test post

[Melvin Gamble]

from earthlink

[Tracy]

"Melvin Gamble" > wrote in message
nk.net...
> from earthlink


bad choice... bad bad bad. :)


Tracy
~~~~~~~
http://www.hornschuch.net/tracy/
"You can't solve problems with the same
type of thinking that created them."
Albert Einstein

*** spamguard in place! to email me: tracy at hornschuch dot net ***

[Tracy]

"Melvin Gamble" > wrote in message
nk.net...
> from earthlink


bad choice... bad bad bad. :)


Tracy
~~~~~~~
http://www.hornschuch.net/tracy/
"You can't solve problems with the same
type of thinking that created them."
Albert Einstein

*** spamguard in place! to email me: tracy at hornschuch dot net ***

[Mel Gamble]

>"Melvin Gamble" > wrote in message
nk.net...
>> from earthlink
>
>
>bad choice... bad bad bad. :)
>
>
>Tracy

Can't be any worse than AOHELL... Merrill Lynch told me the reason I couldn't
get past their logon screen was that I needed to upgrade my version of AOL.
When I tried to argue that I had no problem logging on 3 weeks ago with the
same setup so they must have changed something, one of their Tech Support guys
INSISTED that a company the size of Merrill Lynch hadn't made any changes to
their website in over a year....

So I gave up and decided to bite the bullet and upgrade my AOHell 5.0,
something I'd been putting off for a while - they're plugging version *9* on
the opening screen now. So I clicked the upgrade offer and started the
process, only to be told that my computer didn't have enough memory to run V 9
- only 64 megs (blush)... But "lucky for me" there was another button to let
AOHell pick the version that was best for my setup. It picked version 8 Plus
and I went about trying to keep busy during a 2 1/2 hour download : ( Once the
download finished, I started the install. Everything seemed to go fine, except
for the one little warning box that showed up saying something about a program
running in DOS mode or some such thing... I had my first real suspicion when
version 8 fired up and the background for the opening screen was a cloud motiff
disturbingly reminiscent of a Mario Brothers game. I mean, it wasn't that it
shouldn't have looked like that - it's just, well, how much faith are going to
put into a web interface designed to look like a video game? But all seemed
OK. I set some preferences, found my "favorites" transferred over from V5.0,
checked my e-mail, etc. But every once in awhile I'd get a screen saying
something about a page not being available or something...finally found out
that every time something was intended to be pulled from the 'net...bonk.
Finally tried to log onto Merrill Lynch again and realised that even though I
had a good connection to AOHell, I had no access to the 'net. So I got on my
cell phone, worked my way through about 10 minutes of advertising, suggestions
and just plain BS to get from the start of their phone menu to where you
actually select to talk to a tech support person. First he says I have to
uninstall version 9, but asks me to hold for a minute. 5 minutes later he
comes back and says it's just a simple thing due to me now having 2 versions on
my machine at the same time and takes me through the steps to "uninstall the
AOL adapter" and tells me I have to shut my puter off for 5 minutes before I
restart it and then the AOHELL software will automatically "rebuild" the
adapter and all will be fine. I ask him if he'll stay on the phone for the 5
minutes because I don't want to have to go through phone menu hell again to get
back to him. "No problem" he says - "I'll give you a number that's direct to
tech support". So I write down the number, just in case. Well, that number
turned out to go right back to that same damn phone menu, but at least I was
starting to learn the sequence of numbers to get down to the tech support
option....by the end of the day, I had the whole sequence memorized. Of course
"Jonathan" (or Haseem?) couldn't tell me "for security reasons" what part of
the world he was speaking from, but he COULD offer me 40 gallons of free gas
for being such a "valued customer", so I accepted his offer and let him trasfer
me to somebody who could set that up. Turned out to be sort of a customer
service "pop-up" - there were strings and $$$ attached to the "free" gas.
After the *^&()*& with Merrill Lynch and what had already happened with AOL, I
was plenty ready to tell him what to do with his "FREE" gas..... I should have
kept him on the phone longer so he could just transfer me back to tech support,
'cause that AOL adapter didn't seem to be the problem. Now get this - if you
call and work your way down the tree to tech support and they're all busy, YOU
DON"T GET PUT ON HOLD!!! Isn't that great? Instead of making you wait for the
next available person, they just hang up on you!!! "You're call is important
to us, so please call back later".... After a couple more hours, we were
finally to the point where they were telling me that I was going to have to
hire a technician to come and "fix" my Internet Explorer.

So I went and pulled out a CD I'd grabbed at Fry's one time for a free trial at
Earthlink. Took about an hour to get it all set up and I was online with
Earthlink. Not only did I get through to Merrill Lynch, but it seemed like the
'net was coming through MUCH faster. And the best thing was.....the Earthlink
installation FIXED THE AOL PROBLEM!!! (Earthlink also uses Internet Explorer).
I was able to get back on the 'net with AOL and did some rough comparisons -
Earthlink is DEFINITELY bringing stuff down faster. Even though I connect at
the same speed to both ISP's, AOL's backbone is so overloaded that the real
throughput is way less than the connection speed and you spend LOTS of time
waiting for packets.

So with a gleeful heart, I got back to AOL's tech support, had a lady pull up
the case file that they'd been using since the first call and asked her to make
a couple of comments in it - one, that I had fixed what they couldn't by
installing Earthlink; two, that Earthlink turned out to provide a better 'net
service than AOL did; and that, three, OH CRAP - IT COSTS LESS!!!! I told her
to make a note that the only remaining problem was to decide whether to stick
with AOL after about 7 hours of pure frustration or go with a faster, cheaper
service....then I hung up on her : )

I'll take a couple of weeks to compare them - and listen to any opinions
anybody might volunteer - and then I'll cancel one or the other. Right now,
Earthlink is looking pretty good, except I need to find something better than
Outlook for newsgroups.

So why do you say "bad choice"????

Mel Gamble

[Mel Gamble]

>"Melvin Gamble" > wrote in message
nk.net...
>> from earthlink
>
>
>bad choice... bad bad bad. :)
>
>
>Tracy

Can't be any worse than AOHELL... Merrill Lynch told me the reason I couldn't
get past their logon screen was that I needed to upgrade my version of AOL.
When I tried to argue that I had no problem logging on 3 weeks ago with the
same setup so they must have changed something, one of their Tech Support guys
INSISTED that a company the size of Merrill Lynch hadn't made any changes to
their website in over a year....

