NetZero
Encyclopedia
NetZero is an Internet service provider
based in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles
, California
. It is a subsidiary
of United Online
, owner of Juno Online Services
and BlueLight Internet Services. The current (2007) chairman, president, and CEO of United Online (and thus NetZero) is Mark Goldston.
and was the only ISP to be included in the OOBE Out-Of-Box Experience
. In September 1999 NetZero went public on the NASDAQ exchange with the symbol NZRO. Mark R. Goldston was hired as CEO, Charles S. Hilliard was hired as CFO and Ronald T. Burr took the position of President and Chief Technology Officer.
In late 1999 several other companies began to copy the NetZero free access model including Juno Online Services
, Spinway launched with Yahoo!
and AltaVista
, Freei
and BlueLight Internet, which was originally owned by Kmart
. They claimed to offer free Internet service forever, in exchange for displaying ads, either on a permanent toolbar or on a "banner" that was shown when online. NetZero sued them for infringing on a banner ad patent. After the dotcom bust in early 2001, NetZero acquired its competitors as each went bankrupt. In addition NetZero acquired AimTV which displayed full video quality 30 second ad spots as well as Simpli
and RocketCash.
Starting in January 2001, after the crash of internet advertising, NetZero began charging for access time over 40 hours per month. Users who exceeded 40 hours were directed to the company's "Platinum" service, which provided unlimited access for $9.95 per month. With the income statement reinvigorated through charging heavier users of the system, NetZero acquired its rival Juno Online Services
and created a new holding company, United Online
which now trades on NASDAQ under the symbol UNTD. NetZero later lowered the threshold for their free service to 10 hours per month.
In June 2005, the company released a new client that replaced the advertising bar with an Internet Explorer
browser helper object
. In July 2005, NetZero introduced a service called "3G," standing for the "third generation of Internet". The company charged $9.95 per month for the service, vaguely claiming it was so fast, "you wouldn't believe it wasn't broadband
". As dial-up connections are subject to the limits of 56k modem
s, the service does not increase transmission speed. Instead, the service pre-fetches
HTML
markup, JavaScript
and other small files and compresses
them. Video, images, and other non-text files are not compressed. This technology also utilizes the user's cache
to prevent redownloading. A newer service, "Netzero DSL", was released soon after.
NetZero also has versions of its proprietary dial-up software for computers running Mac OS 9
or Mac OS X
. NetZero previously offered a Linux version of the NetZero software advertised as being for Linspire
, however the software could be installed on any Debian
-based i386 or x86-64
Linux distribution
; NetZero can also be installed on any RPM
-based Linux distribution as long as Alien
is used to convert the NetZero Debian package into an RPM package. In addition, the Linux version requires the Java Runtime Environment to be installed prior to use of the NetZero dialer. However the current Linux version of the dialer no longer functions properly with the service as of 2009.
Internet service provider
An Internet service provider is a company that provides access to the Internet. Access ISPs directly connect customers to the Internet using copper wires, wireless or fiber-optic connections. Hosting ISPs lease server space for smaller businesses and host other people servers...
based in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
. It is a subsidiary
Subsidiary
A subsidiary company, subsidiary, or daughter company is a company that is completely or partly owned and wholly controlled by another company that owns more than half of the subsidiary's stock. The subsidiary can be a company, corporation, or limited liability company. In some cases it is a...
of United Online
United Online
United Online is a public company formed by the 2001 merger of NetZero and Juno Online Services. The company's range of products and services has evolved significantly since inception, primarily through a series of acquisitions that have included Classmates Online , MyPoints and FTD Group, Inc. ....
, owner of Juno Online Services
Juno Online Services
Juno is an Internet service provider based in the United States. It is a subsidiary of United Online, which also owns NetZero and Kmart's BlueLight internet service.-History:...
and BlueLight Internet Services. The current (2007) chairman, president, and CEO of United Online (and thus NetZero) is Mark Goldston.
