Cyphertentacles and Extropiates,
Here's a convenient list of the latest Netcom sites, which span the U.S.
I've been happily using it (well, they changed to a new emacs yesterday and now my autowrap doesn't work....I hate having to spend a couple of hours on such a trivial matter) for a year and a half and I conservatively estimate I've influenced at least 30 people to sign up for it....too bad I don't get any usage credits for it.
The best things about it: flat monthly fee ($17.50), unlimited connect time, full range of services (much better than most universities have, folks tell me), and--best of all--your Netcom account won't change when you change jobs! And posting with Netcom presumably won't run the risk of angering your employer.
I'm thrilled that Netcom is expanding so rapidly.
I don't want to bash netcom here.. I have an account and I'm *quite* happy with it. (The accounts I have at my university are very nice, but when 20 people have root, there's *no* security.) I have doubts, however, about how good a thing it is to have *one* public access provider with such a wide net. It *is* a great thing that now a netcom account doesn't mean that much about where I'm located, so further privacy is available through that indirection. (Of course, where I'm located is available via finger, but I provide that information myself.) The problem I fear is a centralization of the net. If netcom is the major provider for the entire country, then there's much more risk of "network-disaster" if netcom dies for some reason. (Not Imminent Death of the Net, but if, say, 20% of all users of the internet who use a commercial provider use netcom, then a death of netcom would be a serious blow to the net-population.) There's some aesthetic beauty, I think, in localized network providers, but I can't root out a rational basis for that one. The fact, however, that I can be in any major city and *still* have access to my netcom account with a local (or rather cheap) phone call, is a *very* good thing, however. I *have* heard, though, that the POPs outside the bay area only have 56K connections to the netcom computers.. (From ping times to these sites, a friend of mine who runs an *excellent* public access network site in Chicago, estimated these things.) Has anyone who used both the Bay Area POPs and long-distance POPs noticed a difference? File transfers? (Those in Chicago looking for network access, should look into MCSNet-- Personally I prefer the level of service there to netcom, but I've been with the guy for multiple years, so there's a level of bias in there. [And I *think* there's a reference credit on MCSnet.. for every person I get to subscribe for 3 months I think I get 2 weeks or something like that.] 312-248-0900.. He will soon have a T1 and T1 POPs all over the Chicago area.)