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Are Those Free PC's a Good Deal?

Is It Wise?

My question is about the free CPUs you can get by committing to a 3 year Compuserve contract. I need a better CPU, but am suspicious of this "unbelievable deal." Right now I pay $19.95 a month for MSN, so the extra $2 a month to join Compuserve wouldn't be so terrible, but I wonder if it is wise to commit to $21.50 a month for 3 entire years when I have no idea what will become the trend by then.
Donna Z. in St. Louis, MO

Research It First

I work in a computer salvage store and we get a lot of computers in to work on. Mostly dell and gateways. I am not saying that those computers are that bad but when trying to be frugal and having to spend to have these computers worked on is outrageous. I suggest that you decide what kind of computer that you want what you feel you need and then check around for prices you can find the best price if you look real good. There is a place to get free internet service that is www.netzero.net. They believe that you should be able to access the internet the same way that you access regular TV and radio stations. I would really think about the deal that you are talking about and see if you can't get a better deal somewhere else. All it takes is research.
Kristy

My Reservations

There are a few reasons I think this is a bad idea:

1) Non-negotiable contract

What if their customer service is horrible? Will you be able to get a problem solved? It is unlikely the company is motivated to provide you good customer service as you CANNOT stop their service (the typical motivation for treating the customer like a "valued customer" is that if the provider doesn't, you will take your money elsewhere. In this case, you can't take your money elsewhere)

2) Cancelable only via contract-breaking fees

You *CAN* break a contract, but only after paying a "contract breaking fee" which is something like the fee involved in breaking a cell phone contract (ranges in price), THEN, you have to pay back the discount you got on your computer, so then you probably are really out of luck, because when you figure in the discount into the normal price, the computer probably wasn't that big of a bargain to begin with.

3) Technology marches on

Three years ago, did you even know about the internet? If you had access at all, how fast was it? Probably 28.8k or less. Now it's pretty awful if you don't have at LEAST 56k. Check out the provisions in the provider's paperwork: will you be upgraded when technology marches on, or will you be saddled with using an incredibly slow internet connection for three years?

Look at the speed of the computer, too. Is it sub-standard by today's standards? Probably. When looking at a computer with a promotion like this, increase the computer's price by the discounts and compare it to other computers out there. See if it really compares, because if you're unhappy with the provider's service, that's what you'll REALLY be paying.
Scottnnie S.

We Did the CompuServe Deal

My husband & I recently bought a "free" computer with the CompuServe agreement. The service is great. My husband & I did this while fully aware that sites such as NetZero.com offer free internet service that is just as fast & good. However, there was no other way for us to obtain a computer so that I could begin working from home. If you can wait & save the money, then do that. It's always best to pay cash with no obligations if possible. If not, then join us in having great service. Note: There is also a site called FreePC.com that gives away free pc's. I know several people who have signed up for one. Those that have one say it's great. The other's are still on the waiting list which is about 6 months out right now. Happy shopping!!
GT

Things to Check Out

It may sound like a good deal, but first you'll want to check and see if Compuserve will have a local number for accessing the internet. If you have to pay toll charges, and Compuserve requires a minimum amount of hours logged on, you may end up spending quite a lot more than you intended.

Other than that, if the processor is 350MHz or better, and the ram is 64 or greater, the computer will not be a 'dinosaur' in three years. Even if there are remarkable improvements in these areas, your computer will still be good for games, bookkeeping, generating greeting cards, storing data, etc.

And if web access times drastically improve, chances are that Internet Service Providers will take years to implement the new technology (especially if new technology requires new a hard-wired delivery system). By then, your term of contract will have expired.
Jeannie M. in Slidell, LA

Twofold Problem

The main "problem" with the Free PC's is twofold.

They are the very lowest end of computers available today.
. They "constrict" you to the slowest internet access.

If all you are wanting is a basic internet box to do basic internet tasks, you won't go wrong with these machines. Many companies right now are barely breaking even selling them.

The future of the internet is either ADSL or Cable modems which are "fat pipes". They'll send much information to your computer much faster than a 56k modem. For regular web pages, this isn't a big deal. But, more and more sites are starting to use Real Media and Quicktime streaming video and audio. If that gets big in a year (it's getting there), you still owe a few hundred dollars of internet access in order to get the decent quality streams. Also, if the Internet Service Provider's service goes downhill (busy signals, dropped lines, etc.), you are stuck.

