Update Notes: 26-Dec-2000

I just received an "Important NetZero Information" email. What WAS free and unlimited usage is now free for only 40 hours per month. Anything above and beyond that and you'll be charged for usage. Hmm, anyone care to define the word "free" again? Fortunately, I've used it very little this year, but for others, do caveat emptor.

Update Notes: 04-Jul-2000

I'm back in the U.S. and of course am using NetZero as my ISP of first resort. I'm still getting low connect speeds (usually 26.4Kb), but this may be due to other reasons. More on this later.

The NetZero client is now up to version 3 and the biggest improvement from the user's perspective is that the ad window (i.e. the "ZeroPort") can now be "docked" so that it doesn't block part of your browser screen. Rather, it steals part of your desktop (à la the taskbar) and leaves the rest for the running applications. Unfortunately, I couldn't get the docking feature to work with my laptop, but this could be due to my 2-year Windows 98 being fouled up beyond repair (it sorely needs a re-install).

But fear not. NetZero has been around long enough to tempt some clever souls to come up with workarounds. "NetZero Handy Tools" (http://hey.to/scree) is one such workaround. What NetZero Handy Tools does (among many other niceties) is to hide the ad window BENEATH all other windows. Bottom line: It's still there, but it can't be seen. Good enough for me.

Meanwhile, there are numerous other providers of free internet services. On this trip, I've tried Bluelight and Juno, and both work fine. (Note: Both have ad windows as well; Bluelight's is docked, while Juno's floats.) And, let's not forget that most non-free ISP's such as America Online, Earthlink, Prodigy, etc. also provide free trials. As a general rule you can use these for up to a month and cancel before they start charging your credit card.

Update Notes: 26-Jan-2000

I've used NetZero several more times in other U.S. cities since I first wrote this article. As is to be expected, numerous updates and improvements have been made to both the NetZero client and to NetZero's home page. Furthermore, the company has achieved a degree of legitimacy: it's gone public and Compaq now bundles NetZero with its Presario line in the U.S.

Connections speeds are still fairly low, usually in the range of 28.8-33.6kbps, although I did manage to get a few 40+kbps connects on a recent trip. I doubt very much if I'll ever see a 50+kbps connect, but I suspect this is intentional. My guess is that the participating ISP's limit NetZero's connect speeds in order to prevent their their regular subscribers from being slowed down too much.

I failed to mention in the article that NetZero checks to see if you're still using it every 30 minutes or so. This isn't an inactivity check per se as a windows pops up regardless of whether you're actively using it not. Thus, you can't just leave it on and walk away. Well, you can but it will disconnect. To get around this, look into a program called "Stay Connected" at http://www.inklineglobal.net. (The authors seem to be Singapore-based.) I actually use the program for another "stay alive" job and it's proven very reliable.