History
NetZero launched in October 1998, founded by Ronald T. Burr, Stacy Haitsuka, Marwan Zebian and Harold MacKenzie. The first free internet service provider, NetZero grew to 1,000,000 users in six months. NetZero's model was free internet access to attract an audience for highly targeted advertising. The ad serving technology has over 9 patents and NetZero was the first company to invent real-time URL targeted advertising based on surfing patterns. NetZero signed a distribution deal with CompaqCompaq
Compaq Computer Corporation is a personal computer company founded in 1982. Once the largest supplier of personal computing systems in the world, Compaq existed as an independent corporation until 2002, when it was acquired for US$25 billion by Hewlett-Packard....
and was the only ISP to be included in the OOBE Out-Of-Box Experience
Out-Of-Box Experience
The term out-of-box experience describes the experience a user has when installing and/or performing initial configuration on a piece of hardware or software, which usually involves computers.- Definitions :...
. In September 1999 NetZero went public on the NASDAQ exchange with the symbol NZRO. Mark R. Goldston was hired as CEO, Charles S. Hilliard was hired as CFO and Ronald T. Burr took the position of President and Chief Technology Officer.
In late 1999 several other companies began to copy the NetZero free access model including Juno Online Services
Juno Online Services
Juno is an Internet service provider based in the United States. It is a subsidiary of United Online, which also owns NetZero and Kmart's BlueLight internet service.-History:...
, Spinway launched with Yahoo!
Yahoo!
Yahoo! Inc. is an American multinational internet corporation headquartered in Sunnyvale, California, United States. The company is perhaps best known for its web portal, search engine , Yahoo! Directory, Yahoo! Mail, Yahoo! News, Yahoo! Groups, Yahoo! Answers, advertising, online mapping ,...
and AltaVista
AltaVista
AltaVista is a web search engine owned by Yahoo!. AltaVista was once one of the most popular search engines but its popularity declined with the rise of Google...
, Freei
Freei
Freei was a free Internet Service Provider from 1998-2000. In 2000, FreeInternet.com was acquired by United Online, Inc. . In 2008, United Online re-launched FreeInternet.com as a Web site dedicated to free and discounted retail offers...
and BlueLight Internet, which was originally owned by Kmart
Kmart
Kmart, sometimes styled as "K-Mart," is a chain of discount department stores. The chain acquired Sears in 2005, forming a new corporation under the name Sears Holdings Corporation. The company was founded in 1962 and is the third largest discount store chain in the world, behind Wal-Mart and...
. They claimed to offer free Internet service forever, in exchange for displaying ads, either on a permanent toolbar or on a "banner" that was shown when online. NetZero sued them for infringing on a banner ad patent. After the dotcom bust in early 2001, NetZero acquired its competitors as each went bankrupt. In addition NetZero acquired AimTV which displayed full video quality 30 second ad spots as well as Simpli
Simpli
Simpli was an early search engine that offered disambiguation to search terms. A user could enter in a search term that was ambiguous and the search engine would return a list of alternatives .The technology was rooted in brain science and built by academics to model the way in which the mind...
and RocketCash.
Starting in January 2001, after the crash of internet advertising, NetZero began charging for access time over 40 hours per month. Users who exceeded 40 hours were directed to the company's "Platinum" service, which provided unlimited access for $9.95 per month. With the income statement reinvigorated through charging heavier users of the system, NetZero acquired its rival Juno Online Services
Juno Online Services
Juno is an Internet service provider based in the United States. It is a subsidiary of United Online, which also owns NetZero and Kmart's BlueLight internet service.-History:...
and created a new holding company, United Online
United Online
United Online is a public company formed by the 2001 merger of NetZero and Juno Online Services. The company's range of products and services has evolved significantly since inception, primarily through a series of acquisitions that have included Classmates Online , MyPoints and FTD Group, Inc. ....
which now trades on NASDAQ under the symbol UNTD. NetZero later lowered the threshold for their free service to 10 hours per month.
In June 2005, the company released a new client that replaced the advertising bar with an Internet Explorer
Internet Explorer
Windows Internet Explorer is a series of graphical web browsers developed by Microsoft and included as part of the Microsoft Windows line of operating systems, starting in 1995. It was first released as part of the add-on package Plus! for Windows 95 that year...
browser helper object
Browser Helper Object
A Browser Helper Object is a DLL module designed as a plugin for Microsoft's Internet Explorer web browser to provide added functionality. BHOs were introduced in October 1997 with the release of version 4 of Internet Explorer. Most BHOs are loaded once by each new instance of Internet Explorer...
. In July 2005, NetZero introduced a service called "3G," standing for the "third generation of Internet". The company charged $9.95 per month for the service, vaguely claiming it was so fast, "you wouldn't believe it wasn't broadband
Broadband
The term broadband refers to a telecommunications signal or device of greater bandwidth, in some sense, than another standard or usual signal or device . Different criteria for "broad" have been applied in different contexts and at different times...
