About Time: AOL Goes Free
from the last-walls-come-tumbling-down dept
After much speculation, AOL announced today that it would finally bite the bullet, and become a free portal, complete with free AOL email addresses for anyone who wants one. The company says it now wants to exploit the "explosive rise in broadband usage and online advertising", though, of course, it's already missed out on much of the explosion. At least now the company can be meaningfully compared to competitors, and those on the inside can get better measures of their success. As for marrying content with distribution, the initial goal of the AOL-Time Warner merger, there they still have some work to do.
Reader Comments (rss)
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"complete with free AOL email addresses for anyone who wants one."
Now *that*'s prestige.
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WOW, what will they think of next?
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Better Late...
...Than Never doesn't really apply here. I have no impetus to use their portal.
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And I bet...
they still give you a hassle and the run around when you try to cancel your account.
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Use a spellchecker!
"bight the bullet"
Shouldn't that "bite the bullet"?
http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=bight
http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q =bite
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Re: Use a spellchecker!
this is news is so good, there is no time to run spell check, just post it and let the world know
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I remember in elementry and middle school, having an AOL account was access to being cool
I couldn't wait to have an AOL account so I was even willing to have one for just the free trial period. But every time I tried to cancel they extended the free period for another 30-45 days. I had free AOL for 1.5 years!!! I would always say I did not have time try their product. Even thought I was always on, and they had access to how many hours I used.
Now I have dsl for 14.95, beat that AOL
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Prestigous Email Address
Good call Anonymous Coward - nothing says prestige or cutting edge technology than someone with an aol account. For personal stuff - you know, that's personal preference. But when I get a business related email from an aol account, my spider-sense starts tingling.
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Does this mean that my friends mom, who is paying for AOL for Broadband, can cancel her account and still receive all the benefits of paying $15 a month? Because I know they aren't going to cancel it for her.
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Re: Use a spellchecker!
thanks, fixed
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Re: Use a spellchecker!
DittoBox, dude take a pill, spelling went out with paying for AOL, or didn't you get the memo?
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Re: Re: Use a spellchecker!
Yeah, and don't forget to capitalize the first word of your sentances, either.
You loose at grammer perfection, lol.
A period at the end of the sentance would have completed the sentance, properly; as well.
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AOL e-mail
During a job fair we filtered out IT workers that listed an AOL e-mail address on their resume.
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Re: Re: Re: Use a spellchecker!
Even if you were trying to be funny, spelling "sentence" as "sentance" made me want to punch something.
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Awww...
So does this mean that they stop putting out those really cool trial cd's ?!?!?!
What a lame move by AOL. Just throwing in the towel
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Another instance
Tech Dirt loves free stuff, just another instance. Not commenting on the specifics of this deal. Any free business model seems to be a good one to Tech Dirt. Somebody give the writters more money please. On the otherhand, a better business model is to have writers write for free.
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so if i'm paying for AOL now, how do I stopped getting charged for it?
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oops I meant how do I stop getting charged for it...
dumb AOL user.
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still on dial up
I've still got AOL dial up at home ( I live in the country ) and it is torture. I almost love going to work for the T1 line they have. But I still only use my GMAIL account and Firefox for internet, there services sucks. And they have spyware/virus scanner that manages to pop up on the bottom right corner of my screen and crash DOOM3/Half Life 2 whenever i play.
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Re: AOL e-mail
Isn't that a form of racism....
No AOL users here!
lol.
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Finally ... It's worth the price of admission !
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Re: Re: AOL e-mail
"Isn't that a form of racism....
No AOL users here!
lol."
If only AOL users could be called a race... Perhaps if they had any brain cells we'd be able to one day lol.
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But are they really going free?
I predict that existing accounts will still be charged to no end, cancellation horrors and all.
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Re: Re: Re: Re: Use a spellchecker!
Crap!
If we are going to read published material, it might be a good idea to use standardized spelling and grammer. Not because it's important to follow rules but because it's easier to read. Plays on words (spelling/grammer) may cause the reader to think of things that weren't intended. It's just distracting.
Leave intriguing use of words and grammer to poets, not to someone trying to communicate something to a wide audience. Including people to whom English may not be their first language.
Anyway, there are rules so that we agree as to what is being said. Granted, it's quite clear here that it's just a mistake and may be overlooked but clearly some people have pent up aggression.
