Hi Steven,

 MvdV>> Not here. Libraries do have internet, but it is not free.

 SH> I'd campaign for free service

My experience with free services is that never are. Somehow, somewhere,
someone has to pay for it and 9 out of 10 times that someone turns out to
me. That one time left turns out to be the case where I pay for someone
else.

The subscription is raised, the taxes are raised, there is a levy on the
booze, somehow I pay. What I gain is nothing, what I lose is the choice to
not pay for it by not using the service.

 SH> or campaign to get Bill Gates to have the Gates Foundation make
 SH> a grant to the libraries.

Bill Gates ain't Santa Clause. He is going to want something in return. He
is going to want people to spent more money on his products. The customers
will pay for it in the end. And as I am one of those cusomers, that will be
me again. What I gain is nothing, what I lose is the choice.

Besides, as I understand it from other posts, the Gates foundation provides
equipment and training, not the connection. It is the connection that makes
for most of the cost. Equipment isn't a big problem. A five year old PC
running Win95 will do fine for surfing the web. Most companies scrap their
PC's after three years, so there are plenty of these oldies to be had for
next to nothing. We don't need Bill Gates for that.

Nah, I am not complaining. There is nothing wrong with the system of a
direct relationship between what you pay and what you get. I prefer that
over "free" services that aren't.

I just observed that the kind of InterNet access that is provied by
libraries and InterNet cafes isn't suitable for FidoNet over IP.

 SH>  I also find the usage limitations because here people want
 SH> to be able to download their e-mail.

There reason the floppy drives (and the CD rom drives for that matter)
aren't accessible to the public is fear for viruses.

 SH> And Internet cafes do cost but not a lot.

Oh, they perform a function and I never meant to imply their prices are
unreasonable. It is just that they aren't suitable for FidoNet over IP.

Cheers, Michiel

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