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| PC Today: Notebooks, Shareware, Internet Service Providers | |
| March 2001• Vol.9 Issue 3 Page(s) 136-137 in print issue | |
Juno Online Services From Free Dial-Up Service To A High-Speed Connection |
Jump to first occurrence of:
[JUNO]
[RICH]
[GRAY]
 As of September 2000, Juno Online Services (http://www.juno.com/) had 3.7 million
active subscribers, making it the third largest ISP (Internet service
provider) behind AOL and EarthLink. Not bad for a company that started out
as a free dial-in e-mail service. Today Juno offers a number of service
packages and unique features that should appeal to a wide variety of
users. All you’ll need to use Juno is a computer running Windows 95 or
later, a copy of Juno’s software, and a modem. Basic Juno.
Rather unique to the world of ISPs is that Juno offers both
free and subscription-based services. Juno’s basic service offers free Web
access and e-mail with file attachment capability through hundreds of
access numbers nationwide. Users also get their own Web site. The drawback
of this totally free service is that you will have to put up with
advertisements.If you need to talk to a live Juno technical representative, you’ll be charged a pricey $1.95 per minute, but representatives are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Fortunately, Juno also provides the Juno Help Center at http://help.juno.com/. This resource houses account information, a Privacy & Security Center, information for newbies, and much more for users who have questions but don’t want to pay the stiff $1.95/minute fee for live tech support. Juno Web.
For $9.95 a month, you can upgrade your Internet service to
Juno’s premium service, Juno Web. With Juno Web, you’ll get more local
access numbers to choose from, less advertisements, and free live customer
support in addition to the services offered in the basic Juno package. If
you’re not sure you want to upgrade to Juno Web, you can try 250 free
hours during your first month of Juno Web.
Juno Express.
If neither the basic Juno service nor Juno Web offers the
speedy Internet access you require, check out Juno Express. In addition to
all the services you get with Juno Web, Juno Express gives you a broadband
connection through Juno Express DSL (Digital Subscriber Line) or a
wireless Internet connection through Juno Express Wireless. Unfortunately,
availability of these two services is limited.Juno Express DSL. Who wouldn’t want to view Web pages up to 21 times faster than with a traditional modem? Covad Communications partners with Juno to bring you a broadband Internet connection for $49.95 a month. If you commit to Juno Express DSL for six months and fill out and mail in the $198 rebate, Covad will install, deliver, and set up your high speed modem for free. To use PC Express DSL, you’ll need a PC with at least 133MHz Pentium processor, 32MB of RAM, and Windows 95/98/2000/NT. To check availability of this service in your area, go to http://account.juno.com/junoexpress/prequal.html. Juno Express Wireless. Juno’s wireless service comes from partner company Metricom, but as of December 2000, this was available in only a handful of cities, including Minneapolis, Philadelphia, Dallas, and New York City. For $79.95 a month (plus $99 for a Ricochet modem), you get unlimited Internet access, up to 15 e-mail accounts, free live customer support, and more. To check for wireless availability where you live, go to http://www.junoexpress.com/ricochet/availability.html. The same system requirements that applied to Juno Express DSL apply to Juno Express Wireless, and you can order this service by calling (800) 501-4018. Points To Consider.
If after checking into the various service options Juno offers,
you still aren’t sure that it’s the right ISP for you, here are some other
things to think about in making your decision. Juno e-mail or bust. You’d like to use Outlook or Eudora to check your Juno e-mail? Think again. The current version (version 4.0) of Juno software features a proprietary e-mail system that only lets you check Juno e-mail with the Juno software, or through their Web-based Juno WebMail. If you’ve fallen in love with a program such as Outlook Express and hate the thought of giving it up, the current version of Juno may not be for you. Service quirks and ads. Juno’s basic service seems to suffer from a few quirks that may hurt them in the free ISP market. The ad banner that parks on your screen is larger than other free ISPs. And you won’t have to look far to find Juno users who have had problems accessing the service, particularly during peak times (although some have never had a problem, indicating that some areas may have spotty access). Juno also recently launched an initiative to “punish” heavy users of its free service, possibly through additional advertising or a stricter prioritization of access. Home page sweet home page. On the positive side, Juno’s home page makes a great start page for your browser. Not only will this page keep you up to date on software updates and upgrades, but you’ll also find a wealth of information on such things as cars, careers, and traveling. Online tools such as the classifieds, TV listings, and online games share space with top news, sports, and entertainment stories and special features located in the On Juno Now section. From the home page you’ll also have easy access to JunoLand, where you can communicate through instant messaging, send greeting cards, build a home page, and more. Easy does it. Because Juno is easy to set up and use, it will be especially attractive to beginners. The different service plans give users a wide variety of choices for connection speeds and costs, so if you start with Juno as a beginning surfer and eventually decide to increase your connection speed as your knowledge of the Web increases, you can do so without switching ISPs. Get Started.
Once you decide that Juno is your ISP of choice and pick a
service that is right for you, you’re ready to go get it. You can download
Basic Juno and Juno Web by clicking Get Juno on the home page. After
downloading the software and installing it (or installing it from a
CD-ROM), you’ll have to create a new account. One of the most important
parts of this process is selecting the access numbers you’ll use to dial
into the Internet. Make sure that the numbers you select will be local
calls (a call to your local phone company can verify this), otherwise the
free service won’t really be free at all. Keep in mind that the numbers with the asterisk on the list that Juno provides are only available to premium service subscribers. Juno designates numbers as “recommended” by starring them. If you can, try to steer toward these starred numbers to increase the chances that you’ll avoid busy signals when getting online. Juno recommends selecting several different local numbers if possible, as this will make connecting a more enjoyable (and successful) experience. Finally, if none of the numbers on Juno’s list are local calls for you, you can request that Juno add numbers by sending an e-mail with the location of your choice to access number@support.juno.com. Member Profile. Another important part of creating your new account is answering Juno’s profile questions. Unfortunately, you have to divulge a lot of personal information when you sign up for the service. While Juno collects this information to personalize the ads it displays, you may come away with the impression that you’ve just filled out papers for a mortgage on a very nice house. Some of the information you are asked to part with includes your age, your occupation and income, your marital status and children (including their birth dates), the long distance company you use, and products you own or are planning to buy, and the list goes on. Understandably, some people will object to giving out this much personal information; fortunately you can opt out of answering a lot of these questions. Many screens feature None Of The Above options that you can select if you don’t want to answer a particular question with specifics, and you can “test” questions you don’t want to answer by leaving them blank. When you click the Next arrow, Juno will kindly inform you if you’ve neglected a mandatory section. This bubble help system is also a great aid for new users. Oh, The
Possibilities. Whether you’re a new user looking to go online
for the first time or an experienced surfer searching for an affordable
way to boost your connection speed, Juno has a service for you. Even if
you just want to try it out for a while before committing any money or
lots of time, you can do so with Juno’s free basic service. You’ve got
nothing to lose and the Internet to gain.  by Rich Gray
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