Can you imagine programming code with a misplaced period? It can make or break the code. Humans, though are a bit smarter and are able to deduce the meaning at times.
Man!...way off topic.
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Re:
"I remember in elementry and middle school, having an AOL account was access to being cool "
lol...I remember in middle school when we didn't have computers :D
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Oh yeah...
Oh yeah,
AOL sucks! It's always sucked. It sucked when it was $25.00 and it sucks when it's free!
There are way better services out there that don't inundate your computer with crap either.
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I think some of you guys are missing the point. The only way you can stop paying for AOL service is if you have a separate ISP. AOL will offer stuff like email and various web content for free, but the actual dial-up or broadband connection will never be free. For someone using AOL Broadband, you could probably keep your same email address and whatnot, but to stop paying for the connection itself, you'd have to start paying another ISP. There is a difference between the Internet and the World Wide Web. The WWW is the content, whereas the Internet is the medium used to access it. The WWW may become free mostly, but the Internet will never be free. It's a utility, just like electricity and water, and nobody will ever be able to offer it for free, unless of course the entire concept of money and personal profit is eliminated from this world.
As for AOL itself, I agree that "better late than never" statement doesn't apply here. It's more like "too little too late." AOL has ripped people off for way too long and it needs to die.
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i had free AOL for about 1.5 yrs . . . i started with a 6 mos free trial. each time i called to cancel, they asked me why and i said, "AOL is too expensive for me. i can't afford it" and each time the rep extended my free trial another 3 mos! =P
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Re:
So where exactly do all those tubes come into play?
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could someone just answer my question?
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rofl
For all you spelling junkies who keep giving everyone shit, it's
grammar, not grammer... It's really amusing to watch people criticize other's for spelling, when them themselves cannot spell or use proper grammar. Get a life guys.. Free email accounts are something of the past and will continue to be free. This is an interesting article though, nice to see AOL opening up there service a little. It is the users fault for paying the ridiculous ammounts of money for the service.
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#30 answer
Look, #27 already answered it.
You either need to stop paying AOL and get another ISP (Internet Service Provider) or continue using AOL.
There aren't two ways about it. You are not going to get connected to the internet for free.
AOL services are free...not the CONNECTION.
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Oops, sorry I'm on the wrong post, I was attempting to comment on AOL, but I see this is a grammar police comment board.
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Re: rofl
james b., do you know what else is amusing? watching you spell "others" as "other's" -- with an extra apostrophe ;-)
but PLEASE, can we get back to talking about AOL?
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Re: Re: Re: Use a spellchecker!
that's "grammar" you knob.
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Re: rofl
"when them themselves cannot..."
Shouldn't that be "...they themselves...?"
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who you callin a knob?
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i can remember
aol, compuserve and GEnie fighting and 300 baud modems...i was married and a father when i bought my first computer...a Timex/Sinclair 1000, at a drug store..and also "computerized" the local government i worked for, using a commdore 64 and Atari XL's...i skipped over Apple altogether and have never regretted it..aol was a big time saver back then..things change...and thanks for prompting me to walk down memory lane....oh, for the simpler times....lol
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Who cares!
Grammur
Grammoor
Grammer
Grammir
You see world, I really am an idiot. I have something to say but lack the skill to say it!
I'm hooping you take this Ceriously cuz I really know what I'm saying but I just can't muster up enough komunication skills. Really I'm smart and have soemthing valuable to offer but you aren't taking me saeriously...why?
I hop my shortcomings don't distract frum the massage.
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Re: AOL e-mail
how would that improve the results of the remaining candidates?
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Re:
i would try if i knew your question
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NO MORE FREE AOL CD’S!!!!!!!!!!!
Dang! (ok I have to be G rated on something) Now I won’t beable to finish my car covered on AOL CD’s
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Re:
fight! fight! fight!
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cancel your $25/month AOL account, keep your AOL email address and AOL content, and move to PeoplePC.com for $10
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AOL is always AOL
From AOL 1.0 to today, they haven't changed their billing policies a lick. I was my first account, and I have a similar story to everyone else's.
AOL addresses have zero credibility, we advise all of our sales reps never to put one on a business card because it makes them look technically void.
