  Jon GebWal-Mart Sucks
join:2001-01-09
Howell, MI |  so sad
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 | | Anon |  Re: so sad
I just heard from my SBC/Pacbell that Winfire has been in default for two weeks and all orders have been put on hold until they pay their bill!
All order dates have been bumped out to 3/30/01.
Anybody out there intimate with the Terms of Service?
Is this a breach of contract?
I think it's time to cut these !@!$#^%$^%s off at the throat!
If you're reading this Winfire, the cat's out of the bag now, so why don't you come clean with | |
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| | | | Re: so sad I'm sure they'll have to, since today all the employees were laid off, I being one of them. | |
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| | What's the news? I visit DSL Reports for news, not pure speculation. What event are you reporting here? Are you reporting an internal memo or a website reference indicating something happening at Winfire? | |
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|  justinAustralian
join:1999-05-28
New York, NY
kudos:7 | Re: What's the news? Its pure speculation. With the number of DSL companies going under that charge real money, this one is clearly living on borrowed time.
Ignore it if you like.. | |
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| |  Buggy
join:2000-10-24
Tampa, FL | Re: What's the news? I hope they do go under before they try to steal 200 bucks from me for canceling seeing how I've been waiting for over 4 months and they haven't done a damn thing. I've written them half a dozen times to no avail. I figure I'll just let it sit until they go out of business and they can try and chase me down for their 'cancellation fee' for a free service ... blah ... they sux0r
--
Me | |
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| | | I like reading (well-reasoned) speculation as long as it is clear that's what it is. Perhaps it would be better if such speculation did not occur under the "News" header. That's what makes it seem inappropriate. It either wasn't News or there was something missing (a link to a real news article). On the other hand, it IS appropriate to report news that is someone else's speculation, so in that sense, I don't have a problem with speculation per se - just the labelling of it.
There have been a number of "News" articles where there was no link provided, sometimes because it's being passed by word of mouth, or based on non-public email, and now we have speculation as another source. I'd appreciate that when something appears under the News header, its source is clearly identified (or identified "as well as possible") so that we don't have to ask "What was the source of this posting?" | |
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| | justinAustralian
join:1999-05-28
New York, NY
kudos:7 Host:
IPv6
Business Connectiv..
Console/Handheld g..
Console Tech
Home/Office setup ..
| Re: What's the news? ok point taken.. its quite unprofessional by journalism standards, but I'm not a journalist so thats my excuse, although I'm slowly learning.
Perhaps an editorial keyword is needed. It doesnt really happen very often although I'm sure you remember each time it has. I've dont what I can by adding "speculation" in front of the bit.
But I think its a serious subject. People write in with anon feedback on winfire, and their terrible EULA, also check the forums.. they're out there collecting signups.. it is quite valid to question the stability of their business plan.. it just doesnt add up. | |
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| | | Hey bud, Justin MAKES DSL news. If he sez that they ain't gonna make it then they ain't gonna make it. The man knows the deal in DSL. Has done since it started. Still doing it today.
peace and out.
Puff D. | |
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| | | check it out at »www.fuckedcompany.com
it says:
Connect
Rumor has it employees were told to come in tomorrow and pick up their last check...
When: 2/28/2001
Company: WinFire.com
Severity: 99
Points: 199
24 comments in the Happy Fun Slander Corner!
any more questions?
a | |
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| | | EVIDENCE?? CALL THEM 877-993-7333 or 877-373-3375? Draw your own conclusion. "We are currently experiencing technical difficulties in our call center, please call back tomorrow." HuH? Sure. That's a remarkable coincidence if this news is not true. | |
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| Anon | You call THIS news?! | |
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| | | Re: You call THIS news?! said by Arkain:
My heart stopped beating for a second there when I see that headline 'cause I have been an active WinFire customer for three months with VERY satisfying results ($19.95/month for 384K, who else would offer this speed at that price? I feel sorry, no, pity for those AOLamer who shell out $22 each month for 56K dial-up)...turns out this is nothing but pure speculations, personally, I expected better from Dslreports, if I want to read rumors, I'd rather grab a copy of the latest issue of the National Enquirer from the news-stand instead.
AOL was able to take KISS up (or down IMHO) to a new level.
FYI, KISS stands for Keep It Simple Stupid. | |
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| | Anon | Yeah, speculation's a bad, bad thing, but then, sometimes, speculation is dead right. I cite WinFire.
There's a difference between DSL and AOL that you seem to miss. AOL, (love 'em or hate 'em), has a business model that (probably) works. Many, many DSL businesses have business models that were hatched as the result of a strenuous night of smoking hashish. WinFire was just one of the most egregious examples.