So I gave up and decided to bite the bullet and upgrade my AOHell 5.0,
something I'd been putting off for a while - they're plugging version *9* on
the opening screen now. So I clicked the upgrade offer and started the
process, only to be told that my computer didn't have enough memory to run V 9
- only 64 megs (blush)... But "lucky for me" there was another button to let
AOHell pick the version that was best for my setup. It picked version 8 Plus
and I went about trying to keep busy during a 2 1/2 hour download : ( Once the
download finished, I started the install. Everything seemed to go fine, except
for the one little warning box that showed up saying something about a program
running in DOS mode or some such thing... I had my first real suspicion when
version 8 fired up and the background for the opening screen was a cloud motiff
disturbingly reminiscent of a Mario Brothers game. I mean, it wasn't that it
shouldn't have looked like that - it's just, well, how much faith are going to
put into a web interface designed to look like a video game? But all seemed
OK. I set some preferences, found my "favorites" transferred over from V5.0,
checked my e-mail, etc. But every once in awhile I'd get a screen saying
something about a page not being available or something...finally found out
that every time something was intended to be pulled from the 'net...bonk.
Finally tried to log onto Merrill Lynch again and realised that even though I
had a good connection to AOHell, I had no access to the 'net. So I got on my
cell phone, worked my way through about 10 minutes of advertising, suggestions
and just plain BS to get from the start of their phone menu to where you
actually select to talk to a tech support person. First he says I have to
uninstall version 9, but asks me to hold for a minute. 5 minutes later he
comes back and says it's just a simple thing due to me now having 2 versions on
my machine at the same time and takes me through the steps to "uninstall the
AOL adapter" and tells me I have to shut my puter off for 5 minutes before I
restart it and then the AOHELL software will automatically "rebuild" the
adapter and all will be fine. I ask him if he'll stay on the phone for the 5
minutes because I don't want to have to go through phone menu hell again to get
back to him. "No problem" he says - "I'll give you a number that's direct to
tech support". So I write down the number, just in case. Well, that number
turned out to go right back to that same damn phone menu, but at least I was
starting to learn the sequence of numbers to get down to the tech support
option....by the end of the day, I had the whole sequence memorized. Of course
"Jonathan" (or Haseem?) couldn't tell me "for security reasons" what part of
the world he was speaking from, but he COULD offer me 40 gallons of free gas
for being such a "valued customer", so I accepted his offer and let him trasfer
me to somebody who could set that up. Turned out to be sort of a customer
service "pop-up" - there were strings and $$$ attached to the "free" gas.
After the *^&()*& with Merrill Lynch and what had already happened with AOL, I
was plenty ready to tell him what to do with his "FREE" gas..... I should have
kept him on the phone longer so he could just transfer me back to tech support,
'cause that AOL adapter didn't seem to be the problem. Now get this - if you
call and work your way down the tree to tech support and they're all busy, YOU
DON"T GET PUT ON HOLD!!! Isn't that great? Instead of making you wait for the
next available person, they just hang up on you!!! "You're call is important
to us, so please call back later".... After a couple more hours, we were
finally to the point where they were telling me that I was going to have to
hire a technician to come and "fix" my Internet Explorer.

So I went and pulled out a CD I'd grabbed at Fry's one time for a free trial at
Earthlink. Took about an hour to get it all set up and I was online with
Earthlink. Not only did I get through to Merrill Lynch, but it seemed like the
'net was coming through MUCH faster. And the best thing was.....the Earthlink
installation FIXED THE AOL PROBLEM!!! (Earthlink also uses Internet Explorer).
I was able to get back on the 'net with AOL and did some rough comparisons -
Earthlink is DEFINITELY bringing stuff down faster. Even though I connect at
the same speed to both ISP's, AOL's backbone is so overloaded that the real
throughput is way less than the connection speed and you spend LOTS of time
waiting for packets.

So with a gleeful heart, I got back to AOL's tech support, had a lady pull up
the case file that they'd been using since the first call and asked her to make
a couple of comments in it - one, that I had fixed what they couldn't by
installing Earthlink; two, that Earthlink turned out to provide a better 'net
service than AOL did; and that, three, OH CRAP - IT COSTS LESS!!!! I told her
to make a note that the only remaining problem was to decide whether to stick
with AOL after about 7 hours of pure frustration or go with a faster, cheaper
service....then I hung up on her : )

I'll take a couple of weeks to compare them - and listen to any opinions
anybody might volunteer - and then I'll cancel one or the other. Right now,
Earthlink is looking pretty good, except I need to find something better than
Outlook for newsgroups.

So why do you say "bad choice"????

Mel Gamble

[gini52]

"Mel Gamble" > wrote in message
...
> >"Melvin Gamble" > wrote in message
> nk.net...
> >> from earthlink
> >
> >
> >bad choice... bad bad bad. :)
> >
> >
> >Tracy
......................................
> I'll take a couple of weeks to compare them - and listen to any opinions
> anybody might volunteer - and then I'll cancel one or the other. Right
now,
> Earthlink is looking pretty good, except I need to find something better
than
> Outlook for newsgroups.
>
> So why do you say "bad choice"????
==
I don't know about Tracy but I ditched Earthlink when they kept trying to
charge me for
simultaneous connections when I have one computer/modem. I found out this is
fairly common with them (check google)
so watch your bills carefully. ISP choices are getting harder. I always had
better service with locals until they started going bad as well. Had the
typical AOL experience for a while. My next step is cable modem (w/ a local
isp which I have not tried yet).
==
==
>
> Mel Gamble

[gini52]