I recently learned that a friend of mine still has one, which he carelessly mentioned at a party last week, and suddenly he was the butt of all the jokes for the rest of the night (crappy party).
If AOL wants to survive, they have a long way to go. The only folks using it seem to be grandparents and the technically void, both of which are dying out.
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Re: AOL is always AOL
Dude, that's hilarious!
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Re: Re: Re: AOL e-mail
"If only AOL users could be called a race..."
Yeah, then we could have a genocide... Only a decade too late.
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So what is good about AOL? There must be something... maybe its only the marketing department that is good?
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the only thing good about AOL is the fact that they've unknowningly contributed a heck of a lot of CDs to the CD curtain I'm building.
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Re: Re:
"lol...I remember in middle school when we didn't have computers :D"
Hmm, I've been using computer since grade 3 (although it's a vague memory, i know we had a lab at that particular school).
As for AOL, who really cares? I used AOL free trial CDs for archery practice. I almost used an AOL floppy (remember those?) years ago - the only thing that stopped me was at the time I didn't have a modem. When I first got one, I used sympatico dialup (for a few months then switched rogers cable). basically, I didn't get online until 98. haven't left my computer since :)
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Re: Re: Use a spellchecker!
Ha, that's the best thing I've read today.
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I HEARD THAT AOL CONTRIBUTES TO THE BUSH ADMINISTRATION... OKAY GEEKS, HAVE FUN WITH THAT ONE...
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cat like reflexes
good job AOL on skyrocketing yourself into 2004!
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AOL SUCKS!!!!!
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Do they not know, that for years now, anyone can have a free aol account ?
All you had to do, was get AIM, and there was a link to get an aol email address.
I have never paid for AOL, or signed up for a free trial, yet have an aol email address and have had one for a long time.
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BUT WHAT ABOUT AOL KILLING ALL THOSE WHALES LAST YEAR? THAT WAS FREE!!
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Not in complete defense of AOL but...
I never had AOL because I basically have been lucky enough to have access to cable/dsl since I graduated college. HOWEVER, for a lot of people, AOL was the internet for a long time. I remember when a lot of products didn't have websites per-se but AOL "keywords" (did they map to actual http: sites?).
My point is that we at techDirt represent the upper eschelon of computer users but I think sometimes we forget that for a long time AOL and the internet were one in the same to a lot of people. I finally broke the umbilical of my last friend using AOL last year, but it was a fight. AOL was easy for most people, they put it in the computer, plugged in a phone line in the back, and they were "surfing the web" (albeit they didn't know it was a watered dowm, slowed down version of the web).
Have sympathy on the AOL set, ignorance is bliss.
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AOL KILLED MY PARENTS!! AND WHAT IS GEORGE BUSH DOING ABOUT IT? NOTHING!! MAYBE HE'LL CAUSE ANOTHER HURRICANE AND DESTROY ANOTHER CITY!!!
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I bet AOL would do well if Tom Cruise endorsed it... afterall he can utilize his witch skills.
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Hmm, I think I'll follow AOL's lead and exploit the invention of the wheel.
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AOL disk ending??
here in nebraska woever was contracted to make and distribute ther free trial disks were using CD-RW's for a while. Fooling around tried to erase one AND IT DID. Now I have a few hundred discs blank and looking if they start using DVD's soon
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Free AOL address...not thanks
AOL email for free...hmmm. OK, good. Now all they have to do is get everyone in the world to use an aol email account so that no gets blocked. Stay away from AOL, 15 of my company's major clients will not correspond with vendors or AOL members because of AOL's consistent blocking of valid domains who are accused of spamming but do not spam in any way. Stay away, stay away....
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Re: Re: Re: Use a spellchecker!
Ok, now you get spammed for spelling "sentence" as sentance..... twice!
For shame!
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Interesting Timing
I just received one of those free trial CDs in the mail today.
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Re: rofl
...nice to see AOL opening up there service a little...
Um. Their vs. There, anyone?
Lets get ready to rummmbbbblllle!
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AOL
Years ago, someone I knew figured out how to crack the n months free trial that AOL gave out every n-1 months, so that once you installed a program, if you kept inserting the free trial AOL cds, you could get free access to the internet using IE/Navigator, without the AOL crap that would normally install. Running the AOL CDs throught he program gave access to the codes which AOL used to connect to them, but it also acted between the Browser and the modem, with a crack to access the whole internet properly. I might see if I can find a copy somewhere.