DSL is costly to install and develop the infrastructure for, and like all emerging technologies, someone has to pay those costs - and banner ads won't cut it. Arguably, they never could, but since Q4 2000, it's clear that the market downturn won't generate advertising revenues that will pay for the service that you have been enjoying. So, with no 'advertizing dollars' subsidizing you, you'll be exposed to fair market rate.
And that's precisely where you are right now. | |
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| | I hope they go soon Signed up a year ago. They started spamming me 4 months ago that they could hook me up. I tried to tell them to forget about it since I already connected with Earthlink 10 months ago. But the steps they make you go through are worse than the daily spam! Good riddance! | |
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 Rally1
join:2000-06-12
Long Beach, CA | No need to show your hand. Maybe he just knows something you don't. Let's wait and see  | |
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| | Chicken Little
"The death of freeDSL and the cutoff of users must be very near."
Sounds like Chicken Little to me: The sky is falling...The sky is falling...
Since I am a satisfied paying customer of Winfire, with a contractual agreement, i don't appreciate these rumors being spread which help to bring down my internet connection.
I have been a thankful supporter of DSLR and will probably continue to be. But I think this so-called News Article was posted with bad judgement.
You are entitled to your opinion tho. And I know I don't speak for those unsatisfied customers. But speculation like this only helps lead to the demise of an internet provider many people now depend on.
Good luck to you in the future. | |
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| | | Re: Chicken Little Read any of the major dsl news services and you will find the same thing concerning Winfire ... they have been in trouble since the internet advertising dollar started drying up three quarters ago ... DSLR reporting the impending demise of the Winfire service is in no way promulgating the company's collapse, they are doing a good enough job of that on their own. | |
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| Anon | Winfire Speculation I have the inside scoop and will be letting everyone know if its just hype. | |
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| | Anon | Re: Winfire Speculation | |
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| | | This is pure speculation. HEy Disney is giving a million dollars to the first ten people who go there right now. See Just Crap | |
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| | | Anon | Re: Winfire Speculation If Winfire laid off all the temps yesterday does that mean that something is up. Hmmmmm....Interesting | |
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| it's the place for it if you read the "got news" area it says:
Article/News/Tips/Rumor contribution
I remember reading rumors about Flashcom, and where are they now? DSL Reports is often one step ahead. and I dont think Justin claims everything under the news heading is from the AP!
I think the point is, how can a (new) company that gives away free DSL survive, if companies that charge customers have gone down already. It's not to hard to surmise that they cant last for long, even if you dont want to hear that....
--
devil's advocate: One who argues against a cause or position, not as a committed opponent but simply for the sake of argument or to determine the validity of the cause or position.
[text was edited by author 2001-02-27 18:30:48] | |
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| | I agree with DSLreport 200% Signed up for freedsl 4 month before they deployed, had my hopes up for 5 more month after they deployed in california. After 3 more month of it. I said screw that and call them to cancel. They felt so guilty of the long wait that they didn't even have the hearts to mention the damn cancellation fee. Think about it. All the free dsps out there have these time limits and time outs for inactivity. Think about all these nation wide dsl companies going under. I'm not saying freedsl is a bad idea,I admire their courage. However, they shouldn't have expanded too quick. They should concentrate more on quality of service (or service at all) vs quantity of un-satisfied customers. | |
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| | | Re: I agree with DSLreport 200% It will be a great day when Winfire bites the bullet and it goes boom. They cause pain to many and joy to very few. It will of course suck for those who actually got service and are happy. I sympathize for sure. But they are a BAD company, and deserve to sink. The BBB has received a lot of complaints about them recently, including one from me. Bad companies should go under to save the public trouble and strife. JMO. It's also amazing how things reported here become reality in short order.
Cheers | |
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| | Anon | Re: I agree with DSLreport 200%.. Hehe!!
Talk about butchered English! What exactly does:
"200%?" of a comment mean? It is meaningless.