"Mel Gamble" > wrote in message
...
> >"Melvin Gamble" > wrote in message
> nk.net...
> >> from earthlink
> >
> >
> >bad choice... bad bad bad. :)
> >
> >
> >Tracy
......................................
> I'll take a couple of weeks to compare them - and listen to any opinions
> anybody might volunteer - and then I'll cancel one or the other. Right
now,
> Earthlink is looking pretty good, except I need to find something better
than
> Outlook for newsgroups.
>
> So why do you say "bad choice"????
==
I don't know about Tracy but I ditched Earthlink when they kept trying to
charge me for
simultaneous connections when I have one computer/modem. I found out this is
fairly common with them (check google)
so watch your bills carefully. ISP choices are getting harder. I always had
better service with locals until they started going bad as well. Had the
typical AOL experience for a while. My next step is cable modem (w/ a local
isp which I have not tried yet).
==
==
>
> Mel Gamble

[Phil #3]

Mel,
I've been on earthlink and/or mindspring for the past 6 or 7 years. I have
no problem with it. I mean, it's a means to connect to the Internet. Of all
the connections I have used over the years, it's as good as any and better'n
several.
Phil #3

"Mel Gamble" > wrote in message
...
> >"Melvin Gamble" > wrote in message
> nk.net...
> >> from earthlink
> >
> >
> >bad choice... bad bad bad. :)
> >
> >
> >Tracy
>
> Can't be any worse than AOHELL... Merrill Lynch told me the reason I
couldn't
> get past their logon screen was that I needed to upgrade my version of
AOL.
> When I tried to argue that I had no problem logging on 3 weeks ago with
the
> same setup so they must have changed something, one of their Tech Support
guys
> INSISTED that a company the size of Merrill Lynch hadn't made any changes
to
> their website in over a year....
>
> So I gave up and decided to bite the bullet and upgrade my AOHell 5.0,
> something I'd been putting off for a while - they're plugging version *9*
on
> the opening screen now. So I clicked the upgrade offer and started the
> process, only to be told that my computer didn't have enough memory to run
V 9
> - only 64 megs (blush)... But "lucky for me" there was another button to
let
> AOHell pick the version that was best for my setup. It picked version 8
Plus
> and I went about trying to keep busy during a 2 1/2 hour download : (
Once the
> download finished, I started the install. Everything seemed to go fine,
except
> for the one little warning box that showed up saying something about a
program
> running in DOS mode or some such thing... I had my first real suspicion
when
> version 8 fired up and the background for the opening screen was a cloud
motiff
> disturbingly reminiscent of a Mario Brothers game. I mean, it wasn't that
it
> shouldn't have looked like that - it's just, well, how much faith are
going to
> put into a web interface designed to look like a video game? But all
seemed
> OK. I set some preferences, found my "favorites" transferred over from
V5.0,
> checked my e-mail, etc. But every once in awhile I'd get a screen saying
> something about a page not being available or something...finally found
out
> that every time something was intended to be pulled from the 'net...bonk.
> Finally tried to log onto Merrill Lynch again and realised that even
though I
> had a good connection to AOHell, I had no access to the 'net. So I got on
my
> cell phone, worked my way through about 10 minutes of advertising,
suggestions
> and just plain BS to get from the start of their phone menu to where you
> actually select to talk to a tech support person. First he says I have to
> uninstall version 9, but asks me to hold for a minute. 5 minutes later he
> comes back and says it's just a simple thing due to me now having 2
versions on
> my machine at the same time and takes me through the steps to "uninstall
the
> AOL adapter" and tells me I have to shut my puter off for 5 minutes before
I
> restart it and then the AOHELL software will automatically "rebuild" the
> adapter and all will be fine. I ask him if he'll stay on the phone for
the 5
> minutes because I don't want to have to go through phone menu hell again
to get
> back to him. "No problem" he says - "I'll give you a number that's direct
to
> tech support". So I write down the number, just in case. Well, that
number
> turned out to go right back to that same damn phone menu, but at least I
was
> starting to learn the sequence of numbers to get down to the tech support
> option....by the end of the day, I had the whole sequence memorized. Of
course
> "Jonathan" (or Haseem?) couldn't tell me "for security reasons" what part
of
> the world he was speaking from, but he COULD offer me 40 gallons of free
gas
> for being such a "valued customer", so I accepted his offer and let him
trasfer
> me to somebody who could set that up. Turned out to be sort of a customer
> service "pop-up" - there were strings and $$$ attached to the "free" gas.
> After the *^&()*& with Merrill Lynch and what had already happened with
AOL, I
> was plenty ready to tell him what to do with his "FREE" gas..... I should
have
> kept him on the phone longer so he could just transfer me back to tech
support,
> 'cause that AOL adapter didn't seem to be the problem. Now get this - if
you
> call and work your way down the tree to tech support and they're all busy,
YOU
> DON"T GET PUT ON HOLD!!! Isn't that great? Instead of making you wait
for the
> next available person, they just hang up on you!!! "You're call is
important
> to us, so please call back later".... After a couple more hours, we were
> finally to the point where they were telling me that I was going to have
to
> hire a technician to come and "fix" my Internet Explorer.
>
> So I went and pulled out a CD I'd grabbed at Fry's one time for a free
trial at
> Earthlink. Took about an hour to get it all set up and I was online with
> Earthlink. Not only did I get through to Merrill Lynch, but it seemed
like the
> 'net was coming through MUCH faster. And the best thing was.....the
Earthlink
> installation FIXED THE AOL PROBLEM!!! (Earthlink also uses Internet
Explorer).
> I was able to get back on the 'net with AOL and did some rough
comparisons -
> Earthlink is DEFINITELY bringing stuff down faster. Even though I connect
at
> the same speed to both ISP's, AOL's backbone is so overloaded that the
real
> throughput is way less than the connection speed and you spend LOTS of
time
> waiting for packets.
>
> So with a gleeful heart, I got back to AOL's tech support, had a lady pull
up
> the case file that they'd been using since the first call and asked her to
make
> a couple of comments in it - one, that I had fixed what they couldn't by
> installing Earthlink; two, that Earthlink turned out to provide a better
'net
> service than AOL did; and that, three, OH CRAP - IT COSTS LESS!!!! I told
her
> to make a note that the only remaining problem was to decide whether to
stick
> with AOL after about 7 hours of pure frustration or go with a faster,
cheaper
> service....then I hung up on her : )
>
> I'll take a couple of weeks to compare them - and listen to any opinions
> anybody might volunteer - and then I'll cancel one or the other. Right
now,
> Earthlink is looking pretty good, except I need to find something better
than
> Outlook for newsgroups.
>
> So why do you say "bad choice"????
>
> Mel Gamble

