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OVERVIEW
Winfire is better known as FreeDSL, the company that offers free
DSL connections. Recently, Winfire began offering free dial-up
service for its subscribers while waiting for their DSL service
to be installed. We found their dial-up service to be quick and
reliable, and among the best free dial-up ISP's available. We
were pleased with the required software, and lack of banner ads,
but disappointed that the service is only available to users interested
in signing up for their DSL service.
SOFTWARE
Setup of Winfire's "Browser Assistant" is relatively
easy, but you must be connected to the Internet in order for setup
to work. You won't be prompted to connect, and you won't get an
error message that explains the problem if you aren't connected,
so connect first.
The "Browser Assistant" is actually a neat little news
ticker, with some great shortcut buttons, and an easy way to search
the Internet. It's about the height of the Windows taskbar, and
can be docked to the top or bottom of the screen, or detached,
and moved on top of your browser. Unfortunately, the software
starts itself every time you start Windows, and there's no option
to start it only on demand. It does put its shortcut in the "StartUp"
folder, so it's easy to keep it from starting automatically if
you have some moderate Windows knowledge.
Every time you connect to the Internet, a box will pop up, with
a banner ad, and a "commercial" that encourages users
to add a new shortcut to the browser assistant. Recent commercials
have been for Rolling Stone, and 4Anything.com. The commercials
are a bit annoying at times, and it takes a few extra seconds
to connect while the software downloads and displays the commercial,
but, given the tiny amount of screen space you need to give up
during the rest of the Internet connection, the commercials are
tolerable.
DSL SERVICE
If Winfire offers DSL service in your area, you'll be eligible
to receive free high-speed Internet service, which will connect
you to the Internet at 144Kbps, or about 3 times the speed of
a regular modem. There are a few catches, however. First, you'll
need to buy or rent a DSL modem, which will cost either $199 up-front,
or $9.95 per month. The software will also display a larger advertisement
on your screen while your DSL connection is active. And, they've
been hooking up customers quite slowly. Expect to wait from several
months to a year or more before they connect their DSL service
to your home. If you live outside a major metropolitan area, it
will most likely be quite some time before they get around to
serving your area, and some users will never be able to receive
DSL service because of the distance from their home to the local
phone company's office. We've been on the waiting list for the
DSL service for about six months now, and it's unlikely we'll
have it connected anytime soon, so we can't review that service
yet.
Despite some of its drawbacks, Winfire offers one of the best
free dial-up ISP's available. Unlike many other free ISP's, its
software is not intrusive, and is helpful and interesting enough
that some users would install it even without the free ISP service.
The connection is speedy, unlike the sluggishness that many users
experience with other free ISP's.
Winfire also rewards users for clicking on the shortcuts on the
browser assistant, and even just for using the service. The rewards
are given in the form of "Winfire Points", which can
be redeemed for entries in a sweepstakes, and, soon, for items
in the Winfire store. At the time this review was written, Winfire
was giving away one Palm V handheld computer each week.
While we're very pleased with the performance of Winfire's dial-up
service, there are some siginificant limitations to their service
if you're looking for a free Internet connection. Winfire is mainly
in the business of providing DSL service. When you sign up, you're
actually requesting that they start working on getting DSL service
to your home, and they'll provide you with a free dial-up connection
while waiting for your service to be installed. If you don't plan
to upgrade to their free DSL service, you may have to give up
your free dial-up connection when they're ready to serve your
home with their DSL service (at the time of this review, Winfire
said that they're not terminating dial-up accounts for those who
don't choose to upgrade, but they plan to do so in the future).
If you do upgrade to the "free" DSL service, you'll
have to purchase a DSL modem for $199, and agree to use their
service for 13 months. That's a reasonable price for a DSL modem,
and the one year contract is standard practice when signing up
for DSL service, but that cost is far from what you'll pay for
a free dial-up service.
THE
BOTTOM LINE
If there's any chance that you'll be interested in getting DSL
service in the future, sign up for Winfire, and start using their
dial-up service. You'll save your place in line for their free
DSL service, and you'll be very pleased with the free dial-up
service they provide in the meantime. If you know that you're
not going to spend the money for the new modem required for DSL
service, and you don't want to switch dial-up ISP's later, you
may want to look elsewhere for your dial-up connection.
All things considered, we highly recommend Winfire's free dial-up
service, though we wish that they offered the service to those
not interested in DSL, or those who don't live in an area that
qualifies for DSL service.
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