Linux friendly internet service 3262

"Pugilis T. Master"

Earthlink. I have had a dialup with them, unlimited, for 21.95 a month, for years, and have never even been bumped off the Internet and never been unable to access it. If they don't have a local access number for your location (unlikely), then you can use one of their 800 numbers for a little bit more.

I just use a standard PPP connection. John Hasler's pppconfig makes it easy as pie to set up. Serial card and external modem. Fetchmail to bring down mail from pop.earthlink.net, where I have 7 email addresses. 7 personal websites which I administer via FTP. (ncftp is the best ftp client ever)

You need an https-capable browser to access your personal pages at their website, and for other things, and cookies must be enabled.

If you have to talk to them, do it via their live web 'chat', not email or telephone. Ask for a 'case' number (they use a different word, but I can't recall what it is) near the beginning of the conversation to keep them on their toes and to refer to in any later communications on the same subject. Save each webpage generated during the session, concatenate them into a single file, add a time-date stamp at the top, gzip it, and add it to the tarfile with the others.

I avoid talking to them at every opportunity. Their ignorant bureacracy can make you crazy.

All I want from them is a doorway onto the Internet. The email and webspace are bonuses. They do a fine job of providing both.

AC