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AOL really going down now
Half the reason why most users stayed with AOL is because they wanted to keep their email address. Now AOL is going to loose a bunch of customers.
The main question you have to ask yourself if you are using AOL is how many of the AOL services do you actually use and do you find it worth $10+ extra dollars per month for internet? Take a few hours and most everything that is on AOL you can find on the internet for free, not everything but most. I know there is some services on AOL that actually make it worth it but for most people that is not the case.
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What The AOL For?
Why in the AOL would anyone want AOL? My parents had it on their PC when I first gve them one of my old ones. As soon as the disk went into the computer, they lost all control over anything that used to be default. AOL set up it's own defaults everywhere and my mom was so panicked that I had to go to Arizona from Colorado to "fix" the computer. I fixed it mby removing AOL and told them to never put it back in again. They still have dialup even though I offered to buy them 1.5 DSL and pay for COmpuServe because that was what they replaced the AOL with all those years ago and my mom is a brand loyalest who thinks that if she changes ISPs she'll have to learn everything all over again. SO why would anyone think free AOL is anything to get excited about?
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Re: Re:
Dude, he just way clogged up the tubes with that huge post. THE INTERNETS IS NOT A DUMP TRUCK MORON!!
Fo-real, when is Time Warner going to start regulating this shizzle?!?
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Daddio:
AOL has owned CompuServe for quite a while...
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who the hell cares about AOL?
I can't believe that shit is still around.
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Re: Re: Re: Use a spellchecker!
its actually "sentence" since you wanna check people on grammer
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j. johnson... what a dick... GRAMMAR and that is a spelling issue not a grammar issue, dick.
what about loose? it's LOSE, losers.
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Oh Horay free AOL
Yes! AOL is FREE(sarcasm much) WOW i really could not care any less. They would still have to pay me to put there non-sence on my computer. that will probley be they next step in world dommination. this is only the beginning, you just wait till theres AOL 50.0 we will all be doomed!!
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Re:
I couldn't agree more with everything you have said here. Except that I think AOL should have died years ago when they were still charging $25 for their crappy dial-up service; while all the other ISP's kept dropping their prices.
I think the only thing AOL has going for them right now is that fact that they now own Time Warner and the host of cable channels that came with Time Warner. I think they need to get out of the ISP business completely, as there are way too many companies out there with better service, prices, etc...
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The time has come
I first connected to the internet in 1996 on my state of the art 486 with the largest hard drive available, 200 MB. It also came with a device called a modem, able to access other computers at a blazing speed of 2400 baud. Howevew, the only way to get to the web was through AOL or Compuserve. So I chose AOL, paid by the minute, and often had monthly bills over $100. I still have an AOL email address because that is the one everyone knows, but I access it through my ISP.
And hey all you techie youngsters, watch the grammar and spelling. I'm an English professor.
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Re:
Wrong. Netzero used to offer free internet, and Google is setting up free WANs in California. Advertising pays for it. predict the internet will be free eventually, with premium services for faster connection. Much like broadcast TV versus cable.
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clarification
That was meant for #27.
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AOL tried to murder me last night!!! someone help!!
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Re: Oh yeah...
you suck dude,not aol.maybe your some cheap dumb person who still has to learn what a computer is.
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Re:
Keyword: Change Plan
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I think it's a good move. they have premier content available there. check it out and then do the bitching.
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i meant premium content daaamn - sorry
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There is a reason for AOL
There are still plenty of reasons that people--including me--have kept AOL. The main one (already pointed out) is that I've had the same e-mail address for 14 years. I have shareware fonts (Lord of the Rings) that have been floating out on the 'net since being uploaded to AOL 13 years ago, and for which i still get regular props. (Some from kids that weren't even alive when they were released :-) Plus tons of friends who pop up every now and then in my inbox, and are pleasantly surprised when I reply to their e-mails.
Now that the service is free (I wonder if I can just still use the AOL client to check e-mail, etc?) I'll be cancelling the account. But AOL has been a definite benefit for me over the years.
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FREE AOL
I ASK THEM ABOTU AOL, BEING FREE AND THE CATCH 22 IS:
THIS ONLY APPLY TO THE MEMBERS IN THE 50 STATES, (SORRY CANADA.......)