[Phil #3]

Mel,
I've been on earthlink and/or mindspring for the past 6 or 7 years. I have
no problem with it. I mean, it's a means to connect to the Internet. Of all
the connections I have used over the years, it's as good as any and better'n
several.
Phil #3

"Mel Gamble" > wrote in message
...
> >"Melvin Gamble" > wrote in message
> nk.net...
> >> from earthlink
> >
> >
> >bad choice... bad bad bad. :)
> >
> >
> >Tracy
>
> Can't be any worse than AOHELL... Merrill Lynch told me the reason I
couldn't
> get past their logon screen was that I needed to upgrade my version of
AOL.
> When I tried to argue that I had no problem logging on 3 weeks ago with
the
> same setup so they must have changed something, one of their Tech Support
guys
> INSISTED that a company the size of Merrill Lynch hadn't made any changes
to
> their website in over a year....
>
> So I gave up and decided to bite the bullet and upgrade my AOHell 5.0,
> something I'd been putting off for a while - they're plugging version *9*
on
> the opening screen now. So I clicked the upgrade offer and started the
> process, only to be told that my computer didn't have enough memory to run
V 9
> - only 64 megs (blush)... But "lucky for me" there was another button to
let
> AOHell pick the version that was best for my setup. It picked version 8
Plus
> and I went about trying to keep busy during a 2 1/2 hour download : (
Once the
> download finished, I started the install. Everything seemed to go fine,
except
> for the one little warning box that showed up saying something about a
program
> running in DOS mode or some such thing... I had my first real suspicion
when
> version 8 fired up and the background for the opening screen was a cloud
motiff
> disturbingly reminiscent of a Mario Brothers game. I mean, it wasn't that
it
> shouldn't have looked like that - it's just, well, how much faith are
going to
> put into a web interface designed to look like a video game? But all
seemed
> OK. I set some preferences, found my "favorites" transferred over from
V5.0,
> checked my e-mail, etc. But every once in awhile I'd get a screen saying
> something about a page not being available or something...finally found
out
> that every time something was intended to be pulled from the 'net...bonk.
> Finally tried to log onto Merrill Lynch again and realised that even
though I
> had a good connection to AOHell, I had no access to the 'net. So I got on
my
> cell phone, worked my way through about 10 minutes of advertising,
suggestions
> and just plain BS to get from the start of their phone menu to where you
> actually select to talk to a tech support person. First he says I have to
> uninstall version 9, but asks me to hold for a minute. 5 minutes later he
> comes back and says it's just a simple thing due to me now having 2
versions on
> my machine at the same time and takes me through the steps to "uninstall
the
> AOL adapter" and tells me I have to shut my puter off for 5 minutes before
I
> restart it and then the AOHELL software will automatically "rebuild" the
> adapter and all will be fine. I ask him if he'll stay on the phone for
the 5
> minutes because I don't want to have to go through phone menu hell again
to get
> back to him. "No problem" he says - "I'll give you a number that's direct
to
> tech support". So I write down the number, just in case. Well, that
number
> turned out to go right back to that same damn phone menu, but at least I
was
> starting to learn the sequence of numbers to get down to the tech support
> option....by the end of the day, I had the whole sequence memorized. Of
course
> "Jonathan" (or Haseem?) couldn't tell me "for security reasons" what part
of
> the world he was speaking from, but he COULD offer me 40 gallons of free
gas
> for being such a "valued customer", so I accepted his offer and let him
trasfer
> me to somebody who could set that up. Turned out to be sort of a customer
> service "pop-up" - there were strings and $$$ attached to the "free" gas.
> After the *^&()*& with Merrill Lynch and what had already happened with
AOL, I
> was plenty ready to tell him what to do with his "FREE" gas..... I should
have
> kept him on the phone longer so he could just transfer me back to tech
support,
> 'cause that AOL adapter didn't seem to be the problem. Now get this - if
you
> call and work your way down the tree to tech support and they're all busy,
YOU
> DON"T GET PUT ON HOLD!!! Isn't that great? Instead of making you wait
for the
> next available person, they just hang up on you!!! "You're call is
important
> to us, so please call back later".... After a couple more hours, we were
> finally to the point where they were telling me that I was going to have
to
> hire a technician to come and "fix" my Internet Explorer.
>
> So I went and pulled out a CD I'd grabbed at Fry's one time for a free
trial at
> Earthlink. Took about an hour to get it all set up and I was online with
> Earthlink. Not only did I get through to Merrill Lynch, but it seemed
like the
> 'net was coming through MUCH faster. And the best thing was.....the
Earthlink
> installation FIXED THE AOL PROBLEM!!! (Earthlink also uses Internet
Explorer).
> I was able to get back on the 'net with AOL and did some rough
comparisons -
> Earthlink is DEFINITELY bringing stuff down faster. Even though I connect
at
> the same speed to both ISP's, AOL's backbone is so overloaded that the
real
> throughput is way less than the connection speed and you spend LOTS of
time
> waiting for packets.
>
> So with a gleeful heart, I got back to AOL's tech support, had a lady pull
up
> the case file that they'd been using since the first call and asked her to
make
> a couple of comments in it - one, that I had fixed what they couldn't by
> installing Earthlink; two, that Earthlink turned out to provide a better
'net
> service than AOL did; and that, three, OH CRAP - IT COSTS LESS!!!! I told
her
> to make a note that the only remaining problem was to decide whether to
stick
> with AOL after about 7 hours of pure frustration or go with a faster,
cheaper
> service....then I hung up on her : )
>
> I'll take a couple of weeks to compare them - and listen to any opinions
> anybody might volunteer - and then I'll cancel one or the other. Right
now,
> Earthlink is looking pretty good, except I need to find something better
than
> Outlook for newsgroups.
>
> So why do you say "bad choice"????
>
> Mel Gamble

[Tiffany]

I don't know about earthlink, Mel but AOL is the worse thing to happen in my
opinion. lol

I use a local ISP.... I have tried AOL in the past but just last month I was
tempted with a great offer to try AOL again. So after 2-3 hours download
time I have version8. Do they think everyone wants all that crap on the
screen? lol I used it 3 times, called to cancel and the guy treats me like
a computer illiterate until I had to scream..... CANCEL IT!!! He says I will
give you another free month, you don't want something for free? I already
had one month for free... CANCEL IT! :) I hate AOL. I don't hate much in
life but I hate AOL. Let me know how earthlink works for you. Compared to
AOL it may be better but that doesn't say much.

