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http://www.macnn.com/articles/00/12/05/1stup.com.going/

1stUp.com going out of business

updated 10:10 am EST, Tue December 5, 2000

 
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1stUp.com, the Internet service provider that powers free, ad-based Internet connections for AltaVista, Lycos, Excite, and others, is going out of business. Lycos is no longer accepting new members for its free internet service, while AltaVista informed customers today that service will terminate on December 10, after the company was unable to find an other provider. Excite is still offering the service, for now. In June, 1stUp.com announced Mac-compatibility, bringing refuge to Mac users of FreeWWWeb who were left without service when Juno acquired the company and axed Mac-compatibility.


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  1. 0

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    12/05, 10:35am | report spam | Reply | delete

    argh! Now what!

    What free Internet service am I going to use now?

  1. 0

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    12/05, 11:00am | report spam | Reply | delete

    Good timing ;)

    Well, seeing as I am getting a cable modem on the 6th, I'll no longer be needing to use my free AltaVista account.

    I guess banner schemes don't really pay off, especially when people find a way to hack em ;)

    Ah well, I hope everyone else does fine.

  1. 0

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    12/05, 12:20pm | report spam | Reply | delete

    H E L P

    Hey,

    I will be webless soon, does anyone know of a good free web provider?

    sprague

  1. 0

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    12/05, 12:21pm | report spam | Reply | delete

    Re: argh! Now What

    What free Internet service and I going to use now?


    Looks like the only one left that definitely supports Macs is Kmart's Bluelight.com. They announced yesterday they had purchased the Internet access assets from Spinway, http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1005-200-3986297.html . Word has it they'll keep the service up and running through the holidays, then reassess whether it's worth continuing the service. Opinions are too hopeful about it being around in the future so whether it's worth the hassle of signing up and downloading their Mac software could be debatable.

  1. 0

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    12/05, 12:31pm | report spam | Reply | delete

    re bluelight , and more

    I tried bluelight -- just be warned that it's a bit clunkier than 1stUp's interface, which I like. (I use Excite as a backup ISP). Also, the current BlueLight software is incompatible with FreePPP.
    BTW Iwould use cablemodems if it were available but Verizon says 6 months yet to go. There is another advantage to a free dialup service: it's portable. Just get those local phone numbers before you leave :-).

  1. 0

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    12/05, 01:16pm | report spam | Reply | delete

    I loved 1stup/Excite

    Man. With all the trouble Pac Bell DSL is giving me, still unable to get hooked up ... this is irritating because I've been recommending it to people, even passing on my installer. I've used it on trips across the country and found it having local numbers at every turn a blessing. I'll miss these guys ... I'll try Bluelight, but anyone have other suggestions?

  1. 0

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    12/05, 01:36pm | report spam | Reply | delete

    free internet

    I have cable modem, so I only need a free ISP for travel and those rare occasions when my cable modem is down. I tried both BlueLight & 1stUp. I found BlueLight's ad banner much less annoying, but their software has some serious problems. Most notably my system crashes or freezes when I log off (both on a B&W G3 and an iBook SE/466). Also, they don't support multiple dial locations like 1stUp does. I ended up going with AOL's $9.95 "bring your own" access plan, which allows unlimited access via cable modem or limited hours + an hourly charge via dialup. It works better than any free ISP and is probably the cheapest acccess plan available.

  1. 0

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    12/05, 02:13pm | report spam | Reply | delete

    bluelight, etc.

    I was gonna suggest using Bluelight, but after reading what was said about them not being around after the holidays I don't know if i'll suggest it. sucks, tho, 'cos i'm using them right now, and now i don't know if i'm gonna be able 2 use it now. what else is out there?

  1. 0

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    12/05, 02:19pm | report spam | Reply | delete

    It never worked!

    I don't know if this had anything to do with it, but I could never get it to work! I tried both Excite and AltaVista's free service (which both use the same 1stUp software) and could never get them to work. My userid was always rejected. I tried it on a G4, my friend's G4, and even my 1400 PowerBook, but all to no avail.

    I spent hours on the phone with tech support at both Excite and AltaVista, but neither was able to get me up and running. They expressed to me thta they are having similar reports.

    Thus, while the story doesn't exactly say why they're no longer going to be offering free internet, I wonder if it has anything to do with problems getting the service to work correctly?

  1. 0

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    12/05, 04:02pm | report spam | Reply | delete

    Free internet service

    I wanted to know the status of NetZero's efforts (if any) for providing service to Macs--who knows maybe it had changed in the last month. After pulling up a page dated 11/8/2000 saying no Mac service was planned, I utilized the feedback portion of the page.

    The question said "Did I find what I was looking for". I said "No". Then in the feedback box, I wrote a few choice sentences about offering service to Macs. Maybe if enough people do something like this, NetZero will do something!

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