(Excerpts from a message dated 09-27-99, Jack Stein to Murray Lesser)

Hi Jack--

 ML>     It seems that ibm.net has classified me as a "consumer"
 ML> customer (which, in truth, I am), not as a "business"
 ML> customer.  If I do nothing about it, I will be transferred
 ML> to AT&T's WorldNet services.  The problem is that if I
 ML> transfer to WorldNet, I can no longer have the worldwide
 ML> "roaming" capabilities I have enjoyed to date.  Worse, I can
 ML> not continue to use my IBM OS/2 dialer.  (Apparently,
 ML> WorldNet supplies dialers only for Windows and the Mac.) 
 ML> According an excerpt from the text of the message I
 ML> received:

 ML>      The AT&T WorldNet(r) Service does not offer an OS/2
 ML> dialer. 

JS>Neither does anyone else on earth, far as I know, so what?

    Haven't you heard of OS/2's DIALER.EXE?  Until tomorrow, DIALER.EXE
connects me directly to ibm.net, and all I have to tell it is what
telephone number to dial (depends on where I am).  Since (presumably) I
will have switched to AT&T's Business service, effective tomorrow, which
claims to have inherited all of ibm.net's "technology," it should still
switch me to AT&T's Business Internet Connection.  We shall see
tomorrow.

JS>I was an AT&T net customer, my brother still is.  I used both the
  >OS/2 dialer and later the Injoy dialer.  I'm now a BellAtlantic.net
  >customer, and like everyone, they support whatever you have, as
  >long as it's WIN.  What I did, and most people do, is install their
  >crap software in WIN95, then get all the parameters you need and
  >stick them in injoy or the dialer.  There is nothing secret about
  >connecting to an ISP, and just because the brain-dead guys
  >"supporting" WIN almost immediately hang up on you if you mention
  >OS/2, it is just not all that hard, and I'm amazed they try to make
  >it that hard.

    I don't do, and never have done, Windows.  I don't own a system that
runs run any version of Windows.  So your solution wouldn't work for me.

JS>AT&T and Bell Atlantic were/are very nice ISP's far as I'm
  >concerened.  I never ever once got a busy signal, and certainly you
  >can go anywhere you want on the net, no restrictions that I know
  >of.  I pay around $20 a month, little less I think for unlimited
  >($150/mo) service.   I switched to Bell solely because they had a
  >local mumber.  Bottom line is you have to ignore everything they say
  >about OS/2, they are all ignorant, including IBM.

    It isn't who you can reach from any ISP (AFAIK, once you are
connected to the Internet, you can reach any valid URL).  What is
important to me is where you can reach your ISP from.  Last week I was
in California.  Next month I will be in upstate NY (out of Bell Atlantic
territory) and the month after I will be in both Washington, DC, and
Cape Cod MA.  My system is a ThinkPad, and it goes with me wherever I
go.  Besides, Bell Atlantic is my local carrier (they gobbled up NYNEX)
and, deservedly, have the reputation of providing the worst service of
any of the "baby Bells."  I use them for nothing except local telephone
service (I have no choice) and wish to keep it that way.

    Besides, I have no need for unlimited Internet service.  I have been
paying ibm only $4.95/month for 3 hours per month, which is usually more
than sufficient.  If all goes well, I should get the same service at the
same rate after the switchover.  If not, I will consider my options at
that time.

    Regards,

        --Murray

___
 * MR/2 2.25 #120 * Never get carried away by a flood of logic

--- Maximus/2 2.02