T
Mel Gamble > wrote in message
...
> >"Melvin Gamble" > wrote in message
> nk.net...
> >> from earthlink
> >
> >
> >bad choice... bad bad bad. :)
> >
> >
> >Tracy
>
> Can't be any worse than AOHELL... Merrill Lynch told me the reason I
couldn't
> get past their logon screen was that I needed to upgrade my version of
AOL.
> When I tried to argue that I had no problem logging on 3 weeks ago with
the
> same setup so they must have changed something, one of their Tech Support
guys
> INSISTED that a company the size of Merrill Lynch hadn't made any changes
to
> their website in over a year....
>
> So I gave up and decided to bite the bullet and upgrade my AOHell 5.0,
> something I'd been putting off for a while - they're plugging version *9*
on
> the opening screen now. So I clicked the upgrade offer and started the
> process, only to be told that my computer didn't have enough memory to run
V 9
> - only 64 megs (blush)... But "lucky for me" there was another button to
let
> AOHell pick the version that was best for my setup. It picked version 8
Plus
> and I went about trying to keep busy during a 2 1/2 hour download :
Once the
> download finished, I started the install. Everything seemed to go fine,
except
> for the one little warning box that showed up saying something about a
program
> running in DOS mode or some such thing... I had my first real suspicion
when
> version 8 fired up and the background for the opening screen was a cloud
motiff
> disturbingly reminiscent of a Mario Brothers game. I mean, it wasn't that
it
> shouldn't have looked like that - it's just, well, how much faith are
going to
> put into a web interface designed to look like a video game? But all
seemed
> OK. I set some preferences, found my "favorites" transferred over from
V5.0,
> checked my e-mail, etc. But every once in awhile I'd get a screen saying
> something about a page not being available or something...finally found
out
> that every time something was intended to be pulled from the 'net...bonk.
> Finally tried to log onto Merrill Lynch again and realised that even
though I
> had a good connection to AOHell, I had no access to the 'net. So I got on
my
> cell phone, worked my way through about 10 minutes of advertising,
suggestions
> and just plain BS to get from the start of their phone menu to where you
> actually select to talk to a tech support person. First he says I have to
> uninstall version 9, but asks me to hold for a minute. 5 minutes later he
> comes back and says it's just a simple thing due to me now having 2
versions on
> my machine at the same time and takes me through the steps to "uninstall
the
> AOL adapter" and tells me I have to shut my puter off for 5 minutes before
I
> restart it and then the AOHELL software will automatically "rebuild" the
> adapter and all will be fine. I ask him if he'll stay on the phone for
the 5
> minutes because I don't want to have to go through phone menu hell again
to get
> back to him. "No problem" he says - "I'll give you a number that's direct
to
> tech support". So I write down the number, just in case. Well, that
number
> turned out to go right back to that same damn phone menu, but at least I
was
> starting to learn the sequence of numbers to get down to the tech support
> option....by the end of the day, I had the whole sequence memorized. Of
course
> "Jonathan" (or Haseem?) couldn't tell me "for security reasons" what part
of
> the world he was speaking from, but he COULD offer me 40 gallons of free
gas
> for being such a "valued customer", so I accepted his offer and let him
trasfer
> me to somebody who could set that up. Turned out to be sort of a customer
> service "pop-up" - there were strings and $$$ attached to the "free" gas.
> After the *^&()*& with Merrill Lynch and what had already happened with
AOL, I
> was plenty ready to tell him what to do with his "FREE" gas..... I should
have
> kept him on the phone longer so he could just transfer me back to tech
support,
> 'cause that AOL adapter didn't seem to be the problem. Now get this - if
you
> call and work your way down the tree to tech support and they're all busy,
YOU
> DON"T GET PUT ON HOLD!!! Isn't that great? Instead of making you wait
for the
> next available person, they just hang up on you!!! "You're call is
important
> to us, so please call back later".... After a couple more hours, we were
> finally to the point where they were telling me that I was going to have
to
> hire a technician to come and "fix" my Internet Explorer.
>
> So I went and pulled out a CD I'd grabbed at Fry's one time for a free
trial at
> Earthlink. Took about an hour to get it all set up and I was online with
> Earthlink. Not only did I get through to Merrill Lynch, but it seemed
like the
> 'net was coming through MUCH faster. And the best thing was.....the
Earthlink
> installation FIXED THE AOL PROBLEM!!! (Earthlink also uses Internet
Explorer).
> I was able to get back on the 'net with AOL and did some rough
comparisons -
> Earthlink is DEFINITELY bringing stuff down faster. Even though I connect
at
> the same speed to both ISP's, AOL's backbone is so overloaded that the
real
> throughput is way less than the connection speed and you spend LOTS of
time
> waiting for packets.
>
> So with a gleeful heart, I got back to AOL's tech support, had a lady pull
up
> the case file that they'd been using since the first call and asked her to
make
> a couple of comments in it - one, that I had fixed what they couldn't by
> installing Earthlink; two, that Earthlink turned out to provide a better
'net
> service than AOL did; and that, three, OH CRAP - IT COSTS LESS!!!! I told
her
> to make a note that the only remaining problem was to decide whether to
stick
> with AOL after about 7 hours of pure frustration or go with a faster,
cheaper
> service....then I hung up on her : )
>
> I'll take a couple of weeks to compare them - and listen to any opinions
> anybody might volunteer - and then I'll cancel one or the other. Right
now,
> Earthlink is looking pretty good, except I need to find something better
than
> Outlook for newsgroups.
>
> So why do you say "bad choice"????
>
> Mel Gamble

[Tiffany]

I don't know about earthlink, Mel but AOL is the worse thing to happen in my
opinion. lol

I use a local ISP.... I have tried AOL in the past but just last month I was
tempted with a great offer to try AOL again. So after 2-3 hours download
time I have version8. Do they think everyone wants all that crap on the
screen? lol I used it 3 times, called to cancel and the guy treats me like
a computer illiterate until I had to scream..... CANCEL IT!!! He says I will
give you another free month, you don't want something for free? I already
had one month for free... CANCEL IT! :) I hate AOL. I don't hate much in
life but I hate AOL. Let me know how earthlink works for you. Compared to
AOL it may be better but that doesn't say much.

