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Top:Computers and Internet:Internet:My Connection:ISDN:Internet Service ProviderNote: I see that USWest.net is now (as of December 1998) offering ISDN service that appears to be better than MSN for the same price. The Short Scoop The Details Yes, you heard right. MSN is a remarkably good deal for ISDN users. They use UUNET's points-of-presence, which are all over the place. They provide unlimited 128k ISDN service for $49.95/month and unlimited 64k ISDN service for $19.95/month. The connection between the Salem POP and the Portland Alternet connection can be a little jerky sometimes, but most of the time, life is very good. I can hear what you're thinking: MSN is a wimpy online service for Internet weenies. Well, I don't use any of the online stuff (I can't since I run Windows NT). I just use them for a straight MPP connection and it works great. Important safety tip: when configuring your Ascend P75 under NT, you will need to enter your username and password for MSN in the Ascend setup. Pretty simple, right? Yes, so long as you preface your username with "MSN/", as in MSN/MyUserID. Failure to preface your username with "MSN/" will result in, well, a failure. The Salem POP has an Ascend MAX 4000, so I get to take full advantage of my Pipeline's capabilities, including DBA and compression. Don't expect MSN to be able to tell you much about their equipment, though. They are mostly ISDN-clueless, unless you happen to get a good geek on the other end of the tech support line. I got my information about the Salem POP by calling UUNET directly and asking their friendly staff, who kindly provided me with the IP address of the MAX 4000 as well as the DNS address. At this writing, MSN does not officially support the Pipeline 75. I got mine to work using these settings, though. Calling MSN for help will not work, as they will tell you it ain't supported. Your mileage may vary. As of October 1997, MSN has begun offering POP3 and SMTP mail service. So, now all of us NT users can at least read our mail using MSN. Their POP3 server is located at pop3.email.msn.com and their SMTP server is located at smtp.email.msn.com. Your username should NOT be prefixed with "MSN/" in your mailer. Why I am not using Teleport for ISDN access Well, Teleport doesn't offer ISDN service in Salem yet. When they do, I will consider them. I still use them for e-mail and web space, though. MSN doesn't offer web space. And, until recently, Windows NT users couldn't use them for e-mail, either. Equipment - Equipment
Vendor - Internet Service Provider Page created 2/18/97 by twisted@teleport.com.
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