Short Take: MindSpring ups bounty, cuts start-up fee

MindSpring Enterprises said today it would double its $10 customer referral bounty--the amount it pays subscribers who bring a new customer on board--and eliminate its $25 startup fee. The ISP also said it would increase the number of mailboxes available to each subscriber. The moves mark the latest in the big ISPs' attempts to stay one step ahead of the growing number of free and discount Internet service providers.