T
Mel Gamble > wrote in message
...
> >"Melvin Gamble" > wrote in message
> nk.net...
> >> from earthlink
> >
> >
> >bad choice... bad bad bad. :)
> >
> >
> >Tracy
>
> Can't be any worse than AOHELL... Merrill Lynch told me the reason I
couldn't
> get past their logon screen was that I needed to upgrade my version of
AOL.
> When I tried to argue that I had no problem logging on 3 weeks ago with
the
> same setup so they must have changed something, one of their Tech Support
guys
> INSISTED that a company the size of Merrill Lynch hadn't made any changes
to
> their website in over a year....
>
> So I gave up and decided to bite the bullet and upgrade my AOHell 5.0,
> something I'd been putting off for a while - they're plugging version *9*
on
> the opening screen now. So I clicked the upgrade offer and started the
> process, only to be told that my computer didn't have enough memory to run
V 9
> - only 64 megs (blush)... But "lucky for me" there was another button to
let
> AOHell pick the version that was best for my setup. It picked version 8
Plus
> and I went about trying to keep busy during a 2 1/2 hour download :
Once the
> download finished, I started the install. Everything seemed to go fine,
except
> for the one little warning box that showed up saying something about a
program
> running in DOS mode or some such thing... I had my first real suspicion
when
> version 8 fired up and the background for the opening screen was a cloud
motiff
> disturbingly reminiscent of a Mario Brothers game. I mean, it wasn't that
it
> shouldn't have looked like that - it's just, well, how much faith are
going to
> put into a web interface designed to look like a video game? But all
seemed
> OK. I set some preferences, found my "favorites" transferred over from
V5.0,
> checked my e-mail, etc. But every once in awhile I'd get a screen saying
> something about a page not being available or something...finally found
out
> that every time something was intended to be pulled from the 'net...bonk.
> Finally tried to log onto Merrill Lynch again and realised that even
though I
> had a good connection to AOHell, I had no access to the 'net. So I got on
my
> cell phone, worked my way through about 10 minutes of advertising,
suggestions
> and just plain BS to get from the start of their phone menu to where you
> actually select to talk to a tech support person. First he says I have to
> uninstall version 9, but asks me to hold for a minute. 5 minutes later he
> comes back and says it's just a simple thing due to me now having 2
versions on
> my machine at the same time and takes me through the steps to "uninstall
the
> AOL adapter" and tells me I have to shut my puter off for 5 minutes before
I
> restart it and then the AOHELL software will automatically "rebuild" the
> adapter and all will be fine. I ask him if he'll stay on the phone for
the 5
> minutes because I don't want to have to go through phone menu hell again
to get
> back to him. "No problem" he says - "I'll give you a number that's direct
to
> tech support". So I write down the number, just in case. Well, that
number
> turned out to go right back to that same damn phone menu, but at least I
was
> starting to learn the sequence of numbers to get down to the tech support
> option....by the end of the day, I had the whole sequence memorized. Of
course
> "Jonathan" (or Haseem?) couldn't tell me "for security reasons" what part
of
> the world he was speaking from, but he COULD offer me 40 gallons of free
gas
> for being such a "valued customer", so I accepted his offer and let him
trasfer
> me to somebody who could set that up. Turned out to be sort of a customer
> service "pop-up" - there were strings and $$$ attached to the "free" gas.
> After the *^&()*& with Merrill Lynch and what had already happened with
AOL, I
> was plenty ready to tell him what to do with his "FREE" gas..... I should
have
> kept him on the phone longer so he could just transfer me back to tech
support,
> 'cause that AOL adapter didn't seem to be the problem. Now get this - if
you
> call and work your way down the tree to tech support and they're all busy,
YOU
> DON"T GET PUT ON HOLD!!! Isn't that great? Instead of making you wait
for the
> next available person, they just hang up on you!!! "You're call is
important
> to us, so please call back later".... After a couple more hours, we were
> finally to the point where they were telling me that I was going to have
to
> hire a technician to come and "fix" my Internet Explorer.
>
> So I went and pulled out a CD I'd grabbed at Fry's one time for a free
trial at
> Earthlink. Took about an hour to get it all set up and I was online with
> Earthlink. Not only did I get through to Merrill Lynch, but it seemed
like the
> 'net was coming through MUCH faster. And the best thing was.....the
Earthlink
> installation FIXED THE AOL PROBLEM!!! (Earthlink also uses Internet
Explorer).
> I was able to get back on the 'net with AOL and did some rough
comparisons -
> Earthlink is DEFINITELY bringing stuff down faster. Even though I connect
at
> the same speed to both ISP's, AOL's backbone is so overloaded that the
real
> throughput is way less than the connection speed and you spend LOTS of
time
> waiting for packets.
>
> So with a gleeful heart, I got back to AOL's tech support, had a lady pull
up
> the case file that they'd been using since the first call and asked her to
make
> a couple of comments in it - one, that I had fixed what they couldn't by
> installing Earthlink; two, that Earthlink turned out to provide a better
'net
> service than AOL did; and that, three, OH CRAP - IT COSTS LESS!!!! I told
her
> to make a note that the only remaining problem was to decide whether to
stick
> with AOL after about 7 hours of pure frustration or go with a faster,
cheaper
> service....then I hung up on her : )
>
> I'll take a couple of weeks to compare them - and listen to any opinions
> anybody might volunteer - and then I'll cancel one or the other. Right
now,
> Earthlink is looking pretty good, except I need to find something better
than
> Outlook for newsgroups.
>
> So why do you say "bad choice"????
>
> Mel Gamble

[Tracy]

"Mel Gamble" > wrote in message
...
> >"Melvin Gamble" > wrote in message
> nk.net...
> >> from earthlink
> >
> >
> >bad choice... bad bad bad. :)
> >
> >
> >Tracy
>
> Can't be any worse than AOHELL... Merrill Lynch told me the reason I
couldn't
> get past their logon screen was that I needed to upgrade my version of
AOL.
> When I tried to argue that I had no problem logging on 3 weeks ago with
the
> same setup so they must have changed something, one of their Tech Support
guys
> INSISTED that a company the size of Merrill Lynch hadn't made any changes
to
> their website in over a year....
>
[snipped]
>
> So why do you say "bad choice"????

