Politech: FC: Are free ISPs free? Juno says users must donate processor time

[Declan McCullagh <declan () well com>]

[As one science fiction writer would say, TANSTAAFL. This is merely the 
natural evolution of the market for "free" services, and is hardly 
objectionable. True, it raises some privacy and security questions, but 
nobody's forcing you to use Juno, and pay ISPs are hardly expensive. --Declan]

http://www.cluebot.com/article.pl?sid=01/02/01/2249220&mode=thread

   How Free Are Free ISPs?
   posted by vergil on Thursday February 01, @05:06PM
   from the check-that-clickwrap dept.

   Free ISPs have been especially hard hit by the current dot-com
   downturn. Juno Online Services (recently smacked by a Temporary
   Restraining Order involving a patent infringement scuffle with rival
   NetZero) has developed a novel way of extracting megahertz -- and
   potential megabucks -- from its subscriber base. According to a
   2/1/2001 InternetNews article, Juno's "Virtual Supercomputer Network"
   aims to replicate the success of SETI () home by pooling the processing
   potential of its new subscribers and selling the combined
   computational power. According to Juno's new service agreement, Juno's
   subscribers "agree" to let Juno download, upload and run software from
   their PCs, and may be required "to leave" their computers "on at all
   times."

*********

Date: Thu, 01 Feb 2001 15:39:20 -0500
To: declan () well com
From: Philo <philo () radix net>
Subject: Fwd: [visbas-OT] Bad Juno. Sit!
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"; format=flowed

Posted to a mailing list I'm on. Forwarded with permission.

Philo

> From: "Cavanaugh, Bill" <bill_cavanaugh () es adp com>
> Subject: [visbas-OT] Bad Juno. Sit!
>
> http://help.juno.com/privacy/agreement.html
>
> Read section 2.5. You, too, can be a part of a distributed computing
> project. Whether you like it or not. And fuck you very much.
>
> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
> visbas-OT-unsubscribe () egroups com
philo () radix net AOLIM: philo589         ICQ: 9802707
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"Okay, but be careful, I want to get our security deposit back"
"I think we kissed that goodbye when we invented hammer darts."
        -Friends




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