Mac Daniel's Advice

The Pitfalls of Freenets

Low End Mac Reader Specials

Memory To Go Special: MacPro 8 Core Memory 4GB kit $192 / 2GB kit $109. MacBook Pro / MacMini / iMac Intel Core2 DUO 2GB $44 1GB $23--Free shipping available.

Download Typestyler, still the Ultimate Styling Tool for Internet, Print and Video Graphics. Works great in Classic with a Native OS X Version on the way. Free Tryout: www.typestyler.com

LA Computer Company: LA Computer Company: Specials on AppleCare, Apple Displays, MacBooks, iMac's, MacBook Pros, Laptop and iPod accessories and more. Apple A/C Adapters for laptops starting at $25.00 Call 1-800-941-7654 or Click Here.

Other World Computing: OWC Mercury Elite FW800/FW400/USB2/eSATA TOP-RATED Solutions offer High Performance, Reliable storage for all your data storage needs. Industry leading 2yr limited + up to 5yr HD Mechanism Warranty too! Up to 2.0TB(2000GB), 500GB specials from $199.99

Mac users can finally play Party Poker for Mac. Not only that, they can also learn how to play PokerStars for Mac.

Laptop Hardware Provided by TechRestore - Overnight Mac & iPod Repairs.

Compare products like desktop computers, laptops, and LCD TVs side by side! All the information and reviews to make the best purchasing decision for a new cell phone GPS products or MP3 players. The Ciao network makes searching products easy for you.

MacPro Memory 667Mhz With Apple Spec Heat Sink 2GB Kit $ 90 / 4GB Kit $140 / 8GB Kit $278 Click to Maximize your Macs...

Manuel Mejia Jr - 2001.06.18

Periodically, Low End Mac has run articles describing different Internet Service Providers (ISPs). One type of ISP that is often mentioned is the Freenet. These ISPs are usually Unix-based shell computer accounts that are controlled using the Lynx text browser. A Mac can usually access the freenet using a terminal emulation program like Z-Term.

The Freenet is accessible at little or no cost to the computer user. A new subscriber may need to make a donation in order to get an account, but the reward for this is usually a vanity ID. Freenets are the great economic equalizer to accessing the Internet, because machines as basic as a Mac Plus or a PowerBook 100 running a 2400 baud modem can interface with the Freenet. Computer users with very little in terms of economic means can use the Freenet to gain email access or other information off the Internet.

For all of these advantages, Freenets, like other items, suffer from the same universal law of service - you get what you pay for. Freenets do not offer all of the state of the art features that fee-for-service ISPs give. Freenets usually have no graphics other than ASCII art. They are also often unsuited for JavaScript or secured Internet shopping transactions.

Service at Freenets can also be unpredictable. The Freenet is usually run by volunteers who often have little to no understanding of the past history of that Freenet. There is often high turnover of volunteers. As a result, one volunteer's creative network fix will likely be undone by his or her successors when they try to install or change-out hardware. The Freenets often use hardware that may be as old as the Mac II that some Mac user is using to access the network.

If and when something goes wrong, it could take days, weeks, or even months to fix. My local ISP announced that it was going to upgrade some hardware in May. They noted that all dial-in service would be disrupted for a few days to a week or more. A month later, dial-in service for half of the Freenet's clients is still out. The clients that had service restored cannot always get a connection via modem to the Freenet. As a regular user of my Freenet, I found myself having to submit articles to Low End Mac via floppy disk and the US Postal Service during the month of May.

While my ISP continues to troubleshoot the network, those without dial-in service have been told to go to their public library and access their account using library terminals. This is a most unique way of getting people to visit the local library branch.

Such is life - you get what you pay for.  LEM

Not sure if you should upgrade your old Mac or replace it? Check the Mac Daniel index to see if we've already addressed your problem.

Recent Mac Daniel columns

Recent Content on Low End Mac

About LEM | Support | Usage | Privacy | Contacts

Entire Low End Mac website copyright ©1997-2008 by Cobweb Publishing, Inc., unless otherwise noted. All rights reserved. Advice presented in good faith, but what works for one may not work for all. Please report errors to .
  LINKS: We allow and encourage links to any public page as long as the linked page does not appear within a frame that prevents bookmarking it.
  Access our RSS news feed at http://lowendmac.com/feed.xml.
  Email may be published at our discretion; email addresses will not be published without permission, and we will encrypt them in hopes of avoiding spammers. If you prefer your message not be published, mark it "not for publication." Letters may be edited for length, context, and to match house style.
  PRIVACY: We don't collect personal information unless you explicitly provide it. For more details, see our Terms of Use.
  Low End Mac is an independent publication and has not been authorized, sponsored, or otherwise approved by Apple Inc. Apple, the Apple logo, Macintosh, iBook, iMac, eMac, iPod, PowerBook, MacBook, Mac Pro, Apple TV, and AirPort are registered trademarks of Apple Inc. Additional company and product names may be trademarks or registered trademarks and are hereby acknowledged.


Have a question?
Ask an expert!

Low End Living

Amazon.com

Navigation

Used Mac Dealers
Apple History
Best Used Macs
Video Cards
Email Lists
InfoMac's Low
End Mac Forum

Favorite Sites

MacSurfer
MacMinute
MacInTouch
MyAppleMenu
InfoMac
Macs Only!
The Mac Observer
Accelerate Your Mac
RetroMacCast
PB Central
MacWindows
The Vintage Mac
   Museum
DealMac
DealsOnTheWeb
Mac2Sell
ramseeker
Mac Driver Museum
JAG's House
System 6 Heaven
System 7 Today
the pickle's Low-End
   Mac FAQ
Abandonware
   Petition
Mac vs. PC Info

Affiliates

The Apple Store
Mac Connection
MacMall
TechRestore
MacResQ
ExperCom
Crucial Memory
batteries.com

Advertise

All of our advertising is handled by BackBeat Media. For price quotes and advertising information, please contact at BackBeat Media (646-546-5194). This number is for advertising only.

Open Link

Problems viewing this page with Internet Explorer 5.5 or 6? It works fine in other browsers, including IE 7. We recommend Firefox for those using Windows, as it is standards based and more secure than IE 6 (and earlier). More LEM visitors use Firefox than any other browser.