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Chaaaosss · Jan 20, 2003, 12:23 AM

The person I'm helping cannot afford DSL. She's using AOL for the moment until I can think of a better solution. We were going to try Earthlink but $10.97/mo for the first 6 months and $21.95/mo thereafter still seems a bit pricey considering it's just dialup internet access.

However, I'm aware that you get what you pay for. All I want to know is others' experiences. I don't want her on AOL. I think she'd be much happier dialing into some random number with Internet Connect when she launches Mail to read her mail, iChat to talk with old AOL friends, Address Book to organize her contacts, and possibly Safari to browse the net. It seems so much better and I want to get her into that mode.

Earthlink, however, likes to make those personalized start pages and all that crap. Surely there's an ISP with a nifty sounding domain name (for her new email address), and a quick dial-up connection in the LA Metro area for a reasonable price. This is ALL SHE NEEDS.

Any suggestions would be, as always, very appreciated.

Camelot · Jan 20, 2003, 12:55 AM

Two Mac-specific ISPs I can think of might fit.

AppleISP ( http://www.appleisp.com/ ) offer nationwide dialup for $14.95/month

MacDialup ( http://www.macdialup.net/ ) offer tiers based on usage (hours per month) ranging between $9 and $13/month paid quarterly.

I can't speak for either of them as an ISP since I don't use dialup, but both of them appear to resell access to national dialup networks (as opposed to running their own lines) and therefore is likely to be similar to many other dialup ISPs.

bigbear · Jan 20, 2003, 03:44 PM

I use Orange County Online http//:www.oco.net dialup, and like their service OK. It figures out at around $15/month, paid annually. They're not mac specific, but have good service, no spam, good countrywide connections.

fulmer · Jan 20, 2003, 04:06 PM

AOL is like $22/mo. anyway, right? So Earthlink shouldn't be an issue.

However, a local LA ISP would probably be nicer than dealing with a big corporation.

The recommendations sound solid.

mikellanes · Jan 20, 2003, 04:30 PM

http://syracuse.net/ provides v.90 dial-up in LA

only $13.70 to $20 monthly (depending how far in advance you pay), I have had nothing but great service from them and a consistent connection.