After reading that - I forgot. LOL



Tracy
~~~~~~~
http://www.hornschuch.net/tracy/
"You can't solve problems with the same
type of thinking that created them."
Albert Einstein

*** spamguard in place! to email me: tracy at hornschuch dot net ***

[Tracy]

"Mel Gamble" > wrote in message
...
> >"Melvin Gamble" > wrote in message
> nk.net...
> >> from earthlink
> >
> >
> >bad choice... bad bad bad. :)
> >
> >
> >Tracy
>
> Can't be any worse than AOHELL... Merrill Lynch told me the reason I
couldn't
> get past their logon screen was that I needed to upgrade my version of
AOL.
> When I tried to argue that I had no problem logging on 3 weeks ago with
the
> same setup so they must have changed something, one of their Tech Support
guys
> INSISTED that a company the size of Merrill Lynch hadn't made any changes
to
> their website in over a year....
>
[snipped]
>
> So why do you say "bad choice"????

After reading that - I forgot. LOL



Tracy
~~~~~~~
http://www.hornschuch.net/tracy/
"You can't solve problems with the same
type of thinking that created them."
Albert Einstein

*** spamguard in place! to email me: tracy at hornschuch dot net ***

[Tracy]

"Tiffany" > wrote in message
...
> I don't know about earthlink, Mel but AOL is the worse thing to happen in
my
> opinion. lol
>
> I use a local ISP....

Local ISP's are the best - until Earthlink comes and buys them. :)

I'm on a cable modem - otherwise I'd use a local ISP. I would not consider
AOL, or any other big name ISP. The larger they are the worse their
customer service. All those larger ones care about is the bottom-line
(money).


Tracy
~~~~~~~
http://www.hornschuch.net/tracy/
"You can't solve problems with the same
type of thinking that created them."
Albert Einstein

*** spamguard in place! to email me: tracy at hornschuch dot net ***

[Tracy]

"Tiffany" > wrote in message
...
> I don't know about earthlink, Mel but AOL is the worse thing to happen in
my
> opinion. lol
>
> I use a local ISP....

Local ISP's are the best - until Earthlink comes and buys them. :)

I'm on a cable modem - otherwise I'd use a local ISP. I would not consider
AOL, or any other big name ISP. The larger they are the worse their
customer service. All those larger ones care about is the bottom-line
(money).


Tracy
~~~~~~~
http://www.hornschuch.net/tracy/
"You can't solve problems with the same
type of thinking that created them."
Albert Einstein

*** spamguard in place! to email me: tracy at hornschuch dot net ***

[gini52]

"Tracy" > wrote in message
news:lSj8b.423448$o%2.191763@sccrnsc02...
> "Tiffany" > wrote in message
> ...
> > I don't know about earthlink, Mel but AOL is the worse thing to happen
in
> my
> > opinion. lol
> >
> > I use a local ISP....
>
> Local ISP's are the best - until Earthlink comes and buys them. :)
==
That's how I ended up on Earthlink. I had a local for years, problem free.
Earthlink bought the isp and all hell broke loose.
==
>
> I'm on a cable modem - otherwise I'd use a local ISP. I would not
consider
> AOL, or any other big name ISP. The larger they are the worse their
> customer service. All those larger ones care about is the bottom-line
> (money).
>
>
> Tracy
> ~~~~~~~
> http://www.hornschuch.net/tracy/
> "You can't solve problems with the same
> type of thinking that created them."
> Albert Einstein
>
> *** spamguard in place! to email me: tracy at hornschuch dot net ***
>
>

[gini52]

"Tracy" > wrote in message
news:lSj8b.423448$o%2.191763@sccrnsc02...
> "Tiffany" > wrote in message
> ...
> > I don't know about earthlink, Mel but AOL is the worse thing to happen
in
> my
> > opinion. lol
> >
> > I use a local ISP....
>
> Local ISP's are the best - until Earthlink comes and buys them. :)
==
That's how I ended up on Earthlink. I had a local for years, problem free.
Earthlink bought the isp and all hell broke loose.
==
>
> I'm on a cable modem - otherwise I'd use a local ISP. I would not
consider
> AOL, or any other big name ISP. The larger they are the worse their
> customer service. All those larger ones care about is the bottom-line
> (money).
>
>
> Tracy
> ~~~~~~~
> http://www.hornschuch.net/tracy/
> "You can't solve problems with the same
> type of thinking that created them."
> Albert Einstein
>
> *** spamguard in place! to email me: tracy at hornschuch dot net ***
>
>

[Melvin Gamble]

Thanks for all the opinions - Phil, Gini, Tiffany and Tracy. I got
Netscape Messenger set up to read newsgroups. Seems better than
Outlook, except for having to manually enter the user account and
password every time I start it.

Good weekends to all...

Mel Gamble

Tracy wrote:
>
> "Mel Gamble" > wrote in message
> ...
> > >"Melvin Gamble" > wrote in message
> > nk.net...
> > >> from earthlink
> > >
> > >
> > >bad choice... bad bad bad. :)
> > >
> > >
> > >Tracy
> >
> > Can't be any worse than AOHELL... Merrill Lynch told me the reason I
> couldn't
> > get past their logon screen was that I needed to upgrade my version of
> AOL.
> > When I tried to argue that I had no problem logging on 3 weeks ago with
> the
> > same setup so they must have changed something, one of their Tech Support
> guys
> > INSISTED that a company the size of Merrill Lynch hadn't made any changes
> to
> > their website in over a year....
> >
> [snipped]
> >
> > So why do you say "bad choice"????
>
> After reading that - I forgot. LOL
>
> Tracy
> ~~~~~~~
> http://www.hornschuch.net/tracy/
> "You can't solve problems with the same
> type of thinking that created them."
> Albert Einstein
>
> *** spamguard in place! to email me: tracy at hornschuch dot net ***

[Melvin Gamble]

Thanks for all the opinions - Phil, Gini, Tiffany and Tracy. I got
Netscape Messenger set up to read newsgroups. Seems better than
Outlook, except for having to manually enter the user account and
password every time I start it.