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What to do now
I collect and sell AOL DISK! Now what am I going to do? http://www.ispdisk.com
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Re: There is a reason for AOL
You still have "aol friends"? That comment right there is pathetic. You're talking about cyberspace friends which are people that you will NEVER hang out with in REAL life. You really need to get out of the house more often, loser.
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Re: Re: Oh yeah...
Maybe "YOUR" some dumb fuck? It's YOU'RE in that sentence, not YOUR. I love people who call other people dumb, but yet they can't even perform 3rd grade grammar.
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I LOVE AOL!
OK WHAT IS THE DEAL? TELL ME ONE THING AOL HAS DONE WRONG?? PEOPLE PC SUCKS!!!! THEY ARE RUDE...STUPID...AND DONT CARE WHAT YOU THINK OR WHAT YOU ARE HAVING PROBLEMS WITH! I HAVE HAD AOL FOR 7 YEARS...AND NEVER NOT EVEN ONE FREAKING TIME EVER HAD A PROB THAT WASNT TAKEN CARE OF RIGHT THEN! WITH THE UPMOST SWEETNESS AND CARING!
YOU CAN CALL DAY OR NIGHT...."IM" DAY OR NIGHT AND ALWAYS SPEAK WITH SOMEONE!
GEEZE IF YOU ARE THAT HARD UP AND CANT PAY FOR AOL......CALL THEM AND TELL THEM I PROMISE THEY WILL LOWER YOUR MO BILL!!
IT SEEMS TO ME LIKE YOU GUYS HAVE NO LIFE AND HAVE TO BE COMPLAINING ABOUT SOMETHING!
THEY RADIO IS AWESOME...I LISTEN EVERY SINGLE TIME I GET ONLINE!
EVERYTHING IS RIGHT AT YOUR FINGER TIPS...VERY EASY TO READ!! AOL MAKES IT RIGHT FOR ME AND YOU....YOU HAVE THE PROBLEM WRITE AOL!! SEE WHAT THEY HAVE TO SAY!
THANKS THE COOL ONE!
J007MYSTICWAVES@AOL.COM
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DON'T INSTALL AOL SOFTWARE ON YOUR COMPUTER
Who cares if it's free!! I downloaded the software, and now I have 10 AOL process's running even when aol is closed making it run like garbage. I tried to uninstall it and it just closes and freezes.
WHAT GARBAGE, Don't trust AOL, they are unethical assholes.
I remember back when I had AOL, they stuck a screen just before you signed off that asked you to register a 2nd account. They made the no thanks option tiny, and the Sign me up button huge. If you clicked on it by accident it automatically created a second account and they start billing you. No warnings, no emails, nothing; just a bill.
Seriously, who does that>? Why deal with a company like this? Get email @ hushmaill or hotmail, get everything else from yahoo & google.
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AOL going free
I just stopped paying AOL after 10 years and who knows how many thousnd dollars. The major thing about this freebie is the lack of technical support that the Indian lady who took my changeover order kept emphasizing. It scares me because of AOL's sneaky habit of taking over one's computer for the new software that AOL keeps insisting that users must have. Like the fairly new "connectivity" stuff. If that muddles up my files and/or directories, who do I ask for assistance? AOL will tell me I ain't paying to use their service, so it is my problem, I bet. Does any consumer protection law come into play in such a case?
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(Does this mean that my friends mom, who is paying for AOL for Broadband, can cancel her account and still receive all the benefits of paying $15 a month? Because I know they aren't going to cancel it for her.)
first AOL has no benifits....
second to the person with the comment in all CAPS...take the caps lock off.... that just gos to show that your only a 10year old kid who is disgruntled with the fact everyone has dsl or cable except you...go away
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Roadrunner baby!! No substitute!!
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Roadrunner baby!! No substitute!!
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Use Gmail, it's better then AOL
I just have to say that I've used AOL before....and I really don't like it. The only thing that's cool is that they have that unsend button to get rid of an email you sent to another aol accidentally and the status button to check if the other person who has aol checked their email or not.
