Students awash in options for linking up

As the days grow chillier and the specter of midterms looms its ugly head, many students begin thinking wistfully of the balmy days of summer. However, for some of us, returning to Ann Arbor means being reunited with one of the most crucial conveniences of academia - free internet access.

For the e-mail addicts out there, four months without the joys of Pine are absolute torture. Luckily, corporate America is there to pick up the slack, and for a small fee, those who absolutely must remain connected can make sure they don't miss a single forwarded message.

SAM HOLLENSHED/Daily Anrea Quist, freshman who lives in Bursley studies for her Great Books course.

The K-mart of internet service providers (ISPs) is America Online, which claims to have 18 million members. The standard plan costs $21.95 per month, and comes with unlimited access, e-mail, and web hosting services. For those who already have the latter and only need access, there's a $9.95 a month plan which offers nothing else.

Because of massive marketing and easy user interface, AOL is the choice for many internet newbies, and recent investments in infrastructure have alleviated some of the connection problems that have recently plagued users. Users can sign up for a free trial membership by picking up one of the ubiquitous CD-RO's, or going to http://www.aol.com.

Challenging AOL's dominance in the online market is MSN (http://www.msn.com), brought to you by the nice folks at Microsoft. For a slightly lower fee ($19.95), you can get unlimited internet access, e-mail, and web hosting.

However, there are no alternate plans, so your options are rather limited. MSN promises high-speed internet access in all the areas it services, and like AOL, has a month-long free trial.

Both services offer a variety of services besides just internet access. Customizable financial planning, news, online shopping, and, of course, chat rooms are available to while away any spare hours. AOL frequently brings in musicians, writers, and other celebrities for special chat sessions, where fans can fight for the honor of talking to anyone from Korn to Pokemon.

If you're in the mood for a kinder, gentler, ISP, there are dozens of other options, some of which will even give you access for free in exchange for placing a few ads on your desktop. Http://www.thelist.com offers a comprehensive listing of ISPs across the country. So whether you are an internet junkie, or merely trying to prevent 500 messages from accumulating in the your inbox while you're away from the university, there's an ISP ready to get you connected and onto the Internet in minutes.

09-23-99