Good weekends to all...

Mel Gamble

Tracy wrote:
>
> "Mel Gamble" > wrote in message
> ...
> > >"Melvin Gamble" > wrote in message
> > nk.net...
> > >> from earthlink
> > >
> > >
> > >bad choice... bad bad bad. :)
> > >
> > >
> > >Tracy
> >
> > Can't be any worse than AOHELL... Merrill Lynch told me the reason I
> couldn't
> > get past their logon screen was that I needed to upgrade my version of
> AOL.
> > When I tried to argue that I had no problem logging on 3 weeks ago with
> the
> > same setup so they must have changed something, one of their Tech Support
> guys
> > INSISTED that a company the size of Merrill Lynch hadn't made any changes
> to
> > their website in over a year....
> >
> [snipped]
> >
> > So why do you say "bad choice"????
>
> After reading that - I forgot. LOL
>
> Tracy
> ~~~~~~~
> http://www.hornschuch.net/tracy/
> "You can't solve problems with the same
> type of thinking that created them."
> Albert Einstein
>
> *** spamguard in place! to email me: tracy at hornschuch dot net ***

[Tracy]

"gini52" > wrote in message
...
>
> "Tracy" > wrote in message
> news:lSj8b.423448$o%2.191763@sccrnsc02...
> > "Tiffany" > wrote in message
> > ...
> > > I don't know about earthlink, Mel but AOL is the worse thing to happen
> in
> > my
> > > opinion. lol
> > >
> > > I use a local ISP....
> >
> > Local ISP's are the best - until Earthlink comes and buys them. :)
> ==
> That's how I ended up on Earthlink. I had a local for years, problem free.
> Earthlink bought the isp and all hell broke loose.


Around here we call that a class action lawsuit. Earthlink knows about
those. ;-)


Tracy
~~~~~~~
http://www.hornschuch.net/tracy/
"You can't solve problems with the same
type of thinking that created them."
Albert Einstein

*** spamguard in place! to email me: tracy at hornschuch dot net ***

[Tracy]

"gini52" > wrote in message
...
>
> "Tracy" > wrote in message
> news:lSj8b.423448$o%2.191763@sccrnsc02...
> > "Tiffany" > wrote in message
> > ...
> > > I don't know about earthlink, Mel but AOL is the worse thing to happen
> in
> > my
> > > opinion. lol
> > >
> > > I use a local ISP....
> >
> > Local ISP's are the best - until Earthlink comes and buys them. :)
> ==
> That's how I ended up on Earthlink. I had a local for years, problem free.
> Earthlink bought the isp and all hell broke loose.


Around here we call that a class action lawsuit. Earthlink knows about
those. ;-)


Tracy
~~~~~~~
http://www.hornschuch.net/tracy/
"You can't solve problems with the same
type of thinking that created them."
Albert Einstein

*** spamguard in place! to email me: tracy at hornschuch dot net ***

[Bob Whiteside]

"Melvin Gamble" > wrote in message
...
> Thanks for all the opinions - Phil, Gini, Tiffany and Tracy. I got
> Netscape Messenger set up to read newsgroups. Seems better than
> Outlook, except for having to manually enter the user account and
> password every time I start it.
>
> Good weekends to all...

Are you aware Netscape is owned by AOL?

BTW - I have been through the local ISP wars. I went from Teleport to
Ethergate because Teleport sucked. Then Teleport bought Ethergate who was
bought by OneMain who was bought by Earthlink. Even though I have a
Teleport address, sign on using a OneMain ID, and use Earthlink newsgroup
settings, my system is stable. I have no complaints about Earthlink.

[Bob Whiteside]

"Melvin Gamble" > wrote in message
...
> Thanks for all the opinions - Phil, Gini, Tiffany and Tracy. I got
> Netscape Messenger set up to read newsgroups. Seems better than
> Outlook, except for having to manually enter the user account and
> password every time I start it.
>
> Good weekends to all...

Are you aware Netscape is owned by AOL?

BTW - I have been through the local ISP wars. I went from Teleport to
Ethergate because Teleport sucked. Then Teleport bought Ethergate who was
bought by OneMain who was bought by Earthlink. Even though I have a
Teleport address, sign on using a OneMain ID, and use Earthlink newsgroup
settings, my system is stable. I have no complaints about Earthlink.

[dani]

On Fri, 12 Sep 2003 09:32:35 +0000, Mel Gamble wrote:

>>"Melvin Gamble" > wrote in message
nk.net...
>>> from earthlink
>>
>>
>>bad choice... bad bad bad. :)
>>
>>
>>Tracy
>
<snip>
> So why do you say "bad choice"????

Hey Mel,

Never had a problem with Earthlink. It never seems to have a problem.
That's on dialup, so I don't know about dsl or anything else.

It also seemed faster after going to Linux and using Mozilla and Pan, too.

At least I don't have to worry about viruses. HeHe.

I think you'll be happy with earthlink.

~ Dani

[dani]

On Fri, 12 Sep 2003 09:32:35 +0000, Mel Gamble wrote:

>>"Melvin Gamble" > wrote in message
nk.net...
>>> from earthlink
>>
>>
>>bad choice... bad bad bad. :)
>>
>>
>>Tracy
>
<snip>
> So why do you say "bad choice"????

Hey Mel,

Never had a problem with Earthlink. It never seems to have a problem.
That's on dialup, so I don't know about dsl or anything else.

It also seemed faster after going to Linux and using Mozilla and Pan, too.

At least I don't have to worry about viruses. HeHe.

I think you'll be happy with earthlink.

~ Dani