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macvillage.net · Aug 19, 2004, 01:15 PM

Well, it's apparantly legitimate:
http://www.wired.com/news/mac/0,2125,64614,00.html
they are pretty reputable.

So anyone want to help me out:
http://www.freeiPods.com/default.aspx?referer=8139637

Perhaps we can all help each other a bit here? For us people who don't want iPod's enough to feel it's worth the 250, but wouldn't mind it this way.

Macola · Aug 19, 2004, 01:18 PM

Yeah, but will you still have five friends left after you convince them to sign up and they get blasted with spam?

macvillage.net · Aug 19, 2004, 01:22 PM

Originally posted by Macola:
Yeah, but will you still have five friends left after you convince them to sign up and they get blasted with spam?

That's what spam filters are for.

Stradlater · Aug 19, 2004, 01:32 PM

Helped you out;

my turn: http://www.freeiPods.com/default.aspx?referer=8140615

Stradlater · Aug 19, 2004, 01:50 PM

macvillage: Which one of these offers is the least painful?

Wiskedjak · Aug 19, 2004, 01:55 PM

Originally posted by macvillage.net:
That's what spam filters are for.

More importantly, that's what hotmail addresses are for.

macvillage.net · Aug 19, 2004, 02:27 PM

Originally posted by Stradlater:
macvillage: Which one of these offers is the least painful?

Still deciding myself.

Of the ones I see, the AOL ones are pretty easy. NO credit card required.

AOL� 9.0 with MusicNet
Get Unlimited FREE Music Downloads for 30 days from MusicNet! Plus, get AOL 9.0 Optimized FREE for 1099 hours for 50 Days! NO Credit Card Required!

---

AOL for Broadband (existing broadband users)
Get AOL� for Broadband 9.0 Optimized FREE for 45 Days. Add AOL for Broadband service to any high-speed connection! No Credit Card Required!

macvillage.net · Aug 19, 2004, 02:28 PM

Originally posted by Wiskedjak:
More importantly, that's what hotmail addresses are for.

THey are truste certified. So at a minimum:

#
# A process by which individuals can opt out of online directories

http://www.truste.org/requirements.php

A very good page to be familiar with. THat way when you see the logo, you know what to expect.

Synotic · Aug 19, 2004, 04:18 PM

Guys, I realize that the freeipods deal is legitimate but posting referral links is still spam regardless. If you want to actually discuss the deal without posting referral links, there's a thread in the lounge.

As for AOL, it does require a checking account apparently. Also, I don't believe they send out spam, at least anything I've noticed, but they do have an opt-out program.

macvillage.net · Aug 19, 2004, 05:13 PM

Originally posted by Synotic:
As for AOL, it does require a checking account apparently. Also, I don't believe they send out spam, at least anything I've noticed, but they do have an opt-out program.

Yea, I don't think this is spammy.

AOL and Ebay would be in lawsuits, since their names are pretty closely associated as advertisers. Both are pretty fierce about not being associated with that stuff.

Synotic · Aug 19, 2004, 05:36 PM

Originally posted by macvillage.net:
Yea, I don't think this is spammy.

AOL and Ebay would be in lawsuits, since their names are pretty closely associated as advertisers. Both are pretty fierce about not being associated with that stuff.

I never said the deal was illegitimate or a scam. Rather posting your own referral link on a message board is spam. Freeipods also has a policy that spamming your link on message boards is reason for them to put your account on hold. Whether they'll hold it for 1 post or not, I don't know. But MacNN's already closed several threads by people who've posted their referral links, so they consider it spam, which it is.

rozwado1 · Aug 19, 2004, 07:53 PM

So we'll agree that AOL is the easiest?

macvillage.net · Aug 19, 2004, 10:08 PM

Originally posted by rozwado1:
So we'll agree that AOL is the easiest?

I'd say so for the following reasons:

- Most reputable company
- Simple
- popular (how many millions have signed up for a free trial of AOL over the 10 years they have been sending disks).

On a little tangent: I still have an AOL 2.6 Floppy disk. Way back when they really valued Mac's (at one point Macs were their target). That was good stuff back then. When we weren't ignored because we liked a superior operating system.

