Re: UKNM: RE: DIXONS - FREE SHARE

[Richard Longhurst]

Lo,


Stefan Magdalinski wrote:


> also, the fact that you can only sign up via their 0845 number, rather

> than just becoming a member of their wonderful portal community via the

> web, or your existing internet connection, rather points to them making

> more from the phone call charges than Mr Beaumont claims.


There's nothing to stop you accessing http://www.freeserve.net/ if you're not

using Freeserve as your ISP. It's a decent Web site, but doesn't do anything

that other portals [spits] don't.


Much as people (especially on this list :-) ) don't like Dixons, it's pretty

unlikely that even they would base a new business round quid-a-minute tech

support. They're interested in selling white and brown goods and Freeserve

gives them a foot in the on-line door. (Or should that be portal?) If they can

can recoup some of the outlay through ads on the Freeserve Web site and the

tech support line then so much the better.


> Finally, installing the software on my pc with it's existing network

> connection has fucked up my Explorer settings, and seems to be doing

> some weird cookie based shit with www.freeserve.net, since accessing

> that URL now causes it to run a script that starts up the Internet

> Connection Wizard, and there's no way of cancelling it without

> cancelling out of the signup process. I guess I'd better call their

> helpline...


Sounds odd. It works fine on my PC which is on a LAN connected to the Net.

Check the Connection tab in your Internet Control Panel and make sure you've

got 'Connect to the Internet a LAN' checked. (That'll be 75p please.)


I guess I get a lot of ISP software through my machine and Freeserve's was one

of the easiest and quickest I've seen.


>From a new users' perspective, signing up with Freeserve is the same as signing

up for a free monthly trial with AN Other ISP - except the free month will

never end. So where's the harm in giving it a try? Chances are it'll work first

time out - did for me - and even if it doesn't, you can spend 14 and a half

minutes on-line to technical support before you've spent as much on the phone

as Demon demands for its one-off sign-up fee. And why the hell would anyone

want to use BT Click now?



Richard


--

Richard Longhurst, editor, .net magazine - http://www.netmag.co.uk/

rlonghurstfuturenet [dot] co [dot] uk

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