text.

Also, each time a standard size ad loads (every thirty seconds), the buttons are re-drawn as well (when they are re-drawn, they blink off and on). Furthermore, the ad background changes with each ad reload. The cherry-on-the-top of this glamorous bowl of mud soup is that the ads don't just pop up over the previous ads, but appear via a "change effect" (they scroll down, slide in, roll up, etc.). All of these color changes, ad effects and background changes are very effective at capturing your attention (thus drawing you away from your work and reminding you that you have the worst ISP banner in the world on your screen).

The Startpage?
Most free ISPs provide a consistent startpage that loads each time you connect to the service. Some of the startpages are actually useful (the Myfavoritei ISP loads NBCi.com). StartFree loads a different startpage with every connection. Not really a big deal (kinda like finding a blade of grass with each spoonful of mud soup), but it adds to the annoyance factor.

Monthly Surveys
StartFree doesn't track your web usage. Instead, they send you monthly surveys that ask you about your web usage. You MUST complete these surveys or your Internet service will be disconnected. Some people won't mind this, and may even prefer filling out surveys instead of being spied upon by their ISP. Unfortunately, I find it to be yet another added annoyance to StartFree's already distasteful service.

The Support?
There is a number for technical service, but it is not toll-free. The web site FAQ page wasn't very helpful so any problems would probably require a costly call to tech support. Besides, calling tech support for this banner would be like asking the chef to add oregano to your mud soup. What are you doing ordering mud soup in the first place?

The Good

Saying there are good aspects to this service is like saying mud soup is rich in nutrients. Even if it is, is that how you want to get your nutrients? Regardless, to help you decide if StartFree is for you, here is what I can find that is good in this service.

Connection
The 10-15 times I initiated an Internet connection, it connected on the first try and connected at my top possible speed.

Interaction
As far as I can tell, no interaction with the bar is required. I stayed connected for up to an hour, and experienced no "click on an ad" requests.

Control
The ad change effects can be turned off. This just stops the scrolling, sliding, etc. of the ads. The background still changes every thirty seconds and the extra buttons are still re-drawn every thirty seconds.

Conclusion

If you like wasting screen space, like to fill out surveys, and like being distracted by an unprofessional, flashy banner every thirty seconds, then I highly recommend you try the StartFree ISP.

Seriously, some people may use this service and like it. If it doesn't annoy you, congratulations. I sincerely believe, though, that most individuals will prefer any other free ISP to this one. Mainly because other free ISPs provide the same service, with fewer annoyances. The Myfavoritei ad banner, for example, is smaller, more professional, and can be docked or undocked.

The biggest drawback to this service is the ENORMOUS size of the ad banner window. But when you ad the fact that it is an ugly banner at that, AND that you have to fill out monthly surveys, I think I would rather eat a bowl of mud soup than use this ISP.



I hope this review has provided enough information to help you with your decision. I usually am not this harsh toward a product or service, but the thinkers behind this program need to go back to the drawing board.

Bret
DrDad



Recommended: No