". As dial-up connections are subject to the limits of 56k modem
56K modem
56k modems are voiceband modems nominally capable of download speeds up to 56 kbit/s . In the late 1990s, they were the most popular access method for personal Internet usage, but their use had declined as broadband technologies such as DSL gained wider availability.-Speed:The 56 kbit/s...
s, the service does not increase transmission speed. Instead, the service pre-fetches
Link prefetching
Link prefetching is a proprietary syntax to give web browsers a hint about documents that it should pre-fetch because the user might visit them in the near future. It is proposed as a draft internet standard by Mozilla...
HTML
HTML
HyperText Markup Language is the predominant markup language for web pages. HTML elements are the basic building-blocks of webpages....
markup, JavaScript
JavaScript
JavaScript is a prototype-based scripting language that is dynamic, weakly typed and has first-class functions. It is a multi-paradigm language, supporting object-oriented, imperative, and functional programming styles....
and other small files and compresses
Data compression
In computer science and information theory, data compression, source coding or bit-rate reduction is the process of encoding information using fewer bits than the original representation would use....
them. Video, images, and other non-text files are not compressed. This technology also utilizes the user's cache
Cache
In computer engineering, a cache is a component that transparently stores data so that future requests for that data can be served faster. The data that is stored within a cache might be values that have been computed earlier or duplicates of original values that are stored elsewhere...
to prevent redownloading. A newer service, "Netzero DSL", was released soon after.
NetZero also has versions of its proprietary dial-up software for computers running Mac OS 9
Mac OS 9
Mac OS 9 is the final major release of Apple's Mac OS before the launch of Mac OS X. Introduced on October 23, 1999, Apple positioned it as "The Best Internet Operating System Ever," highlighting Sherlock 2's Internet search capabilities, integration with Apple's free online services known as...
or Mac OS X
Mac OS X
Mac OS X is a series of Unix-based operating systems and graphical user interfaces developed, marketed, and sold by Apple Inc. Since 2002, has been included with all new Macintosh computer systems...
. NetZero previously offered a Linux version of the NetZero software advertised as being for Linspire
Linspire
Linspire, previously known as LindowsOS, was a commercial operating system based on Debian GNU/Linux and later Ubuntu. Linspire was published by Linspire, Inc. and focused on ease-of-use, targeting home PC users...
, however the software could be installed on any Debian
Debian
Debian is a computer operating system composed of software packages released as free and open source software primarily under the GNU General Public License along with other free software licenses. Debian GNU/Linux, which includes the GNU OS tools and Linux kernel, is a popular and influential...
-based i386 or x86-64
X86-64
x86-64 is an extension of the x86 instruction set. It supports vastly larger virtual and physical address spaces than are possible on x86, thereby allowing programmers to conveniently work with much larger data sets. x86-64 also provides 64-bit general purpose registers and numerous other...
Linux distribution
Linux distribution
A Linux distribution is a member of the family of Unix-like operating systems built on top of the Linux kernel. Such distributions are operating systems including a large collection of software applications such as word processors, spreadsheets, media players, and database applications...
; NetZero can also be installed on any RPM
RPM Package Manager
RPM Package Manager is a package management system. The name RPM variously refers to the .rpm file format, files in this format, software packaged in such files, and the package manager itself...
-based Linux distribution as long as Alien
Alien (software)
Alien is a computer program that converts between different Linux package formats, written by Joey Hess.-Features:Alien supports conversion between Linux Standard Base, RPM, deb, Stampede , Solaris and Slackware packages...
is used to convert the NetZero Debian package into an RPM package. In addition, the Linux version requires the Java Runtime Environment to be installed prior to use of the NetZero dialer. However the current Linux version of the dialer no longer functions properly with the service as of 2009.
See also
- Comparison of webmail providersComparison of webmail providersThe following tables and gallery compare general and technical information for a number of webmail providers. Please see the individual products' articles for further information.- General information :...
- Webmail
- PrivatePhonePrivatePhonePrivatePhone was a free voicemail service developed by Netzero in early 2006 as a way for users to get their own voicemail for free. Originally the service only allowed you to have 10 voicemail messages in your main inbox at a time and it gave the notice "Please leave a message for this...