...freeola.com
Freeola is part of Special Reserve Discount Network who quote themselves as being the “biggest computer & video games club in the world.” They go on to say that Freeola.com offers fast & reliable Internet access across the UK via Dial-up or BT Broadband ADSL.
Special ... Read review
Advantages: It Free and Reliable Disadvantages: Can't think of any
...go on to say that Freeola.com offers fast & reliable Internet access across the UK via Dial-up or BT Broadband ADSL.
Special Reserve Discount Network is a trading name of Inter-Mediates Ltd, 2 South Block, The Maltings, Sawbridgeworth, Herts, CM21 9JX.
My website has been “live” for about 18 months now and not only has it proven to be a great success, but I get a lot of satisfaction from hosting it. ... ...be found at www.essexvillages.net but be warned, if you are not into genealogy, and Essex genealogy at that, then you’ll find it a bit boring.
If you are thinking of setting up a web site I cannot recommend Freeola enough. It’s free, its simple to sign up to, it’s got great customer service and it is very reliable.
Thanks for reading and I hope this review has been of help to someone.
This is not a technical review, it is written by a person who knows how to gain access to the Internet and that’s about all.
As a keen genealogist, I took the plunge two years ago and decided to share all the information I had gathered with the rest of the world. This is when my idea for a web site began to flourish.
My initial thought was to use my current ISP, but it soon become apparent this was not an option. I needed an ISP that was able to provide a wide variety of features but wasn’t going to cost me a bomb (whilst I love my hobby, I love my cash more). Not being a technical minded person I began buying computer magazines in my quest for an ISP that would provide my requirements.
After 6 months of spending an absolute fortune on computer magazines, investigating ISP’s and suffering numerous disastrous attempts, I came across Freeola. Not only did Freeola offer what I was looking for but a whole lot more as well.
So, just what do Freeola offer?
FAST ultra-reliable net access ZERO engaged tones - you can always get online with Freeola! FREE domain hosting for domains purchased at GetDotted.com FREE use of Freeola1000 e-mail & web site addresses FREE unlimited e-mail addresses and e-mail forwarding FREE unlimited web space to create your own free web site FREE PHP, CGI & SSI to allow functional engaging web sites ZERO ads, banners or annoying popups on your web pages FREE web site promotion at Freeola Customer Sites FREE sell your domain facility at TopAddress.com FREE easy to use Control Panel to manage your Freeola account FREE customer support from technicians (not premium rate!) FAST access for ISDN users - up to 512K (8 channels)
Whilst not completely understanding all of the above, I was convinced that this was the ISP for me based on the free unlimited web space, free customer support and ultra reliable net access, so off I went and signed up.
My instinct prepared me for the daunting task ahead, but to say I was surprised by the ease of signing up to Freeola is an understatement. Clear, simple, jargon less and concise step-by-step instructions are given to help you on your way to the wonderful world of the Internet. Signing up could not have taken me more than 10 minutes, and I don’t recall having to scratch my head once.
As it was a non-subscription ISP, I didn’t have to give over my bank details nor did I have to wait days for software to arrive, because after a few short minutes of completing the online form I was able to connect to the Internet via Freeola. A confirmation email was sent with the relevant passwords etc within a short period of time as well.
Freeola’s home page, whilst I wouldn’t say was cluttered, is extremely busy and colourful. These people have a lot to say and so there are many links to other areas of the site including Freeola customer sites. It is easy enough to navigate around with relevant information grouped together in one place.
From the Freeola homepage I was able to purchase my domain name through GetDotted at a very reasonable price. Again, a very straightforward process that was quick and relatively painless apart from the parting of cash. Once this was done, I was ready to upload my masterpiece of a website. GetDotted is also a part of Special Reserve Discount Network (I feel another review coming on).
To upload your website you must use the Freeola dial-up to access your FTP server. I have never had any problems with regard to uploading my website nor have I noticed any lack of speed. Calls are charged at local rate, but as I only ever use Freeola to upload/update my website the charges are not even noticeable on my monthly telephone bill.
Uploading your website is again a very simple process with instructions given in a easy format. Uploading time obviously depends on the size of the information.
The Control Panel is basically the nerve centre of your account and is where you manage your account and set up your email accounts.
The Help page is really something else. Every conceivable issue is covered here, and if you can’t find the answer to what you are looking for, then you can contact via telephone the trained technicians who are available 7 days a week until 8pm most evenings. A plus here is that calls are not charged at premium rate as most other ISP’s are.
The Status page will inform you of any problems Freeola may be experiencing and will also give advance warning of possible future problems and maintenance information.
Another great feature is that if you have a broken link, Freeola will place an advert confirming it is a broken link so users can inform you. This feature has proven very useful.
The only part of the service that I thought was a potential problem was that Freeola did not support FrontPage extensions, however, I only ever used the basic features of FrontPage so this was not a problem after all.
A big, big bonus with Freeola is that you don’t keep getting those annoying popups. Freeola do not require advertising space on your website either, although I have given them a link on my homepage out of courtesy.