I'm curious if anyone remembers Prodegy when it was around (and for Mac). That was the first taste of the net I ever saw... as aweful as it was. I remember an ugly crude UI. Then AOL was pretty friendly. And had free downloads! Then I saw eWorld, how awesome that looked, but it shutdown before I got a chance to try it... perhaps one day it will be resurected?

Wiskedjak · Aug 19, 2004, 10:13 PM

One thing about AOL that one must remember when signing up for the trial period ... you MUST cancel your acct before the trial period ends or else they will start billing you. Cancelling the acct can be tricky since the contact information for cancelling is buried in their site and has to be done over the phone, not online (customer service will obviously try to convince you to keep the acct active)

macvillage.net · Aug 19, 2004, 10:21 PM

Originally posted by Wiskedjak:
One thing about AOL that one must remember when signing up for the trial period ... you MUST cancel your acct before the trial period ends or else they will start billing you. Cancelling the acct can be tricky since the contact information for cancelling is buried in their site and has to be done over the phone, not online (customer service will obviously try to convince you to keep the acct active)

Do it 72 hrs ahead of time:

t takes approximately 72 hours to cancel your AOL account. If your AOL account was cancelled on or near your billing date, you may still be charged for the AOL service. (Note: Your billing date is the day of the month on which AOL posts all charges - both those incurred over the past month and your monthly AOL membership fee for the coming month - to your payment method on file).

If you are charged by AOL after canceling your AOL account, please contact us at 1-888-265-8003 to have the charges reversed. No other refunds will be provided, and AOL reserves the right to collect fees, surcharges, or costs incurred before your cancellation takes effect.

Also, check to make sure that what you're being billed for is not an AOL premium service (i.e. AOLbyPhone, AOL VoiceMail, AOL MusicNet, AOL McAfee VirusScan Online, and AOL CallAlert), as canceling your AOL account does not automatically cancel all premium services to which you are subscribed. For information on canceling your AOL premium services, click here.

http://www.aol.com/support/index.adp...illing&page=22

Synotic · Aug 20, 2004, 10:29 AM

I probably should of mentioned it before, but if use any browser on a Mac, Firefox, or Opera, it won't work. You need to do the offers in IE6 on a PC.

macvillage.net · Aug 23, 2004, 12:10 PM

Originally posted by Synotic:
I probably should of mentioned it before, but if use any browser on a Mac, Firefox, or Opera, it won't work. You need to do the offers in IE6 on a PC.

Seems firefox nightlies work (that's what I used on my PC). Should be no difference since there's no active x.

Tried with a release, and it didn't work right.

Strange huh?

Anyway, I completed my offer, and so did 1 person thus far (not listing emails). A few are still pending.

BTW: What do people perfer? Mini's or the new ones?

I'll be keeping updates on my blog:
http://robert.accettura.com

for anyone who wants to follow this. Should be interesting to test the legitimacy of this website (especially after the shocking wired.com article). Investigative journalism.

Mr. G3 · Aug 23, 2004, 06:26 PM

wow, thats cool...i signed up for the AOL one and the 20 gig ipod. If anyone wants to help me out i would appreciate it!!!

http://www.freeiPods.com/default.aspx?referer=8192007

zack

macvillage.net · Aug 23, 2004, 06:56 PM

Originally posted by Mr. G3:
wow, thats cool...i signed up for the AOL one and the 20 gig ipod. If anyone wants to help me out i would appreciate it!!!

http://www.freeiPods.com/default.aspx?referer=8192007

zack

From what I read that's what everyone's doing.

And there was apparantly an eBay one that was easy. No clue what that was about (credit card, something on ebay, er something else).

It took 3 business days for it to register. And it showed up in my account. As well as 1 other person who did it thus far.

Sod Off Sadr · Aug 23, 2004, 10:46 PM

robert this crap was shut down in the lounge earlier, not because it isn't a scam, but because they don't want this free crap filling up the forums.

if the mods allow your shameless internet begging, then they have to allow it all, and the boards will become filled with one whining thread after another, with people turning into salivating ipod animals.

Steve · Aug 25, 2004, 08:41 PM

Others have stated the reasons why we don't keep these threads around. It's spam.

No free iPod threads, regardless of whether or not they are legitimate or not.