But either way, Gmail is the best. Register at Gmail....even Yahoo is starting to get a bit cluttered - I've had Yahoo for years and it was my first email account back in 2000. Just get out of AOL folks! Don't use it anymore. Even if it's free. If you really want to use it, then get rid of the software. It takes up too much computer space. The only reason I can't take it off my computer is because of my uncle because he's used AOL since it first came out. We have DSL and wireless and he still wont go online without signing onto AOL. I keep explaining....but he doesnt listen. I don't know.......I don't like it.
Gmail is the best. No one will want a free AOL email account. Watch.....it's over for them now!
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I think you guys are absolutely hilarious, I would rather sit here and read your posts vs watching Jerry Springer, or, Bill Nye The Science Guy.
Btw, I'm a loser, broke as a joke so I have to dial up...
I called AOL to cancel today, and I couldn't understand half of what was said to me, so I do not know if my account is canceled or if they raised the price by $10. :/
Guess I'll know soon enough, haha.
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FREE AOL?
i read your post saying aol going free at last the only thing free with aol is it email but is that free no coz people pay to use aol so nothing so far free about aol but i call them and they told me something is going on there in talks but would not say what them talks was about i ask was aol going fee and all i was told is guy the guy on the phone not that he know of but said something was going on as aol was in talks but could not say what that was about aol is keeping the doors close at this time
and they have lost 4 million out of 26million so that meens only 22 million is with aol and the numbers are going down will aol end if the number go down fast
there not getting new people to sign up there singing off
so will aol come to a big end ? that is to be seen
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FREE AOL?
i read your post saying aol going free at last the only thing free with aol is it email but is that free no coz people pay to use aol so nothing so far free about aol but i call them and they told me something is going on there in talks but would not say what them talks was about i ask was aol going fee and all i was told is guy the guy on the phone not that he know of but said something was going on as aol was in talks but could not say what that was about aol is keeping the doors close at this time
and they have lost 4 million out of 26million so that meens only 22 million is with aol and the numbers are going down will aol end if the number go down fast
there not getting new people to sign up there singing off
so will aol come to a big end ? that is to be seen
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Re: aol
aol stinks cant get rid of pop ups or there other crap
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Re:
I remember 10 years ago when AOL was first introduced. No, it was never considered "cool".
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AOL/Virius
Okay, we have seen the gammet of posts, from calling us "COOL NERDS" to calling AOL users LUSERS. We have had grammer/grammar and sentance/sentence fights, but the one thing that keeps getting skipped over is that AOL WAS useful at one time. We all had to start somewhere. I used AOL until I got tech savvy (if I really am) and then upgraded to DSL/Cable. Oh, in between there was a mismash of different ISPs, but AOL got me started on the internet.
If it had not been for AOL, thousands upon thousands of people would never have had the chance to get on the internet. There would have been huge gapping holes of information that would have never been placed on the tubes {satire} and yet we are all so damn high and mighty to think that "Lordy, I NEVER would use AOL".
AOL opened the doors to countless people who were not lucky enough to have computer courses in high school or college, people who actually used pencils and erasers...people who knew how to write a business letter on an IBM Selectric and lick a stamp to send it. AOL opened the door to so much, to so many...yet we look down our noses at them.
So, since we all feel AOL is evil, how many of us uber geeks made something better? How many of us created a better mouse trap, or do we just look down our noses at something becasue we are superior and expect others to quiver in our wake.
I for one...I like the quivering in the wake, but then again...I am old, I used AOL and thanks to that I now have a career (and have had it for many years) in IT, I have my certs because of an interest in computing and a lot of that came from AOL.
And free or not, it's shyte now...but at one time it was THE shyte.
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freeaol
i want to pay nothing for aol
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I have played the AOL game and they have tobe one of the most devious companies. They always find a way to screw you over. I cancelled my account after FIVE months of run around only to be charged a canelation fee THREE months after the fact. The sad part is they get away with it.
The new free email is a load of crap too. Mostly it is just a page of advertsiements. The little tiny window they give you to see you messages is so small that you can only see one message at a time and for spam you can't veen see the message - you have to openit to know what the heck it is.
Once again AOL is a class act.
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RE: #103
If you don't like the new format of the AOL webmail, you can still use the classic version at "classic.webmail.aol.com". It is the email I use when away from my home computer. It is also much faster than the newer regular "webmail.aol.com", which is resource hungry.
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favorite places
if you cancel the aol youpay for a switch to free aol can you still access the favorite places you had?