And of course, you are getting a bottom of the line machine. It will run slower and older programs just fine, but don't expect to be able to buy every game or software off the shelf. Especially not in 3 years. Likewise, Microsoft has begun recommending 64 megs of RAM for their next generation OS so you'll probably need to buy RAM if you want to upgrade the operating system. But, don't think everything is upgradeable on these machines. Some have graphic cards built into the motherboard and no available slots. You might not be able to go beyond a 800x600 resolution with 256 colors.

Lastly, many of these companies are less than 2 years old (eMachines) or having big problems making a profit (Compaq). Both of these companies are selling computers hand over foot, so, you should be okay. But understand that you are buying computers built under the possible spectre of cutting corners on every possible part.
Jon

We Tried It

We took advantage of this "great" offer about a month ago. We paid nothing for the computer and had the option of either paying for the service monthly, or all in advance. A few words of caution for you.

Compuserve 2000 is not, and will not be configured for direct dial up connection, so you will have to go through their startup screens and all that nonsense. Also, you would have to sign up for beta testing to get your mail routed through a POP server so you can use your own mail program.
This software has an art of locking up the computer, completely, about 1 in 4 logoff's their software. After contacting support, we were told to just reinstall the software. Well, that still didn't help.

However, besides those negatives, here are some positives to think about.

It's a good computer, we got a Maxtech on this deal. Has a nice sound/video card on it. Good modem, it's pretty fast and has a decent amount of hard drive space.
If you sign up to pay monthly, you can get out of your contract by paying $50 fee(forgot what that was called) and they prorate it each year. So, if you bought the computer and then cancelled right away, you only pay $450. Which I think is very reasonable price for the computer itself.

This is the deal we got. You may have a different option. Just read the contract over before you decide for sure. We almost never have a problem signing on, so I would say they have good connection service. It's just the software itself I am not really excited with.
H.S.

How the Programs Really Work

First I'd like to tell you that I am in the retail computer industry, holding a management level position. My company manufactures PC's and is also offering a similar plan through out internet "partner". I tell you this so you can understand my bias.

All of the current $400.00 "free" computer plan involve a commitment for at least 3 years purchase of internet service at more or less the current going rate for "unlimited" service. Current average pricing is around $19.95 per month. Doing the math you come up with a three year total of $719.64. Sign up and lock in with the rebate you end up with $319.64 or a per month average of $8.88 per month. Not bad you say. Considering that the cost of ISP's has been pretty stable over the last few years, that could be a good deal. Here is how the plan really works.

Rebates are a marketing strategy that hopes only a certain amount of people will respond. In this case, the idea is to get everyone to respond since it has the following effect.

The Internet Service Provider or ISP or in the case of the rebate grantors have a guaranteed usership of "X number of rebaters" for the next 3 years. No brainier here.
If you look at the rebate grantors, they aren't true ISP's but shells, with their own "home" site. Most of the ISP provided software won't allow the user to directly access the internet with out first going through the shell. Again not so bad. AOL & CompuServe have been doing this since the beginning.
Here is the zinger. Each time you access the Internet, or open your Email, or chat room, or anything "on - line" you are exposed to ADVERTISING. The partners, read ADVERTISERS, can list their products, offer hot links, give you the latest & greatest of everything with a guaranteed "readership" for the next 3 years. Not rocket science, but good solid revenue from the anticipated "readership"
Since new technologies are just around the bend such as ADSL that everyone can access, cable modems, satellite services and everything on the horizon, the current ISP shells need to find a way to survive. By selling advertising space at a premium, since they can now guarantee a "X" number of guaranteed viewers, they insure their survival. If you have a commitment for 3 years (remember, you gave them your credit card number and authorization to charge as part of the rebate contract) you are not likely to change your primary service.

The other danger is mergers & acquisitions. What if your ISP that gave you the rebate, is bought out? Merged? Goes under? Read the fine print.

Remember, you don't get the rebate until YOU SIGN UP. Rebates are sent out through fulfillment houses, not the company that provides the computer nor the ISP. Be prepared to wait 6 to 8 weeks or more for your rebate check to arrive. Don't fall into the hope that the rebate check will show up just in time to pay the credit card you used to buy your new computer.

As a footnote, all of the rebate plans I have seen are for new subscribers only. If you are already using an ISP, you will have to buy a new computer and subscribe to a new ISP. Hopefully, for the rebate sponsors, they will get a lot of new people in the already clogged INFORMATION SUPER HIGHWAY.
Al Y.

Use Free Access Instead

It's probably all right, you can always upgrade. On the other hand, checkout www.altavista.com. This is a Compaq Corp Web search engine site. They are giving FREE Internet access, that will save you over 200 per year and you can buy a new machine at a discount place, check out Sunday newspapers for the ads.
DS

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