100% is as high as the scale goes I believe,
unless you are discussing something very specific
like over-capacity. God save the Queen! God save
Queen's English!!! | |
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| Anon | GOOD BYE FREE DSL | |
|
 swanboy
join:2001-01-22
Hollywood, FL | NAHHHH I strongly belive that this is just an opinion and a rumor. Winfires not going out of business anytime soon. | |
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| Rally1
join:2000-06-12
Long Beach, CA | Re: NAHHHH  | |
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| | | Time to write a nice Eulogy on the sad demise of.. | |
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| | winfire just closed the doors Winfire just closed their doors about an hour ago, 4:45 pm, so the rumors are true, Winfire just went belly up. Ohh well, time to look for another job. Feel sorry for all the employees and customers, good luck to you all, I'll probably see a lot of you soon. | |
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| | Winfire isnt goin out of bussiness Winfire isnt going out of bussiness cause for one, they wouldnt of just put me on shipping and two, if they did they woulda had to email us all and it cant happen. Maybe they'll get bought out. BUt not go outta bussiness and make houndreds of thousands angry, specially if were almost connected  | |
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| | | Re: Winfire isnt goin out of bussiness Yes they are, I was there. I'm going in tomorrow to pick up my last paycheck - hope it's not short. | |
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| | | | Re: Winfire isnt goin out of bussiness I can confirm that. We all got laid off at 4:30 PM today. First I worked at Flashcom for 6 months and got laid off when they went under, now Winfire will cease operations tomorrow, 2/28. I'm 0-2. Time for me to get out of the DSL business. The Communications Act of 1996 didn't work. The ILEC's win again. | |
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| | | | Anon | Re: Winfire isnt goin out of bussiness
Like "Two in a row", I too worked at Flashcom until it went under. Now, less than 2 months later, I witnessed yet another startup fail. You're right Mr. Two in a row...the ILECs win again, and they will continue to win.
If you're looking for a stable job in telecom, perhaps you ought to look for a job at a telephone company (ILEC). I know I'm considering it this time. hehe
Email me through DSLReports if you'd like to talk, Two in a Row.
Over and out! | |
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| | | |  unemp
@dsl.lsan03.pacbell.n | Re: Winfire isnt goin out of bussiness Well, I worked for ASI... So much for stability eh? | |
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Rally1
join:2000-06-12
Long Beach, CA
| Say you're sorry. to all those that said it wasn't so, please apologize to Justin, and here, have some Crow.
[text was edited by author 2001-02-27 22:06:51] | |
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| | | Re: Say you're sorry. Well, being the first person here to ask 'what's the news', it's obvious that Justin was right, with his inside-scoop on anonymous tips.
But as Justin pointed out himself, he is trying to present hard news wherever he can. I presume it was frustrating seeing this business failure unfolding but not being able to secure a piece of hard evidence before the news broke elsewhere (in this case, www.fuckedcompany.com).
Winfire's homepage now states: "Winfire is currently not accepting new DSL registrations. However, current users can still access their account information here."
Gone, gone, gone. I used to manage a DSL rollout (of about 2000 business customers before I quit the industry) and I agree with anyone's observation here that the way the industry is structured, the only folks who might be able to make money on DSL are the RBOC/ILEC companies.
However, I wouldn't buy stock in the RBOCs either. Their customer service sucks and they don't know how to run a business efficiently. Restrictions on building a real IP backbone ensure that the networks will always run less efficiently (because you have to build a backhaul network across state lines, so an IXC company like Worldcom or Level3 has to be contracted at big $$$, and the RBOCs can't own their own cross-border backhaul networks).
All those predictions that DSL will overtake cable are WRONG. DSL will be used to light up the local Pizza Hut or Walgreens, but *not* for joe consumer.
-rich | |
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DoubleL7I Dont Know
join:2000-12-30
San Francisco, CA
|  Uh huh...
Before the great broadband, when broadband was only a glimmer in the eyes of its creator (poetic license)... there was the 56k... there were 56k's of all different sizes and shapes: crappy ones (AOL), okay ones (Earthlink, MSN, etc.), and FREE ONES (freewwweb, juno, altavista, etc.) ... we all saw the fate of these free 56k isps... (for all those that have been on Mars... they failed, although Europe has gotten this free 56k isp thing working, but im not sure how well & netzero and a few others are still surviving...but I DON'T think much longer)
now the business model used for the "FREE" 56k isp model failed, and applying a similar model to broadband will only yield a similar result.
not to sound all "i hate free isps". i do support it... and i wish the internet were accessible to everyone freely or @ a price close to "free".
my $1.02
-Lawrence
A little from column A and a little from column B .
"Thems are fightin' words."-Some hick redneck (and no, im not a redneck)
I practically live here...
There are some "messed-up" people out there...
[text was edited by author 2001-02-27 21:55:36] | |
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Reviews:
 ·RoadRunner Cable
| Tired!
--
DSL... sure feels good to be back.
[text was edited by author 2001-02-28 00:37:49]
[text was edited by author 2001-02-28 00:39:10] | |
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| ***** It's Official****Winfire Out o' the Biz!!!!! It's official, Winfire Closed down shop at 3:15 pm on 2/27/01. On 2/26 all temp employees were recalled by their agency and the following day (today) rumors abounded about how we were closing shop.
