IS THERE A COMPUTER IN YOUR FUTURE? FIRST: You might want to consider MY thoughts on WebTV's FUTURE NEXT: One very important item: to get on the One Plan, you HAVE to have TWO things, WebTV AND a working COMPUTER. NOT one and without the other, BOTH. And, MSNTV2 doesn't even enter the picture! FOR SOME REASON THERE IS MUCH CONFUSION ABOUT WHAT IS NEEDED, LIKE: "MSNTV2 and a WebTV, NO PC. am I eligible for the One Plan?" Nope! - 'Puter AND WebTV = One Plan ($15.95 + WebTV is free) Total = $15.95 - 'Puter AND MSNTV2 = **NO** One Plan, MSN is $15.95 + $9.95 for MSNTV2 (discounted for own ISP for MSNTV2) Total = $24.95 - 'Puter AND WebTV AND MSNTV2 = One Plan ($15.95 + WebTV free + 9.95 w/discount for own ISP) Total = $24.95 - MSN = $15.95 + MSNTV2 = $9.95 (discounted for own ISP) **PLUS** WebTV $14.95 (discounted for own ISP) Total = $40.85 Note: MSN is NOT MSNTV/WebTV and MSNTV2 is NOT a computer. Before you can consider The One Plan, you have to find out if MSNIA Dial Up Service is even available where you live. (Does not seem compatible for WebTV to access!) OH! You CAN'T get MSNIA in YOUR area? Then you don't qualify for the One Plan. Sorry about that! In that case, you will need info on getting your OWN ISP But, you can still get a discount from WebTV of $10.00 per month. Trouble is: not ALL ISPs are compatible with WebTV. Bummer, eh?! I don't think many are concerned with this, but I have included it: "Current MSN TV service subscribers, MSN Internet Access subscribers, and potential subscribers who own or are willing to purchase a PC and MSN TV receiver (with the exception of MSN Broadband, Triple Play, Knowledge Networks, and Rogers Cable customers) are eligible for the MSN One Plan. MSN Internet access and MSN TV service accounts must be in the same household. Payment by credit card required." And you can still get MSN as an ISP, BUT NOT The One Plan Ok, Just WHAT IS "THE ONE PLAN"? Here are several links explaining the whole thing: FROM WEBTV SAVERIO'S Mike Donnelly's Joe Lok's MSNIA FOR MAC OS X Too: http://www.microsoft.com/mac/products/msnformacosx/msnformacosx.aspx?pid=instruct Here is some REALLY GREAT ADVICE and I urge everyone to read and study this BEFORE you start making your phone calls: From a recent post by Ken Dine: "Whenever we talk about the deal we always warn to NOT mention the One-plan - NEVER tell MSN that you have a webbie when you ask for the lower rate! Loose lips sink ships! MSN and MsnTv are two different companies - for the most part, MSN (MSNIA) employees don't even know what a webbie is ...so, why even mention your webbie and the One-plan when asking MSN for their lower rate? Usually, giving them that detail will just confuse them! Also, the One-plan is an MsnTv billing scheme ...and, I doubt they'd be thrilled to know about the MSN $15.95 rate. Even so, many of us have asked for and received the $15.95 rate because we discretely DO NOT MENTION OUR WEBBIES while asking for it! Who ever told you about the deal without also warning you to be discreet about the One-plan has messed you up. To do it correctly, call MSN (NOT MsnTv) and ask for their Cancellation Dept and ask for the lower rate - but, DO NOT mention your webbie or the One-plan! As far as they should know, you're just another PC customer asking for the lower rate." STEP by STEP, HOW "ELONA" DID IT: "This is done AFTER you have already called MSNIA at 1-800-386-5550 and signed up for their Internet Service for your computer. From then on, you will be billed by MSNIA and not Webtv. Called Webtv at 1-800-469-3288 Pushed #2 for Customer Support & Billing Told them that I wanted to sign up for the One Plan. Was transferred to a technician who was near Seattle. WA. She took my main webtv user name, She pushed a few buttons and then told me to turn OFF webtv, then turn it back on, and fill out the information on the screen. The rest of the sign-up was done on the Webtv screen. When I logged back on, it said "dialing to connect" then "connecting to MSN", then "connecting using MSNIA as your ISP." I entered my MSNIA user name and password to confirm my identity at MSNIA. Next page says "Choose your access number" and gives you a list of dial-ups. Then "Choose a back-up number." It also said to select OTHER numbers than my MSNIA dial-up. Next page. Confirm your numbers. Click Done and Continue. The last page tells me to RE-CONNECT for the changes to take place. When I re-connected, I was asked to confirm my MSNIA user name, password and ISP again. It dialed my connection and I was logged on to Webtv. From then on, it went right to the dial-up just as before when I logged on. Instead of saying "Connecting to MSN" like it used to, it now says "Connecting to your ISP." Everything else on webtv is the same." I don't even know just why I am tossing THIS link into the works. It's NOT WebTV, it's NOT a computer, it does NOT qualify for the One Plan, but some like it, I just never found out WHY: MSNTV2 Well, your now pretty well versed on the One Plan and how to get on it. A user, who I forget his name now, offered this: "Many computer problems are fixed by using WebTV". How true! For starters, if you haven't already, you will need to study, read, and learn again. It might have taken you months or years to where you are now, on WebTV, some of that WILL help you, but there is plenty more to learn. I visit most of these groups everyday, and learn something myself each time: Here, are our 2 great computer groups: news:alt.discuss.clubs.public.internet.computers.gingerough_m news:alt.discuss.computers BUT....remember: our WebTV ONLY alt.discuss groups are NOT accessable using a computer! However, this one is: Here, is a nice group, friendly folks that have both WebTV (or did) and a computer: http://web-nuts.com/forum/ Here, is a link to Usenet, but be CAREFUL: http://www.harley.com/usenet/ To give you an idea of what to expect, this, is a Usenet group that bridges WebTV & PCs, but, NOT for the pure & innocent: news:alt.online-service.webtv Here, many MSN XP OS computer groups: news:microsoft.public.windowsxp.newusers news:microsoft.public.windowsxp.basics news:microsoft.public.windowsxp.perform_maintain news:microsoft.public.windowsxp.help_and_support news:microsoft.public.windowsxp.general news:microsoft.public.windowsxp.security_admin news:microsoft.public.windowsxp.setup_deployment news:microsoft.public.windowsxp.hardware       news:microsoft.public.windowsxp.network_web news:microsoft.public.windowsxp.customize   news:microsoft.public.windowsxp.embedded news:microsoft.public.windowsxp.messenger news:microsoft.public.windowsxp.games But, NOW YOU have a little more to do, explained on the next page.