I have only needed to call customer service once and found them to be very helpful and friendly with the issue being dealt with successfully. I can honestly say that I am unaware of any “downtime” with my website and have never had a visitor to my site comment on it either.
Contact Details
www.freeola.com
Freeola is part of Special Reserve Discount Network who quote themselves as being the “biggest computer & video games club in the world.” They go on to say that Freeola.com offers fast & reliable Internet access across the UK via Dial-up or BT Broadband ADSL.
Special Reserve Discount Network is a trading name of Inter-Mediates Ltd, 2 South Block, The Maltings, Sawbridgeworth, Herts, CM21 9JX.
My website has been “live” for about 18 months now and not only has it proven to be a great success, but I get a lot of satisfaction from hosting it. If you want to have a look it can be found at www.essexvillages.net but be warned, if you are not into genealogy, and Essex genealogy at that, then you’ll find it a bit boring.
If you are thinking of setting up a web site I cannot recommend Freeola enough. It’s free, its simple to sign up to, it’s got great customer service and it is very reliable.
Thanks for reading and I hope this review has been of help to someone.
Advantages: Free web space, fast service, good uptime Disadvantages: Have to connect via freeola to upload web pages
The main reason why I use freeola is for web hosting. I didn't originally purchase the domain from freeola, but the transfer over to them was fairly pain free. OK, here's the score - freeola offer free full web hosting. You can get your domain through freeola (I just renewed my domain through them at £17 for two years). Or, if you use someone else (e.g. UK2.NET), be aware that they may charge you for transferring the domain over to another ISP. Therefore, ... ...put banners on your site and you have full control over your web space area.
Once your setup, you can only access your web space if you've connected through freeola. You might think this is a con but I'd disagree. At just £8.50 a year for full web hosting, it's a small price to pay. I doubt you'd find another web space provider who charges so little and offers the same service. For example, if you were to use UK2.NET to register your domain (at ...
Asif 17.08.2001
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of freeola.com
Advantages: many free stuff + relatively cheap domain Disadvantages: restrictive webspace use, many hidden details
I have read fellow ciao members' opinions on this ISP and they all miss one vital point about this ISP. They are very cunning...let me explain why. I bought a domain from them: www.OnlineBookSite.com after seeing an ad in a national computer magazine. It sounded v. good...in fact too good to be true as i found later to my dismay.
It sounded good because they gave so much free stuff with your cheap domain. Well the works!...the amount of stuff they're ... ...'professional' web hosting company.
Well anywayz the thing they don't tell you is that you can only upload to your domain ONLY via their ISP connection...this is extremely restrictive...i.e. everytime you want to make a change to your website you HAVE to connect to freeola ISP and ONLY then you can get upload to your webspace....this is how they make their money...via 0845 call charges. Plus they said they support frontpage extensions but still ...
josephsagar 04.02.2001
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of freeola.com
Advantages: Unlimited hosting and cheap domains Disadvantages: You need to connect through freeola's ISP.
This is by far the cheapest domain package that I have seen on the web. Freeola's ISP service is generally good with a wide range of services, including many second level domains to choose from for free. Their partner GetDotted.com together with Freeola offer a great package. You can buy a domain for 2 years for as little as £17 including VAT for a '.co.uk' domain. '.com' domains are slightly more expensive, which is to be expected. When you buy ...
gavcruise 16.12.2000
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of freeola.com
Advantages: No Advertising! Disadvantages: Have to connect through Freeola's access number to upload web pages.
Whilst looking around for an ISP to host k-t.madcows.co.uk (PussyKatty's website), I stumbled accross Freeola and thought I'd check it out. For a start, you get a CGI-BIN that you can actually use! (CGI is the scripting tool that allows you to run guestbooks and counters etc) Not like the majority of free hosts (such as FreeNetName) where you get a couple of preloaded scripts and that's your lot! (If you intend to use it though, don't trust their ... ...don't give you the correct absolute path to your webpage!!) They also support technologies such as PHP and SSI. Secondly, you get "Unlimited web space". I haven't yet had the opportunity to check out how correct this statement is though. Their only restriction is that they will "monitor" the bandwidth that you use - which could mean anything! Hosting is also free - assuming that you registered your domain at GetDotted.com - a sister company to Freeola ...
Keith_Devil 21.12.2001
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of freeola.com
Bluemoutain.com
With Christmas coming up this is a perfect site to send Christmas cards free. Although, you can only send them via e-mail the colour and graphics on the cards are brilliant. And what more you can personalise the card and add a message and even add some background music. How many friends do you know that have got e-mail, send them a card free. The site is fast so it will only take a couple of minutes and the card have such brilliant ... ...be so impressed. If you don’t want to send a Christmas card you can send many more like:
-Thank-you cards
-Good luck cards
-Best friends cards
-Congratulations
-Mum and Father days cards
and many more. And for each category there are loads of different styles to chose from. Trust me you won’t be disappointed. You can decide when to send the card, you can compose it toady and send it in a months time and it will automatically send.
The homepage ...
WAD1-2-3 20.12.2000
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of freeola.com
