Free (or Very Cheap) US Nationwide Dialup?

December 28, 2007 10:05 PM

I'll be travelling in the US (mostly California) in January, and looking for free (ideally) or very cheap (no contract) nationwide dialup service. I've downloaded Juno (http://www.juno.com) to try it out - though reading the reviews, it doesn't sound promising. Wondering if anyone have any experience with Juno and/or if there are other suggestions out there.
posted by nometa to Technology (10 answers total)

Juno will work. My Mother in law uses it exclusively and I never fail to get her emails.
posted by sanka at 10:08 PM on December 28, 2007

Here's one for SoCal: socalfree.net
posted by buggzzee23 at 10:18 PM on December 28, 2007

My parents refused to use anything but Juno from 1998 to 2006. It provided about 9 parts frustration to 1 part internet access. I would try my luck with any other ISP I could possibly find before I would choose Juno.
posted by booksandlibretti at 10:39 PM on December 28, 2007

budgetdialup.com

There are times of frequent disconnect which is a drag (same time of day, usually) - other times no problem. It's portable with local phone numbers in many locations. Not free.
posted by jaruwaan at 6:28 AM on December 29, 2007

Almost any public library will allow you to access the internet on their computers for free. Kinko's also allow you to plug in your laptop for free and many cafes and restaurants (Panera Bread, Starbucks) have free access if you have your own laptop. A lot of hotels have business centers that allow you to access the internet on their computer if you are a guest at that hotel. I find it easiest to have a web based email account like Yahoo and access it from any of these free sources while traveling. I wouldn't bother with buying a service.
posted by 45moore45 at 7:21 AM on December 29, 2007

Man, I'd love to find a Starbucks with free internet access. The TMobile access they all seem to use is not cheap. (Sorry about the sarcasm). Panera really is free, though, and their mochas are divine.

You might look at PeoplePC for inexpensive dialup.
posted by lhauser at 7:43 AM on December 29, 2007

Get a Windows phone on the Sprint EVDO network. Tether phone to laptop, use for 30 days of "free trial". Cancel. Broadband-ish 1.5 Mbps is much more palatable than dial up.
posted by meehawl at 8:57 AM on December 29, 2007

Most local coffeeshops should have free internet access too, even some of the chains, like "It's a Grind" and "Seattle's Best".
posted by Espoo2 at 12:10 PM on December 29, 2007

Many Kinko's now charge for an ethernet connection and their wifi is T-Mobile like Starbucks. Maybe look into NetZero? Freeshell.org offers dial-up at $10/month and you get to support a spiffy non-profit.
posted by Skwirl at 2:47 PM on December 29, 2007

You might look at PeoplePC for inexpensive dialup.

I have PeoplePC. It may not be too expensive (it's approximately $9.95-11.95/month), but you get what you pay for. It's literally the worst ISP I have ever had, and I couldn't recommend it to anyone in good faith. Granted, if you don't really care about extreme unreliability and sloooow speeds, it might actually complement your needs. I believe it's pretty mobile. I mean, I think that, through your account, you can continue to add local access numbers while you travel.
posted by Mael Oui at 8:11 PM on December 29, 2007