When NetZero increased the size of the banner, I was okay with that. After all, it’s free. When they forced me to go to their start page which took over my computer, I was less than okay, but I survived. Now, they announced that they are shutting down the free service in my area, but I can get their pay service. Well, all right. I’ve been mooching off them for a few years now. Guess I’ll go to another free service, like Juno.
Today, I get an email, announcing that they’ve purchased Juno. Sigh. I can’t win. Here’s an excerpt from the announcement:
Thank God! Here I was, unconcerned about my complete lack of service, when really, my only problem was lacking a new frickin’ logo!
I guess I really can’t complain too loudly, after all, I’ve never paid a dime for their services over the years. Still, after enduring ad after ad about their “Committment TO A Free Internet!!!”, the golden years are over, and they’re buying out the competition. Why am I not surprised?
I, too, am a bit upset by the “defenders of the free internet” taking their ball and going home. I think every free internet service in the US has folded up or stopped taking new members (american express offered it, but cut off new members to maintain quality of service).
I live in an area where I still get 10 hours free, which is OK, though 40 was really nice. Guess the ads just weren’t paying.
Free internet was the thing that shouldn’t have been, I think.
I often wonder, though, about the strict dollar costs of operating an ISP… $20 per person just seems like a lot to me. I’d be happy to pay $5, I’ll probably end up accepting $10, but how expensive is it? It seems like an industry whose cost is inherent in the set-up, and operation is really not all that expensive. I just don’t know, though.
I’d love to have a big company like AOL lower its price (since it seems like it should be able to afford doing so) or perhaps the telephone companies offering super low-cost solutions (since we’re using their phone lines for dial-up anyway), but people are paying now so why would they bother?
Sometimes I feel like internet service should come included with a phone package, and other times I feel like not paying for internet at all, even if it means I can’t use it, either.
That isn’t likely to happen, however, being the internet addict I am.