"Oh, we don't allow users to compile packages on our servers."

"Well, we just don't get much demand for that sort of thing. If you really must read your mail from the shell, I'm afraid our 1993 copy of Pine is your only choice."

"We're discontinuing our UNIX shell service..."

Sound familiar?

It's funny. Linux and other UNIX systems are gaining acclaim and reputation in recent months, yet at the same time, Internet providers are pulling the plug on their direct UNIX access accounts left and right. Even providers who retain their shell accounts are likely to cut back support for serious shell users.

Panix is still listening.

Panix was one of the first companies to offer Internet service for sale, and we're one of the oldest surviving independent ISPs in the world. We've been around since 1989, and our goal is still to provide stable, reliable Internet and UNIX access while giving subscribers as much freedom as possible.

That's right; UNIX.

We maintain several user hosts, featuring the latest builds of almost every UNIX shell program you could name, and every standard shell environment. If you want a package we don't carry, we'll often build it on request. Even if we don't, you can build your own copy and customize it at will. In the words of CEO Alexis Rosen, "as long as it's legal and doesn't get in anyone else's way, it's okay with us."

(We do have a few limitations, of course, but we sometimes even grant things like "cron" access in special cases. Drop us a line; we really do listen.)

The right tools for Web architects.

All Panix accounts (even the cheapest shell-only ones) include access to our Web server for a homepage, and our philosophy extends to webmasters too. The Web servers run NetBSD and Apache, and allow CGI programming in shell, Perl, or even C/C++. If you're not content with prefab CGI libraries, and don't want the headache of maintaining your own UNIX development box, a Panix shell account is the perfect test bed for your site.