I thought to myself...oh it's just hysteria, and even at 3:00 one of the higher ups told us to return to our desks if we were scheduled to work, and the rest of us to return in the morning...I believe the phase was "business as usual"
Much to my chagrin, I received a phone call that we were to report for our final paychecks in the afternoon and that Winfire and it's sister Octive Technology ceased operation.
So, all you peeps out there waiting for pending escalations and callbacks, or waiting for modems or waiting to get provisioned, I would suggest you go to cable Inet access.
DSL is ****** from the word go, the phone companies can't handle the demand, 3rd party providers run by megalomaniacal, snotty little rich kids with delusions of Internet millions that thought starting a DSL would be an interesting capital investment for daddy's money can't make a sound business decision even if the family jewels depended on it.
I saw classic freshmen mistakes that even a first year BizAdmin major could spot from a mile away. I sat there and dished out the bullshit "corporate" responses to idiotic mistakes made by the so called "experts".
So, all of you that signed up with Winfire, I apologize to you for putting up with the far from stable network, the modem shipment problems, the bullshit excuses, the long wait on the phones etc, etc, etc ad infinitum. Believe it or not, there was a large group of us people at Winfire that the rest of the corporate goons thought was full of crap, they never believed us when we tried to give them information on what was going on from the end users standpoint. We really tried to help our users, because we all at one point were on your end...getting dicked around by some faceless corporation. It's funny, when we first started out, posts about us on DSL reports were pretty good. As time wore on, the official corporate position was to keep people away from DSL reports because of the bad press....
But, just remember all you FreeDSL users out there, you got what you paid for....caveat emptor.
To all my fellow Winfired buddies, I know this comes as a total shock to all of you as it did me...Some of us were former Flashcom and ASI people and I feel bad for us having to endure this shit again. Hey, at least it wasn't a long drawn out thing...Thank god for that. Well peeps, let's keep in touch. If I get in anywhere else, I'll keep you guys in mind.
Thanks for being such a terrific team to work with, I'll miss all of your smiling faces, your friendship, your words of encouragement and
To our end users, we all apologize for all the crap you were subjected to, and please understand we did our best because we really believed in our company.
I almost forgot, when you call the 800#, you'll get a message that says "Thank you for calling Winfire, our call center is experiencing technical difficulties, please call again tomorrow" Do yourself a favor, don't bother....you'll not get through tomorrow, the next day, not ever...Spend the time rather, and get yourself a new carrier.
Peace Love and Harmony, maybe I'll see ya all out at the unemployment office!!! Or perhaps at the next DotCom deathpool. Hey, ya know what, we need to put together a pink slip party....
[text was edited by moderator] | |
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See 45 replies to this post |
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| | ironic news posts If you look on Winfire's homepage under press releases, they were announcing extremely enourageing propaganda- why would they have said that, and 'closed their doors' a week later? | |
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|  Mylar
join:2000-08-01
Imperial, MO | Re: ironic news posts
assuming this was a publicly traded company. | |
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| | | Anon | Re: ironic news posts said by Mylar:
assuming this was a publicly traded company.
it wasn't. | |
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| Anon | WinFire DSL service was on all day 2/27. | |
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| | Anon | Re: WinFire DSL service was on all day 2/27.
I just called Earthlink to get DSL from them, at $39.95/mo. They even waived the $99 setup fee because the line is already functional. It will take 3-4 weeks to get online again, but thankfully the ordeal will be over.
I also called my credit card company to deny charge authorization from them, but the CC company said I can't do that with a single merchant and the best I can do is to dispute the charge later (if they indeed dare to charge me $200 cancellation fee). | |
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| |
| Re: WinFire DSL service was on all day 2/27. Read The Press Release.. Chad said he would try to minimize interrupted service, he never claimed to eliminate it.
[text was edited by moderator] | |
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| | | | Anon | Re: WinFire DSL service was on all day 2/27. | |
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o
@245.xx.91.LosAngeles | what should i do?? what should i do??? i was suppose to get the modem/kit today!! i still haven't have it in my hand and u tell me 'Winfire FreeDSL' gose banko!! They are crooked!! Winfire already charge my credit card!!
What should i do? i call my credit card company already.. i hope i will get my money back!! do u think i can?? plz.. answer my question!!! i need to know will i get my money back!! :~( | |
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| | Anon | Re: what should i do?? what should i do???
Winfire wasn't crooked. I was one of the lucky few who had great service with them. Still do! (I'm logged in as I write this)!
I'm bummed that I'll have to pay more $$$$$ for DSL!
Good Luck | |
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| | Anon | Are we suppose to pay the service? since, I hardly get the dsl service... I alway had problem login....and even I got in...it is slow... 50k.
just in the past month..it is even more tough login in.
ISP conflict with a hardware number and error. | |
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